Shades of Blue, or Just Another Day in Paradise

Fall has definitely brought some beautiful weather to the Gulf Coast.



It's a little chilly in the morning for me, but who can really complain when this is the office?



Just check out all the shades of blue!



There is a little erosion in places, but that's normal this time of year... The gently sloping summer beach will return in time.



Can you see our last turtle nest by the sand fence? We hope it will hatch any day now.



The Blue Angels seem to be enjoying the fall as well.



What a thrill is must be to pilot those planes!

Birds Again!

Winter means birding at the beach, and there are lots of interesting species visiting.



Gulls, like this young Herring gull (HERG), grow more numerous as the chilly weather sets in. Several times a week, we do surveys divided between the south and north shores. Today was time for south shore surveys.



The south shore often has more common species here, though they can be quite beautiful, like this stalking little blue heron (LBHE).



The black bellied plovers (BBPL) were uncharacteristically bold while feeding today -- they must know the weather is predicted to cool down considerably tomorrow.



I never get tired of my RUTUs! Here, a RUTU seems to rule a roost of sanderlings. Not bad work for such a regal looking shorebird!

Opal Beach Birds -- There's More than Just a Flamingo!

The day dawned bright, clear and chilly for the biologists of Gulf Islands National Seashore. It was time for a bird survey on the south shore of the Santa Rosa area today.



There were the usual suspects -- sanderlings, willets, laughing gulls, and brown pelicans.



I had to peek at the north shore as well, to see how morning was going on the marsh.



The little blue herons and reddish egrets were together in one large flock,



though they did separate out.



Check out this feeding posture!

There were lots of piping plovers as well, hanging out about a mile east of Opal Beach. Yes, the flamingo was still there as well.



This is winter habitat for them, and the marshes are a great food source.



Sometimes, I think they come with just a little too much jewelry though.



That yellow flag has to hurt!

A Turtle-y Day

Today, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...



We had little loggerheads,



going for their first swims,



And stubborn little Kemp's,



refusing to crawl,



and some lovely Reddish Egrets as well...



There was even a banded PIPL (Piping plover).



Anyone recognize that banding pattern?

Drowning Eggs, Mystery Nests and Loco Boomerang

It's been quite a week at Gulf Islands National Seashore. I must admit, the lack of sleep and constant mini-crises where rather tough on my nerves. At times, I need a clone or another biologist!



The week started off well with the offshore release of Loco Boomerang, our sea turtle escapee from Galveston. I was very excited that we didn't see him again for over 24 hours... He's still swimming around in the Gulf as I wait for more advice from the NMFS Galveston lab. Guess I should take the time to call there, huh?



With so many nests due to hatch, most of the rest of the week was a whirlwind of listening for hatchlings, setting (and building) screens, nest sitting, nest assessments and hatchling releases.



I seem to always have a cooler of hatchlings with yolk sacs these days -- maybe 72 to 96 hours isn't long enough for all the hatchlings to emerge on their own...



There are still new nests as well.



This one on Perdido had a wandering crawl over half a mile long.



She also had some rather odd eggs -- there's another snowman egg and spacers here -- I really wish we saw the nesting mothers more often!



We had a few drowning nests as well. Since we have to wait til two weeks after a nest has been laid to move it, if we don't relocate it within 12 hours, we had to just watch these nests get closer and closer to the Gulf as first H. Dolly, then another storm front eroded over 35 feet of beach in less than two weeks...



While I was moving this precarious nest, I got a call about an unknown nest hatching on Perdido Key. I have no photos as visitors to the park escorted all the hatchlings to the Gulf.



It sounds like a Kemp's nest based on their descriptions, but I have to find the nest to be able to tell for certain. Having this photo of the two most common species this year together really helps! With all the recent rain and heavy foot traffic in that area of the park, I may not be able to locate the remaining hatchlings and eggs.



Somewhere in there, I actually had a leisurely day to spend on a bird survey, on my favorite north shore in the Santa Rosa area.



Aren't these semipalmated plovers handsome birds?




Who said reddish egrets are solitary birds?



We don't usually have them in the park, so it was exciting to see so many!



I have the most wonderful job, even if it means subsisting on about 2 hours of sleep a night during the turtle season. That just means the animals are doing well!