Endangered Green Sea Turtle Lays Latest Nest |
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Greens Account for a Total of 26 Nests on Sanibel This Year
SCCF sea turtle monitors last observed a new sea turtle nest on Aug. 22, which turned out to be a rare green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest. While this nest comes later than usual, green nests were documented at later dates in August in three previous years. Overall, while Hurricane Ida impacted 106 sea turtle nests, 171 are still incubating on our beaches.
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World Shorebirds Day: More Than 1,500 Counted
On Sept. 7, SCCF staff and 10 volunteers divided into small groups to cover the East End of Sanibel Island for shorebird counts as part of World Shorebirds Day. A total of 1,532 individuals of 25 species of birds were counted. To see the detailed list of sightings, visit SCCF’s tally on eBird.
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September Heralds Migrating Black Terns on our Beaches
The ending of the shorebird breeding season on Sanibel signals the beginning of the fall migration. A lot of different birds have already made the long trek south from their northern nesting grounds. A few common species that spend their winters on Sanibel and Captiva include royal terns (Thalasseus maximus), Sandwich terns (Thalasseus sandvicensis), and short-billed dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus). We have also been seeing a less common visitor, the black tern (Chlidonias niger)
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SCCF Launches Weekly Water Conditions Update on Fridays
Have you checked out SCCF’s Weekly Water Conditions Update emailed to you each Friday? It provides a comprehensive understanding of the water quality surrounding the islands. A visual, virtual tour of the waters surrounding Sanibel Lighthouse Beach Park is included with a link to SCCF’s site at Lighthouse Virtual Tour, where beachgoers can see the water’s color and clarity. Also included in the e-newsletter are the status of flows from Lake Okeechobee, red tide and harmful algal blooms in the region, and a real-time look at water quality data throughout the Caloosahatchee estuary through SCCF’s River, Estuary, and Coastal Observing Network (RECON) monitoring system at eight sites.
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SCCF & UF Partner on New Coastal Policy Lab Course
As part of SCCF’s new memorandum of understanding with the University of Florida (UF) Center for Coastal Solutions, an inaugural fall semester course called the Coastal Policy Lab is bringing together six law students from the UF Law Conservation Clinic and six engineering graduate students affiliated with the Center for Coastal Solutions to address coastal resiliency on Sanibel and Captiva islands.
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New Air Curtain Incinerator Aids in Debris Removal
The SCCF Wildlife & Habitat Management Program recently used its air curtain burner incinerator for the first time at the Bailey Homestead Preserve to burn a pile of woody debris. This machine allows staff to burn woody debris from trees and shrubs with minimal smoke effects and to eradicate debris onsite.
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Researchers Survey Currents to Create Modeling that will Predict Algae Transport
In early September, a group of researchers from the University of Florida Center for Coastal Solutions and the SCCF Marine Laboratory conducted a 24-hour survey of water quality and currents between the Sanibel Lighthouse and Bunche Beach to calibrate a 3D model of water currents. When it’s completed, the model can be used to predict water quality conditions and the transport of blooms and drift macroalgae.
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Dan Valentine Joins SCCF & Shell Museum in New Role
In the newly created role of physical plant manager, Dan Valentine came on board in July to ensure smooth operations of both SCCF and the Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum. He devotes four days a week to SCCF and one day to the Shell Museum as the first joint hire between the neighboring nonprofits.
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Sanibel Sea School Campers Learn About Manatees
Sanibel Sea School held its last week of summer camp in late August at the Flagship campus on the East End of the island. Campers learned about different threats that manatees face in the wild and what they can do to help. They also crafted their own creative versions of this gentle sea mammal using natural materials and painted coconuts to look like manatees munching on seagrass.
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Meet the Natives:
Pond Apple
The pond apple (Annona glabra) tree, reaching 15 to 30 feet tall, grows in wet soils, both fresh and saltwater. The pond apple gets its name from its fruits, which appear in early summer, and are ripening now in shades of yellow to light green with brown spots, becoming the size of a typical apple.
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Florida Weekly Cover Story Dives Deep into Water Woes
Last week's cover story in Florida Weekly featured "What’s next in the quest for managing the flows from Lake Okeechobee" and included interviews with many key players, including SCCF Environmental Policy Director James Evans. “The ultimate road map to restoring proper freshwater flows to the Caloosahatchee and south, is really the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP),” Evans explains.
Give it a read to deepen your understanding of the big picture!
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Gulf Coast Life Radio Show Features Sea Turtle Team
Host Mike Kiniry gets an update on how this season has gone from Coastal Wildlife Director Kelly Sloan, Biologist Jack Brzoza, Research Associate Andrew Glinsky, and Volunteer Cheri Hollis. The discussion, which aired today at 1pm, featured SCCF's volunteer-driven monitoring efforts, which have been ongoing since the 1950s.
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Wildlife Photos to Share
Thanks to Liz Johnson for sending in this photo of a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) with an invasive exotic Mayan cichlid (Cichlasoma urophthalmus) at the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge.
DO YOU HAVE WILDLIFE PHOTOS TO SHARE?
Please send your photos to info@sccf.org to be featured in an upcoming issue.
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