STRICTLY FOR THE BIRDS

Turtle season started the week of Shrimp Festival. It was a horrendously busy time for all those involved with putting it on. Shrimp Festival as one friend put it is the Mardi Gras of Fernandina Beach with mobs of people, parades, beads, Pirates and artists everywhere. As expected the turtles did not add to the excitement this week since they don't usually start nesting until the middle of May. On Wednesday, my second day of turtle patrol, the only activity on the beach was the Laughing Gulls exhibiting increased romantic interest in each other. As I left the park I was fortunate enough to catch the Ospreys which nest on a telephone pole just at the back entrance sprucing up their nest with a new branch. I had just seen one of the pair on his favorite perch on the river with a fish in his talons. After they were satisfied with the nest they both left with the one was still clutching his breakfast on the fly.

Thursday was spent getting ready for the Shrimp Festival parade. The theme this year was honoring the artists who put on the festival and the shrimp who are the real stars. Fernandina Beach lays claim to starting the commercial shrimping industry. Representing part of the group from the Island Art Association was Eileen Shannon Moore and yours truly working on a painting of "Shrimp" as we cruised the parade route driven by our writer friend Dickie Anderson. It was great fun. The town folks have a ball and the parade route was crowded with neighbors waving to other neighbors. The parade had over 90 groups long so I was able to complete the parade and still get back to the party on our gallery porch, catch the last of the parade with our Pirate Ship full of pirates, hear it's earsplitting cannon, and to grab some pirate beads.

Friday was a long day starting with 7:00 turtle patrol and ending with the fireworks show at 9:30. The morning on the beach was made interesting by seeing a lot of different birds. Many varieties of gulls were gathered near the pier with the Laughing Gulls in full romantic moods. Further up the beach on the river side were what I believe to be some Semipalmated Plovers which are migrating through because their true nesting grounds are in Canada and Alaska. With all that traveling a good beach pool bath was in order. A Willet was wading in the edge of the river looking for a meal while a rare glimpse of an American Oystercatcher caught my eye. The most striking characteristic about them is it looks like they have a carrot in their mouth. It was a good birding morning and made me wish I knew more of their names. There are so many different species of gulls I have a hard time keeping them straight. Their coloring often changes with the mating season which only adds to my confusion. When I came back to the ranger station Maureen, my ranger, said "why are you wet on one side?" I told her I had been laying on the beach trying to get a good shot of copulating gulls. This also explains how I am able to get some of the turtle shots I do. Someone had complained to Maureen that I might be "posing" the turtle hatchlings--I'm not quite sure how they thought I could do that. Nature does it's best when left alone.

I am hearing reports from boating people that they are seeing lots of turtles out in the water and also the cannonball jellyfish are being washed ashore so all that indicates that the turtles won't be far behind. The weather has been cool and that may delay nesting activity--who knows? Our beach in the park has built up some since the last two years storms so hopefully it will be a great nesting season.