The frigate bird is an offshore species of bird. This is a bird primarily found soaring through the air far offshore, scanning for a meal or just cruising. They can also be seen near to shore, as in the pictures below.
Category Archives: Biology
Snook Season 2016: Closed in the Summer
Snook season closes during the summer months while the snook spawn. Snook are closed from May 1st through August 31st. The harvest of snook opens back up just before Fall. Continue reading Snook Season 2016: Closed in the Summer
Sea Turtle Nesting Season
That exciting time of year when our endangered sea turtles reproduce is here. Sea turtles nest through the summer months along the white sand beaches of west Florida. The nesting season lasts from May 1st through October 31st. During these months female turtles swim up on the beach at night time, dig nests in the sand, deposit eggs, then swim away. Continue reading Sea Turtle Nesting Season
Red Tide of April 2016
Red Tide of April 2016
Yep, red tide is back at Clearwater Beach and Honeymoon Island. It’s been hanging around since the beginning of April.
Red tide is an organism, a phytoplankton. The over abundance of phytoplankton is commonly known as red tide. Its scientific name is Karenia brevis (genus, species), or K. brevis shortened. Red tides is when there is an over-abundance of pytoplankton in the water(called an algae bloom). The algae blooms are often during the warmer months in the Gulf of Mexico, but its timing can be somewhat unpredictable.
Clearwater’s Cold Stunned Sea Turtles
A Sea Turtle is an air breathing reptile who lives and thrives in the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the waters all over the world. The turtle is a large shelled creature who uses it’s shell as protection for its soft body. The shell is made up of many bones covered with horny scales, also known as scoots. They have no teeth, but very strong jaws. There are seven species of endangered sea turtles, the green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, olive ridley, Kemp’s ridley, and flatback. The majority of these species of sea turtle are found in the waters off Florida. Only the olive ridley and flatback are not. Sea turtles grow very slowly, and live for decades.
Mysto Swell Continued…
This day the winds from the low over the state were the strongest they were during the whole month long surfing event in July. The waves were coming in at 7 feet at 7 seconds. This is the biggest Clearwater was all summer. It also similar to the best waves we got all winter. The only drawback was the strong longshore drift. But, man was it pumping. Continue reading Mysto Swell Continued…
Sand Key Jetty & Clearwater Mitigation Reef
