This sea turtle nesting season has started out with a lot of activity. So far, there is only one nest in our zone, but several in a few other zones.
Due to foot problems, I have not been able to do any of the walking and I feel like I am missing out on adventure. Instead, I have been playing chauffer, by dropping Gary off at the starting point and picking him up at the end of our zone. Puffin has been helping me out with moral support. :)
First Turtle Walk on May 3
At the end of our zone, Gary saw Amanda Bryant, our 'Turtle Lady', :) who was beginning her morning drive, from that location to the end of the island. After a quick chat, she was on her way. Volunteers walk each one mile zone, usually a different person each morning of the week, from the Lighthouse end of the island to the Tarpon Rd access and Amanda takes over from there.
No activity on this walk.
The second turtle walk on May 10
There was a False Crawl. The tracks show that a sea turtle came up from the water, without nesting, just turned around and went back into the water. This crawl was right in front of the main pathway from Casa Ybel Resort, so it could have been startled by something or just didn't like the spot.
The third turtle walk on May 17.
After checking with our friend, who is a Florida Master Naturalist, we found out that this bird is a Reddish Egret and it is rarely seen on the beach. A very interesting bird.
The next sight I missed was seven or eight male manatees courting one female. There's a lot of interesting manatee information.
A rainy morning!
The fourth turtle walk was on May 24th.
Another crawl, but the small sea turtle, came out of the water to take a look around and went back out again. Hopefully she will be back.
So, that's it for now!
Below is the statis report sent to the turtle walkers, if you are interested in checking it out.
As of May 21, 2012:
Sanibel East- 6 nests, 9 false crawls
Sanibel West- 41 nests, 61 false crawls
Captiva- 20 nests, 31 false crawls
And for comparison:
As of May 21, 2011:
Sanibel East- 2 nests, 7 false crawls
Sanibel West- 20 nests, 28 false crawls
Captiva- 11 nests, 1 false crawl
As of May 21, 2010:
Sanibel East- 0 nests, 0 false crawls
Sanibel West- 5 nests, 3 false crawls
Captiva- 2 nests, 5 false crawls
Amanda Bryant
Biologist
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation
No activity on this walk.
The second turtle walk on May 10
The third turtle walk on May 17.
I was happy that he took pictures of the beach art.
I love it!
All of these were in front of Pointe Santo.
Flipped and flopped!
A rainy morning!
Puffin was patiently watching and waiting for his Daddy to come walking out from the beach.
There he comes! :)
And....we were on our way home.
The fourth turtle walk was on May 24th.
Our first and only nest in our zone, as of now. It is in front of Point Santo.
So, that's it for now!
Below is the statis report sent to the turtle walkers, if you are interested in checking it out.
As of May 21, 2012:
Sanibel East- 6 nests, 9 false crawls
Sanibel West- 41 nests, 61 false crawls
Captiva- 20 nests, 31 false crawls
And for comparison:
As of May 21, 2011:
Sanibel East- 2 nests, 7 false crawls
Sanibel West- 20 nests, 28 false crawls
Captiva- 11 nests, 1 false crawl
As of May 21, 2010:
Sanibel East- 0 nests, 0 false crawls
Sanibel West- 5 nests, 3 false crawls
Captiva- 2 nests, 5 false crawls
Amanda Bryant
Biologist
Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation
7 comments:
Oh, the manatee's grouped like that must have been so cool to see. And thanks for the nice Pointe Santo shot. I miss being there this year.
I hope your foot problem soon goes away so you can join in the turtle walks. It looks as if this might be a good season from the number of nests. I enjoyed your beautiful sunrise pictures and the beach art.
beautiful picture Tootie!! I love the ones with the manatees - I didn't know they would get that close to the beach. I'd love to see them.
Thanks for sharing.
What a fun and interesting volunteer job you both have, Tootie! We actually had a huge turtle lay her eggs (we think) in our garden last week! We cordoned off where she was laying and hope to see little ones...come August....?
It's always does my heart good to see photos of my beloved Sanibel. :) Hope you are doing well!!
xoxo laurie
I'm so sorry foot problems are keeping your from going... I know how much you enjoy this time of year.
I still find it fascinating that a turtle would lay her eggs right there in the middle of so much activity... and that you can stake it off. I can imagine it must be hard to keep the nosy people from disturbing it. I hope the nest is successful.
Recover soon!! Love all the beach photos. So nice to see on this rainy day.
Beautiful photos from the turtle walks. What a great time to be on the beach.
I'm sorry you aren't able to do the walk. Last year we enjoyed seeing manatee up close to the shore doing their "thing". That was the morning you were headed up to check out reports of a new nest and I couldn't decide whick way to go. Who knew there could be so much excitement on the beach
Post a Comment