ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner arrested for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Credit: Conservancy of SWFL The Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife (CROW) received more than two dozen bird patients in the span of two weeks. Many of these birds were being treated for showing symptoms of red tide or blue-green algae poisoning, but experts say this isn’t only happening on Sanibel Island. When looking at the red tide map for Southwest Florida, it seems quiet. But SW Florida’s bird population is telling a much different story. Joanna Fitzgerald is the director of von Arx Wildlife Hospital at the Conservancy of Southwest Florida. “I can tell you in the last week, we’ve had four patients admitted with toxicosis symptoms. So yeah, we had cormorants. And we have had an adult brown pelican that just came in this morning that was suffering with the toxicosis,” Fitzgerald said. red tide map jan 7 The Conservancy isn’t the only organization seeing a short currently. CROW Clinic on Sanibel has received 26 birds with toxicosis symptoms within the past few weeks. Alison Charney Hussey is the executive director for the CROW Clinic. “Over the past week, we’ve seen about less than half a dozen Brown and White Pelicans come in and they are presenting red tide,” said Hussey. “They came to us really in bad shape, and so it was suspected that in addition to brevetoxicosis or red tide poisoning that there may have been some sort of bacteria issue going on,” Hussey said. Eric Milbrandt is marine lab director for the Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation. “Their patients are not from one specific place. They’re really an indicator of the condition of the food web, in relationship to red tide,” said Milbrandt. Experts are warning that just because we cannot see the red tide in the Gulf doesn’t mean it hasn’t infiltrated the food web. “The food that the birds are eating is mostly fish, and those fish are part of the food web, and they feed on either smaller fish or invertebrates that are accumulating the toxin,” Milbrandt said. “Because there are animals that are eating the karenia, the dinoflagellates and they’re consuming the toxin, and it’s becoming a part of their tissue,” said Milbrandt. And, toxicosis doesn’t just affect animals in the Gulf. “In other areas, not just thinking of the gulf, but you know, if there are pesticides being used in, say communities on the grass and things like that, that can produce toxins,” said Fitzgerald. That tangled web is now making birds sick. The CROW Clinic suspects that bacteria played a role in the birds’ illness. They’ve since been sent to The University of Georgia for evaluation. The results have not yet been revealed. “We don’t have those results back yet, but you know, we’re hoping for the best,” said Hussey. Fitzgerald says more research needs to be done on the different contributors of toxicosis.