Have You Seen this Leatherback?

A concerned local resident sent me photos of this leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea) that was hit during Blue Angels practice on Friday. Boat strikes are fairly common, and easily treatable for hard shelled sea-turtles. Leatherbacks are a little trickier.



You can see the prop marks as white streaks on the leatherbacks dark shell. It's hard to treat this type of turtle, but he or she may be healing on its own. Please call the National Park, the Coast Guard or FWC if you see this turtle in the water or on the beach. You can also call a BioTech (Kirsten or Monica) directly at 850-232-3640.



We'd all love to see less of jellies they thrive on,



and more little leatherback hathclings!

Fort Pickens Pics

The day dawned bright and clear, with a cooling north wind. That wouldn't last -- by noon, it was 98!



I spent the morning on PIPL (piping plover, or Charadrius melodus) surveys on the north shore of Fort Pickens. I didn't find any piping plovers, but I did see a beautiful American avocet (Recurvirostra americana).



If you click the picture, you'll see why the Latin name is "Recurvirostra", as it has an elegant upward tilt on it's long bill.



Usually, I see them in groups of 6 or so, but this one seemed to be a loner. I didn't get a photo of my other 'good' bird, a marbled godwit, as it was too skittish and flew away when it heard my ATV. Oh well.



I stopped by the Fort for a bit on the way back to the south shore. The buildings are looking pretty sharp!



There were lots of lovely flowers in the marsh at the Fort Pickens gate.



The marsh seems to support a vibrant wildflower community.



I know, too many pics of the same thing :)



Lantanas were in full bloom as well.



This little guy must think I can't see him if he can't see me...



The adult least terns Sternula antillarum in the area were a dead give-away... In all, it was a gorgeous morning!

Sea Turtle Swims to Freedom

The day started out very well today... Monica and I drove to the Gulfarium in Destin to pick up YYN 568, aka "Loco." It was time to release s/him to the wild after about three weeks of care and training.



Amanda and the folks in Destin taught our little TED research escapee how to feed well enough to survive in the wild. Captain Dave and Jeremy Brown took us to sea aboard the Y Knot. These two gentlemen from Blue Water Adventures rescued an entangled Kemp's ridley a few weeks ago.



You can see they have an affinity for this little loggerhead, even though Loco is trying to swim through the air.



S/he acted the same way with Monica. Clearly, this turtle was ready to return to the Gulf of Mexico. Hope we'll see him or her represented in the nesting population in about 20 more years!



Amanda took many of the photos with my camera today while I returned Loco the the sea.



It was so hard to see Loco leave, but s/he was quite at home, dashing instantly for the sea floor. I should have some good pictures from Jeremy (who's in the water) in a day or so... Thanks, Mark, for letting us take the day to return this animal to it's natural home!

Turtle Rescue and Three Nests!

I knew Blue Angels Weekend would be great, but I had no idea it would be so good for turtles. I was a bit stressed today, with the most excellent fact that I couldn't get to every nest at the same time.



VIP LiMarie found this lovely loggerhead (Caretta caretta) lost on Opal Beach in the Santa Rosa area of Gulf Islands National Seashore.



I borrowed a bright blue tarp from the Santa Rosa Island Authority and I asked a few early morning beach walkers to help LiMarie and I return the lost turtle to the sea. Amy, Adam and Cindy each grabbed part of the tarp and gave the turtle a ride back to the Gulf of Mexico.



She seemed very happy to reach the water!



Just look at her go!



LiMarie and I found her eggs about a foot from last nights high tide line.



Sea turtle eggs can drown, so we made a conservation-based decision to move the nest.



One of her eggs was a little odd... Most look like leathery ping pong balls, but this one was oval. Maybe it's a double yolk?



We found Sea Oats (Uniola paniculata) dancing on a dune about 150 feet north. The eggs in LiMarie's first nest of the season are now safe and sound on the dune.



We had to move Cathy's nest on Fort Pickens too, but both are safe as long as the tropical weather stays away. In two months time, this nest and the two other new nests on Calle Hermosa and Fort Pickens should yield about 100 hatchlings each. Can't wait to see them safely in the sea!



For now, we still have the baby birds! While patrolling the A-C tern colony on Fort Pickens during the Blue Angels practice, I found this little Least Tern (Sternula antillarum). Isn't s/he adorable?

Perdido

I had planned to spend the day at Santa Rosa, but we had an early morning call that our first nest, 5091, was making noise -- that means there are hatchlings crawling their way to the surface. So, I decided to go check the nest myself. It's still not coned, and I didn't hear much, but it was late in the day when I got there and it was a little hot. The little guys may have been resting in the heat of the day. Kemp's ridley nests don't always hatch here, and often are slow to hatch. We'll check again tomorrow.



There were benefits to visiting Perdido today. I got to see this chick, who was still in an egg yesterday. Snowy plover chicks (Charadrius alexandrinus)are just adorable!



This brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) was having a peaceful day preening and resting at the end of the jetty at Pensacola Pass.



A lone willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus) walked by the swimming hole...



feeding, and calling his characteristic 'squeaky wheel' cry.



Even the fishermen thought it was a perfect day.



So, no hathclings yet, but life is still pretty good at Gulf Islands National Seashore.



Please remember to share the beach with turtles, and call Gulf Islands (850-232-3640) or FWC (1-888-404-FWCC or *FWC from your cell phone) if you see a nesting or hathcling sea turtle on the beach. Thank you!

Turtle Patrol on Pensacola Beach

The day started out calmly enough, but only for the first half hour. Pensacola Beach is already a zoo as preparations are underway for Blue Angels Weekend.



The Coast Guard has sailed into town...



Even the sharks have arrived on the beach. This impressive castle shows some shark attack posturing. That tell-tale back and forth swish of the tail is classic pre-attack motion.



The one bad thing, from a turtle girl's perspective, is all the junk on the beach. Cabanas and tents are everywhere!



Some people lowered their cabanas -- I'm not sure if they think that's better for the wildlife, or more wind resistant or what.



This chair is on the beach a lot. Apparently, the owner is very willing to share, but unaware of the need to clear the beach at night.



Does anyone know the owner? I'm sure they wouldn't leave it out there if they knew it was a potential hazard for nesting sea turtles and their emerging hatchlings. There are lots of simple things we can all do to help sea turtles including using sea turtle friendly lights, not releasing helium filled balloons, not using plastic grocery bags and not leaving our beach gear on the shore at night.



For more information on sea turtles and how you can help them, click here. For a true story of how one sea turtle overcame all the obstacles in her nesting attempts (and she faced many, from swimming pools to cactus patches!), check out Wrong Way Peach Fuzz



I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful Blue Angels Weekend!

Good Turtle News!

This little guy, "Loco" (aka YYN 568), is ready to be set free! The folks at the Gulfarium say that he's an escapee from the TED research program in Galveston. He was close to shore looking for handouts because he left before he'd completed his pre-release training program and didn't know how to forage effectively.



I know this little loggerhead (Caretta caretta) had a great will to live when I met him two weeks ago. If all goes well, Mark, Monica, Michelle, Sally and I will be able to release him offshore of where Mark and I retrieved him. It should be fun!