Friends of Padre Report for 10/28/2013

This report is a combined effort by Friends of Padre and Sharkathon to inspect the beach for trash and fish remains after a long tournament weekend. Water clarity improved Monday, October 28th after strong winds and high water pounded the seashore on Friday and Saturday. Small pieces of sargassum were making landfall on the southern half of the beach, but no substantial mats were reported. Dead sargassum returned to the wade gut and first bar due to Saturday's high water event. No actively feeding birds were observed until reaching the East cut, where brown pelicans and laughing gulls were feeding over skipjack, Spanish mackerel, and blacktip sharks. The observed prey in the wash at the foot of the jetty was a mixture of finger mullet and anchovies. Larger boils were observed at the end of jetty, but a positive identification was unavailable. The water in the East Cut was green to brown in color. This tannin-stained water can be observed at passes following high rain events when slugs of freshwater exit the estuaries. Our bird count was incomplete as our eyes were focused on trash and fish remains. With that said, two Peregrine falcons were observed and 14 Long -billed Curlews were counted.