Sunrise on the island

A heron is silhouetted in the sunrise at the western tip of the island. If you click to enlarge the photo you can see Bob Sikes bridge in the distance which spans Santa Rosa Sound.

Pensacola Beach on an August morning

A short video I took within the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore this morning. The lovely white bird you will see toward the end of the clip is a Snowy Egret.

Pristine

I love this photo! It allows me to show you the pristine white sand on Pensacola Beach/Santa Rosa Island. It's truly beyond compare. I stopped during my sea turtle patrol to take a photo of the constantly shifting shoreline. Surf action, tides and winds will either cut into or smooth out the beach, but it's ever changing. It wasn't until I came home and looked at the photo more closely that I saw it was less about the shoreline, more about the sand.

The sentry

A Great Blue Heron stands as a sentry to the old fort atop dunes on the west end of Santa Rosa Island.

Kemp's ridley release!

We had a great group of folks assisting in the release of nearly 80 Kemp's ridley hatchlings at Opal Beach today. I was working on a more complete posting, but when I saw how adorable some of them look close up, I just couldn't wait to share the initial photos with you.


{{{"Don't get between me and the water, lady!"}}}

I promise, I didn't get in his/her way. It turned toward me and paused for a close-up! I swear! Please click on the photo to see an enlargement of this adorable little turtle.

Stay tuned for more photos from this morning. In the meantime, click HERE for much more information about Kemp's ridley turtles.