Last week, Amanda Bryant,Biologist at Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, shared with all the volunteers for the Sea Turtle Program, that there have been a few unusual daytime Loggerhead Sea Turtle nestings this season.
Both of these photos were taken with zoom lenses and the photographers did not get closer than 100ft to either turtle.
This photo was taken by Karen Davis. This photo taken by Julie Reed.
Thanks to both of you ladies for sharing these pictures with us, and what must have been an exciting experience.
Today was walk number twelve for this season. We arrived at Buttonwood Lane beach access before daylight, to start our walk.
It was really nice out this morning, there was a cool wind and it wasn't too hot, actually the coolest morning we've had for a walk since the season started.
For a little way, there didn't appear to be many shells. Gradually there were more and more. Most of them looked to be Ark shells, at a glance. I didn't look in that direction much, because I was looking for turtle tracks, of course! :) But, the only thing I was seeing was trash! There were also several things left out on the beach overnight, that we had to tag, like several different beach chairs, a beach ball, a canopy frame and pile of chairs under it. After they're tagged and reported, the turtle walker the next day will report they are still there and those things are supposed to be removed. Sometimes the resort is notified, if that doesn't work, then a city employee will pick them up or the next turtle walker.
There were several big holes left too. This one was a foot deep, glad it was light enough out to see it in time.
This fella looked to be totally relaxed with a coffee mug in his hand. But, he could have expired, because I said good morning, as I walked beside his chair. He didn't even look over or say anything, just stared straight ahead. Maybe I should have gone back to take his pulse???
Hi Anne, how are you?
somewhere there's a poor baby with no pacifier. :(
A feeble attempt at making an alligator, and leaving a deep hole in the sand.
This turtle didn't leave any tracks.
In the distance you can see the canopy frame and piles of chairs we had to tag, all left right in turtle nesting area of the beach.
In our zone, the worst problem area is in front of the Sanibel Arms complexes. I don't know what is the cause; lower rent, able to rent condos by the night, it's a mystery! But it is the worst trashy area on the beach, more holes, and almost always chairs left out overnight. The only area we've had that can compare, is Lighthouse Beach and it's large amount of trash left behind there, but that is a public beach area with many more people coming and going in a days time. Doubt it would do much good, but I think it would be a step in the right direction if the Sanibel Arms would put up signs and place information in condos about the beach rules, especially those that apply during sea turtle nesting season, if they haven't already. God only knows what these kinds of people do to the condos they are staying in. Most owners of condos in other places, that I know personally, actually tell their renters about the special rules during nesting season and it seems to help. Ok I'm done now.....moving on.......
A portion of the mine field in front of Sanibel Arms West.
This hole was hollowed out way under the edge of the sand and almost 2' deep. If you stepped anywhere near it, your feet would go through.
There was so much cloud cover down low, that the sun couldn't shine through.
Today we also looked at the shore birds to see if they had bands on their legs. If we see any that do, we are supposed to report them. The purpose is to track birds that were cleaned of oil in the spill area, and then released. We saw none.
This was a whole group of sand sculptures, without leaving any holes! Yay! They were all very cute and near the front of Sanibel Inn.
A really cool alligator covered with pieces of pen shells.
A beautiful mermaid.
A sea turtle. It was neat how they used mangrove seed pods in their art.
A sea horse? :) I love this!
Finally the sun found a small hole to peek through.
The water was pretty and clear today. These two were having a good breakfast.
We have a ghost crab living in our sea turtle nest. Look at the crabby little tracks it left. :( Also a whole string of ants were going in and out.
There was no new turtle activity in our zone. It's really a no brainer to me, why we only have one nest in this zone and it's at the end, where the beach is in better shape. If I were a turtle, I wouldn't think of going onto a beach that had all those obstacles in my path. :( Pretty sad. The most concerning thought, is that one person who was not taught to care about the consequences of their actions, has now multiplied and there are at least one to three more that will not be taught, and each of those will multiply..... Can you even imagine what our world will be like when they all grow up? Where and why did it begin, and how and where do we start to change it?
It was right about here, that I broke into a cold sweat and got so weak, I could hardly stand up, let alone walk.
We were at the end of our zone, and I made my way up the Sanibel Inn path.
After throwing away the bag of trash we picked up, my partner took me to the pool area to sit down, while he made the mile walk back to get the car.
By the way, the cool tree below, is a Madagascar Screwpine. I learned my lesson on this tree a while back. :)
So......this is where I ended my walk, and this......
and this.......
was my view for a while, until I was picked up for the ride home.
No, don't know what happened. I think I may have been dehydrated. I'm bad about not drinking enough water. But, I'll do better next time! :)
A 'Happy Story' about eight sea turtles that were nursed back to health at the Georgia Aquarium and the Georgia Sea Turtle Centerand and released as hundreds of observers watched and cheered them on.
A 'Sad Story' and an end, for one of those turtles.
A story I've been hanging onto for a while, about the first sea turtle hatchlings that were relocated from northern Florida coast. Plus more very interesting information. Be sure to also view the video at the very end.
This morning my partner wasn't able to do the turtle walk with me. So, he dropped me off beside the Sanibel Inn, where I walked out a beach access. This made it all seem a little different, by starting at the opposite end.
It was still pretty dark, as I walked out between trees and bushes, then on the board walk to the sand. When I got to that point, there was a little more light.
There was a man already standing near the shore, with camera in hand. He had a lens in the other hand and he told me he had made a mistake and kept it in air conditioning and now it got foggy and he was trying to get it warmed up before the sunrise. I've had that happen a few times myself. He said I had better hurry because rain was coming. So, I went on my way. The sky was looking pretty threatening and I kept hearing thunder in the distance. It made me hurry along a little faster than usual, for a while.
The one turtle nest in our zone had a couple of holes in it from ghost crabs. I reported it to the Permittee, when I finished my walk. I hope they can't get into the eggs. :(
There was a strong breeze and it was very pleasant walking along the beach. I loved walking toward the sunrise this morning, but it was pretty difficult to keep from looking back all the time. The clouds behind me were a different color every time I looked around. The rising sun makes such a beautiful light show on the clouds. That's why I love sunrises so much, and also why you have to keep scrolling through photo after photo that probably look the same to you. To me, everyone is different and I can't decide to delete very many of them. :)
It seems kind of strange to find at least one shoe, every time I come to the beach early in the morning. How do you manage to go home with one shoe on? Beats me! Or, if you carry things from the beach, don't you ever look back to make sure you got everything or didn't drop anything? Maybe only Mommies are trained to do that.
I'd be interested to know what they had in mind or where they were going with this one.
Patron spirits must have been here. :)
Not the greatest shelling this morning.
My favorite sight of the day!
I didn't have to share the beach with many others, this morning.
Snowy Plovers stopped to say hello!
If you enlarge and look closely at this one, you'll see this poor little Plover has both legs, but only one foot. But, you would never notice, when it's running along the beach. I've noticed it every time, and stand in awe of how well it has adapted.
This guy has the beginnings of a perfect day!
There were more shells, in places.
Some bad fisherman, left his shrimp bait, behind to rot in the sun. :(
Sea Pork
A few things to carry home.
It was a beautiful morning, and I needed another look back, as I was leaving at the Buttonwood access.
And......just one more! :)
An explanation of the new method being used this year by SCCF Biologist, to mark the sea turtle nests, was sent to those of us who volunteer. This is one time, that I think all of us are hoping these measures will be a waste of time, because no oil gets to our beaches. :)
This season,The Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has issued new nesting beach monitoring protocols for all gulf coast beaches in response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Here is a short summary of the protocol. • Every nest must be staked • Every nest must be staked using 4 stakes • Every nest must be verified • Every nest must be triangulated • Every nest must be recorded using a GPS with accuracy of less than 1ft.
Verifying and triangulating each nest means that the exact location of the egg chamber must be determined and stakes will be placed in the dune behind the nest at measured distances. All of these steps are to ensure the safety of the nest if a beach becomes oiled and cleanup is necessary. In the event of oil, every nest will be staked with a ten foot buffer. This will protect the nests from any additional traffic or equipment on the beach. All nests due to hatch will be also be caged. This will allow us to catch the hatchlings and prevent them from reaching the oiled beach and water. They will then be released in an unaffected area.
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