Hickory Top WMA 8-August-2026

          It was back on the water for another clean-up at Hickory Top. The water was slightly higher than on the first, but the channel going out to the lake was harder to paddle. It was like paddling through a thick stew and was a slow go. The goal I set out to get was two bags full and I had some new areas to check out on this trip.

      Not much clearance even at the end of the channel. At least one Jon boat had been through recently, so some motors can still make it through. 

          On the last clean-up, I came across one Limpkin on the way back to the launch. This time there were two not far from the start. I don't believe these birds got to this location on their own. Historically their range only extended to Georgia and although in recent years there have been sightings throughout the eastern US there is some fishiness about the ones in this area. Original reports in the Sparkleberry Swamp area, close by in Sumter County, have been deleted/modified. They also show up in other areas conveniently for guides to attract birding customers, but are absent from other areas with exceptional habitat. My beliefs on this are not just pulled out of thin air and do match up with other things I have noticed and recorded. I don't think these birds got here on their own, like the Black-bellied Whistling Ducks. The Black-bellied Whistling Ducks have seemingly disappeared from the area, not matching behavioral patterns of the last two years. In that case I think that those who released them, have also been removing them. The reason for the removal is so that people go to the places they want them to go and because of me, they no longer want to use this area for their services and illegal activities. I will likely soon be talking more about this and other species that I believe fall under released wild birds in this area. I told a USFWS investigator I would be getting loud about this, there are reasons why I have waited, but it is time I start.

       The first landing of the trip. It wasn't exactly where I was planning to go, but it was close and I was able to get the canoe in. With recent rains I didn't know if I could walk a lot of this area or not. When the ground is saturated back here one wrong step will leave your leg in the mud up to your knee. Can you spot the shoe in this photo?

        This wouldn't be the only shoe of the day. There is a lot of washed up footwear. If you go out for a day on the lake in a boat, it is best to wear shoes with laces. If you end up in the water, slip-ons like this, flip flops and crocs easily come off and end up being lost forever. A tied shoe will stay on if you end up swimming. If you are intentionally going in the lake it is always best to have shoes on. The lake is shallow in many areas and there is a number of things on the bottom that can slice a foot. 

        Before and after of one tiny spot. I do try to take these kinds of shots when I think about it, but when I get to picking up, I often forget to take after shots.

       This beach ball stuck out between the knees. 
 

         This stop didn't have too much trash, but did have some interesting pieces. The chunk of plastic in this photo ended up being a toy boat. 

        How far this traveled and how long it was out there will forever be a mystery. Did it carry G.I. Joes or Barbie when it set sail? The holes on the side are rodent chews and it had a crack on the wheelhouse. If it was in better condition, I would have tried to clean this one up.

       The big items from this stop.

         When I bent down to pick up this bottle I noticed the Cottonmouth next to it. This area does not have many snakes and this is the first Cottonmouth I have seen in doing the clean-ups here. Typically I would not post a snake with even generalized location, but there are so few in this area, the chance someone sees this post and goes to the area and finds any is slim enough that I feel comfortable in doing so. 

          The Cottonmouth did not move the whole time I was there. It posed no threat to me and this species serves a purpose in this environment. Snakes seem to be needlessly killed in this area, they should be respected and not feared. We should be working on preserving these species, not wiping them out. Learn the venomous snakes in your area and just know to keep several feet distance away from them. Snakes can only strike about half their body length, if you respect them by giving them space, they will not harm you in any way.

        A colorful fungus growing out of a log. I do not know the species on this. 

        The first stop yielded the three larger items and about half a bag of smaller stuff. Loaded up it was time to get back on the water and find a new place to hunt for trash.

        The trees along the lake edge were adorned with Mayflies. This was one of the largest emergences I have seen on the lake. I am sure I passed over a million of them covering the trees on this paddle. Mayflies spend the majority of their lives as an aquatic larval stage. When they become adults they often do not have functional mouthparts, can't eat and only live for a short amount of time, from 30 minutes up to around 2 weeks. Just enough time to mate and lay eggs. 

It was something to see so many.

        The second stop was a slightly more elevated chunk of land. From the boat I could see there was going to be a lot of trash and from my view I could see at least four barrels from the boat. 

       One of the first items I picked up at the second stop. With it I didn't have to get a new bag out right away and started filling it up with smaller items.

       An arm of a lawn chair began the filling process.

        Unfortunately all of the barrels I checked out will not be able to be reused. I had already made a planter out of one and others could be used to collect rainwater for gardens or more planters. These white ones were extremely old brittle and broken. I will try to start removing them one at a time on subsequent trips. 

     This one was burned.

 

      Another old glass bottle. From what I can find this one dates between the 1950s to 1970s and was likely bottled in Georgia. I leave all of the old glass bottles like this, they may be old enough that they fall under archeological protections. I will definitely photograph and post ones like this that are new brands to me or anything that is different. All are about in this condition, likely have little to no value, but it does tell you what people were drinking along the river awhile back. Ecologically glass does not effect much. It really doesn't break down and when it does it isn't something harmful, so I don't mind too much leaving this kind of trash behind.

The cooler exterior and the bucket bottom were removed. 

       With this much gathered I figured I had enough for the day. The heat and the paddle in had worn me out too. 

  

     Some of these will not be easy to remove on future trips. The one in the front here will likely break into a multitude of pieces when I try to get it out of there.

All bagged and loaded up.

        Before heading back I did a little more exploring on the water. As you can see behind this White Ibis there is more trash to get. Bottle right behind him and what looks to be a trash can off to the right. Most of this post until the end is just different species seen along the paddle back.

  Great Blue Heron and Great Egret.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Little Blue Heron.

American Lotus seed pod and if you look closely a small spider.

Anhinga.

Wood Stork.

Northern Rough-winged Swallow.

Another White Ibis, this one was feeding on Mayflies.

Green Heron.

Caspian Tern.

Paddling back.

         Along the trees in the water were thousands of what I think were mostly Mayfly casings, the discarded exoskeleton left behind when the larvae emerges as an adult. There were likely adults that did not make it in there as well.

Approaching the takeout.

Back at the landing.

Everything removed getting ready to be sorted.

All of the trash removed from Hickory Top on this trip!