Pensacola Beach Blogger

Hopefully everyone made it out to the beach yesterday. The water was calm and clear… a perfect time to do some snorkeling!

We found all kinds of shells and creatures. Look at this little guy:

We had a few jelly stings, even though we didn’t see any actual jellyfish. Their tentacles can still float around and cause a bit of pain, but sometimes I don’t even notice it until I’m out of the water. Here’s a tip for the jellyfish stings: If you feel a sting, don’t rub it or rinse it with fresh water. These actions will only make the sting worse by activating more nematocysts (poison filled sacs) on the tentacle. I simply try to ignore it and the pain usually stops within 10 minutes or so, but if you feel the need to take action, try using meat tenderizer on the affected area. I’ve personally never done this, but I suppose if I ever get a bad sting I would give it a try. Of course, if you’re feeling severe pain, light hotheadedness, chest pain, or shortness of breath, get yourself to the hospital!

If you’ve spent any time at all on Pensacola Beach (especially near dusk), you’ve seen the crabs! But have you ever tried catching one? Check out the crab we pulled up in a net:

If you hold them from the back, they can’t pinch you:

Of course, soon after we caught this guy, we let him go:

Usually when a purple flag is flying over Pensacola Beach, it means one thing: the Jellyfish have arrived! We get a number of species out here, some dangerous, some not, but this one I found very interesting. This is a Blue Button. This isn’t actually a jellyfish, but a Chondrophore that we found and put in a pot from the kitchen just long enough to take pictures of. What you’re looking at isn’t a single animal, rather a colony of small polyps, each performing a different role in the colony.

Although these are quite harmless, they may cause slight skin irritation if touched. Here’s what the top looks like:

Found this little ghost crab on my walk on the beach the other day.

If you’re gonna try ghost crab hunting, you have to be quick! These guys run at speeds of 10 mph! They also will hide in their holes when they get too close:

Some other fun facts about ghost crabs:

• They can see 360 degrees with their eyes that stick out from their head, but they can not see directly up. They burrow and hide in the sand during the day to protect themselves from birds.
• Ghost crab tunnels are about four feet deep!
• When the sun begins to set, these crabs run to the water to have the water flow over their gills.
• Ghost crabs hibernate in the winter, and store enough oxygen in sacs near their gills to be able to sleep for six months.