In an incredibly slow year for new sea turtle nests on Bonita Beach we finally have a third nest in our zones. Amazingly enough it is directly in front of an existing nest so it’s possible both nests are from the same mother. They tend to come back to roughly the same area and as you can see from this picture it’s pretty darn close.
Two nests - same mother?
This nest was laid on Tuesday, June 16 so we can’t lay claim to finding it but we’re thrilled to have another nest in our zone.
As “Two Turtle Trackers” we hope to find sea turtle tracks each Friday morning when we get to the beach but the only tracks we’ve seen so far this year have been beach cooler tracks. They’re not nearly as interesting to find but hey – you’ve got to take what you can get, right?
Beach Cooler Tracks
One thing we’ve seen more of this year than in years past is Manatee Grass, which is a seagrass that occurs throughout most of Florida’s estuaries. It is the second most common seagrass in Florida, behind only Turtle Grass. As you might imagine Manatee grass is a great source of food while in the water for Manatees. It is also a valuable food source for birds after washing up on shore. If you’ve been on the beaches lately you’re surely seen the dried, sun bleached version of sea grass that look like dry spagetti on the beach. Julie got some shots of both green manatee grass, just as it washed ashore and the dried, sun bleached version.
Manatee grass just after washing ashore
Dry sun bleached manatee grass
My mother said something about our blog last week, referring to it as “that bird blog” that you do. Sadly it does appear to be a bird blog since we’ve had so little turtle activity this season. So for mom we’ve got a bird shot, as well as a nice shot of the gulf this morning showing the calmness of the water.
We’re getting closer to our first baby sea turtles of the season, which should be only a couple of weeks away. Between now and then we’ll look forward to a few more nests being discovered in our zones.
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I am so excite for you! Where exactly is this beach? It looks like you have lots of shells and a gorgeous, calm ocean. Love your pictures. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks, it is very exciting. We’re in Bonita Springs, Florida and our section of the beach is right here. The gulf was absolutely beautiful today, perfectly calm.
I love what you’re doing with your YEStudio – bringing the tropics to your students with your Tropical Paradise event is a wonderful idea. From the pictures it looks like you’ve got some extremely talented students.