The Turtle Team has been reporting that the sand was washed away from several nests when Hurricane Bill passed by.  Even though Bill remained far out at sea, Dewees still felt his power.  The Turtle Team is indicating that we might have lost as much as 3 feet of dune on the northern end of the beach, near nest 12.  That’s north of where the sandbar has attached to the front beach.  It’s beyond where the houses stop.

At the same time, we’ve gained sand vertically near Osprey Walk.  In late June, when you stood on the beach north of Osprey Walk and looked towards the island, you looked directly into a vertical wall of dune.  The ocean side of the dune had been carved away by the sea, leaving the vertical wall.  These dune walls were more than 8 feet tall in many places.  Now, in those same places, they’re about 3 or 4 feet tall.  They have freshly blown sand resting up against the old dune wall.  In several places it’s easy to see over the dune and look at the houses fronting Lake Timicau.  It’s not because the dunes have scrunch.  Rather it’s because the beach has risen.  The wave action has been bringing sand in from the sandbar and ocean floor, adding to the vertical height of the beach.

You can see vertical rise of the beach most dramatically when comparing the level of sand to structures built by people.  Osprey Walk is a great example.   In late June, there was a 20 inches drop from the Walk to the beach.  Now the beach covers the end of the Walk with approximately 2 feet of sand.  That’s a big change in a few months.

The comes here, goes there, comes back a little while later.  Barrier islands are very dynamic.  See the pictures below to get a better sense of the changes.