Shore Birds on the Sea Turtle Maternity Ward

We're still waiting on SR8061, a loggerhead nest with 136 eggs, to hatch. It's not even making noise yet, and it's almost 70 days since it was laid, which is not a good sign. It seems many of our nests got a little more flooding than we thought during Hurricanes Gustav and Ike!



We just want to see about 200 more of these little guys from this nest and the last Pensacola Beach nest...



That said, being out on the beach in the wee hours gives me a great opportunity to catch the sea oats in the light of the full moon...



the full moon as it dips behind a cloud,



and sea oats against the rising sun.

Yes, I know, I should have been out on a bird survey already since the nest was quiet, but I needed better light to tell all the plovers apart!



Today, we added some SEPLs (semi-palmated plovers)



and BBPLs (black bellied plovers) to the mix.



You'll notice many of the birds, including some sanderlings and piping plovers, appear to be one-legged... They're really just fine, but working to conserve a little heat. The flocks of mixed plovers, sanderlings and sand pipers help keep them warm in the cool east wind as well!



Even the Canada geese look lovely in the early morning sun,



though ever they are weary of the noisy ATV. Wish we could do a bird survey from a floating blind!

Park East, Santa Rosa Island

I was early for VIP training Friday evening, and wandered around the parking lot at Park East.



I've always loved this sign they use on all the public beach boardwalks. Isn't it cute?



The sand fence and sea oat plantings have been very successful too. It's so nice to see the park recovering after all the recent hurricanes.

Happy 4th of July!

It was a beautiful day at Gulf Islands National Seashore, and the perfect place to play in the sun and sand on the nation's birthday.



The sea oats (Uniola paniculata) danced on the south westerly breeze.




White clouds were a perfect backdrop to the sunny day.



I looked at this cloud for a long time, trying to decide what it resembled. What do you think?



The osprey (Pandion haliaetus) didn't seem to care -- they just wanted some fresh fish!

Perdido Key Meditation

The sun this morning lit the still Gulf of Mexico just like the full moon will tonight. It's strange to see that silvery light in the morning!



Perdido Key is one of my favorite areas of Gulf Islands National Seashore, but that's not saying much since I love all of it! The Gulf of Mexico was like a very large lake today, still, warm and blue.



The sunlight was flat and gray. There was actually enough chill in the air to make a jacket necessary.



These fishermen had exactly the right idea, floating around on the calm bay, fishing for dinner. What a peaceful start to the day.



On the south shore, the remnants of a crazy loggerhead (Caretta caretta) crawl meandered down the beach. I wonder what made the turtle make so many abrupt turns on the dark night beach.



At the end of my turtle patrol, I turned the corner to find this delightful field of purple flowers along the north shore. I'll find a field guide soon to identify them.



This crawl on the north shore was a little confusing. It's only about a foot wide. Anyone know what species it is?



The sea oats (Uniola paniculata) the Boy Scouts planted a few months ago are really doing well. Those gold, seed-laden heads catch lots of sand to help the dunes grow. I wish people would learn not to walk through them. Their roots function to keep the barrier island strong -- they are definitely worth preserving!