Wayne Hartley, Manatee Specialist, and Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research Associate, take "roll call" on a cold winter morning at Blue Spring State Park. Photo courtesy David Schrichte.
By Cora Berchem, Director of Multimedia and Manatee Research Associate All activities conducted under permits DEP #02042213 and USFWS #MA791721-6.
Manatee season officially started at Blue Spring on November 19, 2022, and many manatees have already visited the warm-water refuge. As always in the wintertime, SMC Manatee Specialist Wayne Hartley and Manatee Research Associate Cora Berchem conduct daily morning “roll calls” to count and identify the manatees. Our daily updates can be found on our social media channels and on ManaTV.org where the public can also watch our live webcams from Blue Spring and Homosassa!
Sightings Update: Blue Spring Adoptees
Annie was seen at Blue Spring during a brief cold spell in October and then again once the season started. Wayne and Cora confirm that she is heavily pregnant! Here she is seen traveling through the spring run on October 23, 2022.Lesley made her first season visit on November 20. We were happy to see how good she looked, given that she was in rehabilitation for almost 3 years for a very severe watercraft injury. The scar on her back is significant, but she looks great!Phyllis arrived for the season on November 21. Here she is resting in the warm water of Blue Spring on November 22.Nick was one of the first manatees to arrive for the season on November 19 and was snoozing in the upper half of the spring run.Adoptee Lily, the oldest living female manatee at Blue Spring, was one of the first ones to show up for season on November 18 and has been seen several times since.Gator, one of the most popular adoptees, arrived for season on November 18. Although he was not seen during the official roll call he was recorded on the webcam. Here he is at Blue Spring on November 22.We were very happy to see adoptee Una with a new calf on November 20! No word yet on whether the calf is a boy or a girl!
Other Blue Spring Sightings
Manatee Yvonne was recorded on the webcam just before season started on November 8 nursing her own calf and a “freeloader.” It is not uncommon for manatee mothers to nurse their own calf and additional calves or juveniles!
We have already seen over 30 calves this season which is very encouraging. One of them is Mona, recorded on the webcam on November 17 nursing her own calf and another one.
We were happy to see manatee Glenn return to Blue Spring for the second season! Glenn has a known sighting history along the Atlantic coast of Florida, including Brevard County. We are happy he seemed to have chosen Blue Spring as his new winter home which provides better habitat for him than the Atlantic coast.
Exciting News! Paprika, who was rescued last spring near Welaka Springs for a watercraft injury and released near Blue Spring in the summer, returned to Blue Spring with a calf in tow! Both mom and calf look great. Paprika is outfitted with a satellite tracking device so her movements can be monitored by researchers from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium Research Institute (CMARI).A bonus pic of Paprika!
Learn more about manatee tracking devices in this short video!
April is the perfect time to come together and make a meaningful impact on manatee conservation and their habitat.
Sightings Update: April 2025
March 31, 2025
Late February and early March saw more cold weather and we counted over 400 manatees on February 22 and over 300 on March 8, which might be a record for March.
Sightings Update: February 2025
February 4, 2025
Manatee Season at Blue Spring started in full force in late November and we have had many exciting adoptee sightings since!
