Not all the ghosts are in towns. Some of
You might feel like you’re on the
surreal TV island in Lost as you follow desolate brick streets and
crumbling sidewalks that lead nowhere and climb the shadowed stairways of
military batteries on Egmont Key. Located near the entrance to Tampa
The fort was deactivated in 1923, but the
lighthouse, built in 1848, still operates. Little more than a few walls and
bricks remain of the original town’s 70 buildings; many sites are marked with
placards and black-and-white photos of buildings long gone.
Egmont is a singular case because of its
historical and environmental significance to Florida. The national wildlife refuge is recognized as one of the most significant bird
nesting colonies in the southeastern
The island also is recognized as a major
nesting habitat for loggerhead sea turtles. In 2008, there were 50 sea turtle
nests, with about half returning some 2,500 hatchlings to the sea. Poaching is
negligible, as nests are monitored around the clock by volunteer interns.
Year-round residents include about 1,800 lumbering gopher tortoises.
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Jenkins has written a second volume of
"There are always more stories, and
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Egmont
Key:
Wildlife flocks to manmade beach; battered island gets reprieve
by Mary Kelley Hoppe
To the surprise of some and the delight of
virtually all, sand placed at the northwest corner of Egmont Key two years ago
not only is stalling erosion of the historic barrier island, it's also proving
quite popular with wildlife. Nesting birds and sea turtles flocked to the new
beach this summer, despite concerns that the manmade area might not appeal to
shore-nesters. The new beach, more than a quarter-mile long, was created with
approximately 300,000 cubic yards of sand dredged from St. Petersburg's Bayboro
Harbor.
In late June, Egmont Key Alliance members
counted more than 100 chicks: 52 black skimmers, 38 least terns, 10 royal terns
and two American oystercatchers - and nearly three times that many adult birds -
all in the area of new sand placement near Battery Guy Howard. While only a
fraction of the more than 4,000 chicks hatched on the protected wildlife
sanctuary on the island's southern end, it's significant nonetheless.
"Egmont is a microcosm of
Even more surprising, observers say, was
sea turtle activity. Of 30 sea turtle nests on the island, seven were deposited
on the new sand - despite predictions that the turtles would shun the manmade
beach in favor of familiar grounds. As of Labor Day, there were 17 successful
hatchings, including four in the new area. Reports also indicate 38 "false
crawls" - in which a female approaches the beach and decides, for whatever
reason, that it is not the right place or time. Those numbers represent an
improvement over last year.
By comparison, a record-setting 170 sea
turtles nested on the area's gulf beaches this year, according to Glenn Harmon
of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, whose counts include
While Egmont may be a bit player on the
larger nesting stage, it's noteworthy in a couple of respects: there's no
artificial lighting on the island to disorient the turtles and few natural
predators.
The new beach also buys a bit more time
for the battered island in its ongoing battle with the sea, which already has
swallowed up three of five century-old artillery batteries. The island is only
about half as wide as it was in the 1960s - a period of intense dredging and
filling in
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Back during the Civil War the portion of
Egmont Key, located at the mouth of
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"I've called on too many
strange ports to believe that life's experiences can be summed up with a simple
yes or no answer," replied the author/tug boat captain. "A variety of
experience, that's what makes life interesting. I do know that something strange
is definitely going on in the
"The Tampa Triangle Dead
Zone started out as a brief article about the unusually high incidence of
maritime accidents in the area between the
"As I researched the Dead
Zone, many other stories of paranormal activity in the
"My short article about
shipping disasters in the Dead Zone grew into a full blown account of true
paranormal experiences all found in my book Tampa Triangle Dead Zone."
"It is not my job to pass
judgment on the stories that honest, hard working people have shared with me. I
feel its my job to tell these stories in an entertaining fashion. That's why I
wrote the book Tampa Triangle Dead Zone. I have faith the ability of the
American public to decide for themselves regarding the existence of paranormal
activity in the
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Also visit www.tropical-island-getaway.com www.EgmontKeyFerry.com www.CaptainsNow.com
www.EgmontKeyShipwrecks.com www.EgmontKeyLighthouse.com