Santa Rosa tidal pool

Storms can be very difficult, especially for those who live on barrier islands, but after they pass the beaches are swept clear, as is the sky.  Tidal pools form and shore birds abound.  Yesterday morning a northerly wind flattened the surface of the gulf, but ruffles of waves raced along the shore, one after another.  As you watch the video, notice how a wave will start to the west of me and make a quick run eastward. 

Osprey

I was very excited to see this beautiful osprey during my patrol at Santa Rosa this morning.  Someone had taken an old log which washed up and stood it upright.  It was a perfect perch for an osprey to scope out some breakfast!

Sunrise at Opal Beach

I enjoy my early sea turtle patrols, but even if I do not find tracks/nests, I am often treated to beautiful sunrises on the beach. 

This morning I covered the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore and was treated to this brilliant display just before dawn.

Life if good!

The amazing Green sea turtle crawl!

I was not very excited to wake up at 4:15 this morning to the sound of wind howling across the chimney and sheets of rain hitting the bedroom window.   Luckily the rain had let up by the time I got to Opal Beach and what an awesome patrol it turned out to be!  Not only did I discover my sixth sea turtle nest of the season, but it turned out to be that of a Green!  It's the first Green sea turtle nest I've ever found!

The mama turtle's crawl was 41" wide and what a path she made!  There were two body pits (eggs were found in the second pit), and there were three loops where she became disoriented afterward, as she tried to make her way back into the Gulf of Mexico.  Considering she probably weighed 300 lbs or more, you can imagine how tired this poor mama sea turtle must have been by the time she made her way back into the sea.

By the way, this is the sixth Green sea turtle nest of 2011 season (out of the total 75 nests to date).  So far, all of the Greens have nested in the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore.

The Black Skimmer chicks at Santa Rosa are getting bigger and exploring the area around their nest. When I videotaped them yesterday morning, Mom and Dad Skimmer where 'changing shifts'.  One of them needed a break from those cheep-cheep-cheeping youngsters and walked away!  You see the other parent, complete with bed-head, heading toward the nest for their turn after the first one walks away.  The chicks aren't sure which one they want to follow.

Yesterday was the last day I'm scheduled to sub on a Santa Rosa patrol until July, so these little chicks may have fledged and gone when I return.

Ft. Pickens is my regular patrol area. Each section, Ft. Pickens and Santa Rosa, is special in its own way. Santa Rosa has many more Black Skimmer colonies. Ft. Pickens has more Osprey and Great Blue Herons, plus the old fort. I also enjoy watching the charter and fishing boats heading into the Gulf of Mexico through Pensacola Pass when I patrol Ft. Pickens, but no matter where I'm at, it's a beautiful day at the beach!

Keep 'em coming!

I did a happy dance this morning when I discovered my second sea turtle nest of the week. This loggerhead was all business! She came straight up on the beach, nested, and headed straight back into the Gulf.

The body pit, which is very evident in this photo, was 6' 7" across.

To give you some sense of scale, the width of her track was 37" wide.

I immediately called the bio-techs to alert them I'd found another nest. I wasn't sure if it would need to be relocated. Then I posted a sign and then headed off to complete the rest of my patrol just in case there were other nests or false crawls.

By the time I returned to work on the nest (measurements, staking, reporting), bio-techs Rebecca Carruth and Toby Singleton arrived to assess the situation, along with volunteer Emily Kennedy. Rebecca was a welcome sight on Sunday when my Ft. Pickens nest had to be relocated.

Even though the decision was made to leave the nest "in situ" - it's original location - Rebecca digs down to locate the egg chamber itself so that it can be GPS'd. She then replaces the sand and leaves a light hand print for reference when they return with the GPS equipment.

The whole team of Bio-techs and volunteers are thrilled with the number of nests we've had so far this year - and we haven't even gotten into the peak of our season! But we realize there will be a lot of sleepless night in a couple of months when all these nests start hatching!

Measurements taken, nest roped off, reporting completed on SR 6081. Time to head home.

Life is good!

The 'Super Moon'

What a beautiful moon tonight. I drove east into the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore to find a more quiet place to photograph the event which NASA referred to as a "super 'perigee' moon".

It was simply splendid!!

Santa Rosa Turtle Patrol - 8/4/10

I enjoy opportunities to sub for other sea turtle patrollers in the Santa Rosa Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore because of the Black Skimmer colonies they have there, unlike my regular Ft. Pickens patrol area.

This time of the year I am usually treated to sights of tiny Skimmer chicks like this one. They are adorable - though I admit they are in the category of "so ugly they are cute."

Unlike plover chicks who could probably hold their own racing with a Roadrunner, Skimmer chicks sort of waddle along.

Two protective parents looking after their chick.

An adult Black Skimmer (in the background) feeding along the shoreline with a juvenile.


You can distinguish juvenile Black Skimmers from adults by the checked markings of their wings and the basal side of their bill which has not fully developed its bright orangy-red color.

Cooling off and shaking it out!

Ahhhhhhh..........

Opal Beach at sunrise

There was a beautiful sunrise at Opal Beach this morning!

Gulf Islands National Seashore

What a fabulous evening on the beach! This photo was taken less than an hour ago within the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore which borders the east side of Pensacola Beach.

I drove out to set a screen on a sea turtle nest and saw several weddings setting up at walkovers along the way. It's a beautiful, dramatic evening for a wedding on the beach! Cumulonimbus clouds are building high in the west and storms edge the horizon of the Gulf.