Friends of Padre

On Sat., 23 Feb, 500 volunteers picked up 45 tons of trash and cleared 10 miles of beach.  The “Friends of Padre” had meticulously planned every phase of the event and the weather conditions were the best in many years.  Lots of good deeds done which will result in lots of good Karma.  Congratulations everyone: you did great. A big than you to outdoor writer, David Sikes, Everett and Pam Johnson and Texas Saltwater Fishing Magazine, Ron Behnke and the Saltwater Angler for promoting the event.  The support of NPS PINS personnel, the Coastal Bend Audubon Society, Sharkathon, C2Mhill and Laura Paul, Casey and the crew from David Ainsworth trucking continue to be invaluable.  So is the support of CCA Corpus Christi Chapter, Daniel Dann and Domino’s Pizza, Stephen and Donna Gregory, Smartshield Sunscreen, H. E. B. s, “Fishbites”, Gambler Graphics, workers from Citgo and Team Industrial Services and Michael Laskowski Sr. and Jr. of Tra-Work Inc. Railroad Maintenance of San Antonio for once again furnishing work gloves to volunteers. Your Brother in the Sand  Billy [gallery ids="245,246,247,248,249,250,251,252,244"]

http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=zmw:78414.1.99999

Air Temp: 85 Water Temp: 81 Wind: 5 E Waves: 1ft Water Clarity: Clear the length of the beach. Weed: New weed coming ashore from the 48-55. Driving: It's starting to get soft, even on the north end at high tide. The farther south you go the more 4x4 is needed. The beach is gone during high tide at the 58.5. Water goes to the dune on a normal high tide there. Birds: 16 Marbled Godwit, 6 Curlew, 5 Black Skimmers, 2 Whimbrel plus the normal birds of summer. Bait is present the length of the beach. Large schools of Dusky Anchovies are moving in, especially from the 25-45. Ladyfish and small Jack Crevalle are hammering the schools. Speckled Trout have shown back up after the cold water upwelling. They are not in big numbers but good in size. Slot reds can be caught on plastics in the first gut early in the morning. The crowds are already showing up on the beach for the long 4th of July weekend. Please remember to slow down around camps. Kids have no idea of their surroundings while on the beach and can pop out of nowhere. The weather looks great this weekend for spending it on the beach and doing a little fishing. Put your trash where it belongs. There are several abandoned camps with tents and trash left for others to pick up.

Air Temp: 72 Water Temp: 68 Winds: 15-20 SE Waves: 3-4 ft Water Clarity: Green Weed: 0-30mm has old weed at high tide line with little in surf. 30-60 new weed moving in with new and old at high tide line. Driving: 2 WD the length of the beach. Some soft areas forming at the 17 and in lower 20’s. A small Green Sea turtle was found by turtle patrol on my way south to the jetties at the 37. It was missing its front left flipper. I gave the turtle patrol a bucket with fresh Sargassum in the bottom to take the turtle to the shack at the 39. Amos came and picked it up. No update on if it made it. Driving north from the jetties I came across a large dead turtle washing in at the 57. It appeared to have been dead for some time. No visible injuries such as a shark bite. Notified turtle patrol heading north at the 52. There were very few birds on the beach outside of the regulars. Only exception was 60 American Avocet at the 46. Did see 2 Curlew over the 60 miles. No birds of prey.

The 18^th. Annual Big Shell Beach Cleanup will be held on Saturday, 23 February, 2013. The event will commence at 07:00 a.m. and volunteers will be back at the Malaquite Pavilion by 2 p.m.  4 wheel drive vehicles and operators, trailers for hauling trash and walking volunteers are all needed and welcomed.  Walking volunteers will be afforded transport to and from the work area.  Water, sodas and drinks will be available in the work area and at Malaquite after the event but if you feel like you might want something more feel free to bring it.  We changed the date of the event this year as there is a potential change of speed limits on the beach from 25 mph to 15 mph on 1 March and at 15 miles per hour it would take most of our work day to simply travel into and out of the work area.  In addition; over the years we consistently receive requests from volunteers to not hold the event during Spring Break.  So, this date change will alleviate that inconvience as well.  Interestingly enough upon checking back for the past 6 years in my daily log books I found that typically the weather and tides are better in late February than in March.  We have had some tough weather days on our March date cleanups so maybe this will be more user friendly. The event will start at 07:00 a.m. but it would really help if people could arrive a bit early as things are awfully hectic and confusing getting everyone lined out in the dark. It Levitra is requested that all section leaders and those who are going to help in the parking lot get there by 06:15 a.m.  A map will be made available explaining how things will take place in the parking lot prior to the event.  Updates and the map will be available on Friends of Padre, Inc.’s web site, Tyler Thorsen’s message board at corpusfishing.com and on Friends of Padre’s web site at www.friendsofpadre.com .  It was decided BY OTHERS years ago to call this the Capt. Billy Sandifer Big Shell Cleanup but to me it isn’t; it is OUR Big Shell Beach Cleanup; not Billy Sandifer’s.  This is a grass roots event made up of volunteers who care about the condition of this wondrous national treasure and are willing to spend 1 day a year being good caretakers of it.  It’s hard work but it’s a “feel good” experience you’ll never forget filled with wonderful, selfless companions and laughter. This event has never rescheduled regardless of conditions so it is very advisable to bring slicker suits and warm clothing.  It is advised that vehicle operators carry fix-a-flat, tire plugs and a small air compressor in case of flat tires.  It is also advised that volunteers wear sturdy shoes to avoid fish spines.  Be sure to wear appropriate clothing for the forecast weather.  Event t-shirts and goody bags will be given to volunteers.  Big Shell beach is a one of a kind place and this is a one of a kind event.  You are cordially invited to join us. Your Brother in the Sand.  Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

Not many folks realize it and there is no reason they would but about 13 years ago I decided I wanted to learn as much as I could about the total eco-system of PINS. I started studying full time when ever I could between charters and when not repairing gear. I have accumulated a small, but detailed reference library on Padre and being pals with knowledgable folks like Dr. David McKee helps as well. I came to know one of the best birders in the U.S., Mel Cooksey, who was living at Padre Isles at the time. Mel keeps the records of bird sightings for the Coastal Bend for the American Birding Association and is on the State Records committee. He loves to fish and we worked out a trade. I took him fishing and he taught me the birds. MANY hrs. of book study have gone into this as well as field study time. When he considered me knowledgeable enough he suggested that I start including unusual bird sightings or large numbers of certain bird species in my daily log entries as no extended study of the birds on PINS had ever been done. I have been doing so daily ever since. I turn in quarterly annual sightings/abundance reports to the American Birding Assoc., the Texas Ornitholical Assoc. and the PINS Natural Resourses Dept. SUPPOSEDLY ha I can tell you what any bird in Texas is, what it does for a living, where it came from and where it is going. I figure it helps our "Track Record" of positive use of the eco-system and to tell you the truth it has increased my enjoyment of every day I spend outdoors. It's cool to hear a bird call out and know what species it is without ever seeing it. When I first started studying the birds I thought how sad it Valium 15mg is that I have seen these creatures all of my life and many of them do the same thing I do for a living in the same place day after day and I don't even know their names. As the years went on I made and turned in observations that have actually made scientists reconsider the distribution of certain species and of certain habits. Currently; due to these sightings and reports there is a lot of interest in the relationship between the Tarpon, the Black Tern and the shoals of Dusky Anchovies. I have been blessed to make some really rare sightings. There are only 2 accepted sighting of adult Sabine's Gull for Texas and I have one of them. [caption id="attachment_91" align="alignright" width="300"] A brown noddy observed by Capt Billy on PINS[/caption] There are only 6 accepted sightings of Brown Noddy for Texas and I have 3 of them on PINS. When I reported the Flamingo to Cooksey he said,"so that is where it went. It has been down in the Southern Laguna near Laguna Atascosa. IMHO the more you know about fishing the more you enjoy it and new doors are opened to you in the world of fishing. The same certainly holds true for other facets of the eco-system. Several years ago a movie was made about research bio-chemists doing field research in the Amazon. Medicine Man. The last line of that movie sticks in my head all the time and I have it written on a scrap of paper on my desk. I read it each morning and it makes me realize how lucky we are and it reminds me to enjoy and appreciate and be greatful for the lives we have been given and the place the Creator gave us to live them in. "LIFE IS STRANGE, BUT DOWN HERE IT IS VERY PRECIOUS." Capt Billy

At 3 p.m. yesterday, 14 Oct., 2012 we discovered this piece of gill net containing a shark and other species 2 miles north of the Port Mansfield jetties.  A panga gas tank was a mile north and another buoy was out in the surf coming in very slowly farther north.  My GUESS is it Ativan Online also contained webbing.  This was found while myself and others were doing a bird survey/riding fence for the 501(c)3 group; Friends of Padre. [caption id="attachment_12" align="alignnone" width="300"] The shark was found on Padre Island National Seashore trapped in a gill net. Most likely caused by illegal fishing boats from Mexico.[/caption] Capt. Billy L. Sandifer

On 10/17/2012 Jeff Wolda and I scouted Padre Island National Seashore No Black Terns they are gone 473 Cattle Egrets 1100 Pelicans 1 beautiful Tri-Color Heron 3 Peregrines 2 Reddish Egrets 1 Coot Flock of 400 DB Cormorants 2 Osprey 2 Little Blue Heron 6 Great Egrets 80 Pulverous Whistling Ducks 400 Dark and White Ibis Fishing was poor then reported exceptional on 17 Oct. and dropped off Buy Klonopin yesterday. We may or may not go pre-dawn this morning and will go Saturday morning (10/20). We’ve missed the Black Tern migration and this is not unusual. It is less common than getting them though. Jack crevalle and Red drum should start raising hell Saturday. Tides and driving remain high and tedious. After Saturday I think I’m going to the ranch for a few days. Best Regards, Billy