Latest News Releases
On May 5, ten Friends boarded a pontoon boat on the Alafia River to join Barbara and Dave Howard for a tour of the Alafia Bank CWA islands to see nesting birds. In addition to being “our” Friends, Barbara and Dave are also active members of Friends of the Tampa Bay Wildlife Refuges–a group very worthy of our support. During the boat tour, our group saw nesting Brown Pelicans, Ibises, and Roseate Spoonbills. They also saw Oystercatchers, Great Blue Herons, read more
On April 24, nine FPMN members enjoyed wading, kayaking, and snorkeling the upper section of the Rainbow River with George Heinrich, turtle expert extraordinaire. George gave us a turtle ID overview before we launched our kayaks. Between KP Hole Park and Rainbow Springs State Park, we spotted dozens of cooters, sliders, and softshell turtles. On our journey upstream we stopped to enjoy a watery stroll along Gissy Spring Run, where we found the remains of a small musk turtle which read more
Seven Friends enjoyed a leisurely autumn paddle on the Hillsborough River a couple weeks ago. They launched from Sargeant Park, paddled upstream for a couple miles into the newly cleared Seventeen Runs area before floating with the current back to the launch. The five-mile journey revealed egrets, herons, ibises, and kingfishers above and alligators, gar, and (unfortunately invasive) sailfin catfish below. Swamp lilies, pickerelweed, and water hyacinth were blooming and attracting hundreds of swallowtail butterflies. A magical morning with delightful paddlers! read more