Pat’s Wildways: Heritage River Road

For years, Bucko and I have “gone south,” as we call it, a few days a week down “the most beautiful drive in the country,” at least in our minds. Although the traffic has gotten worse over the years and more car accidents occur on Heckscher Drive, we still consider it a treat to drive south on Amelia Island, past Spoonbill Pond and the Talbot Islands State Parks, and on to Heckscher along the St. Johns River. There are always interesting sights to see along the way: the maritime forest, the open sky, the river itself, and the various animals that cross our paths.

Ever since the COVID days, when driving in our car was the only safe way to experience the world, our destination has been the Joe Carlucci Boat Ramp parking lot 4 miles past the Mayport Ferry. In our early days of visiting this spot, there were lots of feral cats, but the population has been controlled and now there are three remaining cats that we visit often: Sissy (a long timer), Bella (dropped off here when pregnant) and Cloud (Bella’s now adolescent kitten). All have been fixed and have the clipped ears to prove it. There is no place at any shelter to put them up for adoption, so they live here, with invisible volunteers like us providing them with food and fresh water to drink in this saltwater environment. Feeding these cats is part of the reason for our near-daily drives south, but this is far from the only attraction for us.

Over the years, we have watched the ecological changes along Heritage River Road. This area was once a forested area with lots of brush, but after wetlands mitigation efforts, the vegetation was removed, the accumulating soil was removed and salt marsh plants were installed. It has taken years, but now this area is a thriving saltwater wetland, attracting spoonbills, egrets, herons and the like. Most days we see plenty of these birds. And every now and again we see “Sneaky” as we have named a clapper rail as it runs across the road from one wetland to another. A few times we have seen a bittern hiding in the remaining underbrush, and almost always we see a bald eagle or two that maintain a nest across the marsh. Sadly, though, the removal of all the trees holding the soil together has exacerbated the shoreline erosion, and now Heritage River Road itself is falling into the river.

Out in the river, we often see pods of dolphins, huge container ships, and other vessels passing by. Sometimes we see a manatee foraging near the dock and occasionally a sea turtle. Cormorants, gulls and terns frequent this area too. It is often a challenge to provide food for the cats without attracting a horde of hungry laughing gulls in the parking lot or raccoons in the brush.

Another big attraction for us is the goings on at the BAE shipyard right across from the Carlucci boat ramp. We are always amazed at the ships that show up there to be worked on. Often there are naval vessels of all shapes and sizes. Superyachts show up occasionally, and it is fun to look them up online and see what their story is. And most recently, now we have been watching “Doug,” a SpaceX vessel designed to recover rocket boosters. There is always something.

And let’s not forget the people watching that entertains us at the Carlucci boat ramp too. All sorts of people with lots of experience or none launch their jet skis and fishing boats here, sometimes with problems. People fish on the docks despite the clearly posted “no fishing” signs everywhere. Families use the shaded picnic tables for gatherings. And over the years, we have become acquainted with other people who frequent this area too. Once in a while, we overlap with another cat volunteer and exchange notes on the cats. Often we see a couple our age with three corgi dogs who like to watch the boats too.

Over the years, we have never gotten tired of this outing from Amelia Island. And most days that we visit, we reward ourselves with another treat on our way home, a happy hour beer at the Sandollar Restaurant, where “everybody knows our name.” I guess it is thanks to COVID for steering us toward this interesting place. And now, COVID or not, it’s become part of our daily life. A good part. And we are grateful.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com.