Life's a 'Vette at the Beach

There were so many activities on the beach this weekend that it was hard to fit everything in!  One of the big events which helped fill Casino Beach parking lot was the Corvette show, Life's a 'Vette at the Beach, which just celebrated its fourth year on Pensacola Beach.  

Hosted by the Miracle Strip Corvette Club of Pensacola, this show seems to be getting bigger and better each time.  This year there were over 185 amazing Corvettes on display.  You may click on any photo to see a larger image.

Leave only your footprints behind

Yesterday was Coastal Clean-up Day.  Volunteers along the Panhandle turned out to pick up trash on our beaches.  This little shore bird wants to extend its thanks for everyone who helped make our environment just a little bit better and our beaches just a little more beautiful.
The smaller birds were very appreciative of footsteps left behind and took full advantage of them during the gusty weather at Ft. Pickens early this morning.

Great Blue Heron

One of the joys of patroling at Ft. Pickens is the number of Great Blue Herons I get to observe. 

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!

Moving forward

Tropical Storm Lee had me pretty bummed out when I saw how our remaining sea turtle nests were being battered by high surf and buried deeper with sand.  I didn't know how many would be left.

Yesterday was the first day we resumed patrols at Ft. Pickens after the road reopened and I was anxious to see how it looked. 

I was sad to see the nest I discovered on July 17th was marked 'LOST'.  

I even (accidentally) sacrificed my beloved Droid for this nest in the torrential downpour that morning when the pocket where I had it stashed filled with water.  Come to think of it, I think our bio-tech, Toby Stapleton fried his phone the same way that morning in another area.

This in situ nest (natural/not relocated) was a reasonable way from the water when it was laid, but is quite close now. 

Luckily, the mama loggerhead had climbed a fairly steep berm to nest, so this site escaped the worst of the waves.  Unfortunately, you can see that it ended up with about two feet of extra sand on top of it and these little fellows will need some help digging out.

Six unhatched sea turtle nests  remained at Ft. Pickens when Tropical Storm Lee shut us down.  Of those, two were lost.  We are hopeful the other four will hatch with little or no ill effects. 

This nest with the extreme sand accretion, FP 7281, was discovered by Volunteer Connie Mickle and appears to be the last next one for this season at Ft. Pickens.

FP 7251, a relocated nest, holds 84 loggerhead eggs, and escaped no worse for wear.  The number of eggs is slightly lower than usual.  Many of our nests contain 100 or more eggs.  

A photo of Ft. Pickens Road on the way out of the park.  Sand was piled over head-high on each side of the road.   Not surprising since it was reported that sand was 2 ft. to 4 ft. deep over certain areas of the road.

I feel more upbeat after a couple of days patrol.  Tomorrow morning I'll be patroling at Santa Rosa and I'm anxious to see it for myself as well.  I was very grateful to hear from our Bio-Tech Toby Stapleton that my Green nest made it through!  Expect photos tomorrow!!!

Florida Brown Pelican

What a joy to catch a snippet of a Brown Pelican during patrol this morning!  These birds are so shy that I can never get near enough to get a good photo of them.  I was quite pleased to catch this fellow unaware!

High Surf on Pensacola Beach

Taken from my friend's condo on the 19th floor of Tower One at Portofino, you can see how the Gulf of Mexico is churning. You can imagine how large the waves appear at ground level.

Tropical Storm Lee - Monday morning

Things only got worse overnight on the island with multiple watches, warnings, and advisories: Tornado, High Surf, High Wind, Coastal Flood, Rip Currents ... and that's just in our area.

Obviously I won't be going over to the beach, so I took this video on our upper deck.

News Release from National Park Service

Gulf Islands National Seashore Announces Temporary Closure of the J. Earle Bowden Way (SR 399)


Due to flooding caused by Tropical Storm Lee’s heavy rains and high surf and sand on the roadways, Gulf Islands National Seashore will temporarily close the Santa Rosa Area including the J. Earle Bowden Way between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach on SR 399. Once the storm has passed and the sand is removed, the Seashore will reopen the road. This closure is in addition to the closures for the Fort Pickens Road and the section of the Perdido Key Road from the main parking lot east to the cul-de-sac. The Naval Live Oaks Area on U. S. Highway 98 in Gulf Breeze and the Fort Barrancas Area on board Naval Air Station Pensacola are open. Double red flag conditions remain in effect and visitors should stay out of the water. The park staff is currently assessing all beach road conditions to determine when they can be reopened. For more information please contact the Naval Live Oaks Visitor Center at 850-934-2600 and the Fort Pickens Road hotline number at 850-934-2656.

Sea turtle nest PB-7121

It's difficult to stay out on the beach for very long, not just because of rain, but gusty wind and blowing sand. This is what remains of our nest enclosure at PB 7121, west of Portofino.

Tropical Storm Lee - Highway 399

I was heading out to check on some of our Santa Rosa sea turtle nests this morning, but had to turn around just before the Welcome to Pensacola Beach sign. If you look closely you can see two frontloaders in the distance working to clear sand from the road.

I've been told that Ft. Pickens Road within Gulf Islands National Seashore has been closed and may stay so for a few days. Some areas of the road are covered by water and other by approximately 4 feet of sand.

TS Lee'ward

I think we can appropriately say this lady is looking Lee'ward, even if she is on the windward side!

Peggy's Pensacola Dream

I enjoy hearing and reading about other people fulfilling their dream of moving to our own little paradise. I know how exciting it is when that dream finally comes true.  I just discovered a new blogger who recently relocated to Pensacola, so I thought I'd share her site with my readers.  Please drop in to check out Peggy's Pensacola Dream, give her encouragement, and welcome her into the fold!

Tropical Storm Lee at Pensacola Beach - Saturday morning

Although the surf was up just a little more this morning from yesterday afternoon, the wind definitely seemed higher.  I will try to get the battery replaced in my small, hand-held wind speed gauge this afternoon so I can use it next time I go out.

PB 7121, which is a loggerhead nest, took on quite a bit of water during the night. If you compare the video from yesterday afternoon to this morning's you can see that it has resulted in the accumulation of several additional inches of sand top of the nest. The whole area is also littered with jellyfish.

There's always one....or two

Believe it or not, a couple of these men were actually waist deep in the water yesterday afternoon. The young lifeguard who was patroling the beach stopped to talk to them and ask them to stay out of the high surf with its dangerous rip tides.   [Note the rescue can buoy in his hand as a precaution.]

I'm still amazed at the foolishness of people sometimes. 

Tropical Storm Lee

The surf was getting higher on Friday afternoon as Tropical Storm Lee affected Pensacola Beach. A personal weather station on the island reported a gust at 43 mph today, but I think winds are sustained around 16-20 mph this evening.

Tropical Storm Lee

Tropical Storm Lee is already taking its toll on our sea turtle nests.  I was checking one of the Pensacola Beach nests this afternoon when the waves starting washing across it.  It will almost surely be washed out tonight since we still have several hours until high tide (3 a.m., I believe).

We've all been so happy at the boom of sea turtle nests we've had this year, but we hate to lose even one.

Invest 93

Invest 93 is just beginning to enter the Gulf of Mexico, but surface winds are already kicking up the surf.  You can see how fast the wave are rushing to shore.  Current wind gusts tonight are around 22 mph.  Another 5 mph or so and it will be time to break out the long pants to avoid being sandblasted.

Hopefully this is not something which will affect our remaining sea turtle nests, but the Ft. Pickens nest I was screening tonight was only 36 ft. from the waterline when I left.  If the waves (and tides) get higher, it could be a problem.

SPLASH!

The Mystic Krewe of Nereids held their annual Splash! party at Paradise this past weekend.

Splash! is a fundraiser for the Mystic Krewe of Nereids and part of the proceeds from this event go for breast cancer awareness, a cause which is very important to this all-female krewe.

We love our Mer-Ducks! You did notice these were not your average ducks, right?

Surely you're familiar with the Flip-Flop fling.

The dunking booth is a big favorite at Splash!

Choose your water-weapon! 

Ladies checked out the sunhats and pins available at the Krewe of Nereids tent.

That's right, Sissy.  Take 'em down!  Show no mercy!

Some fabulous bathing beauties in their vintage swimwear.

Morrie Drees raking in the money for the Nereids at dunking booth!

Lovely little Alana is stylin' again this year even when she's learning to fish.  She's a mermaid-in-training.

Melanie Waite, Carleen Wheeler, and Bobbie Cunningham found a temporary dry spot to hide out.  Never expect to stay dry at a Splash! party.

The Terminator!

The Nereids have lots of games available for the kids at Splash! and make sure they have a great time too.

Cownose Rays

Schools of Cownose Rays were all along the shoreline yesterday morning at Ft. Pickens.  At first I saw some movement from the corner of my eye and thought it was a shark feeding, but then realized it was the wingtip of a ray. They move fast, but I was able to get ahead of them and get just a few seconds of video

This might be a good time to check out the Pensacola Beach pier and perhaps spot them from that vantage point.  It's really amazing to see them gliding through the water, especially if you're lucky enough to see a larger school.

The lumbering loon

[You may double-click on the video above to watch it full screen and prevent the cut-off on the right. Afterward, click ESC on your keyboard to go back to normal viewing]

I've had a few calls and e-mails in the past month from people concerned about injured birds on the beach. So far, without exception, I've learned that the bird in question has been a common loon which came ashore to rest.

Yesterday I finally managed to capture a bit of video showing a Common Loon stumbling and lumbering its way back toward the water. Once you watch this you will understand why folks would think the loon has a leg or wing injury, when actually their legs are set back so far on their body that they can only manage to wobble about on land.

In the water, loons are very strong swimmers and divers. They also have four basic calls, which you may listen to by clicking HERE.   Mostly what I hear from the Common Loons on the beach are the beautiful 'Wail' and the 'Tremolo', the Wail being my favorite.

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!

A Sunset for Andrew

After driving to the Point (the western tip of Santa Rosa Island where the old fort is located)  to screen a sea turtle nest a couple evenings ago, I stopped to watch the sun slowly sink into the horizon over Perdido Key and Pensacola Pass. 

It made me think of our friend Andrew Diller who left Pensacola for the Washington D.C./Arlington, Virginia area just last week, and how much we are going to miss him.  Andrew was the Florida Sea Grant Marine Extension Agent for the Escambia County Extension Service.  He is a marine biologist and was also one of our very dependable sea turtle patrolers at Perdido Key. 

Even more important was the major role Andrew took in educating the public on how beach lighting impacts our sea turtles and their nesting.  He helped with workshops which offered lighting options to beach residents and worked with condominium homeowners associations.  It was through his guidance, with the assistance of Jim Cox and Lois Hausman, that one of our larger complexes, Portofino Island Resort, retrofitted parking garage lights in all five of their towers with 'turtle-friendly' amber bulbs, as well as changing their balcony lighting from bright white to amber. 

Next time you are on the beach, note the difference in the lighting at hotels and condominiums which have the new turtle friendly lighting and those which still use bright white light.  It's an amazing contrast and you will be able to see we still have a long way to go in regard to changes. 

Our sea turtle conservation efforts may actually be paying off, however.  After several years of dwindling numbers, we are having record high numbers of sea turtle nests this year, and hope this is the new trend. The Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore has 23 nests, Ft. Pickens area has 17, Perdido Key area has almost 30, but Pensacola Beach itself has only 12 sea turtle nests - another example of how lighting impacts sea turtles which are scouting out darker areas of beach to come ashore and nest.

So, Andrew, this sunset is for you, in addition to many thanks for your amazing contribution to our beautiful beaches.   Hopefully anyone who reads this will make their own contribution toward turtle-friendly lighting on the beach by clicking HERE to read more about the subject and implementing changes of your own.  You may also want to read another informative article which was written by my supervisor, Mark Nicholas, Head Biologist for the Florida District of Gulf Islands National Seashore:  "Light Pollution and Marine Turtle Hatchlings".

[Andrew, I'll also give you a laugh by telling you I was standing in the surf and it was washing the sand out from under me as I was taping the sunset, hence the occasional jerky moves on a tribute to you which I meant to be much more moving. ;-)]

Osprey at Ft. Pickens

One of the great things about patroling at Ft. Pickens in the summer is being able to observe osprey.  Many of the tall pine trees which died in the aftermath of Hurricane Ivan have had their bleak skeletons claimed as prime nest sites by both osprey and herons in this area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. 

As much as I enjoy watching osprey, I rarely have an opportunity to photograph or get video of them.  On the occasion I do, the quality is not the best because not only am I a distance from them, they are usually flying and I'm driving a UTV!  Not prime conditions to capture a moving target with my camera.

Last Sunday, however, I did manage to get a small amount of footage of an adult osprey taking a break from fishing and resting on a long piece of driftwood.   He even ruffled his feathers for me once!  Also note the dragonflies darting about at the beginning.

Observation Tower at Ft. Pickens

Unfortunately the Observation Tower at Battery 234 in the Ft. Pickens area of Gulf Islands National Seashore is now closed to the public.  But, it still looks lovely at sunrise from my vantage point.

June Grass

June grass has made an appearance again.  For the last couple of years it seems to have been washing ashore later in the summer.  [Click HERE to see photos of the thick mats we experienced late summer 2010 at Langdon Beach.] 

June grass is actually a species of algae called Cladaphora, which doesn't look so bad on the beach from a distance, and when there is only a small amount of it.  It looks a bit like someone threw out a bucket full of lime jello!  As it becomes thicker, however, and accumulates, it begins to look more like pea soup washing up, and smells about as bad.  (My apology to those who thoroughly enjoy split-pea soup) 

We have been lucky not to have as much of it as they are experiencing to the west of us, in places like Walton County.   The good part is that generally you can move a half mile or so down the beach and not see any evidence of it. 

We never know how long the June grass will be with us, sometimes a couple of weeks, sometimes longer.  It seems to work its way all along the Gulf Coast eventually.  It may be a nuisance, but it isn't harmful.  A north wind can come along and push it offshore, so you never know if or when you may see it in the water this time of year.  It could be gone tomorrow.  It's just one of those interesting events we deal with on the island.

Best storm photo

I received permission from Dave Holifield to share this incredible photo he took at Bands on the Beach Tuesday evening.  I thought it was the best of all the storm photos which were taken that night not only because the location is so easily identifiable with the iconic Pensacola Beach water tower and the Casino Beach pavilion in the background, but it puts the viewer right in the middle of the action.  The freakish storm has caught the crowd off guard.  It truly did sweep across us rapidly.  

Thank you for sharing your photo, Dave!

Stormy weather

Now that nests are hatching, I seem to be on the beach every night either screening or nest-sitting.  Last night I had three to check on at Ft. Pickens and thought I had plenty of time to complete my rounds after watching the weather and double-checking the radar. 

This system, however, was not the normal variety and swept across the island with a vengeance.  I pushed the pedal to the metal on my old UTV as I hightailed it from just east of the Point, trying to get back to the Ranger Station at Ft. Pickens as the lightning came closer and closer.  The sky would have made any Hollywood producer very proud!

I made it to my own vehicle and headed out of the Park as the front descended, stopping long enough to get this photo.  The sky turned black as midnight as clouds descended like a giant alien spaceship.  

I'll take a little less drama in the future, thank you very much!