It was just light enough to see, as we walked out to the beach. There was a nice, strong, cool breeze. Very pleasant.
It's a very exciting nesting season so far. We now have nests from three different species of sea turtle on the Islands, which is very rare!
I started the morning out wondering what we might find. Hopefully another nest. :)
That's yours truly dragging along.
Beach golf?
There weren't many shells on the beach, but I did pick up this rare red plastic one.
What is left of a dead sea turtle. :(
Most areas on the beach, this morning, had shell crumbs instead of shells.
Funny how there always seems to be a mermaid lurking around.
Must have been some pretty hard work going on here.
Already a piece of a firework.
Me picking up trash. That's not the Sanibel Stoop.
Did they intend to put de lime in de coconut .....
Was this meant to stir it all up?
This osprey has a bird's eye view of the sunrise.
It wasn't screeching at anyone today.
There were several small plastic beads, like this red one. We find them all the time, from broken fishing lures.
Part of a soft, white, silicone fishing lure.
The hole at the bottom of this pyramid is where the Pharaoh crab lives.
Amazing, another turtle crawl!!!
And a nest that is located right behind what's left of a sandcastle that the turtle must have knocked down with it's flippers while digging.
There is another sandcastle right in front too, which is where we stuck the flag marker.
When we looked into the top of that castle, we saw a ghost crab run back underground. Pretty smart crab, he made a hole in the bottom of the castle.
He even has a road that goes into the lower level. He actually uses that, because we saw his tracks. :)
How many crabs do you know that live in a castle?
We left a little good morning note for our Permittee, who was on his way to mark this nest. :)
There is a pretty large hole in this area and that made me think about the news SCCF's Amanda Bryant sent out this week.
What a great idea!
I have heard of crop circles before, but never sand circles. :)
More plastic....
Hmmm, I think some birds are looking for mischief to get into.
This little boy caught a small fish and after holding it up, long enough for his Mom to take a picture, he was taking it back to the water when it started wiggling and it jumped out of his hands. He was so cute, as he tried to be careful not to hurt the fish.
Stairway to the Gulf.
Another abandoned shell net.
The nests are getting a little close together in places. :)
BIG bug!
We picked up 2 bags packed full of trash, including lots of plastic and paper, but this is the worst, even worse than pampers. Ugh....now you know why I wear a rubber glove on one hand. :(
If you've ever watched shorebirds, you've noticed how they stand around on one leg much of the time. This one appeared to be doing that, but when we got closer we could actually see where the other leg should be and it just wasn't there.
Poor thing only has one leg. We saw it fly over our heads and make a perfect landing near a fisherman. I have to confess, even knowing we are not supposed to feed the birds....and I'm one who gets angry at people for doing it....If I were a fisherman, I might have to let a fish drop, so this poor bird could get it.
I had to look back again and saw the bird trying to get down a slight drop off in the sand, it slid and almost fell down. :( But, it made it.
Straws, straws, straws!
Sometimes you feel like a nut.....
sometimes you don't!
We have friends who might want to use floaters when playing The Dunes golf course. :)
9 comments:
I just don't understand why people leave so much crap and garbage on the beach. Sanibel is lucky to have you, Tootie. As much as you pick up every week they should pay you for beach litter control!
I don't understand how people can just leave trash lying around like that. It's so frustrating! Thank the heavens for good souls like yourself who do their best to help keep it clean. xo
Nice to see another crawl and nest. Glad the sand castles didn't stop her from her business!!
The "crop circle" reminds me of a medieval labyrinth. People walk them to get into a contemplative state of mind, like meditation. The simple ones are just spirals, like the inside of a shell - but some of them are more complicated. There's one at the famous cathedral at Chartres, which is on my "bucket list" - allegedly, the site was a sacred grove for pagans before it became a Christian site.
Labyrinth at Chartres
It's hard for me to understand why people leave the things they do too. Yes, we pick up a lot of trash, but you also have to think of how much all the other turtle walkers are picking up too. It would be interesting to see how big a pile that would be at the end of a week. Maybe we should put that one to a test. :) But, I wouldn't want to be the one to pick it back up. LOL
For under $2000 a month a person could be hired to spend eight hours a day walking back and forth along the beaches keeping them clean. With the number of tourists there are in the area and the number of tourist business (hotels/condos/food/gifts) if they were each charge a small fee it would cover this person's salary. I don't think the fee would amount to so much they would even notice and then Sanibel would have the cleanest beaches around! (I mean...it already does because of you fine turtle walkers, but it isn't something you should have to do). I guess, I just see here that our borough has workers who tend to the flowers, meridians, parks, etc. throughout the whole city so I bet you could have that, too. (Or maybe you do and they don't do a very good job?)
Tootie, There is also a snowy plover right there near where you come on the beach that is missing one ‘foot’ he does really well with the leg and no foot! It’s so sad to see this, but like us, they seem to manage ok!
We pick up trash as shellers when we're there too, I think this is a different world now....everyone is too selfish!! I know, I know I've become cynical! But it's so frustrating!!
Glad you are having so many crawls!! I think I'm 'crawling' back down there the end of this month!! Yipee!!
**For some reason my comment won't stay here!!
Try #3!
Tootie, There is also a snowy plover right there near where you come on the beach (at gulfside park) that is missing one ‘foot’ he does really well with the leg and no foot! It’s so sad to see this, but like us, they seem to manage ok!
I don't understand people today...at the risk of sounding cynical, I think everyone has gotten so selfish, never thinking of anyone but their own convenience! So frustrating! We shellers pick up trash too when we are there, maybe we are making a difference!! Thanks so much for your hard work!
So glad you saw another crawl on your walk this week!! 'BTW' we are going to come 'crawl' down there again first week of August!! Yahooo!!
As a nature/wildlife photographer it never fails to amaze me how people who also seem to love nature, turn the areas they love into a dump. I have seen plastic water bottles a mile or two off the beaten path. You can carry it in full, but it weighs to much for you can't carry it out empty?
I have taken photos of the same one legged Heron for several years. It amazes me how well it seems to have adapted. I have always wondered what happened to his leg.
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