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!

Angels, both Blue and White

The Blue Angels were out this morning during my bird survey, which was good in a way. They kept startling a snowy egret that was feeding near the end of the boardwalks. I've been trying to get a good photo of a SNEG for years, so I took a few shots today. They're pretty awkward when they feed!



There was a landing pose...



a photo-op with the egret finding a fish,



being vigilant,



chasing lunch,



ruffling feathers in the wind,



simply flying (from the scary Blue Angels -- they are loud on Perdido!)



taking off...



trying to walk through the waves (those are large waves for such a slight bird!)



balancing...



posing elegantly mid-flight,



feeding, again..



stalking prey,



hunting even more persistently... ad infinitum. This was one hungry, and co-operative, bird. All these shots were within less than 5 minutes!

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!

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!

Fort Pickens Photo day...

I left my good camera in the car today once I reached Fort Pickens as there were rain showers all around. I'll get better Blue Angels photos this weekend when they have their official show practice, and their Saturday show. I did get a lot of random shots with my old Canon...



A vigilant least tern (Sternula antillarum) was defending the entire colony in the Fort Pickens road corridor (since there is no road in places, there is a defined area that traffic must use). There were only two nests in there, but she did a valiant job of keeping them safe!



A freshly hatched (within 24 hours, I would guess) snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) chick listened to mom's danger call and ran off, while mom displayed to distract our attention from her chick and her hatching egg. I didn't stay long enough to get a better photo because I wanted her to go back to her nest as soon as I'd checked it.



This killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) was sitting on a known nest when we walked by to see if it was still there. Like all killdeer, she does a great broken wing dance! I love their Latin name -- it's so appropriate as they call incessantly and loudly when chicks or eggs are about. Maybe it's not such a good idea to advertise the fact.



She went back to her eggs quickly, to shade them from the mid-day sun. What a great mama!



In all, it was a wonderful day at Fort Pickens. The lovely flowers, wee chicks and unhatched eggs everywhere made me think it was still spring.



There were so many great pictures I missed today, and so many that could have been better if I had my new camera. It's not worth risking it on a rainy day!



It's amazing how random rain can be at times -- look at the sharp wall here between sunshine and downpour.

The Many Shades of Blue

There were amazing skies today.



Mother Nature must figure we deserve a beautiful day after all the recent rain.



The calm blue waters called to local fishermen...



And calmer skies allowed the Blue Angels to practice.



How do they do that? It's so precise, and so fast.



I'll get better pictures during Blue Angels Weekend.



Until then, these will have to do :)



I'd hate to have to pay their gas bill... but I guess we all do, don't we?