The dune in Delray Beach has a mixture of native species that help trap blowing sand

and control erosion. It is more than shoulder high in many places.

Horizontal coco plum has adapted to the dune and lines the sidewalk in many places.

Dune sunflower is know for its yellow and black bloom.

The necklace pod is another yellow bloomer.

Photos by Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley

    Walking north along A1A (South Ocean Boulevard) from East Atlantic Avenue in Delray Beach, you’ll find your view of the ocean blocked by towering sea grapes. Now keep strolling north a few blocks to about Sea Spray Avenue and then look seaward.
    The only things that may obscure your view of the water from here are the dunes covered with sea oats waving in the breeze. Sure, you’ll see some sea grapes. But here, instead of blocking your view, they grow only thigh-high.
    “There are several things happening here, but you are going to have to look for them,” said dune biologist Rob Barron, who is consulting with the city to bring the beach back to the way it appeared in historic photos from about 100 years ago.
    “Those pictures are our models,” said Barron, who hopes to heal many of the indignities the beach has suffered over the years — including being virtually washed away and, after a renourishment project, being planted with invasives.
    Since 2000, Barron has overseen the work of city-hired contractors who have removed the coin vines and Hawaiian sea grapes that were crowding out the natives. And he’s worked to keep the native sea grapes under control, too.
    Although many people assume sea grapes on the beach should grow tall and thick to hold the sand in place, Barron has done research that shows that before man had his way, sea grapes along the coast of Florida were kept pruned by periodic freezes that killed the trees and hurricanes that quickly overturned them with their shallow root systems.
    But as man brought development, beach temperatures rose and freezes rarely decimated the trees.
    Thinking he was doing nature a favor, man protected the sea grapes, letting them block the sun and preventing other important plants from growing beneath them.
    By keeping the sea grapes trimmed, Barron has opened the beach to a whole new population of native plants, including 50 native species he’s planted and 50 others that have volunteered since the dunes have started healing.
    For his work he’s searched rare and endangered species of plants that would have been prevalent on our beaches in the early part of the last century.
    “Because we know this beach will not be developed, one of the things we do is to put back populations of plants that we know are at risk in other areas,” Barron said. It not only shows off the plants in their prime but acts as a seed incubator for other projects.
    Continue your walk along the street and you may find some beach cluster vine with its tiny white flowers. It’s on the federal endangered species list and this is one of about only 10 places you’ll find it growing in the U.S.
    You’ll also see that it’s the saw palmettos, not the sea grapes, that are being allowed to grow tall here because they can remain standing in a storm and they don’t cast wide shadows.
    Turn down one of the sandy access paths to the beach and you may also discover beach ragweed covering the dunes or dune sunflowers waving their blooms that look like black-eyed Susans.
    You are probably familiar with the red- or green-tipped varieties of coco plum growing in so many Florida landscapes. But the variety you’ll find here is called horizontal coco plum.
    It evolved in coastal areas where for thousands of years it was wind-pruned and any stem that stuck up got burned off, so the plant learned to grow in a decumbent position, Barron said.
    Keep an eye out for cardinals, blue jays, seagulls and other shore birds. Oh, and don’t forget the lizards and snakes. Barron has seen nonpoisonous ring necks and black racers. He welcomes them as a sign that this habitat is healthy for both native flora and fauna.
    “We are writing the book on dune science right here in Delray Beach. What we are doing is recognized nationally as ground-breaking,” he said.

If You Go
    The Delray Municipal Beach runs for 6,840 feet along South Ocean Boulevard (A1A) from Casuarina Avenue and the Seagate Beach Club north to the first beachfront home. The most mature section of renovated beach can be seen north of Sea Spray Avenue, with street parking available. The section around East Atlantic Avenue is slated to be restored within the next year. (An aerial view of the beach is inset into the story above.)

Deborah S. Hartz-Seeley is a master gardener who can be reached at debhartz@att.net.

Fewer migratory birds, like these blue-winged teals, have been seen this winter.

Possible causes include a warmer winter to the north and more rain in South Florida.

Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star

By Rich Pollack

    Migratory birds still flew south this winter — but members of several species may not have made it as far as they usually do.
    Others, according to those who track migratory birds, might have just kept going and passed over South Florida altogether.
    “Our total number of birds this count was the lowest, at least in several years,” said Chuck Weber, who coordinated the most recent annual Christmas bird count in Palm Beach County for the National Audubon Society.
    Warmer weather, more rain here in South Florida this season and an overall change in climate may all account for the decline, biologists and bird enthusiasts say.
    “There are many factors involved depending on the species of bird,” says Sandy Komito, a Boynton Beach resident who for many years held the record of seeing 748 species in North America and was portrayed in the movie The Big Year by actor Owen Wilson. “Overall the numbers are down, but the variety is still the same.”
    This year, volunteers counted  20,881 birds in Palm Beach County, as opposed to about 24,000 during the previous two Christmas bird counts.
    Weber, however, points out that not all species spotted during the count — which took place between Dec. 15 and Jan. 5 — were in decline. In fact, several saw increases.
    “The numbers for most species were down this year, but some species were either up, the same or just down slightly from the previous year,” he said.
    Smaller birds, including many in the warbler family, were spotted in increased numbers over the previous count.
    Yellow-rumped warblers, for example, were spotted 450 times, as compared to the last count when only 120 were seen. But those numbers are down dramatically from the count done two years ago when approximately 600 of the small birds were counted.
    On the flip side, the number of American robins in the most recent count soared to 700, up from just two seen during the previous count.
    Among those species that saw some of the steepest declines were ducks, including blue-winged teals.
    During the Christmas bird count this time, volunteers spotted only 35 blue-winged teals. During the previous count, about 100 were seen.
    Higher water levels in South Florida wetland areas — and their impact on the ability of birds to find food — are likely to be responsible for a decline in duck populations as well as in populations of long-legged wading birds in natural wetlands outside of urbanized areas.
    “When conditions are good and water levels are low, birds can find food,” says Dale Gawlik, director of the environmental sciences program at Florida Atlantic University and a professor of biological sciences who directs the university’s Avian Ecology Laboratory.
    Normally, water levels are higher in the summer during Florida’s rainy season and lower during the winter. That allows fish and other natural food sources for birds to grow during the summer months, when there are fewer birds. When the water levels recede, food sources tend to pool into smaller areas, making it easier for birds, especially long-legged wading birds, to feed.
    This year, according to Gawlik, conditions were the opposite of how they should be: with a wetter winter and a drier summer. That meant food production was down and the concentration of fish in pooling areas was reduced.
    For dabblers, ducks that feed on underwater vegetation, higher water levels in the winter make it more difficult to reach food and lower levels in the summer make it difficult for food supplies to thrive.
    Temperature may also play a role in where migratory birds choose to spend the winter. Warmer weather up north during the early part of this winter may have kept some species from heading this far south.
    “It didn’t get as cold up north early in the season so waterfowl didn’t need to move as far as normal,” says Julie Wraithmell, director of wildlife conservation for Florida Audubon.
    Wraithmell pointed to a recent study by Audubon scientists that found the median location for the winter range of migrating birds has shifted north over a 30- to 40-year period, which may be attributed to long-term changes in the climate.
    Komito agrees with the Audubon assessment that climate change is having an impact and says rising temperatures, rising sea levels and high tides could also affect shorebirds.
    FAU’s Gawlik says there is no doubt that birds and other animals are experiencing the effects of climate change, but he says the impact may not necessarily be negative, depending on how well species adapt to the changes.
    No matter what the factors, Weber says, he and other longtime birders are concerned by the decline in the number of birds they’re seeing here.
    “It just seems that overall, season after season, we’re seeing fewer birds,” he said. “That leads our veteran birders to say ‘What’s going on here?’ ”

Hundreds of blacktip sharks swarm the shallow waters off Palm Beach. Florida Atlantic University

biology professor Stephen Kajiura studies the annual migration of blacktips along South Florida’s beaches.

Photo by Stephen M. Kajiura

A blacktip shark caught and released in shallow water along a Palm Beach County beach

during the annual migration.

Willie Howard/The Coastal Star

By Willie Howard

    Thousands of blacktip sharks moved along Palm Beach County’s beaches during February and March, part of an annual migration that draws attention from marine scientists, photographers and anglers.
    But there’s something of a mystery about our gathering of shallow-water sharks: For the most part, they steer clear of the beaches in south Palm Beach County, while they can be found by the hundreds along beaches in the northern half of the county.
    “From Boca to Boynton, there are very few sharks,” said Stephen Kajiura, a Florida Atlantic University biology professor who has been studying South Florida’s shark migration for five years and flies over beaches from Miami to Jupiter to observe the sharks.
    County lifeguards spotted only a few blacktip sharks in late February at Ocean Inlet Park, just south of Boynton Inlet.
    Farther north off Singer Island, large numbers of blacktips forced lifeguards to close Ocean Reef Park to swimmers several times during February, said Robert Wagner, South County captain for Palm Beach County Ocean Rescue.
    Kajiura says he’s not sure why the migrating sharks avoid the shallows in south Palm Beach County. But at least beach-goers don’t have to worry as much about running into a shark in this area.
    Shark feeding habits could provide some clues. Kajiura, who catches and inserts transmitters into blacktip sharks to study their movements, hopes to analyze their stomach contents in the future.
    Blacktip sharks migrate south in the fall, then head back north in the late winter and early spring, traveling along South Florida beaches during February and March.
    Even though seeing large numbers of sharks might give swimmers the jitters, blacktip sharks tend to move away from people, at least in clear water.
    While flying over beaches in a small airplane, Kajiura said, he has watched sharks swim around people in the water. From the air, he said, it looks like a bubble forming around the swimmers.
    “They’re pretty skittish,” Kajiura said. “When you’re in the water, they’re likely to bolt. But treat them with respect.”
    Wagner, who worked as a beach lifeguard for 25 years, said blacktip sharks generally avoid swimmers in clear water.
    “If it’s brown, dirty water holding bait fish, stay away from it,” Wagner advises.
    Photos and videos from FAU’s shark migration research can be found on Facebook by searching for “FAU Shark Migration.”

Legislation promotes emergency beacons
    Florida legislators approved a bill that gives boat owners a small discount on annual registration fees if they have a registered satellite beacon such as an EPIRB (emergency position-indicating radio beacon) or a PLB (personal locator beacon).
    The Senate version of the bill, co-sponsored by Sen. Maria Sachs of Delray Beach and Sen. Joe Negron of Palm City, would have given a larger discount to boat owners for having a satellite beacon than the House version that was approved.
    The version signed into law March 25 by Gov. Rick Scott gives boat owners registration discounts of about 13 percent, beginning July 1, if they provide proof of having a satellite beacon registered with NOAA.
    The owner of a Class 1 boat (16 to 26 feet), for example, would save $3.92 in annual registration fees. Satellite beacons range in price from about $250 to about $1,500.
    The legislation stems from the disappearance last summer of Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen, two 14-year-old Tequesta boys who left Jupiter Inlet in a 19-foot boat on July 24 and never returned.
    Rescue beacons send up a unique signal to satellites during emergencies, allowing rescuers to pinpoint the location of the boaters in distress.
    
Delray fishing history exhibit to open in June
    The Delray Beach Historical Society has delayed the opening of its Fish Tales! fishing history exhibit until June.
    The exhibit had been scheduled to open in late April.
    Winnie Edwards, executive director, said the historical society is still busy gathering fishing photos, stories and tackle for the exhibit.
    “Amazing things are coming in,” Edwards said.
    Anyone who has stories, photos, newspaper clippings, trophy fish mounts (especially of fish caught in the Delray Beach area) or fishing tackle that could be considered for the exhibit should contact the historical society at 274-9578 or email archive@delraybeachhistory.org.

Coming events
    April 2: Basic boating safety class offered by Coast Guard Auxiliary in Boca Raton. Class is 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the headquarters building at Spanish River Park, 3939 N. Ocean Blvd. $35. Register at the door. Bring lunch. Call 391-3600 or email fso-pe@cgauxboca.org.
    April 8-9: Boynton Beach Fishing Club photo-and-release tournament with Snook & Gamefish Foundation. Snook, tarpon, kingfish, dolphin (mahi mahi), cobia, grouper, blackfin tuna and sailfish are eligible. Entry fee $25. Anglers need to download the free iTournament phone app. (Find it in the app store or go to www.ianglertournament.com.) Call 703-5638 or visit www.bifc.org.
    April 15: Pre-captain’s meeting for Sail Inn Tavern KDW fishing tournament, 5-7 p.m. at the tavern, 657 George Bush Blvd., Delray Beach. Fishing day May 14. Entry fee $200 per boat or $225 after April 15. 276-5147 or www.sailinnkdw.com.
    April 16: West Palm Beach Fishing Club’s annual yard sale featuring used fishing rods, reels, coolers, clothing as well as boating and diving gear, 7 a.m. to noon at the fishing club, 201 Fifth St., West Palm Beach. Free admission. Tax-deductible donations of marine-related items accepted before the sale. Fo details, call 832-6780.
    April 23: Boynton Beach Firefighters Fishing Tournament for kingfish, dolphin and wahoo and Firehouse Chili Cookoff, Harvey E. Oyer Jr. Park, Boynton Beach. Captain’s meeting 7 p.m. April  21 at Bru’s Room, 1333 N. Congress Ave., Boynton Beach. Entry fee $225 by April 14 or $275 thereafter. Call 252-0769 or visit www.boyntonbeachfirefighters.com.
    April 23: St. Clare Catholic School’s KDW Invitational Fishing Tournament for kingfish, dolphin and wahoo. Cash and prizes. Kids prize division. Inshore division. Captain’s meeting 6 p.m. April 22 at Buccaneer restaurant on Singer Island. Call 622-7171 or visit www.stclareschool.com.

Tip of the month
    Hook a bird while fishing?
    Don’t cut the line.
    Birds that fly away with a hook and line attached are at risk of becoming tangled in trees and dying.
    Kevin Oxenrider, a biologist with the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, offers these tips for removing a hook and line from a bird:
    • Use a net to lift the bird out of the water. Don’t lift it with the fishing rod.
    • Wear sunglasses and take other steps to protect yourself before handling a hooked bird.
    • Grasp the bird’s head behind its eyes, then fold its wings against the body.
    • If it’s a pelican, hold the beak, but keep it open slightly so it can breathe.
    • Try covering the bird’s head with a towel, T-shirt or cloth to calm it down before removing the hook.
    • Remove the hook by cutting off the barb and backing the hook out. (If the barb is buried in the bird’s flesh, push it through so the barb is exposed and remove it.)
    • If the bird is entangled in line, use scissors or clippers to gently cut the line.
    • Set the bird’s feet on the ground (or boat deck) and step back while releasing it. The bird should take off.

Willie Howard is a freelance writer and licensed boat captain. Reach him at tiowillie@bellsouth.net

Spotlight Families creator Shawn Sherlock with her son Aiden,

youth editor and music scene reporter of the magazine.

Twelve-year-old twins Madison and Mallory Barrass are two of the junior reporters.

Photos provided

By Janis Fontaine

    Shawn Sherlock achieved A-list success after high school but didn’t tap into her true passion until much later.
    In fact, the former captain of the Miami Heat dancers had several successful careers after she stopped dancing professionally. She parlayed her on-air exposure and a Florida State University journalism degree into a promising career reporting the news for ABC, CBS and CNN. Later, she held a high-level sales job with a Fortune 500 company where she regularly exceeded her goals.
    After Sherlock and her attorney husband, Luke, welcomed their first child, Aiden, motherhood was everything she had dreamed of and more. She continued working, but it wasn’t the same.
    She reveled in her relationship with Aiden, an only child until Shane came along eight years later. Sherlock was content; she had a lovely home in Boca Raton and was fulfilled by the challenges of being a mom.
    Hoping to make new friends with similar values and interests, Sherlock joined the Junior League in 2010. The league desperately needed help with its magazine, which made Sherlock and her journalism degree a perfect fit. “The first year was crazy!” she said. “But the third year was amazing.”
    The news bug had bitten Sherlock again, but this was different. She realized the projects she most enjoyed in television were the parenting stories.
    She looked around and saw the need for a parenting magazine in Palm Beach County “that was more than a resource guide.” She wanted a stylish, glossy mag that local families would enjoy.
    In 2014, armed with more confidence, Sherlock created Spotlight Families magazine (www.spotlightfamilies.com), with an online and video-based “go-to” resource for moms.
    In producing the magazine, Sherlock said, “I found a purpose.”
    She put together a team, drawing from the talent pool at the Junior League and using her experience working in newsrooms to lead. “We formed a tight-knit family. We all have kids, and we get it,” she said.
    Spotlight Families is devoted to building stronger, happier families. The site offers tutorials on common problems, and offers moms a way to connect with other moms facing similar challenges.
    It focuses on family-friendly businesses and especially businesses that help busy mothers be better moms. In a world that often makes mothers feel inadequate, Sherlock and her magazine focus on building them up.
    The magazine began clicking along so well, Sherlock decided it was time to add a section just for children. “The kids section took off!” she said. “We got 30 letters from kids and parents.”
    It wasn’t much of a jump for Sherlock to add some youngsters to her staff to produce content for kids by kids. She handpicked 14 children for the first edition.
    “I chose the kids who really wanted to do this,” she said. Kids are paired with a staff mentor who is doing the job the kid wants to learn.
    Mentors include Joel Silver, who has 20 years’ experience in news and owns the production company Silver Digital Media. “He’s one of the Spotlight Families digital video gurus who will be sharing his expertise with all the kids,” Sherlock said.  
    Aileen Van Pelt is a journalist-turned-PR-pro with a passion for fashion and a background in television news. Her husband, Brian, is an award-winning news photographer and he’ll guide the four junior photographers through shooting their first assignments.
    On the Van Pelts’ blog at NewsyParents.com, you’ll find tips and videos on “fashion, food and family fun” featuring their daughters.
    Christina Nicholson, Spotlight Families’ lead reporter, writer and PR go-to pro (her company is Media Maven), is a former TV journalist, as well as a social media specialist and blogger.
    Laura Byrne is an on-air personality who is also a blogger and a full-time mom. Ann Howard, a full-time mom, is a blogger and former on-air talent. Nicole Taylor is a former reporter, now mom and photographer.
    Teen editor Rebecca Zerbo, 16, leads the Spotlight Families Kids Team. She’s 16 and a junior at Olympic Heights Community High School.
    Sherlock’s son Aiden, 11, a fifth-grader at St. Joan of Arc, is the youth editor and music scene reporter.
    Damani Jones charmed his way into a junior reporter’s slot the first time he and Sherlock met at a Junior Achievement event. The well-dressed 11-year-old “had a certain something,” Sherlock said. He’s a fifth-grader at Abundant Life Christian Academy.
    Chloe Reeves, 11, a sixth-grader at A.D. Henderson Middle School, is tackling design duties as a graphic artist, as is 12-year-old Gina Montalto, a sixth-grader at West Glades Middle School.
    Christine Stephenson, 15, a freshman at Boca High, is a teen photographer.  
    Sara Tiedemann, a home-schooled senior, is 18 and one of the magazine’s teen writers.
    Jaxson Patterson, a fifth-grader, is a youth sports reporter. The 11-year-old is a student at Sunset Palms Elementary.
    Twelve-year-old twins Madison and Mallory Barrass, who go to Sunset Palms Elementary School, are reporters.   
    Julianna Merotto, 15, is a junior illustrator. She’s in ninth grade at West Boca Raton High School. Junior photographer Caitlyn Varney, a freshman at Boca High School, is 15.
    Sherlock says the magazine is enriching her life. When she wrote a story about a 14-year-old yoga instructor who inspired her, she says, “I walked away wanting to be a better person. I had a whole new standard for myself.”
    It opened her eyes to the contributions children make, and how important they are to the future. “I want to help them grow into great citizens and great human beings. I love this community so much,” Sherlock said. “Spotlight Families is where I always wanted to be but I didn’t know it.

    “These kids will literally change your life.”

Sight, smell and sound were featured during a field trip for first-graders from Trinity Lutheran Church & School

in Delray Beach. Hosted by the Museum of Lifestyle & Fashion History, the trip included stops

at the Musical Swings temporary art installation in West Palm Beach and Palermo’s Italian Bakery

in Boynton Beach. Here, Isabel Ramsey, 7, enjoys a musical swing.

Photo provided

The Oxbridge Academy Spanish Team, Los Dragones de Oxbridge, finished second place overall

in Division II at the 2016 Florida State Spanish Conference. The conference brings together the state’s

top 50 public and private school teams to compete in impromptu speaking, poetry declamation,

theatrical performance, musical entertainment, visual arts expo and creative writing.

The team hosted the conference under the direction of Oxbridge Spanish teacher Michael Hollis-Anand

and alumnus Manny Briseneau. This is the fourth year that Oxbridge has finished in one of the top two spots.

Photo provided

The St. Vincent Vikings capped their season with a 42-30 victory in the Boynton/Delray Basketball League

Championship game over the Lake Worth Christian Defenders. The Vikings (9-8) were led by eighth-grader

John Krolikowski’s game-high 24 points. This was the varsity team’s first basketball championship

since 2007. The Vikings bounced back from a 4-8 season start to win five consecutive games.

Photo provided