‘Environment’ Archives
What was that?
You have seen the movement out of the corner of your eye; you have heard the subtle leaves or fronds twitch; and you have seen the quick, blurry, scurry of a small brown lizard on the pool deck or running up the lanai screen. Every first-time visitor exclaims at some point, “What was that?!” In Florida, it would be unusual not to come [...]
Purple Martins – Housing Needed
So, you want to be a landlord but not pay tourist tax, get headaches from the tenants or maintain landscape, fences or roofs? How about becoming a Purple Martin Landlord? It is only for a few months, creates entertainment year after year, and benefits your yard! Purple Martins (Progne subis) are the largest swallow in North America that migrate [...]
Clearing exotic vegetation
A City of Marco Island Exotic Vegetation Removal Permit (#10-040) was issued in July for the removal of invasive, non-native (exotic) species of vegetation at 40 South Heathwood Drive. There are no building plans submitted to the City of Marco Island. Marco Island Hospital, Inc., using Woods and Wetlands, Inc., is removing exotic, invasive [...]
Pitching in to keep it clean
Erik Condee, along with Condee employees Terry Chapin, Rene Simon and Brett Reynolds participated in a beach clean-up Sunday, July 18 along with Coastal Breeze News staffers Carole Musgrave, Jeane Brennan, Marilyn Honahan and Val Simon. The combined efforts of these two locally-owned businesses resulted in a five-mile stretch of Marco Island [...]
Southwest Florida Wildlife’s “911”
Recently, I had the fortunate opportunity to spend the day at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Inc.’s Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. It gave me a glimpse of the array of impacts to our community’s wildlife from fishing line, vehicles, habitat destruction to illness and diseases. As a few folks on the Island have done, I have brought [...]
Collier Shorebird Stewards: Protecting one chick at a time
To date, we have been so fortunate in avoiding oil and tar balls on our beautiful beaches. Marco Island and its environs is incredibly important nursery ground for many different coastal species. There is an amazing amount of wildlife on our beach that is thriving and reproducing in this window of oil-less opportunity. Abundant bait and game fish [...]
Keeping It Clean
The once-a-month beach clean-up by local businesses, a program organized by Kevin Donlan, Chairman of the City of Marco Island’s Beach Advisory (BAC) and manager of Publix, continued this past Sunday, June 27th. Last month, Publix employees scoured the beach for trash. This month it was Rick’s Island Salon and Spa’s turn! Rick Popoff, [...]
Hands across the sand
On Saturday, June 26, members of the community and visitors to Marco Island met at South Beach to hold hands and form a line to say “no” to new offshore drilling and “yes” to clean energy. People started arriving at the beach around 11 a.m. for this event, and waited until noon when the “official” line was made. More than fifty [...]
Owl Count: It’s Down
It is late in the year for the final count of the Island’s Burrowing Owl population, but it is better late than never. Typically, for the last ten years of monitoring, nesting behavior of this species is seen as early as November and continues through January. First the pairing up of the adult owls; then new burrows may be dug, and old and even [...]
Florida’s Mascot: The West Indian Manatee (Trichechus manatus)
Averaging ten feet in length and between 800 and 1,200 pounds as an adult, the West Indian Manatee, commonly see in the Marco Island canals, Marco River, the bays, inlets and Gulf of Mexico, is closely related to an elephant. Scientists believe this mammal could have evolved from wading, plant eating mammals. One could almost see that, with the [...]
