A sad day on the beach

late morning, 77 degrees, pleasant breeze

Turtles

No tracks were seen in the 1 mile stretch south of Beach Woods, including leading up to this unfortunate lady.  I assume it was the UCF marine research team that marked her with the yellow X. How long has she been there, and what happened?

RIP

Trash

So many bottle caps. The worst things are the clear plastic bags that turtles can mistake for a jellyfish and eat.

Treasures

Yesterday evening, a family of American white ibis with 2 juveniles maybe a month old walked by eating supper. My first juvenile ibis!

Never leave your bags unattended!

Ooooh, snacks!

Ghost crabs have been scarce ever since Hurricane Matthew (10/6/2016).  A few used to live under the sea grapes by the townhouse, until the hurricane all but destroyed said sea grapes (they're making a comeback, thankfully).  

Prior to Matthew, on any given walk, you could see the ghost crabs skitter back into their homes as soon as they saw you.  I only saw one skitter today, but there is evidence they are still around:

Seaweed  fortress surrounding a crab house

Unfortunately, I came across 2 dead ghost crabs today, both full-grown.

As if waving goodbye

Pelican fly-by, no doubt practicing formations for the Air Show next weekend. Notice the sea grapes on the berm that still haven't made a comeback after Hurricane Matthew, 5 months later.

Where is everyone? 70 degrees and VERY windy

The beach was devoid of animal life today.  The sentinels (seagulls) were AWOL, and I saw less than a handful of sandpipers on the shore.  Although I saw a some crab holes in the sand, I didn't see a single ghost crab, just a lot of tumble-seaweed caught in the wind that I mistook for crabs.

Turtles

No tracks seen between Beach Woods and Sandy Shoes Resort.

"Trash" doesn't always mean stuff that's left on the beach.  Case and point, this hole:



DON'T DIG HOLE LIKE THIS!  Nesting turtles coming ashore can get stuck and unable to get out, and die. :(

Trash

Once again, bottle caps are everywhere. My favorite is the sneaker with the barnacles on it.  It was still soaking wet, so it must have been washed ashore in the last day.






Treasures

I said it was windy...

Lots of seaweed on the beach




Here's a Man O'War who's somehow stayed on shore the last two weeks, and has been bleached by the sun. No way I'm touching him, tho.




This piper totally blends into the seaweed / sand.




Five months post Hurricane Matthew, the sea grapes closest to the ocean, who gave their lives to protect us, are just not coming back.




Fortunately, the sea grapes closer to the house are rallying :)
The red color is newest growth.




Lastly, this is from yesterday. Someone was asking "Liz" to marry him. I hope she saw the banner fly by.

Sunday March 5th, 70 degrees and windy

Turtles

Sea turtle nesting season for Brevard County officially begins on March 1 and continues through October 31.  No tracks spotted yesterday or today between Beach Woods and Sandy Shoes Resort.

The skies are overcast and windy, and the ocean is quite churn-y. Notice the Portuguese Man O'Wars in the seaweed. The beach is littered with them today.

Trash


Speaking of litter, this is today's trash. Bottle caps everywhere.

Treasures

This poor guy must've just died moments ago. They always skitter away so quickly, I never realized they have such hairy legs. I love his pose.

Portuguese Man O'War (dead) have washed up all over the beach.  They look like aliens.  Stay away from them -- they are poisonous.  Unless you're a sea turtle -- then they're a snack.

Sentinels in a row, ever vigilant. (Sandy Shoes Resort in the background.)