GTM weekend

So Saturday I tweeted enthusiastically about getting to the beach for a walk (or a wave, or a paddle, or whatever) just about 2 hours before this rather dramatic thunderstorm brewed up around us - yikes! But it was a beautiful walk in the north section of the GTM beach. Did anyone get out to the planned beach walk at the South walkover? It sounded like a great outing for new fans and old hands alike - if you were there (or just have thoughts about GTM NMERR events) please email and let us know. We'll try to share thoughts and insights using this forum. (You can email GTMResearchReserve@gmail.com, and you can also contact us at our Friends of the Reserve site.)

The first sea turtle nest of the season has been noted, umm, more or less: I noted we'd seen N2. Some of you have probably seen N1 - and we want to know about it if you have. The dedicated biologists who work at the Reserve and the equally dedicated volunteers will have made detailed notes about it, and we'll be working to provide that info to everyone as the season unfolds. But for now, informal info and updates are welcome...keep those cards and letters coming, folks!

Finally, in the face of the changing weather this weekend I was torn between watching the eternally optimistic surfers and grabbing my dear old person to head for shelter off the beach. Before we left, though, on an astronomically low tide, in one of the clear, gorgeous tide pools, this sand dollar reflected the perfect light. Enjoy.

Oh, and...let us hear from you!

First sea turtle nest sighting - N 2

With the arrival of May each year everyone who lives at, visits or loves the beaches of northeast Florida is reminded of the return of sea turtles to our shores. It's the beginning of the season during which turtles return over and over again to the areas from which they entered the water as hatchlings, this time to lay their own eggs. People who live at the beaches must be careful about lighting at nighttime, when turtles come ashore to dig nests and lay eggs, and hatchlings try to navigate from sand to sea. Those of us who visit the beaches must be thoughtful about how we change things by our presence: when we dig metal detector and fishing pole holes and sand castle moats, we're creating potential death traps for baby sea turtles. When we leave behind the even the most innocent-seeming garbage we may be leaving booby traps from which baby turtles and other wildlife can't escape. The good news? We get to watch the progress of the season, and take a small part in the successful efforts to preserve these amazing animals.

In 2010, the beaches of GMT MERR hosted more sea turtle nests than ever before in the recorded history of the organization. Is there a correlation between the amazing numbers of nesting turtles and the BP oil spill? Biologists think not, because turtles come home to nest, so to speak. As an observer, I credit Mother Nature and applaud the support She got from the biologists and other staff members at GMT MERR and especially the volunteers whose vigilant care helps ensure the success of these delicately balanced species.

Haven't seen it for yourself? Come on out! You can park in any of the three lots along A1A, walk across the road and enjoy a stroll on a pristine beach. Keep your eyes peeled for markers like the ones shown in the photo. Sometimes you can see the remaining imprint left in the sand by the body of a sea turtle. Now and then you might encounter one of those volunteers and have a chance to chat briefly about the work they do. And even if you don't, you'll have had a bracing walk along one of the most beautiful and best-protected beaches in the southeastern U.S. Don't forget the sunscreen. You'll want to stay awhile.

Turtle nesting season, 2011

There is SO much interesting stuff happening at the GTM Reserve this month, including a nature walk down at the GTM Center at Marineland. For those of us who came of age in northeast Florida, the very word "Marineland" evokes the Florida of the 1950s and '60s: dolphins jumping through hoops, movies being filmed (remember "The Creature from the Black Lagoon"??), a bar we'll always remember for its design and the manager, Norton Baskin, husband of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. In later years the facility became more and more closely associated with world-class research through the Whitney Labs and GTM proudly takes its part in the legacy of research, learning and preservation. So much to talk about, so much to share.

Most timely? It's May! This means the sea turtle nesting season is officially underway. Many of you will remember 2010 as the most stellar year since we started recordkeeping for sheer numbers of sea turtle nests in the GTM Reserve. There were more than TWICE the average number of nests last year, so we're all watching with extra interest as this season gets underway. We'll try to keep you posted here, and in the meantime all your efforts are much appreciated. Remember that lights on the beach at night disorient turtles and may prevent successful nesting. Holes you dig on the beach, if not filled in before you leave, may be deadly to baby turtles heading out to sea. Pick up garbage and take it with you when you leave. And not just your own. Things wash up. Things like fishing line and old balloons are also potentially deadly to wildlife. Every cleanup effort is meaningful and micro-cleanup is perfectly painless.

Other volunteer opportunities are often available, so visit the Education Center, email (GTMResearchReserve@gmail.com) or call 904.823.4500 if you can help.

Updates coming soon!

Wait! Still spring, after all

Apparently that dose of summer we had was nature's foreshadowing of the plot: we relax, bask in the warmth of the mid-70s sunshine, step into the water, open all our windows and maybe even wrap ourselves in sweaters in the evenings. And then one day BOOM! - we have to turn on the A/C. But foreshadowing means it's not real, at least not yet. Take the afternoon off. Go fishing, go surfing, or just take your kids out, and make a small but perfect memory.

Watch the waves for porpoises, and keep an eye on the dunes for gopher turtles. Don't miss the red knots and other sae birds, busily raising new families. Wait for the turtles, who will be nesting soon. Mostly, just let yourself breathe, and remember how lucky we are to have this simple site of peace and surf and wildlife and sunshine, right here in our own backyard.

Summer at the Reserve...already?

At about 90 degrees on the beach this afternoon, it sure FELT like summer, though some of those crisp blue April days may still be ahead of us. The surf was relatively flat today but the ever-optimistic surfers waited for the occasional gift the ocean and wind might combine to deliver...and there were a few.

On Friday afternoon, we watched a big gopher tortoise sunning herself (himself?) just to the north of the North Lot walkover. Today, Sunday, we watched an unusually large crowd of beachgoers and perhaps even a few porpoises, catching waves with the surfers. The North Atlantic Right Whale season is coming to an end and the Reserve prepares for the nesting season of several amazing kinds of sea turtles, who generally begin to arrive in May.

As we all get ready for the turtle season, visitors are reminded to fill in any holes they dig. We make sand castles and walls of sand and dig into the coquina for shark teeth and metal, and it's FUN. But the holes we leave behind may not be evenly filled in by the changing tides, and when they're not they may become obstacles or even death traps for turtles, especially babies, on their hard-wired, hazardous and determined trip from sand to sea. Something to keep in mind.

Couple of other things:
GTM Resarch Reserve and Anastastia Mosquito Control are conducting an interactive program about Florida mosquitos: life cycles, habitats, diseases and methods of control and protection, on April 30, from 9 am to 1 pm at the Reserve's Education Center. For more info, contact the Reserve at 904.823.4500.

And one more note about Turtle Season: an opportunity to make a real difference for these precious local denizens: GTM Research Reserve is having a beach clean-up as a welcome home party. This is also scheduled for April 30 from 8 - 11 am, and registration is requested. For more info, please call the Reserve's Environmental Education Center at 904.823.4500.

Ready, everybody?

GTM Research Reserve: Day 1 of a whole new way to welcome visitors

You may have always thought of this place as "Guana", especially if you grew up in St. Augustine or Ponte Vedra. You may have wondered about it, as you passed through, driving up or down the coast on A1A. In fairness, you may not have considered it at all. But because some of us believe it's one of the rare gifts of beauty in what is admittedly a generally beautiful state, it seemed worthy of its own blog and regular communications for those of you who want to learn more.

Coming soon are Facebook pages and a Twitter account, which will be great fun and will, we hope, open whole new doors of communication. We'll be featuring news from the Friends of GTML Reserve newsletter, updates on activities, and discussions with dedicated volunteers. As some of you know, March is the quiet month between the time the North Atlantic Right Whales leave our waters, where they have given birth to their calves in the quiet winter, and the time the sea turtles begin to return to our beaches to lay their eggs.

We'll be learning, sharing and growing here, with a focus on the intriguing estuarine ecosystem we hold delicately balanced in our backyards. We'd love to know what YOU want to know. Are you wondering what the heck that fossilized bone-looking thing you found on the beach might be? Interested in learning about all the flora and fauna at home in The Reserve? Want to learn more about pre- and post-Columbian peoples and their presence and influence here? We'll have all that and so much more. There's so much going on here, from photo tours to fossil identification classes to archaeological discoveries of pre-Columbian artifacts, to simple observation of a breathtaking array of species as diverse as tiny beach mice and delicate sea oats, and North Atlantic Right Whales and the few extant varieties of sea turtles nesting in the shelter of the dunes.

Please share questions and comments with us. You can do this by following the blog (which has space for this dialogue) or you can email us directly at GTMResearchReserve@gmail.com. If you post questions or comments to the blog, we'll try to get to those within 24 hours. Please follow the blog for regular updates or follow us on Twitter @GTMReserve.  So: welcome! Share your stories, your photos, your questions and insights. It's a fine day for a walk at Guana Tolomato Matanzas Marine Estuarine Research Reserve. You can call us The Reserve. :)

--posted by Angela Christensen