Half Storm Trooper, Half Human

Alas, my days of walking for miles on the beach have abruptly come to an end... for the next 8 to 12 weeks that is. Sadly I broke my foot. Actually the second metatarsal on my left foot, but on a bright note I have turned into a cyborg storm trooper. Well, on one side anyway. 

At a friend's suggestion I still make my way to the beach every morning to enjoy my beach buddies along with the sunrise, the birds, the sound of the waves and even the smell of the seaweed is somewhat pleasing. Ten days down and counting...

Iron Cloud

Thanks to a friend of mine for this perfect title. The cloud that greeted me this morning at the beach was indeed a huge iron monster. However, that enticing edge of blue gave hope that the rains of yesterday would be replaced by some wonderful Florida sunshine today.

First turtle's nest

Turtle season started May 1st and this morning we had our first nest. Woohoo! The best part is that the nest was that of a leatherback, one of the rarer species (designated endangered) and definitely the largest. These turtles can weigh up to 2,000 pounds and measure 7 feet in length. I'd probably faint if I saw one in person, just the evidence of her being here is awesome in itself.

Leatherback's unmistakable signs include her very wide tractor-like tracks and a very large area where she digs a body pit, throwing sand everywhere, then eventually digs the hole to lay her clutch of eggs. What a great day!

(Remember, to get a better view just click on the photo to enlarge it.)

♪♫ One Skimmer Skimming... ♫♪

Like the Partridge in a Pear Tree Christmas song... today I got to witness "One Skimmer Skimming" as I enjoyed sunrise on the beach. This year we have been lucky to have an abundance of Black Skimmers wintering on our beach and though I know they drop their lower mandible and fly along the surface of the water to "skim" their food I had never seen it in action except in some video on the internet. Imagine my thrill at being able to witness this maneuver firsthand. 

He/she skimmed back and forth, back and forth over an area of about 50 yards. At one point he circled me and it was all I could do to keep up. I was tantalized at the speed of flight of this bird.
I have condensed close to 8 minutes of (not-so-perfect) video down to 2:43 and would have been happy to watch more skimming but it started to rain. What you see is what you get. Check it out.