MINGLING WITH MANATEES ON COFFEE POT BAYOU

Two broad snouts snuffle up from the water at the edge of the walking path along Coffee Pot Bayou. A manatee and her baby drift over to the storm drain to drink fresh water coming down from nearby Lake Crescent. The baby cuddles close. A small group of locals lean over the edge of the concrete bulkhead to watch "their" manatees. They speak in happy whispers and take photos with their cell phones to send to friends in colder climes.

Common to the bayou for most of the year, manatees are almost an everyday sight during the cooler winter months when colder waters of the Gulf of Mexico and Tampa Bay drive them to the shallow warmer waters of Coffee Pot Bayou. As spring approaches groups of courting manatees can be seen rolling around each other in the shallow waters.

Keeping them company are statuesque Great Blue Herons and Great Egrets, shy Green Herons, and gregarious Laughing Gulls. Red-ear slider turtles can often be seen popping their heads up in the water or sunning themselves on boat ramps. Even a dolphin or two join in on the fun.

The broad sidewalk along Coffee Pot Bayou is part of a 2-mile walking/biking path that extends from downtown St. Petersburg following along the edge of Tampa Bay before entering Coffee Pot Bayou. It is a safe, well-lit path with fantastic views, comfortable benches for resting, access to a small beach off of North Shores Park, and opportunities for fishing.

Our manatee spot is at Coffee Pot Blvd and 23rd Ave NE.  There is a small area for parking. 

Manatees at Play

Our house, once its finished, is located one short block from Coffee Pot Bayou in St. Petersburg, Florida. Where 23rd Avenue deadends into Coffee Pot Bayou is a favorite hangout for manatees especially during the “winter” months. They like the warmer waters (because its shallow), the supply of vegetation growing in the bottom of the channel, and the fresh water that discharges out of the storm drain (they like to drink it!). There are often one or two manatees that will lay just below the surface and will very slowly raise to the surface, snuff and snort, and they lower themselves smoothly back down below the surface. This morning there were 2 (we think maybe 3) manatees located just a little further out than we normally see them and they were much more active. They were rolling around, “waving” their tails and little fins, and of course, snorting and snuffing. Playing? Mating? Young un’s. Don’t know…but it was sure a great way to start off the morning