Friends of Padre

I received this wonderful email from Dr. Donna Shaver this morning. "Tyler, I believe that the section of North Padre Island north of the National Seashore that has been adopted by the Friends of Padre is between markers 292 and 302. I wanted to let you know that three Kemp's ridley nests were recorded within that section this year, including the one near marker 298 in this photo. I collected the eggs from all three nests and brought them to our incubation facility at the National Seashore. Each had a 93.8-97.4% emergence success, and 290 hatchlings were released from them collectively. Thank you for your hard work keeping that section of beach clean for everyone to enjoy, including nesting Kemp's ridley turtles! Best wishes, Donna"

 

via Dr. Donna Shaver On July 10, 1 old, previously undetected Kemp’s ridley nest was located in Texas, at Surfside Beach. KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE So far this year, 186 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 0 Bolivar Peninsula 0 Galveston Island 0 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside 4 Surfside Beach 1 Quintana Beach 0 Bryan Beach 0 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach 0 Sargent Beach 3 Matagorda Peninsula 0 Matagorda Island 1 San Jose Island 6 Mustang Island 10 North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore 89 Padre Island National Seashore 63 South Padre Island 9 Boca Chica Beach LOGGERHEAD TURTLE So far this year, 3 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 1 Matagorda Peninsula 1 Padre Island National Seashore 1 South Padre Island GREEN SEA TURTLE So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): Data presented here are preliminary. Do not cite or quote without permission. Contact Donna Shaver for further information. Updates regarding nesting are also posted at the Padre Island National Seashore website: https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/2016-nesting-season.htm

Friends of Padre cleaned our stretch of beach from mile markers 292 - 302 south of Bob Hall Pier. Thanks to Corpus Christi Burners for organizing the cleanups!

Via Dr. Donna Shaver On 13 June, 2 Kemp’s ridley nests were found in Texas, including 1 at Padre Island National Seashore and 1 on South Padre Island. KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE So far this year, 175 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 0 Bolivar Peninsula 0 Galveston Island 0 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside 3 Surfside Beach 1 Quintana Beach 0 Bryan Beach 0 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach 0 Sargent Beach 3 Matagorda Peninsula 0 Matagorda Island 1 San Jose Island 6 Mustang Island 9 North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore 84 Padre Island National Seashore 60 South Padre Island 8 Boca Chica Beach LOGGERHEAD TURTLE So far this year, 2 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 1 Padre Island National Seashore 1 South Padre Island GREEN SEA TURTLE So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): Data presented here are preliminary. Do not cite or quote without permission. Contact Donna Shaver for further information. Updates regarding nesting are also posted at the Padre Island National Seashore website: https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/2016-nesting-season.htm

Via Dr. Donna Shaver On 23 May, 19 Kemp’s ridley nests were found in Texas, including 11 on South Padre Island, 6 on Padre Island National Seashore, 1 on Matagorda Peninsula, and 1 on Boca Chica Beach. KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE So far this year, 120 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 0 Bolivar Peninsula 0 Galveston Island 0 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside 1 Surfside Beach 1 Quintana Beach 0 Bryan Beach 0 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach 0 Sargent Beach 3 Matagorda Peninsula 0 Matagorda Island 1 San Jose Island 5 Mustang Island 7 North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore 53 Padre Island National Seashore 44 South Padre Island 5 Boca Chica Beach LOGGERHEAD TURTLE So far this year, 1 nest has been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 1 South Padre Island GREEN SEA TURTLE So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): Data presented here are preliminary. Do not cite or quote without permission. Contact Donna Shaver for further information. Updates regarding nesting are also posted at the Padre Island National Seashore website: https://www.nps.gov/pais/learn/nature/2016-nesting-season.htm

via Jeff Wolda Air Temp: 80 Water Temp: 78 Wind: 15-20 NE Waves: 3-5 ft Water: Green the length of the beach Weed: None Driving was good with the exception of the 20-29 mile marker at high tide. The Northeast winds kept the water higher than it should have been for most of the day. It started to shift to the Southeast as I was driving off the beach and the water was dropping quickly. Water is the perfect clarity for fishing. Not gin clear but, you have enough visibility for sight casting or catching bait. Caught jacks and skip jacks with little effort and did see a large school of dusky anchovies down south at the water’s edge. Lots of mullet in the surf from one end to the other. Three kemps nests were found today just south of the turtle shack bringing the total number of nests in Texas to 100 for the year. Did see my first Frigate bird of the year at the 20 as I was driving off. Birds observed: Royal Tern Caspian Tern Laughing Gull Herring Gull Willet Blue Heron Ruddy Turnstone Caracara Black Tern Brown Pelican Barn Swallow Red Knot

Via Jeff Wolda Air Temp: 77 Water Temp: 78 Wind: 5-10 ENE Waves: 2-3 ft Water: Dirty to 2nd bar Weed: None, some sea grass washing up south of the 48 to the jetties Driving: Excellent at low tide. The 20 to the 30 may require some 4x4 at high tide. There are several spots on the south end of the beach that are not passable (unless you drive through the water) at high tide due to the beach being so skinny. After around 45 days of green or clear water especially on the south end of PINS, it has come to an end. The water is chocolate milk the entire length of the beach. Most of it is to the 2nd bar but in some stretches it goes out to the 3rd. Never saw bait or birds working. My guess is, and I’ve also heard this from a few other people, is this is from the flood waters that hit Houston a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully it will not last long! Birds Observed: Royal Tern Caspian Tern Laughing Gull Herring Gull Willet Curlew Blue Heron Aplamado Falcon Red Knot Black Bellied Plover Ruddy Turnstone Sanderling

Via Dr. Donna Shaver On 8 May, 2 additional Kemp’s ridley nests were found in Texas after the notification was sent yesterday. The two included 1 on Boca Chica Beach and 1 on Quintana Beach. KEMP'S RIDLEY TURTLE So far this year, 72 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): 0 Bolivar Peninsula 0 Galveston Island 0 Brazoria County, N. of Surfside 0 Surfside Beach 1 Quintana Beach 0 Bryan Beach 0 Brazoria County, N. of Sargent Beach 0 Sargent Beach 2 Matagorda Peninsula 0 Matagorda Island 1 San Jose Island 4 Mustang Island 3 North Padre Island north of Padre Island National Seashore 29 Padre Island National Seashore 28 South Padre Island 4 Boca Chica Beach GREEN SEA TURTLE So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state): LOGGERHEAD TURTLE So far this year, 0 nests have been confirmed on the Texas coast including (north to south in state):