Friends of Padre

Jeff Wolda Reports Air Temp: 78 Water Temp: 74 Wind: 5 SE Waves: 3-4 ft Water Clarity: Chocolate Milk Weed: Very little new weed. Lots of dead on the beach and in the 1st gut. Driving: Good until the 6mm. Soft and very bumpy past that. Hit the beach and was at the 15 at first light. Dirty water past the 3rd bar with lots of dead weed in the water. Decided it wasn't worth the gas and wear and tear on the truck to keep going. Off the beach by 8.

Today the first Kemp's ridley nest was confirmed on the Texas coast for 2014. It was located at Padre Island National Seashore. Another set of tracks was also found there, but was quite blown away and continues to be investigated. Yesterday, a set of turtle tracks was found on North Padre Island, north of Padre Island National Seashore, but they were much too narrow for nesting Kemp's ridley and there was no nest located there. -- Donna J. Shaver, Ph.D. Chief, Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery, National Park Service, Padre Island National Seashore Texas Coordinator, Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network Telephone (361)949-8173, ext. 226; fax: (361)949-9134; pager (361)851-4255 E-mail: donna_shaver@nps.gov http://www.nps.gov/pais/ Facebook: Padre Island NS Division of Sea Turtle Science and Recovery

It took us over 3 ½ hrs. to travel to the 47 mile beach and we cut the trip off there due to the horrible driving conditions. Sargassum is stacked high and covers the entire beach and new weed is constantly coming in. Less on the North end where dead weed is thick in the guts. Quality fishing is impossible. Driving is tediously bumpy and slow due to the sargassum. Finger mullet were observed as were 3 large jack Crevalle and 5 sharks free swimming up to 5 feet long. Ladyfish and Spanish Mackerel were observed. Water is beautiful the entire length of the beach. 130 Red Knots (all in one bunch, 5 Curlew, 26 Yellowlegs (sp), 1 White-tailed hawk,, 2 Peregrines, 2 Golden Plover, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, 13 Blue Wing Teal and 342 Cattle egrets

Go Wild for Padre Island National Seashore! Celebrate National Park Week with Free Admission and Educational Programs. Go wild for the beaches, birds, sea turtles, camping and fishing on Padre Island National Seashore during National Park Week, April 19 through 27, 2014. To get the celebration going, Padre Island National Seashore will waive entrance fees on April 19 and 20. A variety of free educational opportunities await those wanting to learn more about the Texas coast. The most popular are birding tours that take visitors to various stops and provide a chance to learn about the many resident and migratory species that can be seen during the spring. Tours depart daily on Fridays, Saturdays, & Sundays through April 27. Departure times are 9:30 a.m. & 2:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 9:30 a.m. only on Sunday. Reservations are recommended and can be made in person or by calling the park visitor center at (361) 949-8068. Other programs are also offered, so be sure to ask about them. “Corpus Christi is fortunate to have a great playground and so much important wildlife habitat within a short drive. Everyone is invited to take advantage of the upcoming fee free days on April 19 and 20 in order to see for themselves how beautiful and enjoyable the park is”, said Superintendent Mark Spier. Note that National Park Week will continue until Sunday, April 27. However, only April 19 and 20 are fee free. Visit www.nationparkweek.org for more information about what is going on at Padre Island National Seashore and other National Park Service sites throughout the country. You can share your park experiences and photos on the website. www.nps.gov/pais

Via Captain Billy Sandifer Water is murky green to the 30 mile beach and clear south of the 30 to the Port Mansfield jetties. There is no fresh sargassum north of the 45 and large amounts from the 45 to the jetty. Menhaden were seen feeding in the surf. One 5’ 8” Blacktipped shark was caught and we saw a larger shark. We observed a total of 4 large jack Crevalle. Driving is great on low tide and slow going in the Big Shell on high tide but it’s not terribly soft. Birds sighted included 1 sub adult Glaucous Gull, 1 Wimbrel, 3 Green Herons, 1 Long-billed Curlew, 1 White-tailed hawk, 1 Yellow Crowned Night Heron, 25 white Egrets (sp), 6 Golden Plover, 1 Water Thrush (sp) and 1 Savannah Sparrow.

From Jody Mays at Padre Island National Seashore (Corpus Christi, Texas)- The National Park Service continues to monitor the clean-up work taking place along the beach at Padre Island National Seashore. While the portions of the park’s beach that are normally open to vehicle traffic are still closed, Bird Island Basin boat ramp, all park campgrounds, and the Malaquite Visitor Center remain open for use. On Tuesday, a twenty-person hand crew made good progress in cleaning Malaquite Beach, the park’s most popular visitor beach access area. School and education programs are continuing at the visitor center; however, beach goers are being advised to check their footwear for tar when returning from the beach. The size of the work forced doubled on Wednesday as partner agencies brought additional personnel and equipment into the park to handle the work load. Other staff members continue to watch for oiled wildlife and are working to get the injured birds or other animals to decontamination facilities. If no significant amounts of additional oil wash ashore, the park is optimistic that we can begin reopening cleaned areas to regular beach use as soon as is practical. As soon as those decisions are made, another press announcement will occur so that businesses and visitors can resume their normal activities.

(Corpus Christi, Texas)- The National Park Service, in an effort to prevent additional clean-up issues caused by vehicle traffic pressing oil into beach sands, has temporarily closed park beaches to driving. The beach driving closure will remain in effect until the clean-up has reached a satisfactory level to minimize further risks to park resources. The park will remain open to visitors wanting to access Bird Island Basin boat ramp, park campgrounds and the Malaquite Visitor Center. Hiking and swimming along park beaches are strongly discouraged due to hygiene reasons. Visitors to area beaches are advised to carry baby oil and paper towels to remove oil from the skin or shoes. The vehicle beach closure is to allow clean-up in the most efficient manner possible. As long as oil is on the surface of the sand it may be readily lifted off. Continued above average tides this week will mean that vehicles would be forced to drive through the mix of algae and oil droplets found at the high water line. This would serve to "plow" the oil down into the sand and make for much more difficult clean-up. That would then potentially keep the beaches closed for an even longer duration. As soon as the beach clean-up has reached a satisfactory level, the park will send out an additional press release to update area visitors and residents. For additional information, please call the Malaquite Visitor Center at 361-949-8068.

Oil from the barge spill in Galveston is impacting the beaches and right now contractors are removing the oil soaked patches of sargassum from the beach before people drive or walk over it making it more difficult to remove. Beaches and driving will be open as soon as possible. Waiting on an official press release from the National Park Service shortly.