One of our newest naturalist programs for the spring and summer is the Reptile and Amphibian Safari, and it is quickly becoming one of our most popular guest activities. Led by one of our naturalists, usually Ben or Roxann, guests get a chance to discover the sometimes elusive world of reptiles and amphibians. Snakes, turtles, lizards, toads, and frogs are all abundant on Little St. Simons Island, but seeing them can sometimes be tricky. On the safari, we take guests to a wide variety of habitats, and take the time to really look for these island inhabitants.

Recent exciting finds have included Banded Watersnake, Coachwhip Snake, Black Racer Snake, Eastern Kingsnake, Yellow Rat Snake, Southern Toad, Narrowmouth Toad, Green Treefrog, Squirrel Treefrog, Southern Leopard Frog, Broad-headed Skink, Five-lined Skink, Eastern Glass Lizard, Green Anole, and Yellow-bellied Slider Turtle.

The Little St. Simons Island Organic Garden is in full bloom with a wide variety of vegetables, cutting flowers, and kitchen herbs. We have completed the transition from winter production of collards, carrots, radishes, broccoli, beets, bibb lettuces, arugula, mesculun mix, and cold weather herbs. The summer garden production is in tomatoes (many varieties), peppers, squash, cucumbers, beans, sweet peas, okra, melons, cutting flowers, and a wide variety of kitchen herbs with a focus on sweet basil.

We use companion planting in our raised beds; this provides an advantage for flavor enhancement as well as pest reduction. For example, tomatoes like to be planted near basil, but not near beans. Marigolds will help keep aphids away; and nasturtiums planted with squash provide a “living mulch” and will draw out squash bugs.

We are focused on increasing the “life of our soils” in addition to growing more soils from our compost operations. In the winter garden we had great success with the use of “teas” made from our vermicompost (worm castings). These teas add to the biology and fertility of the garden and enhance soil moisture. Compost teas also work as natural insecticides to “coat” the plants and protect them from pests.

The 2009 beach monitoring season for loggerhead sea turtles has been underway for just over two weeks and there is already activity on the beach! The first turtle nest was found on May 17, on Rainbow Beach at the south end of our island. Today, the second nest was found; it is also located on Rainbow Beach. Along with the nests, there have been four non-nesting emergences, where the females went back to the sea shortly after coming onto the beach, instead of laying eggs.

A beautiful perennial is in bloom along the island roadsides. It’s called Coral Bean, or Cardinal-spear. The flower is a vibrant red terminal raceme. The plant gets its name from the seeds produced in a pod. They are also bright red, and sometimes persist in the pod long after it has split open. The seed were once used as beads in early jewelry by Creek Indians. Coral Bean is in the family Fabaceae, which is the same family as peas, clover, and vetch.

Monday, May 11 was the first day back on the beach for two-year sea turtle intern, Sydney Sheedy. Some loggerhead nests have already been discovered on nearby island beaches. Sydney is already busy — this morning she found a false crawl, technically known as a non-nesting emergence. Last year’s nesting season was a record year; our beach had 113 nests and 101 false crawls.

Loggerhead sea turtle females typically begin their nesting season in Georgia by mid-May, and continue to lay nests through August. Most nests will hatch by late September. Continue to check back for more turtle nest updates as the season progresses!

At first, you wouldn’t think these things had anything in common. They do! Every April, the full and new moon phases raise the tides to their highest amplitudes. During the high tides, horseshoe crabs congregate on the beach en mass. The female crabs approach the beach to deposit eggs in the sand. Usually each female has one male “clasping” on to the back on her shell, and numerous other males, called satellites, surrounding the pair. The female digs down into the sand to bury the eggs, and the males fan sperm towards the eggs, each trying to fertilize as many as possible. At the high tide, horseshoe crabs number easily in the thousands on Sancho Panza Beach, at the north end of our island. The process takes only a short while, and as the tide recedes, the horseshoe crabs return to the depths of the sea.

What does this have to do with migratory shorebirds? The eggs are a critical food source for shorebirds gearing up for, or already on, migratory journeys. Many shorebirds fly literally thousands of miles to travel between wintering areas and breeding grounds. The flights are often from one hemisphere to another, using lots of energy in a short amount of time. Shorebirds depend on the high protein eggs of horseshoe crabs as a way to gain energy quickly. On LSSI, it was a feeding frenzy each time the tide receded. Shorebirds like Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Willet, Dowitchers, Plovers, and others frantically dug in the sand to feast on the tiny eggs.

Protection of horseshoe crab populations, along with providing a habitat of undisturbed beaches, are steps critical to the success of many long distance travelers. Little St. Simons Island provides a wonderful place not only as a stopover for migratory shorebirds, but as a place for each of us to witness two truly remarkable Spring phenomenon — mass emergences of horseshoe crabs and Spring migration.

After two weeks of birding fun, Spring Birding Days have come to an end. We would especially like to extend our gratitude to our guest ornithologists – Giff Beaton, Brad Winn, John and Cathy Sill, and Ray Chandler. You are the best! The guest birders helped us track down many exciting species, including Least and American Bittern, Worm-eating Warbler, a roosting Nighthawk, Prothonotary Warbler, hundreds of Red Knots (even some with flags!), Bobolink, Solitary Sandpiper, Whimbrel, and Black Skimmers. We also welcomed Roseate Spoonbills back to the island during Birding Days.

Spring Birding Days was about more than just the birds. We also delighted in witnessing the phenomenon of a mass horseshoe crab mating emergence. We were treated to great looks at some awesome reptiles, including Eastern Kingsnake, Yellow Rat Snake, Corn Snake, Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake, an Island Glass Lizard, and lots of American Alligators.

Lots of flowers and trees have begun to bloom in the last week or two! Showy, white Magnolia blossoms are visible in the treetops, stunning against the backdrop of dark leaves. Bright yellow conspicuous flowers top the Prickly Pear Cactus along roadside edges. A small purple flower in the same family as asters, called Oak-leaf Erigeron, is popping up along beach road. A neat little plant called Whitetop Sedge is also in the same areas; it gets its name from a bi-colored leaf that has a striking flower-like appearance. Dewberry fruits are ripe and growing along much of Beach Road and other edge habitats, providing a great snack for birds.

At last, we are excited to report that the two Bald Eagle nests on the island have both successfully fledged two chicks. As of mid-April, the chicks were making increased attempts at flight, and were seen making short flights around the vicinity of the nests. Towards the end of the month, sightings of chicks at the south nest tapered off, leading us to believe they had left the nest. The same was true at the north nest. On several occasions, early morning trips to the tower at Myrtle Pond have produced eagle chick sightings. One morning, an adult was seen with some food, and the chicks eventually both arrived nearby. We have seen the chicks around the pond, then fly off in the general direction of the north nest. How exciting to see the cycle from hatching to full flight!