Friends of Padre Beach Report 2/17/2016
By Tyler Thorsen
Via Captain Billy Sandifer and Troy Adler Troy Adler and I traveled the entire length of the beachfront. Fog was dense and remained off and on during the day and hindered seabirds attempting to feed and no bait fish were observed. 
The first 50 yards of the beach was soft although in the afternoon PINS personnel had graded it and it was much better. On low tide there were few soft spots; most of these are when large trees are blocking the beach and you have to drive up high around them. On high tide there was quite a bit of 4 wheel high driving; especially in the Big Shell. 
Sure hope it rains this coming week and packs that loose sand down some. The water was green all the way but really pretty the farther south we went. Quite a bit of Turtle Grass from the bay was scattered along stretches of the beach; especially on the north end but no sargassum weed was observed. No wildlife and very few fishermen were observed. The trash in the Big Shell area isn’t too bad this year due to the abundance of high tides which cover it up. There is more trash on the south ½ of the Big Shell. Lots of Valentine's balloons have already been washing in. 
Sections should be able to knock out a mile easier than usual and if this is the case PLEASE hop scotch your way to the north and pick up more trash rather than quit. It sure would help how many miles we can clean. Weather forecast sounds good with temperatures ranging from the 50s to 70s but there is a 50% chance of rain. Of course the forecast could change. The tide forecast is for low tide levels. No migrating birds yet. Bird species observed included 1 White-tailed hawk, 1 Osprey, 1 Northern Harrier, good numbers of Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, 1 Black-bellied plover, Brown Pelicans, Royal and Forester’s Terns, 1 Wimbrel, Laughing, Ring-billed and Herring gulls, 25 Long-billed Curlews and 66 Horned Larks. Hope to see you on the 27th! Billy
The first 50 yards of the beach was soft although in the afternoon PINS personnel had graded it and it was much better. On low tide there were few soft spots; most of these are when large trees are blocking the beach and you have to drive up high around them. On high tide there was quite a bit of 4 wheel high driving; especially in the Big Shell. Sure hope it rains this coming week and packs that loose sand down some. The water was green all the way but really pretty the farther south we went. Quite a bit of Turtle Grass from the bay was scattered along stretches of the beach; especially on the north end but no sargassum weed was observed. No wildlife and very few fishermen were observed. The trash in the Big Shell area isn’t too bad this year due to the abundance of high tides which cover it up. There is more trash on the south ½ of the Big Shell. Lots of Valentine's balloons have already been washing in. Sections should be able to knock out a mile easier than usual and if this is the case PLEASE hop scotch your way to the north and pick up more trash rather than quit. It sure would help how many miles we can clean. Weather forecast sounds good with temperatures ranging from the 50s to 70s but there is a 50% chance of rain. Of course the forecast could change. The tide forecast is for low tide levels. No migrating birds yet. Bird species observed included 1 White-tailed hawk, 1 Osprey, 1 Northern Harrier, good numbers of Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, 1 Black-bellied plover, Brown Pelicans, Royal and Forester’s Terns, 1 Wimbrel, Laughing, Ring-billed and Herring gulls, 25 Long-billed Curlews and 66 Horned Larks. Hope to see you on the 27th! Billy
0 comments