The Tuesday after the passing of Hurricane Earl off the Delmarva Coast, there I am on the Hawk Watch platform enjoying my day. Nothing to do but watch the ocean, bay, sky and a few raptors! After duty, descending the steps, my cell gets in a voice mail. Oddly the cell call never came in on the platform. Oh, well.
My "Piping Plover" Director of Endangered Species, Birds and Plants, implores a call back. I do.
Theme Song Please:
Your Mission if you choose to take it is to find the Survivors of Hurricane Earl! Find the Endangered Species Wild Beach Amaranth Plants that made it thru Hurricane Earl's High Tide!
Why yes, I will take on the mission!
In 25 mph winds with stinging sand I crawled the Dune Line between Key Box and Conquest beach. I was truly bummed as I started the crawl. There were 25 plants..... I was finding none.
And then I found one...... a tiny water-logged survivor.
And then I found one the size of a small butter plate!
And then I found one the size of an appetizer plate!
With each find, happier, and happier I became despite covered with the flying gritty and filmy sand.
20% survivor rate!
Ta Da!
No comments:
Post a Comment