FoP Beach Report 4/8/2015

Friends of Padre beach report: April 8, 2015 7:30 a.m.-High Tides and winds steady at 20 mph, gusts to 30+ Overcast and cloudy day, light fog, spots of sunshine in the afternoon. Water temperature: 69 degrees Difficult driving conditions due to large amount of natural debris. Mainly large branches and trees in the common driving lanes. Majority of debris is between 7 miles (some loose sand here) and 35 miles. Surf varied as the tides dropped and winds laid near noon. Blue water was just past 3rd sandbar in the 40’s. Water murky to third sandbar from 45-Mansfield jetties. No bait activity was seen. No birds were working and no bait seen jumping. Other fishermen reported drum and whiting as their only catches. Very few people fishing. Majority of our sightings were Turtle Patrol volunteers! Park personnel stated that no Kemp’s Ridley’s had been found yet. Don’t forget…Speed Limit 15 mph!! Bird Sightings: Herring gulls Laughing gulls Franklin’s gulls Sanderlings Caspian Terns-2 Royal Terns-500+ entire length of beach Forster’s Terns-100+ near Mansfield jetties Least Terns Brown Pelicans- 500+ Blue Heron-3 Semipalmated Plover Black Bellied Plover Willets Neotropic Cormorants 500+ Cattle Egrets-100+ on beach and in dunes Barn Swallows-100+ migrating rapidly north Turkey Vultures Blue-winged Teal-1