Pat’s Wildways: Enjoying our Beaches

It’s about time I give homage to the wonderful beaches that border our town. So many of us moved here for the beach, and over time have aged out of enjoying it. Well, I’m not letting that happen to me. The only increasing problem is that, with age, it becomes more difficult to enter the water past the surf pounding on the beach. The drops where the water has carved out the bottom, the forceful waves against our weakening knees as we enter and exit — these become problems. But luckily, living here, we are not confined to a couple of days of vacation when the water is not friendly. I can keep an eye on the water from Main Beach and enter when the conditions are ripe. So, a few days ago I finally went for an ocean swim again. The water was calm like a lake; it was 83 degrees, and I had my tall chair on the beach to retire to when I came out of the water. It was idyllic!

Walking on the beach is manageable too, as long as I choose low tide times, especially in the morning before the day heats up. And here’s where the variety of our beaches comes into play. Each beach access has a very different flavor. If I want a place where receding tides leave tide pools, or sometimes reveal horseshoe crabs and other marine life, and the increased possibility of finding fossilized shark teeth, I head for the river area behind Fort Clinch. If I want a walk with variety, I will park at Peter’s Point, walk south on the beach, then through American Beach and on to the pedestrian walkway back north again.

If I want a shorter walk closer to my home, I opt for the beach access at the foot of Simmons Road. Here the walk down the boardwalk is its own special treat, with obvious gopher tortoise burrows and sometimes the tortoises themselves, and a changing palette of flowering dune shrubs depending on the season. Right now, the gaillardia are still showing off their vivid orange flowers, which are beginning to turn into seed heads that will spread this bounty in the following years. And this time of year the valuable sea oats that stabilize the shore are vividly yellow, especially in the morning when the light is just right. It is always fun to watch the other people at this access, who seem to be more locals than tourists in this out-of-the-way spot. The fishing pier in this area makes a fine place to hang out for the day in the shade too, if you are so inclined.

Recently I also walked the beach from the North Beach Park, a place I used to frequent but haven’t in a while. It was another early morning and only a handful of beach walkers shared the long beach with me. I headed north toward Fort Clinch State Park and was amazed by all the sea turtle nests that were marked and protected in this area. This has been a bumper year for sea turtle nests on Amelia Island, with more than 300 nests identified. Now is an interesting time. A few straggling turtles are still coming ashore, and the marked nests are due to hatch. One nest in this area has a game camera focusing on it and hopefully a boil of sea turtle hatchlings will be recorded for posterity. And it is a tribute to our community that no one has stolen this camera!

Sea turtles are not the only critters using the beach. All up and down my walk, small sand pipers were scuttling in and out of the surf, avoiding people like me but continuing on in their pursuit of marine prey. Even more amazing than the sea turtle nests is the chance to view our wide-open skies over the beach. The recent morning I walked the beach, I couldn’t help but photograph the cloud formations that changed as I moved along. It wasn’t even dawn with all those dramatic colors, but just the light and the patterns captivated me and everyone else, it seemed, who were also taking photos too.

School is back in session and vacations are over but the water conditions at the beach are still perfect for walking, sunbathing and swimming. Be advised that no lifeguards will be on duty after Labor Day, so use your best judgment about entering the water, preferably with other beachgoers around. And enjoy! The beach is ours again!

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com