Amanda's special patrol

Sea turtle patrolers never know what the day will bring for them.  Sometimes it's fair weather, soft breezes, and lots of birds to watch while we make our trek down the beach, scouting for sea turtle tracks which may lead us to a new nest.  But, we aren't always so lucky, and yesterday morning, Amanda, who patrols the Santa Rosa area on Mondays, woke up to thunder, lightning, and rain.

Amanda was scheduled to stop and remove screens off of three nests before beginning her patrol.  Considering the amount of lightning, it was a rather harrowing task to run from her car, out to the beach, and set each screen aside.  The beach is not a safe place to be during a storm and sometimes we just have to wait it out!

After Amanda was able to begin her patrol, she realized that she had forgotten to remove one of the screens from a nest she checked.  Fear will do that do a girl! ;-)  So she focused on completing the east side of her patrol and hurried back to take care of SR 6021, the nest still screened, before the sun popped out and clouds cleared.  Sun and heat can quickly put hatchlings in a state of distress, which is why it is so important for us to monitor a nest carefully.

Since hatchlings had actually emerged from SR 6021 the night before, it was very possible a few stragglers were going to make their way out in the next couple of days.   And, upon Amanda's arrival back at the nest, probably half an hour from the time she had checked it earlier, two little hatchlings had indeed surfaced and were impatiently awaiting to be set free. 

Amanda quickly pulled the screen, put the hatchlings in her tote, and carried them down to an area about 15 ft from the water.   But, suddenly the hatchlings spied the rough surf and seemed to say to themselves, "Yikes! Those are some big waves", whereupon they did a U-turn, and crawled right back toward her! 

Amanda kept turning the hatchlings back toward the Gulf, but finally had to move them closer to the water.  The damp sand seemed to finally trigger the appropriate response and they quickly made a bee-line for the surf and swam into the frothy waves.

Amanda stayed to check and recheck the beach, making sure the little guys weren't washed back ashore and grabbed by predators like ghost crabs - who always seem to be waiting for a tasty hatchling snack.  (Arrrrghhhhh, bad crabs!)  She then said a farewell to the tiny turtles she had named Stormy and Skye due to the stormy morning on which they made their appearance  (yes, some of us do bestow names on the scouts and stragglers) and wished them luck on their journey.

Congratulations, Amanda!  Job well done!

Amanda's story is dedicated to Ryan, his sister, Alli, and cousins Marin and Nathan in Minnesota; Jake and his brothers in Iowa, Claire in Alabama; Meagan and Lauren in Louisiana; Gavin and his little sister Sophie in Michigan,  and all my other young blog followers who love our sea turtles and spend their time on the beach learning more about them, as well as helping to keep our beaches clean while they are here!  It is through their enthusiasm for sea turtle conservation that these endangered marine creatures may survive!

[Photos by Amanda Moomey]

When Pigs Fly

My sister-in-law JoAnn visited recently and she never comes empty-handed. She always pulls out some unique gift which she's found in an out-of-the-way shop - or perhaps an out-of-the-way aisle in a department store where treasures are buried behind a stack of pillows, rugs or pottery.   I was completely enchanted with this little watering can she presented me!  I still stop to admire it every day!

If you had told me when I was a little girl that I would be living in this paradise, it would have seemed like an impossible dream...sorta like "when pigs fly..." Now I can look at this little fellow, chuckle a bit, and say, "Yes, they do!"

Sandcastles

The beautiful sandcastle I photographed on the beach yesterday morning is probably gone today, but I love discovering them and appreciate the work people put into building them.   It always puts a smile on my face.

Take time to enjoy the beach, build a sandcastle of your own, lay on your back and look for funny animal shapes in the clouds.  Relax.  Take a deep breath.  Listen to the surf.  There will always be deadlines and shopping lists and commitments in one form or another, but a postcard I once had proclaimed, "You'll never look back and wish you had spent more time at the office." 

"Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."

~~ Mark Twain (Samuel Langhorne Clemons)

The Sea Turtle Nest

If you look closely, you can see a sea turtle nest discretely tucked away in the dunes and the tracks of a UTV going past it. Each morning the patroler on duty will stop at every nest in their area to check for signs of predation. It's fairly common to find ghost crab holes around or near nests and a patroler will quickly fill them in. Ghost crabs are one of the worst predators of our sea turtle nests.

After 50 days or so gestation, patrolers will begin listening to a nest for sounds of scratching by placing their ear to the sand near the egg chamber.  Don't worry, we put a towel or sheet down first!  It can be a bit funny when tourists happen by and are concerned we've passed out or gone to sleep on the job.  Believe me, nearly every patroler has such a story.

It's hard to miss the sound of hatchlings digging their way to the surface!   And, as the sound gets louder, we know the hatchlings are close to emerging.  Once they become active, the nest starts being screened and supervised during the night. 

Several hours before hatchlings emerge we will see evidence of a 'cone' - a small depression in the sand immediately above the egg chamber.  When we see coning, we go on high alert.   Bio-techs and volunteers are almost always present to help the hatchlings make their way into the Gulf of Mexico and protect them from disorientation (heading away from the water and toward areas of light pollution) and predators.

This is turning out to be a record breaking year for sea turtles nests in our area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. After years during which the numbers of nests have steadily dwindled, and especially coming on the heels of the oil spill which was devastating to us last year, this has generated so much excitement for the Park and for all those who have a passion for these endangered marine creatures.

The big-eyed cutie!

I finally managed to get a photo of this young, big-eyed cutie which I've been seeing in the Ft. Pickens area of Gulf Island National Seashore. Does anyone out there know what it is? Actually, I had to verify it with one of our former bio-techs, but it is a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron.

If you'd like to see what this juvenile night heron will look like as an adult, click HERE.

Gulf Islands National Seashore

How blessed we are to live in such a beautiful part of the country.   Pensacola Beach is flanked on both sides by the Gulf Islands National Seashore.

Sea oats in silhouette

The golden sea oats were only a silhouette tonight as Mother Nature slashed my initial across the sky. ;-)  What?  You can't see the 'Z'????

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.

Why do fish jump?

It was a gorgeous day at Ft. Pickens -- except for about half an hour when the skies grew dark as a rain cloud passed over and drenched me!  That's partially why the video is jerking around - I'm beginning to feel the first drops and scanning the sky around me, but I wanted to capture the moment.

As you can see in the video clip, fish were jumping all over in the surf, either having a great time or trying to escape larger fish feeding on them.  It was driving the Laughing Gulls crazy.

There was a lot bird activity to enjoy throughout the patrol: sea gulls, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Plovers, Least Terns, Black Terns (who appear to still be migrating), and Willet.   Coupled with the fact I found a Loggerhead nest and a false crawl, I'd say life is good!

Common Loon

It was almost two months into the 2011 sea turtle season (which started the first of May) before I saw Common Loons resting on the beach again. Prior to that it was 2009 when I observed them or heard them calling before dawn as I readied my vehicle for patrol.

I'm not sure why they weren't around last year. The easy answer is that they were affected by the oil spill in some way, possibly just by the number of people on the beach helping with the clean up.  Whatever the case, it is great to see and hear them again.

Loons are excellent swimmers and divers, but their legs are located farther back on their bodies than most birds and it makes them very awkward on land. If you see one struggling on shore or trying to get back in the water, don't assume they are injured, just quietly leave the area. Remember, when I get these pictures or video on patrol, I am quite a distance away and it is our purpose to complete our patrols with as little impact on wildlife as possible.

Breakfast with the Black Skimmers

There are all kinds of captions one could use for this video clip I took during sea turtle patrol this morning, starting with "I can't believe I ate the whole thing".   Poor little Black Skimmer fledgling finally just sidled away behind the dune to finish his fish in peace.

Sunrise at Navarre Beach

"We can only appreciate the miracle of a sunrise if we have waited in the darkness."

~~ Author Unknown

Herons at Nest FP-6111

Sea turtle patrolers can count on finding something unique on the beach nearly every time we go out.  Sometimes it will be sea creatures we can't identify or interesting bird behavior (as shown below).  Sometimes it's curious things which have washed up on shore. 

This summer, for instance, I've see considerably more logs, driftwood, and large splintered pieces of wood along the beach both on Ft. Pickens and Santa Rosa, probably originating from storm damage hundreds of miles from us.

There are also times when nests get washed over during a high tide.  Wood and sargassum littered a large area around nest FP-6111, intriguing a family of herons who decided to swoop in to investigate.  I hated to interrupt them, but after a couple of minutes I had to push past to complete my patrol.

For Justin

"Let the wind carry you home,
Blackbird, fly away.
May you never be broken again.

"Beyond the suffering you've known,
I hope you find your way.
May you never be broken again."

~~ Blackbird, Altered Bridge

Justin was the son of a friend in Tennessee, a beautiful young man who was badly injured in a car accident late last year and has been in a coma since that time.  After overcoming many obstacles throughout these past months, Justin passed on last night and hearts are heavy at the loss for his family and the many friends who stayed by his side, hoping he'd be able to return to them one day. 

Blue Angels over Pensacola Beach

It certainly has been a busy couple of weeks with family visiting, the Fourth of July celebration, and the Blue Angels Air Show on Pensacola Beach. It has been great to see crowds back at the beach, helping local business owners make it a profitable year, and trolley stops being put to good use as people save a little gas by taking advantage of free rides.

I've taken time to catch my breath, had a little quiet time while I cleaned the house and worked in the yard, plus check out and download  photos and video I've taken recently.

There are tons of great photos on the web and on Facebook of the Blue Angels performing over the beach, so I'm just going to share a few video clips I took of Team RV, Fat Albert, and the Blue Angels performance so you can get a taste of the excitement last weekend. Our thanks to Mike and Chrissy Cook who invited us to attend their Blue Angels party and family reunion! Chrissy is a wonderful hostess!


Fat Albert



Here comes Fat Albert again!


Blue Angels


How cool is this!!


Team RV in their brightly colored planes.

Glorious Day

"And now, this is the sweetest and most glorious day that ever my eyes did see."

~~ Donald Cargill (1619 - 1681)

Grand Show

"This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on seas and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls."

~~ John Muir (1838-1914) John of the Mountains: The Unpublished Journals of John Muir

Happy Birthday, America!

Happy Birthday, America! I just watched fireworks taking place all over our island - east from my balcony and west from my windows.  It was an amazing display. 

On our 235th birthday, I would challenge my blog followers to take a few minutes and read something very precious to our country, but so easy to take for granted: our Declaration of Independence. 

Happy Fourth of July

Happy Fourth of July from my paradise to yours!

Sunrise

Sunrises and sunsets are always beautiful at the beach, but they are more dramatic recently due to the wildfires we are currently experiencing near our area.  It's a bit more difficult to appreciate their beauty when you discover it's because sunlight is passing through a light haze of smoke.

For a look at the number of wildfires we are currently experiencing in Florida, click HERE. 

Drought conditions for our area of the Southeast are at the highest level, D4/Exceptional Drought. 

False crawls!

Shortly after sunrise this morning I came across my first false crawl. It was a little west of Marker E...

Less than ten minutes later I came across my second false crawl, almost a condensed version of the first. It was located about a quarter of a mile farther east, on the east side of Marker E...

And less than ten minutes later I came across my THIRD false crawl approximately another quarter of a mile east, which put it between Marker E and D.








I've never found three false crawls during one patrol. And, what made it even more interesting is that when I took measurements of each crawl width, I discovered the crawls were made by three different sea turtles.

One track was 36" wide; one was 37" wide; and one was 38" wide. Also, the track patterns themselves were different. Tracks may have a unique pattern if there has been an injury to a flipper or if barnacles are present on the plastron (belly) of the sea turtle.

Although I did not discover an actual nest today, it's still fun to know they will try again within the next day or so and hopefully be more successful!

A New Day

Sometimes the only thing that will help is a new day.

Little spouts!

For about an hour this morning, during the earlier portion of my patrol, I watched funnel clouds dropping down here and there from a long line of rain clouds in the Gulf of Mexico.  I was hoping I might be able to capture a photo or video of one as it  made contact with the Gulf and started sucking water up into the funnel, but none progressed to that point.

Dark clouds started on the southwest horizon and crossed the island diagonally to the northeast.  I managed to stay behind the system, but could see heavy downpours in the Gulf.   Waterspouts are intriguing to watch, but can wreak havoc if they come ashore.  Which ever way they head, you should head the other direction!  Remember, simply put, waterspouts are are tornadoes which occur over water.

FP 6191

A Fathers Day gift for all you sea turtle lovers out there!  I found this nest at Ft. Pickens shortly before 6 a.m. this morning near Marker E...hence it is tagged as FP 6191 (Ft. Pickens - June 19 - 1st nest discovered on this day in this area)   My measurements showed it was a good sized Loggerhead with a 38" crawl.  Unfortunately, the nest was too near the water and had to be relocated, during which time we discovered there were 129 eggs! 

My thanks to Bio-techs Toby Singleton and Lauren Quinn for coming out to relocate the nest.

This is the 3th nest I've found this year; the 9th for Ft. Pickens; and the 29th for the entire area from Santa Rosa to Perdido Key!  What an amazing year!

The Great Blue Heron and the ray

Sometimes when I get busy, I forget about photos or video I've taken during patrol and wanted to share with you. This short video clip shows the Great Blue Heron I posted about on Sunday, walking around with just a bit too much breakfast to handle.

The biting flies have been out recently.  That generally happens when the wind blows out of the north, so when you see the picture jerk up and down and make a weird noise, it's because the flies were biting my ankles as I crawled nearer to the heron on my elbows and knees. I was trying to scrape/shrug them off of me!

The way I see it, even the Garden of Eden had a snake, so pests are to be expected in our little paradise, too.

Snowy Plover chicks

Gulf Islands National Seashore is full of these adorable Snowy Plover chicks.  Right out of their nests, they could probably outrun the average person!

Freaky storm

A freaky storm blew up this evening. Unfortunately I felt I had to document it and cranked open the window for a better shot.

Suddenly the wind ripped the window off its hinges and sent it flying into the driveway. Glass is now scattered everywhere.

It took a while for us to get plastic [read: garbage bags] taped into place because the wind and rain kept trying to rip it out of our hands as the rain poured into the dining room.

Now how do we explain this to the insurance agent?

What's for breakfast

Looks like this Great Blue Heron will be having a ray for breakfast, but it also looks like it bit off more than it could chew!

King of the Sea

King Poseidon, a/k/a Morrie Drees is also the king of surfing!  Morrie just finished his last day of surf camp and gets a gold star from all his friends, plus all kinds of other goodies from Innerlight who sponsors a surf camp each week during the summer!  

Morrie puts the rest of us to shame when we think we can't do something because of our age.  He will turn 80 this year and has more stamina than those half his age!  Age is only a number!

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 Turnstone and the Crab

A Ruddy Turnstone and a ghost crab face off over a fish.

Black Skimmers

A tiny Black Skimmer chick ventures to the top of the nest to look around at the rest of the colony which is full of nesting mamas right now.

Turtle Alert!!!

What a fantastic morning! I discovered a sea turtle crawl at Ft. Pickens and the mama turtle appeared to have nested.  We know that it was  a female coming ashore to nest because males never return to land after they have hatched and entered the water.

Unfortunately the nest was laid not far from the water and had to be relocated.  At the time I discovered it, the nest was 20' from the water line, right in the middle of the wrack line.   By the time the nest was excavated, it was 7' from the water line!  Timing is very important when it comes to moving a nest, especially one this low.

The crawl pattern was a bit difficult to dicipher, but I'm leaning toward a loggerhead even though the tracks looked pretty symmetrical.  A loggerhead has an alternating track.  A Green sea turtle has a symmetrical track, but displays a tail drag (unlike what is pictured here).

Another clue is that a loggerhead came ashore to nest on on May 19th, two and a half weeks ago.  Sea turtles skip years to nest, but in the year they are active they will come ashore every couple of weeks to lay a new nest. Consequently this could possibly be the same turtle that nested on May 19th!

Since sea turtles are a threatened or endangered species, volunteers may now only assist to a certain degree when it comes to an excavation and relocation. Bio-tech Rebecca Carruth came straight from her own patrol at Santa Rosa to help me and began to assess the situation.

We carefully dug down through the sand until we reached the eggs (Rebecca was right on the money when guessing where the eggs were deposited!). Sand from the nest was added to the bottom of our container and the eggs were gently lifted from the nest with as little movement as possible, taking care to avoid any rotation of the egg itself.

A close up of sea turtle eggs. They look exactly like ping-pong balls, don't they? And they appeared to be about the same size.

Rebecca lays the eggs in rows of 10, careful to keep them in order. The eggs will be placed in their new nest, created by Rebecca, about 150 feet north of the current location. They will also be placed in the nest in the exact same order they were removed from the original nest so that the bottom eggs will still be on the bottom and the top eggs will remain on top.

Approximately 60 days from now we should have ninety-nine tiny hatchlings emerge from this nest. We will be there to help them into the Gulf of Mexico and try to increase their rate of survival in the meantime by carefully monitoring the nest each day for any signs of predation, such as ghost crabs or other island critters such as raccoons, fox, opposum, and coyotes.

Life is good!!!

Quit hangin' 'round with me

The terns have had just about enough of this crab near their nest!

Black Skimmer with chicks

This photo was taken on June 1 within the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore.  If you click to enlarge the photo, you may be able to see the tiny beak and eyes peering out from under mama Skimmer's wing (to your right).

Just three days later I captured photos of the same nest with the chicks venturing out.  The daddy Skimmer guards his family and warns other birds to stay clear.

Black Skimmer chicks almost look cartoonish when they start toddling around.  Their body looks a little out of proportion to their head.

But they are such beautiful, graceful birds as adults, especially when you observe them feeding along the water's edge.

Paddleboarding

Paddleboarding is becoming very popular in our area and even if you aren't a participant, it is very enjoyable just to observe.

Those Tootling Terns

Needless to say, I love watching the tiny Least Tern chicks run around the beach and this is the music I hear in my head as they go tootling along.

Baby, baby!!!

I barely had time to get my camera out and capture a few frames of video before this little Least Tern chick outran me. Isn't it adorable?

This is a wondrous time of the year within Gulf Islands National Seashore with all the nests, chicks and fledglings.  And I'll be sharing as much as possible of the special discoveries on my patrol with my blog followers!

Memorial Day at Barrancas National Cemetery

Memorial Day at Barrancas National Cemetery. Originally established as a U.S. Navy cemetery in 1838, but in 1868 Barrancas was officially proclaimed a National Cemetery.

"...No impious footstep here shall tread
The herbage of your grave;
Nor shall your glory be forgot
While Fame her record keeps,
For honor points the hallowed spot
Where valor proudly sleeps..."

Theodore O'Hara
Bivouac of the Dead , 1847

On May 5, 1868, John A. Logan, Commander in Chief, Grand Army of the Republic, issued General Orders No. 11 - The Memorial Day Order:

"If other eyes grow dull and other hinds slack, and other hearts cold in the solemn trust, ours shall keep it well as long as the light and warmth of life remain in us....

.

"It is the purpose of the Commander‑in‑Chief to inaugurate this observ­ance with the hope that it will be kept up from year to year, while a survivor of the war remains to honor the memory of his departed comrades."

You may click HERE to read the Order in its entirety.

To those who have served our country and to those who have fallen, we extend our gratitude and respect.

The Tern and the Crab

A stand-off occurs when a crab ventures too close to a tern's nest, causing  the bird to try several diversionary tactics.

"Get away, I say! Get away from my nest!"

Sunrise

A beautiful sunrise this morning over Bob Sikes bridge.

Come On and take a Free Ride!

"Come on and sit here by my side!  Come on and take a FREE RIDE!"

Yep, everyone on the beach can take a free ride starting Friday morning (tomorrow) when the Beach trolleys begin running from 11:00 a.m. 'til 11:00 p.m., seven days a week. 

Not only that, but at 11:00 a.m., May 27, the new trolley-tracker system will go online, allowing you to call in -- or text -- an automated system, enter the trolley stop number you plan to use, and find out the trolley's current location and approximate arrival time at your stop. 

To learn more, check out Trolley Times, a special edition Island Times, which gives you all the stop numbers and corresponding locations.  Then, tomorrow (after 11:00 a.m.) , you may call 850-602-9384 or text 41411 to "SRIA (and add your stop number)" to find out when the trolley will be stopping at your location!

Come on and take FREE RIDE!!!

Cruising past Ft. Pickens

I was very appreciative to have an opportunity to go on the Military Fishing Expedition last week. As we passed Ft. Pickens, rounded the island, and headed through Pensacola Pass into the Gulf of Mexico, I took some video of the old fort.  I'm especially fond of Ft. Pickens since it is the primary area I volunteer for sea turtle patrol.

Park Rangers give guided tours of the fort at 2 p.m. each day in the summer and they will tell you Santa Rosa Island is gradually shifting west. When you watch the video above, notice how far it is from the sea wall to the fort.

Now, click HERE to take a look at a drawing of Ft. Pickens done around 1861 and submitted to Harper's Weekly by a Mrs. Gilman, wife of Lieutenant Gilman, second in command at Ft. Pickens at that time.  It shows rough waters swirling around the fort itself - quite a difference from what we have today.

It is my belief that the seawall which now surrounds the fort was not built until sometime after the 'killer hurricane" of 1906.  On September 26/27, 1906, a hurricane hit the Pensacola area and reportedly resulted in a 10' storm surge which washed over the Ft. Pickens area and up to a 14' storm surge across the bay at Ft. McRae.   The storm resulted in much damage to both Ft. Pickens and Ft. McRae, as well as the navy yards.

Sea Turtle Patrol

Almost at the western tip of Santa Rosa Island - the Ft. Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore - I stopped to take a short video.  You can see across Pensacola Pass to the Naval Air Station, Pensacola Lighthouse, Big Lagoon, and Perdido Key.

[Note to blog readers:  At certain times of the day, server traffic can get heavy and the HD videos I plug into my blog may experience some hesitation.]