Thursday, August 19, 2010

Turtle Walk Thursday

This morning was our 16th turtle walk of the 2010 nesting season. We did our duty and walked our 2 miles, picking up trash and checking on the one nest in our zone. Our nest has been washed over by a high tide, so it is doubtful that it will hatch. There have been no new nests reported for quite a while now, which means that nesting time has probably ended. A number of nests were washed out and some washed over, but they will be monitored until after the due date. Next week, we will just be going over to check on our nest. The nesting numbers so far, don't look all that good. We had more false crawls than last year and a few less nests. Things have certainly not been favorable for the poor sea turtles this year.

I was surprised to see a lot of Moonflowers blooming again.


I will miss this sight on Thursday mornings. I think I may have to get up early, once in a while, to get my sunrise fix. :)


Walked past a deep hole, just after leaving the boardwalk.




A hat, shoes and water bottle. No one in sight. ??? I guess they made it back alright, because it was all gone when we came back.


The birds were patiently waiting for the sunrise.


There were lots of scattered shells this morning.




















Super Pail??? A food storage bucket???




If our nest does hatch, this is just what the baby turtles will have to get through. A maize of trenches etc. all the way across, between them and the water. Ugh!


We hurried on the way back, trying to beat the heat. But I did notice this Button shell and a small Lace murex, and a few other tiny shells. There were plenty to pick through, if you took the time.


Early this evening we made a run off-island to McDonalds. On the way over the Sanibel Causeway, we noticed how calm the water was. I saw a Pelican gliding within a few inches of the water and you could see the air current was making the water spray, as it went. You don't see that when there are waves. I think I see something new every time, it's amazing.

The sky was very dark in the direction of Ft Myers Beach and appeared to be nearing the island. But, we got no rain.



The grounded sailboat was still on the sandbar. I tried to get a closeup photo, but that didn't work too well as we were driving.


On the way back, the clouds were awesome.


Notice how calm the water was.




Just before sunset, on our back deck, it was just another 'Rainbow Day'.


Then our day ended with more of this. :)I'm sure someone was watching a beautiful sunset.

5 comments:

Leo said...

Thats bad news for the sea turtles. I wonder why this season was so poor for them? I will keep my fingers crossed for your nest and the others.

Kaybe said...

That's sad about the nest. I was on GSCP 2 wednesday's ago when the tropical depression rolled through. The high surf line was up to the bushes with pen shells everywhere. Take the snakes - leave the turtles.

Dave said...

These and the previous blog have some pretty amazing cloud and sunrise/sea photos Tootie. Great! - Dave

George said...

I hope the sea turtle situation isn't as bad as it seems to be at the moment. I can understand why you feel you might have to get a sunrise fix periodically after your turtle walks are finished. You got some wonderful sky pictures throughout the day.

Little Black Scrap Cat said...

Just 7 weeks and I will be watching that sky IRL. I can't wait!! The time seems like it's gone so slowly. Its hard to wait an entire year between visits.