Check out these exciting upcoming Events on Navarre Beach!!!!

There are a number of exciting upcoming events on Navarre Beach!! Check these out:

Friday, September 24 through Sunday September 26 is the Navarre Beach Sand Sculpture Festival. Come down and watch the masters build their sculptures or compete in the amateur event on Sunday! For more information and to register for the amateur event check out:

http://www.navarresandsculpting.com/

Coastal Clean-Up Saturday, Sept 25, 8 am - noon, Navarre Beach Public Parking Area

Coastal Clean-Up Scheduled in Santa Rosa

This year's International Coastal Clean-Up will take place on Saturday, September 25. Any group or individual should meet at 8 am on either Saturday at the Navarre Beach Public Parking lot directly south of the Navarre Beach Bridge. Allied Waste is sponsoring the event, which celebrates the 25th year that the International Coastal Conservancy has sponsored the event throughout the world.

For information on the international coastal cleanup and marine debris check out:

http://www.oceanconservancy.org/ 

Coastal Encounters: Open House at the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station and  Kids Fishing Clinic at the Navarre Pier!

This event is part of the Santa Rosa County Beaches to Woodlands Tour

WHEN:   Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010

                Coastal Encounters: Open House at the Marine Science Station 10 am - 2 pm

                Kids Fishing Clinic, 8am - noon at the Navarre Fishing Pier


WHERE:   Navarre Beach Marine Science Station

                 8638 Blue Heron Circle, Navarre Beach, FL.

                 Navarre Beach Fishing Pier, Navarre Beach, Florida

COST:      Free admission

CONTACT:  Chris Verlinde 623-3868

                     Debbie Holland 983-5359

Join us for Coastal Encounters: Grand Opening of the Navarre Beach Marine Science Station Celebration on Saturday, October 2, 2010, 10 am until 2 pm. The Navarre Beach Marine Science Station is located at the county park on Navarre Beach. The Kids Fishing Clinic will take place at the at the Navarre Pier, 8 am until noon. Join us for this fun filled day!

As part of the Beaches to Woodlands Tour, this event is one of many throughout Santa Rosa County that will showcase the coastal and natural areas of our county. Navarre High School Marine Biology students will present many hands-on activities such as: shark myths, eat an estuary, marine debris, fish painting, shell identification, sea turtles, and more!

In addition, environmental education activities and displays will be provided by local organizations, agencies, and schools. Participants will be able to tour the Marine Science Station and learn about opportunities of how they can support the station. Several displays will focus on various issues such as protecting area waterways and coastal habitats. Information on sharks, water safety, disaster preparedness and other local environmental issues will be included. Learn about live marine critters at the touch tank, experience kayaking and fishing. Arts & craft activities will include making sea turtle maracas, fish painting and more!

The kids fishing clinic will take place at the Navarre Fishing Pier from 8 am until noon. The first 75 children, ages 5-12 will receive free access onto the fishing pier and a fishing rod and reel!

And a little moonlight shall lead the way......

TURTLES TURTLES AND MORE TURTLES !

 For those of you that missed the great hatching of our show off, fancy pants loggerhead turtle nest ( this was the turtle that came ashore in the day to lay eggs, with a great audience, at the bottom of the BUSIEST WalkOver Ramp on the beach - she's a show stealer), which I'm guess was MOST of you.  I bring to you the following photos and video.  This is the Loggerhead Sea Turtle Nest that was at Navarre Beach, WalkOver 3, the handicap ramp in the main parking lot.  This nest was laid, oddly enough, in the day time instead of night, on July 3rd.

Setting up for the LONG wait.

Hard to see but the depression is forming in the center of the staked area.

The nest was showing signs of activity and scratching at around 6:55 pm, movement was noted at 7:10, and again at 7:14, and 7:19. At 7:23 the first major movement was made, and at 7:35, just after sun down, WHOOSH!, 24 little hatchling burst forth and strode off to the sea.

The marine science students had dug and smoothed us a lovely pathway for the critters trip.  Which made the journey much quicker, as those little legs didn't have to dodge footprints.  We only had three turtles get confused as to their direction, due to the brighter lights from the local condos, but human bodies did a great job blocking that light for our little travelers.  24 made the journey this go around. ( loggerheads lay anywhere from 80-120 eggs, only 1 in 1000 eggs will make it back to lay eggs on the home beach, and it takes 25 to 30 years for a turtle to reach maturity)

The nest had sounds of further movement, but then went quiet again. We think it is done for the night, but will be "caged" for the night and checked repeatedly for more hatchlings all night long.  If not tonight, maybe more tomorrow.  IF you come to a turtle hatching, PLEASE PLEASE NO BRIGHT LIGHTS. This confuses the hatchlings and they waste energy walking the wrong direction.  It also messes up our night vision.  This includes all flash photography, glo sticks, and CELL PHONES.  (Photos on this site were taken in daylight, or with flash with NO TURTLES present.  Video was taken with red light, which goes unseen/noticed by turtles.)  Thank you.  We also need you to be very quiet, and limit your movement.  The hatchlings can feel the vibrations in the sand from over 50 feet away, and think it's a predator and will not come out.  It also makes it very difficult for us to hear the hatchlings beneath the sand.  We may set a perimeter of 50 feet from the nest for further viewing for the safety of the turtles, so be prepared for that.  We thank you for all of your consideration. 

And at the end of the run, we were left with this. So cute.

Now with that said, I'm going to hit the shower and wash off all this sand.

Now for your viewing pleasure, taken by me, a late night sea side video.While my camera takes great video, the sound stinks, so turn off your sound, and hum the music from 2001 a Space Odessy......Prepare to say Awwwwwwwwww

The video runs for about 5 minutes, but there's nothing to see past about 3.45

CLICK FOR VIDEO >>>   Sea Turtles Hatching