Month: August 2020

“The strong man on duty at Ocean’s Reach, always faithful.”

(Near the path between Buildings 1 and 2. 

It has always fascinated me every time I walked by.)  » Read more

“Chocolate Coconut Cookies from the Gulf  … Sea Urchins!”

Back by popular demand!

The series of photos we ran in April from Ocean’s Reach “Mom” Beverly P. from Bangor ME was such a hit we wanted to publish a few more.

As Beverly always says, “There’s more on the beach than seashells!”  » Read more

Photo by FWC Fish and Wildlife Research Institute

While many Floridians may be staying at home, other mammals are taking advantage of the low boat traffic and using this time free of human activity to their advantage.

There have been many recent reports of an influx of marine wildlife, including some species that haven’t been seen often in past years.  » Read more

From “Florida Weekly”:

The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife on Sanibel Island recently received a grant for $10,258 from the Florida Sea Turtle Grants Program, which is funded by the sales of the Florida sea turtle specialty license plate.

With hundreds of miles of shoreline, Lee and Collier counties’ barrier islands provide an abundance of important coastal habitat for juvenile sea turtles and beaches for nesting adult turtles.  » Read more

The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s turtle team is seeking to learn more about nesting loggerhead sea turtles.

“We are excited to share that we have placed a third satellite transmitter on a loggerhead sea turtle this season,” Research Associate Andrew Glinsky reported recently. “This turtle is named Periwinkle and she had been previously encountered on Sanibel in 2016 and 2018.”

Since Periwinkle was nesting during the 2018 red tide bloom,  » Read more

FROM WINK NEWS:

The island of Sanibel is known for its shells and beaches but soon, it may be known for its newest resident — a Giant Pacific Octopus.

He really likes his toys. “We give him Mega Blocks, Lego sets, Mr. Potato Heads, lots of things,” said Carly Hulse, Senior Aquarist at Bailey-Matthews National Shell Museum.  » Read more

A diver’s view looking up to the opening of Amberjack Hole.   Photo by AJ Gonzalez. 

From CBS News:

Off the coast of Florida, deep at the bottom of the ocean, are massive blue holes that formed thousands of years ago. What the unexplored holes contain has remained largely a mystery — but now, scientists want to change that.  » Read more

Are you choosing homeschooling or virtual school this fall?  The crew over at Sanibel Sea School are here to help!

Sanibel Sea School is excited to offer supplemental science-based education for small homeschool groups. They can arrange a series of sessions that are focused on hands-on, marine biology or sessions that complement your student’s existing homeschool or virtual school curriculum.

A homeschool package consists of five or more 2.5 hour courses tailored specifically to your students.  » Read more

Thanks to our friends at The Beaches of Fort Myers & Sanibel for this gorgeous photo, along with the reminder of how thinking about your next time on the Great Calusa Blueway can cure any old case of the Monday Blues!

The Great Calusa Blueway offers paddlers the opportunity to tour 190 miles of Southwest Florida’s intricate shoreline, winding through gorgeous mangrove-lined estuaries, around ancient shell islands and across open Gulf waters.  » Read more

A large male turtle was found floating and debilitated in the Pine Island Sound last December, and shortly thereafter was rescued by members of the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF) Sea Turtle Program and Marine Lab staff.

The turtle was taken to the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW), then transported to the Mote Marine Lab for further rehabilitation, where he was named Finley Joe.  » Read more