*The nested bird in my last post was a Green-backed Heron, and the woodpeckers were Lineated Woodpeckers. Other birds I’ve encountered are Great Blue Herons, White-tipped Doves, Muscovy Ducks, several hummingbirds and kingfishers, and more.

My kayak trip was the same as usual, with constant bird sightings and several howler monkeys in the trees above me. What changed was the end of the excursion. I decided to try kayaking down the stream of estuary water flowing into the ocean and see if I couldn’t catch a few waves close to shore before calling it a day. The stream of water was fairly shallow, with little piles of sand causing tiny swells of the sort seen over rocks in whitewater rivers. I had fun navigating these “water-bumps” and eventually made it into the ocean after a bit of shimmying past the shallower spots where I got grounded. I immediately set to getting past the already-broken waves so that I could catch one as it rose, like one does while boogie boarding or surfing. After getting buffeted around a bit by the incoming waves, I managed to turn the kayak around just in time to catch a small wave back to shore, paddling as I neared the sand so that momentum would carry me up the beach. Delighted by these first results, I continued to attempt kayak surfing for the next fifteen minutes before it got dark. Once it did, I dragged my kayak in and looked forward to doing the same the next day.

However, the estuary was a completely different place the next day. Very much open to the ocean, the mangrove sanctuary was continuously losing water. Slightly wary, I entered my kayak and paddled forwards. At first, the differences I noticed didn’t seem too grave: the water was shallower, but also very clear – I could actually see the bottom at some points. As I continued into deeper waters, the water darkened again but stayed quite shallow at some points. Once I got to the open area with the mangrove trees dotted around, I was able to distinctly see the effects of an estuary at a different point in its cycle: the mangrove trees had water-markings on them showing that the water levels had descended well over a foot. Here are some before-and-after shots: Black mangrove tree with distinct water markings, and branch before and after.

To read more about estuaries and their cycles, you can visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s educational tutorial. Follow the links on the right-hand column to learn about their importance ecosystem services and more.