This diary is really just a report on the state of booming and biodiversity in the northeastern gulf which is still awaiting its first oil (at least on the surface). No analysis - just a feel for what things are like. Today I visited the Gulf of Mexico for the first time in a month. During May I visited virtually every week and each time I left I remember taking a final look and wondering what I would see the next time. It is now two months since I made the first of those visits and, at least on the surface, the far northeastern reaches of the gulf are much as they were. However when I made my way down to St. Mark's NWR with the idea of doing some bird censusing I did notice one rather obvious difference.
St Marks NWR is located due south of Tallahassee in Wakulla County. The shoreline is almost entirely salt marsh. Wakulla County seems to have started booming. The plan seems to be have some in place and then finish off the job later as the boom in place just went out into the Gulf about half a mile and turned to the right and ended .
As you might be able to tell from the first photo the weather was a bit dodgy. However it did stop raining for a while and I walked around in the rain a bit. Absolutely no sign of oil on the water surface, in the sand, or on the sea grass washed up on the shore. Quite a lot of wildlife. Here is what I will be reporting on ebird.
Coastal St Marks
Doublecrested Cormorant - about 30,, Brown Pelican - 1, Least Tern - 2, Laughing Gull - about 15, Black Skimmer - 5, Willet - 5, Black-bellied Plover - 1, Clapper Rail - 1, Boat-tailed Grackle - about 10, Red-winged Blackbird - about 6.
Nonbirds - Cotton Rat - 4 sightings, probably 2 individuals, American Alligator - 1, Pig Frog - 1 heard, Southern Leopard Frog - many heard.
The bulk of the birds were seen by scanning this area.
The inlet at the far left center is also boomed off although the boom is not visible in the picture.
From St Marks I headed west and a bit south. Passing through the town of Panacea, I ended up at a Wakulla County Park, Mashes Sand. This area is a mixture of beach and marsh.
I had been somewhat surprised to see a Black-bellied Plover at St. Marks as I had not realized they had already returned from their arctic breeding grounds. But there were a couple more at Mashes, one with its breeding plumage still faintly visible. Also present were these 3 Ruddy Turnstones, likewise back from the arctic. Just above them is a Willet which spends the entire year here
There are a lot more water birds around the gulf in the winter than there are in the summer. A worrisome thought to be sure.
There was boom here as well. Again the boom just went out and curved around and stopped. Presumably they plan on adding more when the oil gets closer.
I will note that here as at St. Marks the intent seems to be to boom off what is essentially an exposed headland. Again there was no trace of oil anywhere in the vicinity. The list for Mashes.
Brown Pelican - 4, Laughing Gull - about 20, Willet - 6, Blackbellied Plover - 2, Ruddy Turnstone - 3, Mockingbird - 2, Great-tailed Grackle - 4
My third stop was Bald Point State Park, across Ochlocknee Bay in Franklin County. The causeway across the bay had boom all along it but no good location for taking pictures.
At Bald Point a ship full of boom could be seen anchored well offshore. Here's a badly digiscoped picture (taken through my binoculars in the rain).
The story here was much the same as at the first two spots. No signs of any oil and incomplete booming. As I moved west into more exposed waters there was increased signs that heavy waves from Hurricane Alex had stirred things up. You can see some seagrass that has been stopped by the boom in the photo below.
The next photo was taken just the other side of the boom. Large amounts of sea grass has been washed ashore during high seas whether or not boom is present.
Still at Bald Point I ventured into the salt marsh. Much to my surprise I saw my second clapper rail of the day. It was fairly close to the boardwalk so I thought I would try for a photo. The bird headed into the brush. Scanning for it I found something else.
The calling rail moved further away but then I suddenly saw the movement of two birds on my other side. It was an adult rail with a chick!
The chick is the black object on the left, I ran out of disk space (long story) and didn't get any more pictures although they were astonishingly cooperative. Rails are not known for hanging out in the open. A fourth clapper started calling while I was watching these two - they must really like that marsh!
Much of the attention has been given to marine life but this coastal marsh animals will be just seriously affected, especially if oil is pushed ashore in a storm.
The tally for Bald Point
Brown Pelican - 4, Laughing Gull - about 10, Willet - 4, Ruddy Turnstone - 2, Sanderling(?) - 2, Clapper Rail - 4
Nonbirds - Racer (snake) - 1, Anolis lizards - 2, Narrow-mouthed toad - 1
Before heading back north I made my way to Carrabelle Beach. By the time I arrived there was a downpour with quite a bit of wind. The beach was boomed off but the boom looked mighty meager bobbing in the waves. No pictures because no disk space.
Tally. Brown Pelican - 6, Laughing Gull - about 50, Willet - 2, American Oystercatcher - 2.