Linear view vs. Masonry View

Hatchling Release

 

Sunrise
On the Way
Awkward on Land
Almost There
Into the Surf
Goodbye Wave
Protective Net to Thwart Gulls
Empty Nest
Sea Turtle Volunteers
Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle Close-up

I was fortunate to attend the first hatchling release of the summer on Friday morning. My friend, Lindy, and I drove down before dawn to Padre Island National Seashore. Shortly after sunrise, the team released 58 adorable Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtles (Lepidochelys kempii). They came from a nest that was laid on April 27th. In an effort to help this critically endangered species recover, all the eggs are removed from nests as soon as they are found and relocated to a protected hatchery.

It took about an hour for all of the babies to make it into the water. There is a reason the hatchlings aren’t just tossed into the sea. It is important that the turtles crawl their way across the sand towards the sun as part of their imprinting. Breeding females will later return to their home beach to lay their eggs. The small creatures slipped into the waves while weighing less than an ounce. The ranger affectionately referred to the tiny turtles as Oreos with flippers. It is estimated that only 1 in 1,000 will reach maturity. Best of luck little ones!

 

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Beautiful Swimmers

Sadly, the swimming days of these Blue Crabs (Callinectes sapidus) that I found on Mustang Island yesterday are long over. Even in death the colors are so very striking which works well with the first part of their scientific name, as callinectes is a Greek combo meaning beautiful swimmer. The second part, sapidus, is Latin for savory.

I have yet to try them but I do know they are a favorite food of the Whooping Cranes which winter down here. Based on the blue with orange tips coloration of the claw, the lone body part was from a male. While the full crab was a female, sporting orange claws with purple (fuchsia) tips.

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Violet Sea Snail

IMG_6856

The wild waves over the past weekend brought in loads of sargassum to the beaches of Mustang Island. All kinds of hitchhikers washed ashore with the detritus. As I sorted through the debris I spotted a flash of purple. I grabbed it, fully expecting it to be yet another ubiquitous piece of plastic.

I was ecstatic to discover it was a delicate, vibrant, tiny shell. Janitha janitha, is pelagic, meaning it completes its entire life cycle while floating out in the sea. They prey on Velella velella and Portugese Man o’ War (Physalia physalis). I find it interesting that they feed on similarly colored creatures, does that mean they acquire their color from their food?
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The Time is Now…

“I bought a cheap watch from a crazy man,
floating down canal.
It doesn’t use numbers or moving hands,
it always just says now.
Now you may be thinking that I was had,
but this watch is never wrong.
And if I have trouble the warranty said,
breathe in, breathe out, move on.”

This Jimmy Buffett song was written about the devastation wreaked by Hurricane Katrina but I find the opening of the song resonates for any of life’s storms. The time is now, my friends…
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Looks Can Be Deceiving…

 

I was intrigued by these small, colorful blobs while walking along the beach on Mustang Island this weekend. Despite their similarities, Blue Buttons (Porpita porpita), are not sea jellies, but instead are colonial creatures made up of hydrozaon polyps, related to Velella velellas and Portugese Man o’ Wars (Physalia physalis). Cyan Buttons would be a more appropriate name, in my humble opinion, but it would lack that cool alliteration factor.

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What If the Shoe Doesn’t Fit?

After all these days wandering along Coastal Bend beaches this was my first time finding toy footwear. It must’ve been today’s theme as I found the leg and the first two non-matching shoes this morning on Mustang Island but picked up the pink one during my sunset walk here on Rockport Beach. Women and their shoe collections!

 

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