Sixteenth Turtle Walk of 2010 Nesting Season

This morning was our 16th turtle walk of the 2010 nesting season. We did our duty and walked our 2 miles, picking up trash and checking on the one nest in our zone. Our nest has been washed over by a high tide, so it is doubtful that it will hatch. There have been no new nests reported for quite a while now, which means that nesting time has probably ended. A number of nests were washed out and some washed over, but they will be monitored until after the due date. Next week, we will just be going over to check on our nest. The nesting numbers so far, don't look all that good. We had more false crawls than last year and a few less nests. Things have certainly not been favorable for the poor sea turtles this year.

I was surprised to see a lot of Moonflowers blooming again.


I will miss this sight on Thursday mornings. I think I may have to get up early, once in a while, to get my sunrise fix. :)


Walked past a deep hole, just after leaving the boardwalk.




A hat, shoes and water bottle. No one in sight. ??? I guess they made it back alright, because it was all gone when we came back.


The birds were patiently waiting for the sunrise.


There were lots of scattered shells this morning.




















Super Pail??? A food storage bucket???




If our nest does hatch, this is just what the baby turtles will have to get through. A maize of trenches etc. all the way across, between them and the water. Ugh!


We hurried on the way back, trying to beat the heat. But I did notice this Button shell and a small Lace murex, and a few other tiny shells. There were plenty to pick through, if you took the time.


Early this evening we made a run off-island to McDonalds. On the way over the Sanibel Causeway, we noticed how calm the water was. I saw a Pelican gliding within a few inches of the water and you could see the air current was making the water spray, as it went. You don't see that when there are waves. I think I see something new every time, it's amazing.

The sky was very dark in the direction of Ft Myers Beach and appeared to be nearing the island. But, we got no rain.


The grounded sailboat was still on the sandbar. I tried to get a closeup photo, but that didn't work too well as we were driving.


On the way back, the clouds were awesome.


Notice how calm the water was.




Just before sunset, on our back deck, it was just another 'Rainbow Day'.


Then our day ended with more of this. :)I'm sure someone was watching a beautiful sunset.



The sea turtle activity report for Sanibel and Captiva, with two previous years for comparison, as of August 16, by Amanda Bryant, Biologist, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation.

As of Aug. 16, 2010:

Sanibel East- 20 nests, 64 false crawls, 5 hatches

Sanibel West- 136 nests, 243 false crawls, 51 hatches

Captiva- 64 nests, 117 false crawls, 28 hatches


As of Aug. 16, 2009:

Sanibel East- 27 nests, 57 false crawls, 9 hatches

Sanibel West- 155 nests, 177 false crawls, 81 hatches

Captiva- 80 nests, 67 false crawls, 41 hatches


As of Aug. 16, 2008:

Sanibel East- 34 nests, 50 false crawls, 8 hatches

Sanibel West- 245 nests, 243 false crawls, 102 hatches

Captiva- 137 nests, 103 false crawls, 65 hatches