Blog The Beach

Black Skimmers Love Anna Maria Island

beachhunter — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 15:05:51 +0000

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com The black skimmer (Rhynchops niger) is a strange and beautiful bird present year-round on Florida beaches. It has a unique method of catching fish–it flies along parallel to the shore with its lower bill skimming the thin film of water (called the “swash”) left by the surging waves. When it [...]

Dusk Brings Out the Interesting Birds

beachhunter — Mon, 13 Jul 2009 01:59:09 +0000

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com This evening I took a drive on Terra Ceia Island in Palmetto, just to see what I could see. It is still very much Old Florida. On one quiet road I spotted this owl sitting atop a pole above the mangroves. The light was not good for taking photos and [...]

Pelicans Eat the Strangest Things

beachhunter — Sun, 12 Jul 2009 16:44:30 +0000

Reverend Steve Jackson was recently vacationing on my favorite island, Anna Maria, when he was given the opportunity to help out a pelican in distress. Most people would have just kept minding their own business, especially if they were here on vacation, but Reverend Jackson stepped right up. Read Jackson’s account of his pelican rescue adventure [...]

BeachHunter Speaks at St. Pete Beach Library

beachhunter — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 21:37:38 +0000

I was invited to speak at the St. Pete Beach Public Library today. I presented a short talk about my Florida Gulf beaches book and about Florida beaches in general. Library Administrator Roberta Whipple had a huge wide-screen TV set up to show the videos I did for VISIT FLORIDA. It worked out really well. Lucy [...]

Florida Aquarium Releases Sea Turtles Near Jensen Beach

beachhunter — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 16:42:04 +0000

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com Yesterday the folks from the Florida Aquarium traveled to the Jensen Beach area on Florida’s Atlantic coast to release rehabilitated sea turtles. Check out the photos of the turtle release on the Florida Aquarium Facebook page. Based on the photos, it looks like they released a small green sea turtle and a [...]

Jumping Dolphins!

beachhunter — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 14:23:15 +0000

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com @sunstreampr ReTweeted this photo posted on TwitPic today by @cityftmyers. It’s always exciting to see dolphins, but when they jump it is doubly exciting. If you click on the photo is should take you to the larger version on TwitPic. But don’t forget to come back and watch the clip from [...]

Lightning Strikes-Again

beachhunter — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 12:54:47 +0000

Posted by David McRee at BlogTheBeach.com. Every summer I am saddened to read about people killed by lightning while at the beach. Florida Today has a story of a 54 year old visitor from Oklahoma who was struck and killed by lightning while vacationing in Melbourne Beach with his family. If you can hear thunder, get off [...]

Radio Controlled Surfer-Amazing!

beachhunter — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 16:44:51 +0000

Posted by David McRee on BlogTheBeach.com Spencer Johnson and his incredible radio controlled surfer. American ingenuity at its best. Find out more and buy the DVD at http://reeseproductions.com/videos.html#RadioWaves This is one of the coolest and most amazing things I’ve encountered since I bought my iphone;-)

Blue Button Jellyfish on Texas Gulf Coast

beachhunter — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 22:13:56 +0000

By David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com. Over the 4th of July weekend I’ve received 3 reports from Texas beachcombers of large numbers of blue buttons (Porpita porpita) washing up on the beach. Two specified that they were on South Padre Island. The photos on this page were sent to me by Kathryn G. who had this to [...]

Barrier Island Center July Events

beachhunter — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 15:32:20 +0000

By David McRee of BlogTheBeach.com. If you have never visited the Barrier Island Center you really should take some time to check out their programs if you are interested in coastal nature. Here is what they are offering in July 2009: Oyster Mat Making - Thurs July 9 and Wed Juy 29, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. [...]