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Posted by Barbie G., , FLORIDA
Monday, August 3, 2009
One of my favorite places to visit this summer has been Porpoise Point on Vilano Beach – at low tide. The surf is gentle, the water is clear and there is an abundance of wildlife to see.
There are about 52 Least Terns nesting on the Point this summer. Last week, while I was enjoying my walk, I stopped to chat with a woman from Audubon that was observing the hatchlings on the nests. She shared with me a peek through her hi-powered scope to see these tiny little babies hopping toward the dune posts to get some shade. It was amazing. It turns out that in addition to the Least Terns, there are 3 or 4 Wilson’s Plovers nesting in the dunes too. Thank goodness the county’s Parks and Rec Department closed off vehicular traffic on this part of the beach. The Plover’s are rare for this area and the Least Tern is an endangered species.
But the birds are just half the excitement on Porpoise Point. On one of my two-hour walks in the surf I was walking along and a baby bill fish swam right along with my walking pace. It was like he thought I was his Mama and he was looking for direction. I stopped- he stopped. I walked – he swam. Interesting….. I also observed a couple of green sea turtles as they popped their heads up for air. They were closely followed by two giant manatees that were swimming out to sea with the outgoing tide. Funny thing was that a half hour later, they swam right back in when the tide turned. I was in seaside nature heaven. Between the 2 whelk shells and the beautiful pink feather from a Roseate Spoonbill, I found several sand dollars and shark’s teeth. Porpoise Point is my favorite place to find treasures from the sea.
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