Nature You'll See in September

By: Cleo Robertson

September is looking good so far because we've had no serious hurricane warnings, which makes everyone happy. The biggest hurricane to ever hit the coast of the United States landed on September 22, 1938 in northern England which happens to be my birthday. No wonder I’m always in a whirl! September can be awesomely beautiful or stormy, cool and clear or wet and cloudy. Whatever way it is though, it is also a great month to watch wildlife. Osprey, dolphins, snook and crabs are all enjoying life, so keep a lookout for what is around.

Fish and animals: As of September 1, snook season is open. Snook are all around, ready to be frustrating to even the best fisherperson, and mullet are schooling on top of the water in large numbers. Bait fish are plentiful and I see people catching fish off the seawalls and piers all the time. We are blessed at the moment with no red tide and lots of fish and other wildlife around us.

Cownose Rays are usually sighted this month. So if you're lucky enough to see them, just stand still in the water & they'll go around you. Or, put on a snorkel and mask and swim with them like I do : )

I have not, however, seen any Southern Stingrays off shore birthing their young. It may be that because of the way our shoreline changes with dredging that they are avoiding us this year. Hopefully they get straightened out and come back to our shores. They are part of the balance of nature just like the coquinas on the shoreline which feed many things and the seaweed that washes up on the beach and nourishes the dunes.

The skimmer bird made a great show this year, skimming along the shoreline with their dislocateable jaw. If they hit a rock or shell, it simply snaps back into place—the wonders of nature. And who says fishermen aren’t compassionate? One year I saw a man catch a huge snook at the point of Pass-a-Grille in September and was most pleased when I saw him de-hook it and return it to the Gulf. He said he had enough fish for the day.

If you’ve been walking the beach or a golf course, I am sure you have seen the Ibis poking around the ground for coquinas, worms, grubs…you name it. Sometimes you’ll see a flock of them flying which is quite a sight. At other times you might see them carefully aerating grass or picking at the shoreline for coquinas as they find their evening meal.

Which fish has the head of a horse and the tail of a monkey? The seahorse of course. This is an unusual fish, with a head shaped like the knight in a chess set. It holds its’ body upright and swims along by waving its’ back fins. It uses its’ long, curling tail to anchor itself in the seaweed, while it searches for small creatures to eat. Its’ eyes can swivel independently, so the seahorse can hunt for food, and watch out for enemies at the same time. Seahorses have extraordinary breeding habits. The female lays her eggs in a little pouch on the male seahorses’ belly. The eggs develop in the safety of the pouch. About a month later, an amazing sight occurs as the male ‘gives birth’ to hundreds of tiny seahorses.

My personal experience with seahorses was scooping them up with a net when I was a kid and hanging them from our earlobes. When I returned to Pass-a-Grille after being gone for 38 years, I spent a lot of time at Merry Pier checking out what people were catching. One day I was there when a party boat came in and I stood around to watch the King Mackerels be cleaned. As the man cleaning the fish slit open the belly of one, he exclaimed, “Looks like there’s a crab in there.” I said, “Crab, heck, that’s a seahorse” and sure enough as he emptied the belly out a 6” mildly green seahorse appeared—it looked like it had been caught within hours. I still have that seahorse hanging on the wall of my kitchen.

Have the stingrays gone? This is a question I am often asked at this time of year. No, they are not gone. In fact the Atlantic stingray may still be birthing and since the baby stingrays don’t know to be afraid of a shuffle or noise, shadow or disturbance, they just eat away thinking they are safe. Hey, they were just born, how do they know in a minute someone is going to stomp on them? So they do what you or I would do if someone did that to us—hit back. My only advice is to shuffle with your big toes down in the sand so if one is close, your toe will lift its’ wing and then it will scoot. Stingrays that are a few months older are much smarter and scoot as soon as you are in their area, but that doesn’t mean you don’t shuffle anyway. I do, every time I get in the water all year long. Better safe than sorry is my motto.

Shells you might see: My experience with shells, and I look for shells about 10 hours per week, is that they appear in bunches at different times of the year. For instance, if I find a Lettered Olive, which looks like a bullet about 2 to 3” long with black markings that make it look like lettering, I usually will find many of these lovely shells. In the early part of August, I found three perfect, shiny ones without animals in them along the shore as I stood watching the surf roll in off the Paradise Grille in Pass-a-Grille (one of the best shelling spots on the whole Gulf, as far as I am concerned). These lovely shells will continue to roll in from time to time in bunches, so keep your eyes out. You can most often find them along the shoreline where the waves break, or within 5’ of the shoreline.

Fruit you can eat: Ever notice those big, or sometimes medium sized trees with big leaves and grapes hanging off them? Those are seagrape trees and the fruit is wonderful to eat—just wait until they turn dark purple and then go for it. In the old days we used to put them in a cut-off stocking and strain all the juice and make jelly. But these days it’s all I can do to get them home…I usually have eaten my fill along the way. Other fruit that is finishing up are mangoes and papayas. I have a papaya tree that volunteered in my yard and I have about six more big ones before they are done for this season. I take them down just before they start to turn yellow and I put them in my grill to ripen. That way the rats don’t get them first and they are ready to eat within five days usually.

Storms and Lightening: Has anyone noticed how St. Pete Beach seems to be blessed when storms start rolling in? We get the beautiful view of them and then they split in half and go right around us. I have seen this happen several times this summer and it is quite a sight to behold. Let’s hope that all hurricanes follow the same path.

And our rain patterns, go figure. It rains on one side of the street but not the other. It rains on 70th Avenue but not on 60th I remember when I was ten or so I was standing on the seawall by Merry Pier. Rain was coming towards me so I waited to get drenched. But I didn’t. The rain stopped right on the bay side of the seawall so I could reach my arm in and it got wet, but I was nice and dry on the other side!

When you see lightening that scares you, go find some cover. We have had some awesome storms with lightening close enough to make the hairs on my arms stand straight up, but I still sit on my porch and watch every strike I can see. My Mom used to sit with me and we’d just ooooohhh and awwwwhh over the incredible patterns God was painting in the sky. When I say go find cover, however, please make it inside a building if possible. If you are caught on a golf course or in a field, find a ravine or gully and curl up inside—you want to be the lowest thing around. Do not go under a tree. If lightening strikes the tree (because it is the tallest thing around), it bursts out through the roots and you don’t want to be standing on them when that happens!

Bugs, bugs, bugs:. Sugar Ants, Fire Ants, mosquitoes, roaches, rats, mice, termites, gnats…they are all out and on the loose whenever there is a lot of rain. Watch especially for fire ant hills—you will see fine sand piled up on top of the ground. You do not want a child or anyone to step on one of these hills. I did once and I could see the pus-filled red bites on my hands and legs for many days. There are good products to put on the ant hills, so look around and get rid of them. What you see on top of the ground, is about 1/5th of the total hill, and that’s a lot of ants. They jump, by they way, when startled, so be careful as you treat their mounds.

And most important of all TADAH!!! On Tuesday, September 22nd I turn 71 and I am happy to be seeing another birthday. Please come join me at the Paradise Grille on 10th Avenue and the beach side in Pass-a-Grille one hour BEFORE sunset for a fine celebration. The last time I did this for my 65th birthday, 75 people showed up and some of them I didn’t even know, which was an even bigger treat. So brings friends and come join me for a cookout by Paradise Grille and dancing and come join the fun. We’re going to ring the bell and bless each other that we are here, living, and living in paradise no less. Hope to see you there.

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