Santa Rosa

I was hanging around the gate in the Santa Rosa area today, waiting for our newest SCA intern, Michelle, to arrive, when I decided to check out the signs posted for anyone who walks through the park. There are a lot of signs!



I found this one a little confusing.... Check out the second rule (if you click on the image, you can see a larger version).



If you can't have pets on the beach, which pets need to be on a leash? It's a bit confusing, but then many things are these days.



These little Common Nighthawk chicks (Chordeiles minor) seemed a little confused too, as they were surrounded by least terns and asphalt. One day, we may get rid of all the old road bed strewn around the island, for now, the birds are using it as camouflage for their nests.



Once Michelle arrived, we took off to GPS turtle and plover nests, assess tern colonies and look for new snowy plover nests. There may not be a lot of new plover nests this season, but the skimmers are starting to take off!



I didn't want to harass the birds too much, but I wanted Michelle to see the eggs so she would recognize them when she sees them again.



This pair had four eggs already... and we didn't think they would nest here. Silly biologists.



These parents did a great job displaying and attracting attention away from their developing eggs.



I'm still trying to get a good picture of a skimmer in flight. It's harder than you think, given the limits of my current camera.



I can't wait for my new camera to arrive... I hope I'll do a better job of capturing life at the beach once I learn how to use it!

Skimmers Nesting at Santa Rosa

I've been seeing Skimmers (Rhynchops niger)in the Santa Rosa area for about two weeks, but today was the first time I thought there might be nests.



The were sitting quietly, til I drove up in my loud ATV.



Once they flew up, I was pretty certain they had eggs.



Here they are... a lot like all the other eggs I've posted here, but they're bigger, almost the size of chicken eggs. The nests are pretty plain, just little depressions in the sand. No wonder they nest in colonies -- that group defense is necessary!



Like killdeer, plovers and other ground nesting species, skimmers also pretend to have a broken wing, or wings to lure you away from their eggs or chicks, and towards them.



They fly at your head too, just like least terns. These birds may have tiny brains, but they use them, and their instincts, to great advantage. If only we all were so adept at using the gifts we're given...

Today, it's just chicks, terns and LOTS of rain...

My 'turtle patrols' several days a week are my absolute favorite mornings. I love riding along the Gulf of Mexico, watching the sun lighten the day.



Pensacola Beach is kind of a hard run. Tire ruts make for a rough ride, and great hiding places for chicks.



I'm fairly certain these are the same Black Skimmers from yesterday.



The larger one tried to waddle away again. I think s/he is a little older.



As expected, their mothers and fathers flew circles to keep the big bad predator off the beach. As the chicks roam more, they protect an increasingly large area on the beach. Be aware if you're out roaming in the area -- they may aim for your head!



This was the only turtle on the beach today though. Maybe tomorrow we'll have a new nest...



At Fort Pickens, the Least Terns were out in force.



This tern was delivering a late breakfast... Yum -- dead raw fish!



This one seems a little angry at me, though there weren't any eggs or chicks around...



Or were they. They're often hiding in areas that we can't see. It makes driving the beach nerve-wracking as they can hide under or in anything!



I still didn't get pictures of the Fort. I had to quickly finish my hunt for snowy plover nests while dodging lightning bolts.



Maybe next week... This week has been so odd, with ribbons of rainbows, hail, lightning, torrential twenty minute rain storms, and turtle nests. I'll take all the rest if it means we have more turtle nests on the beach!

Sunbursts, Waterspouts and Rainbows (and yes, turtles and birds too)

It was quite the weather day in Pensacola Beach and the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The morning skies were cloudy in patches, and brilliant in others. The interplay lead to an astonishingly tumultuous and vibrant morning.



There was a cloud-bridge effect created by the sun-colored cloud in the background between two growing thunderheads.



Waddling Black skimmer chicks (Rhynchops niger) ran to avoid the coming rain (and the arriving biologist). The image is a little fuzzy -- I need a better camera that can follow his mad dash up the beach!



More sedate chicks hung out in tire ruts -- that always scares me! At times, I think I watch the 'road' more than the turtle tracks to be sure I don't hit a chick!



Mama skimmers stood watch over their broods.



They took to wing when they felt the chicks were threatened.



In the distance, the surf was calm, the skies sun-kissed, the storm clouds brewing...



A waterspout erupted offshore...



After the morning cloudburst, the heavens relented, and the sun burst through the clouds.



Later, the still repentant sun sent a few rainbows our way.



There's been an explosion of rainbows this week. Is that new beginnings, or promises of riches to come? Who wants to find the gold at the rainbows end?



And that was all before 7 am... Maybe I need to sleep in a little later :) Jay Bonano had a sea turtle nest for me on Perdido Key.



The rain already made the crawl a bit indistinct, but it was pretty easy to locate the 106 eggs. It was more of a challenge to protect them, and myself, from the lightning storm! The lightning was so close that I had goosebumps.



Unfortunately, the passing thunderstorms made me put my camera away. We had over and inch of rain this morning! It took a little patience and good timing, but I was finally able to resettle the likely Kemp's (Lepidochelys kempi) eggs in the dunes. The mama had only crawled 9 feet from the surf -- that section of beach may be gone temporarily with the full moon tide next week!



For those of you who are counting, that makes 17 nests, with two more possible. The more I think about it, the more I think I gave up too early on those two body pits... there were eggs there. I know it in my bones...

*** A special thank you to the good-Samaratin couple walking on Pensacola Beach this morning that helped me get "unstuck" when the SRIA gator couldn't manage the berm. It gets hard out there -- the beach changes overnight! I would have been there for hours without your help :) We'll have to name some hatchlings for you if I can find out your names...

Sails, Skimmers and Sea Turtles

The day started bright and sunny, another day in paradise...



The Skimmers on Pensacola Beach were protecting their nests from me:



and from the gulls:



and carried food for their new chicks:



A dribble castle graced the Gulf shore:



We even had a new loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nest at Perdido.



My friend Larry, from NPS Law Enforcement, helped me move the eggs away from the rising surf.



Larry caught me on film too:



I checked on the other five (yes, 5) nests at Perdido. All looked good, especially the one Monica and I moved Thursday. Here's where our mama turtle laid the eggs:



And where we moved it. Isn't it gorgeous?



The point is notorious for eroding and accreting. Sand is often shared in a barrier island system with offshore sandbars and adjacent islands. The deep Pensacola Pass prevents some of the sharing, so the point isn't always as robust as it could be, but the eggs are safe for the next two months right where they are...

With so much good happening today, I hesitate to say anything negative, but the trash and cigarette butts and dog tracks on one of the nests, almost everyday, disturbs me.



When you see one of these signs, please remember, it's an endangered species.



We are so privileged to have them on our beaches in Florida, and to see them gracing our seas. If we all work together, we can keep the developing nests safe, and help these magnificent animals survive the dangers that face them in the modern world.



I think these little guys are worth saving, don't you?