Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Chamber announces dates of Luminary Festival

The Chamber of Commerce has announced the dates for the Luminary Festival. 
Sanibel is Dec. 2 (Friday) and Captiva is Dec.3 (Sat) 









Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Plan a Fall Vacation to Sanibel Island-great air fare and accommodations!

This is a great time to make plans for a Fall Vacation
to SANIBEL ISLAND!
Check out great fares with Southwest Airlines and Accommodations
with VIP Vacation Rentals....800 237 7526
http://www.vip-vacationrentals.com/sanibel.aspx



Click 'n Save deals of the week
Check out great fares with SOUTHWEST !!


Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Sanibel & Captiva Coupons


Save With These Local Coupons

Sanibel and Captiva Guide coupons are conveniently divided up into three categories: Dining, Shopping & Activities. The Coupon listings below show what vacation coupons are available to download. Select a category to output or simply print them all! 


http://sunnydayguide.com/sanibel_captiva/sc_coupons.php

Wildlife officials decide to relocate Sanibel Island bear


Sanibel’s most wanted fugitive is still at large.
Last Thursday, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service biologists set a trap to catch a Florida black bear that had taken up residence on the island sometime in June; as of Wednesday, the bear had not taken the bait.
The first evidence of the island’s first documented bear was a photograph taken June 27 by a motion-activated infrared camera on the J.N. “Ding” Darling National Wildlife Refuge’s Bailey Tract.
Wildlife officials decided to capture and relocate the male bear, which is believed to be about 1.5 years old and to weigh 60 to 80 pounds, because it raided a beekeeper’s beehives last week.
“It was a joint decision by FWC biologists, our staff and city staff that, for the safety of the bear, it would be better off relocated somewhere else,” Ding Darling biologist Tara Wertz said.
“Once a bear starts getting into trouble, all of a sudden, this innocent animal becomes a problem animal.”
Although Ding Darling staff received 15 citizen reports about the bear in July, last week’s raid on the beehives has been the animal’s only nuisance behavior.

Good swimmers

Bears on barrier islands are not uncommon, said Mike Orlando, FWC’s assistant bear program coordinator. They are good swimmers and often travel to barrier islands in search of food, particularly berries.
What is uncommon is for a bear to pick a populated barrier island such as Sanibel.
When the bear arrived on Sanibel in June, wildlife officials decided not to trap and relocate it.
“The general policy is, if the bear got itself there, it’s better at getting itself out of there than we are,” Orlando said. “We have to catch it, drug it, relocate it. That’s time-intensive and expensive. Most times, a bear will leave on its own with little fanfare.”
Trapping a bear costs about $800 a week in wages — this includes travel time, meetings and time checking the trap — and relocation costs vary depending on how far away the relocation site is, Wertz said.

While Orlando wasn’t surprised that the bear showed up on Sanibel, he was surprised that it has stayed this long because the island doesn’t provide much natural food for a bear.
Another thing that didn’t surprise Orlando was that the bear’s first foray into a human-related food source was beehives.
But, contrary to popular belief, honey is not a bear’s objective in a beehive.

Not after honey

“Everybody thinks, ‘Oh, it’s like Winnie the Pooh,’” Orlando said. “But bears go for the bees and larvae. Those provide a lot of protein. The honey is the icing on the cake.”
Wildlife officials will not reveal the location of the trap or what it’s baited with. If island residents know what makes good bait, they might try to attract the bear themselves.
If the bear is not captured today, wildlife officials will try to lure it to the area where the trap is, Wertz said.
“Bears are very attuned to smells,” she said. “They forage through their noses. We try to bait them with something that smells really good to bears. FWC has concocted a really smelly mixture that we’ll put high up in a tree so the odor is carried by the wind, and the bear can key in on it.”
are opportunistic feeders and look for easy meals, including garbage and pet food left outside, but bears in developed areas don’t always seek out human food Bears sources, Orlando said.
“We have bears in areas where you think, ‘Oh, gosh, something bad is going to happen,’ and then it doesn’t,” he said. “Bears are individuals. You can never tell which one is going to get into trouble.
“Now that this one has caused mischief, it’s our responsibility to relocate him. That 

said, it’s never a sure thing we’ll end up catching him.” 
Written by
Kevin Lollar 
news-press.c

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Crow Picture Show

The CROW Picture Show offers an insider’s look at why critters come to CROW, and features photos of
the wild animals who wind up there.Last year, Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife, Southwest Florida’s only wildlife hospital, cared for 4,111 sick, injured, and orphaned animals. Of the more than
200 different species, 54 percent were birds, 38 percent were mammals, and
eight percent were reptiles/amphibians/ invertebrates.
Due to restrictions imposed by governmental agencies, CROW cannot allow visitors to view patients in person. But in this 30-minute presentation visitors can see photos of current and past patients,
with commentary by Claudia Burns, a veteran clinic volunteer.
The CROW Picture Show is presented each Friday at 11 a.m. in the CROW Healing Winds Visitor Education Center at 3883 Sanibel-Captiva Road, across from The Sanibel School. Admission for
adults is $5, teens, $3, and free for members and children 12 and under. Admission includes the presentation, plus the opportunity to explore CROW’s hands-on educational facility and become
familiar with its efforts to save wildlife through compassion, care and education.
For more information, call 472-3644, ext. 231. To learn more about CROW,
visit www.crowclinic.org   From the Island Sun

#Sanibel - August Tide Chart


August 2011 Tides - Sanibel Lighthouse - Point Ybel

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon
           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

M    1     High   2:36 AM     2.1   6:53 AM    Rise  8:49 AM      1
     1      Low   8:02 AM     1.2   8:15 PM     Set  9:32 PM
     1     High   1:46 PM     3.3
     1      Low   9:30 PM     0.2

Tu   2     High   2:57 AM     2.2   6:54 AM    Rise  9:53 AM      5
     2      Low   9:00 AM     1.0   8:15 PM     Set 10:12 PM
     2     High   2:39 PM     3.0
     2      Low  10:01 PM     0.5

W    3     High   3:23 AM     2.4   6:54 AM    Rise 10:57 AM      12
     3      Low  10:02 AM     0.8   8:14 PM     Set 10:51 PM
     3     High   3:37 PM     2.7
     3      Low  10:31 PM     0.8

Th   4     High   3:55 AM     2.7   6:55 AM    Rise 12:00 PM      21
     4      Low  11:11 AM     0.7   8:13 PM     Set 11:33 PM
     4     High   4:45 PM     2.3
     4      Low  11:00 PM     1.2

F    5     High   4:32 AM     2.9   6:55 AM    Rise  1:05 PM      32
     5      Low  12:29 PM     0.6   8:13 PM
     5     High   6:14 PM     1.9
     5      Low  11:26 PM     1.5

Sa   6     High   5:18 AM     3.0   6:56 AM     Set 12:17 AM      43
     6      Low   1:57 PM     0.5   8:12 PM    Rise  2:09 PM
     6     High   8:29 PM     1.7
     6      Low  11:46 PM     1.6

Su   7     High   6:15 AM     3.1   6:56 AM     Set  1:06 AM      54
     7      Low   3:27 PM     0.4   8:11 PM    Rise  3:11 PM

M    8     High   7:25 AM     3.1   6:57 AM     Set  1:59 AM      65
     8      Low   4:45 PM     0.1   8:11 PM    Rise  4:11 PM

Tu   9     High   8:42 AM     3.1   6:57 AM     Set  2:55 AM      75
     9      Low   5:47 PM     0.0   8:10 PM    Rise  5:06 PM

W   10     High   9:53 AM     3.3   6:58 AM     Set  3:54 AM      84
    10      Low   6:35 PM     0.0   8:09 PM    Rise  5:56 PM

Th  11     High   1:16 AM     1.9   6:58 AM     Set  4:53 AM      91
    11      Low   4:45 AM     1.8   8:08 PM    Rise  6:40 PM
    11     High  10:53 AM     3.3
    11      Low   7:14 PM     0.1

F   12     High   1:30 AM     1.9   6:59 AM     Set  5:51 AM      96
    12      Low   5:48 AM     1.7   8:07 PM    Rise  7:20 PM
    12     High  11:43 AM     3.3
    12      Low   7:46 PM     0.1

Sa  13     High   1:43 AM     2.1   6:59 AM     Set  6:48 AM      99
    13      Low   6:39 AM     1.5   8:07 PM    Rise  7:56 PM
    13     High  12:25 PM     3.1
    13      Low   8:12 PM     0.4

Su  14     High   1:54 AM     2.2   7:00 AM     Set  7:42 AM      99
    14      Low   7:23 AM     1.3   8:06 PM    Rise  8:30 PM
    14     High   1:04 PM     3.0
    14      Low   8:36 PM     0.5

M   15     High   2:05 AM     2.3   7:00 AM     Set  8:35 AM      98
    15      Low   8:06 AM     1.1   8:05 PM    Rise  9:02 PM
    15     High   1:42 PM     2.9
    15      Low   8:57 PM     0.7

Tu  16     High   2:19 AM     2.4   7:01 AM     Set  9:27 AM      95
    16      Low   8:48 AM     1.0   8:04 PM    Rise  9:33 PM
    16     High   2:21 PM     2.8
    16      Low   9:19 PM     0.8

W   17     High   2:37 AM     2.5   7:01 AM     Set 10:18 AM      91
    17      Low   9:31 AM     0.8   8:03 PM    Rise 10:06 PM
    17     High   3:03 PM     2.5
    17      Low   9:41 PM     1.1

Th  18     High   3:00 AM     2.7   7:02 AM     Set 11:09 AM      84
    18      Low  10:18 AM     0.8   8:02 PM    Rise 10:39 PM
    18     High   3:49 PM     2.3
    18      Low  10:05 PM     1.2

F   19     High   3:29 AM     2.8   7:02 AM     Set 12:02 PM      77
    19      Low  11:12 AM     0.7   8:01 PM    Rise 11:16 PM
    19     High   4:45 PM     2.1
    19      Low  10:28 PM     1.5

Sa  20     High   4:04 AM     2.9   7:03 AM     Set 12:55 PM      69
    20      Low  12:15 PM     0.7   8:00 PM    Rise 11:55 PM
    20     High   5:59 PM     1.9
    20      Low  10:52 PM     1.6

Su  21     High   4:46 AM     2.9   7:03 AM     Set  1:48 PM      60
    21      Low   1:32 PM     0.7   7:59 PM
    21     High   8:01 PM     1.8
    21      Low  11:10 PM     1.7

M   22     High   5:40 AM     2.9   7:03 AM    Rise 12:39 AM      50
    22      Low   2:55 PM     0.6   7:58 PM     Set  2:42 PM

Tu  23     High   6:49 AM     2.9   7:04 AM    Rise  1:28 AM      40
    23      Low   4:10 PM     0.5   7:57 PM     Set  3:35 PM

W   24     High   8:07 AM     3.0   7:04 AM    Rise  2:22 AM      31
    24      Low   5:09 PM     0.4   7:56 PM     Set  4:26 PM

Th  25     High  12:09 AM     1.9   7:05 AM    Rise  3:20 AM      21
    25      Low   3:15 AM     1.8   7:55 PM     Set  5:15 PM
    25     High   9:20 AM     3.1
    25      Low   5:57 PM     0.2

F   26     High  12:23 AM     2.1   7:05 AM    Rise  4:21 AM      13
    26      Low   4:31 AM     1.8   7:54 PM     Set  6:01 PM
    26     High  10:22 AM     3.3
    26      Low   6:38 PM     0.1

Sa  27     High  12:38 AM     2.1   7:06 AM    Rise  5:25 AM      6
    27      Low   5:30 AM     1.6   7:53 PM     Set  6:44 PM
    27     High  11:18 AM     3.4
    27      Low   7:14 PM     0.2

Su  28     High  12:54 AM     2.2   7:06 AM    Rise  6:30 AM      2
    28      Low   6:23 AM     1.3   7:52 PM     Set  7:26 PM
    28     High  12:10 PM     3.4
    28      Low   7:47 PM     0.4

M   29     High   1:11 AM     2.3   7:07 AM    Rise  7:35 AM      0
    29      Low   7:14 AM     1.0   7:51 PM     Set  8:06 PM
    29     High   1:01 PM     3.3
    29      Low   8:18 PM     0.6

Tu  30     High   1:30 AM     2.5   7:07 AM    Rise  8:40 AM      0
    30      Low   8:05 AM     0.7   7:50 PM     Set  8:47 PM
    30     High   1:53 PM     3.1
    30      Low   8:47 PM     0.8

W   31     High   1:54 AM     2.8   7:07 AM    Rise  9:46 AM      4
    31      Low   8:58 AM     0.5   7:49 PM     Set  9:29 PM
    31     High   2:48 PM     2.8
    31      Low   9:14 PM     1.2

10 Best Islands in the U.S.

Family Vacation Critic, published by online travel specialist, The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor LLC, announced the 10 Best Islands in the United States, naming Sanibel & Captiva Islands as #2 on the list.

2. Sanibel & Captiva Islands, Florida


These two southwestern Florida islands feature empty expanses of white-sand beaches, pink- and purple-hued sunsets over the Gulf of Mexico, and pastel-colored shells for shell seekers of all ages (there is even a shell museum on Sanibel!). The sub-tropical climate makes the area a year-round vacation spot, where families enjoy water sports like parasailing and kayaking, as well as fishing and biking the quiet, less-traveled Florida shores. Miniature golf, tennis and golf fill in the daily activities, before gathering around a table for pink shrimp direct from the waters surrounding you.

For more information about top 10 Best Islands. 
http://www.familyvacationcritic.com/10-best-islands-in-us/art/