Thursday, June 16, 2011

Turtle Walk Thursday

The sky was a pretty pink, as we began our walk from Sanibel Algiers Beach at Gulfside City Park, located on Algiers .
The temperature was around 80 and pleasant when we started and was pretty hot and humid on the return walk.


We were also greeted by the full moon.












Someone used this nest for a place to
throw their trash. :(



A long stemmed rose had washed up with the tide.


The color of the rising sun looked beautiful.

A wreath wrapped with wire, artificial greenery and plastic white flowers.  It would come apart in small enough pieces for sea turtles or other wildlife to eat, thinking it was food.

I wonder if the wreath and roses were a part of a ceremony of some sort.

I picked it up on the way back and it got really heavy because it was soaked with water and was packed full of sand.



We found at least a dozen roses scattered along the water.








The Railroad Vines were full of blooms at
 Pointe Santo this morning.






This little bird had a fishing line hanging from it's beak.  It looked like a leader with a weight on it.  We couldn't get close enough to see, but I don't think the line was wrapped around it's beak, so hopefully the hook will rust and it will come out before it does more harm to the bird.  There was no way we could catch it for treatment because it could still fly.









A cute little Keyhole limpet was just lying there waiting for me. :)

No new nests in our zone today,
but we did find one false crawl.  You can see from the tracks, the turtle came up onto the beach, then turned and went back into the water without digging a nest.


 A turtle may false crawl for a number of reasons, some of which include:



Being disturbed by noise, lights or activity on the beach. 
She could encounter an obstacle while crawling up the beach.

She could find roots, rocks or some debris when she starts to dig a nest.
The sand might not have the right consistency or moisture.
Her egg chamber could collapse.

Sometimes there could be tracks and a turtle actually digs her egg chamber and then decides not to lay her eggs.  If she has actually laid her eggs, there is usually a mound of sand where she has used her flippers to cover the nest with sand.
We reported the false crawl to our Permittee because each false crawl and nest has to be checked and then documented.






Another 'Turtle Walk' ended as the day was beginning.


After our walk we went off island to Publix for a few groceries.
We noticed how calm the water was.

5 comments:

Kim@Snug Harbor said...

Beautiful moon photos today! Thanks for the info on the false crawls - I never knew that. It still must be exciting to see the crawl marks tho.

sue in mexico mo said...

I enjoyed your report of today's walk. How far do you walk each Thursday morning? Did the no-see-ums bother you?

Della said...

My curiosity is killing me! I wonder what the wreath and roses are from. I'm sure I could dream up scenarios all day. That lil' limpet is too cute! Thanks for all you do!

Dave said...

An interesting selection of photos Tootie. Pity about the roses. Maybe a suitor has been scorned? :-) - Dave

Debbie said...

Oooh, your pictures remind me of our trip to Sanibel this past Spring. LOVE your information about the turtles.
You are soooo blessed to live in such a Paradise.
Hugs to you.
Debbie