22:45 – Turtle at 3
Dom: where is she?
Kate: behind the 3 palm, she’s digging.
The turtle is unsuccessful digging in the hard substrate and has made her way up and over a little wall, stopping at the edge of the terrace surrounding the pool.
Alice: what if the turtle goes into the swimming pool?
Dom: she’s not going in the swimming pool.
Alice: but what if she does? How will you get her out?
Dom: well, I won’t let her go in.
The turtle settles down, digs a nest chamber and lays her eggs (6th nest of the season, only 94 eggs!). The nest is relocated out of the area due to ongoing construction.
1:10 – Flash forward 2 hours, turtle at 3 (déjà vu?)
Kate stands staring at a fresh set of tracks where the turtle’s down track should be, accept it’s a definite uptrack. Confused, she scans the beach in front of her, OK there’s our girl’s downtrack... so this must be a new turtle’s track! Cautiously, she follows the track up and over the wall (familiar...), around in a circle and then into a small patch of grass where is disappears. Kate searches for any sign of life: a noise, a disturbance in the nearby sand... nothing. She turns the red light to white, scanning for another downtrack further up the beach. Still nothing. In a sudden realization, she scans the pool surface for movement. Nothing.
Kate: there is a turtle at 3, I see her uptrack but can’t find her down track.
Dom: what?
Kate: I see the up track, the other girl’s down track, but the tracks for the second girl disappear into the grass and she is nowhere to be seen.
Dom: eum....
A light sound from the direction of the pool breaks the discussion... they both turn their heads.
Dom: I know where she is...
Kate: (gasp)oh my god she’s in the pool.
And the question asked 2 hours earlier in the exact same spot arises once again.
Kate: How do we get her out of the pool?
They stand at the edge of the pool staring at the large reptile gliding gracefully, silently through the depths of the water.
Kate: Call security for help?
Dom: Drain the pool?
Kate: that seems complicated. Where are the steps? (walking to the far end of the pool)
Dom jumps into the middle, chest high in water. He makes his way over to her, positioning himself to force her to swim towards the steps. He corrals her toward the steps, forcing her onto the first set. She strongly pushes around him and races toward the other end. She looks as if she’s going to crash into the edge but stops suddenly and turns. She’s scared now...
5 minutes later: She’s back at the steps, suddenly surfacing and gasping for breath. Now’s our chance. Dom slowly closes in on her and her front flipper climbs the second step. He moves closer, cornering her. She tries to back away but is caught. Dom grabs her shell, one hand at her head and the other at her tail and hoists her front half onto the pool edge. Her flippers are on the tiles, almost there... She now seems to understand what’s happening. With her strong front flippers scraping at the tiles and Dom giving one more push, she slides onto the side and scrambles incredible fast to the grass edge. Exhausted, she pauses after a minute of hurried crawling and breathes heavily. Another 2 minutes and she’s slowly making her way down the sand bank and into the safety of the waves.
Tuesday, 27 October 2009
Wednesday, 21 October 2009
300!
The Battle of Thermopylae took place in August or September 480 BC at the pass of Thermopylae. King Leonidas of Sparta led an allied force of c. 7000 men to block the advancing Persian army led by King Xerxes. It occurred during the second Persian invasion of Greece.
Leonidas took 300 men of the royal bodyguard and more support troops joined the party on the way. By the time they arrived at the pass more than 5000 men had joined at camp was set up to defend the narrowest part of the pass. By mid August the Persian army was sighted approaching the pass. Xerxes sent an emissary to negotiate with Leonidas, offering them ‘freedom and to be friends of the Persian people’. Un-surprisingly Leonidas refused the offer, and told the emissary ‘come get them’ when asked to lay down his weapons. The resulting battle was inevitable.
The Persian army is thought to have numbered over 200 000 men. However the Greeks held them up for 7 days before being annihilated.
According to Herodotus, the Spartans consulted the Oracle of Delphi earlier in the year and Leonidas knew he was going to lose the battle and his life.
In part, this is the basis of 300, a blockbuster movie released in 2007.
However, for us, ‘300’ is associated with October 20th. This is the day when we finally broke the 300 nests in one season.
Leonidas took 300 men of the royal bodyguard and more support troops joined the party on the way. By the time they arrived at the pass more than 5000 men had joined at camp was set up to defend the narrowest part of the pass. By mid August the Persian army was sighted approaching the pass. Xerxes sent an emissary to negotiate with Leonidas, offering them ‘freedom and to be friends of the Persian people’. Un-surprisingly Leonidas refused the offer, and told the emissary ‘come get them’ when asked to lay down his weapons. The resulting battle was inevitable.
The Persian army is thought to have numbered over 200 000 men. However the Greeks held them up for 7 days before being annihilated.
According to Herodotus, the Spartans consulted the Oracle of Delphi earlier in the year and Leonidas knew he was going to lose the battle and his life.
In part, this is the basis of 300, a blockbuster movie released in 2007.
However, for us, ‘300’ is associated with October 20th. This is the day when we finally broke the 300 nests in one season.
Thursday, 15 October 2009
October Update - 76 turtles!
With only 5 weeks to go, the season is slowly coming to an end. So far, we have reached an astonishing 76 turtles – the all time high for the project was 67 in 2008. Had you asked us in July if the project would pass last year’s numbers we probably would have said no. The season has seen a second wind: nesting activity continued steadily through August and the last 3 weeks has seen 11 more turtles starting their nesting seasons, including 5 neophytes. Neophyte numbers have not yet reached last year’s total - two short - but we won’t be surprised if a few more come up.
We have now documented 282 nests (as of October 7th), which was the total number at the end of last season! Nest hatches are now at their peak, with at least 3 nests emerging every night. Nearly impossible to predict when the nest will erupt, we find most by spotting a path of trampled sand leading to the ocean; usually with over 100 small tracks coming from a depression in the sand. With over 100 nest excavated, we have had over 11500 hatchlings crawl into Pasture bay and swim to new horizons.
Christine O’Sullivan from Jamaica joined us for a week in September to learn about our monitoring project. We have been in regular contact since her visit and are pleased to announce that this has lead to the formation of the Jamaica Turtle Project. It is the first sea turtle monitoring program in Jamaica. It was set up just a few days ago and already recorded a nest hatch and one hawksbill nesting. We wish them luck!
We have now documented 282 nests (as of October 7th), which was the total number at the end of last season! Nest hatches are now at their peak, with at least 3 nests emerging every night. Nearly impossible to predict when the nest will erupt, we find most by spotting a path of trampled sand leading to the ocean; usually with over 100 small tracks coming from a depression in the sand. With over 100 nest excavated, we have had over 11500 hatchlings crawl into Pasture bay and swim to new horizons.
Christine O’Sullivan from Jamaica joined us for a week in September to learn about our monitoring project. We have been in regular contact since her visit and are pleased to announce that this has lead to the formation of the Jamaica Turtle Project. It is the first sea turtle monitoring program in Jamaica. It was set up just a few days ago and already recorded a nest hatch and one hawksbill nesting. We wish them luck!
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
Midseason report - edited version!
Nesting Activity
The season began slowly but steadily. Entering the peak month of August - after 8 weeks of patrols - turtle numbers were lower than last year, and nesting neophytes were especially low. However, after a surge of activity in August, we have surpassed last year’s records. This season has now seen 65 turtles, including 21 neophytes, compared to 60 turtles and 25 neophytes at this point last year. Overall, nesting has been more inconsistent than it was last year. In 2009, we recorded 18 or more nests in weeks 6, 8, 10, and 12; 2008 saw weeks 6, 8, 9, and 10 with 19 or more nests.
The areas of Pasture Beach receiving the most nesting activity continue to be sectors 5 and 6 (at the bike rack), 18, and 24 and 25 (towards Pasture Point). Historically, these are the most successful sectors for nesting as well. As always, the rocky sector 30, at the far northern end of Pasture Bay, has received the most false crawls.
These turtles have produced a total of 208 nests on the patrolled beaches; 2008 saw 201 nests over the same period. Hawksbills believed to have completed nesting for the season (based on regular, 2 week nesting intervals) have laid an average of 4.3 nests each. Peripheral beaches have received 24 nests, representing 11% of the total number of nests. Over the course of the 2008 season, 21% of nests were on peripheral beaches.
Nests have begun to hatch, as we have passed the 2 month incubation period this season! Thirty nests have hatched so far, with an average of 151 eggs per nest and a hatch success rate of 81%. Altogether, nest excavation data has led to an estimated 4,500 hatchlings emerging from nests already this season, with many more to follow!
A clement hurricane season was predicted this year, which proved true until Bill passed close by, causing unusually high swells. The high tide line, normally at least 4 meters from the vegetation at the bike rack, was level with the vegetation edge. The storm swells resulted in the loss of at least 5 nests, with several more likely to have been affected.
‘Crush’ Update
The turtle found attempting to nest with a crushed shell on July 18th (see Egret's Eye View newsletter) was seen one more time on Pasture Beach on July 25th. Like her previous visits, she was not able to dig her nest cavity due to her injury. Unsuccessful, she returned to the water and has not been seen since.
The season began slowly but steadily. Entering the peak month of August - after 8 weeks of patrols - turtle numbers were lower than last year, and nesting neophytes were especially low. However, after a surge of activity in August, we have surpassed last year’s records. This season has now seen 65 turtles, including 21 neophytes, compared to 60 turtles and 25 neophytes at this point last year. Overall, nesting has been more inconsistent than it was last year. In 2009, we recorded 18 or more nests in weeks 6, 8, 10, and 12; 2008 saw weeks 6, 8, 9, and 10 with 19 or more nests.
The areas of Pasture Beach receiving the most nesting activity continue to be sectors 5 and 6 (at the bike rack), 18, and 24 and 25 (towards Pasture Point). Historically, these are the most successful sectors for nesting as well. As always, the rocky sector 30, at the far northern end of Pasture Bay, has received the most false crawls.
These turtles have produced a total of 208 nests on the patrolled beaches; 2008 saw 201 nests over the same period. Hawksbills believed to have completed nesting for the season (based on regular, 2 week nesting intervals) have laid an average of 4.3 nests each. Peripheral beaches have received 24 nests, representing 11% of the total number of nests. Over the course of the 2008 season, 21% of nests were on peripheral beaches.
Nests have begun to hatch, as we have passed the 2 month incubation period this season! Thirty nests have hatched so far, with an average of 151 eggs per nest and a hatch success rate of 81%. Altogether, nest excavation data has led to an estimated 4,500 hatchlings emerging from nests already this season, with many more to follow!
A clement hurricane season was predicted this year, which proved true until Bill passed close by, causing unusually high swells. The high tide line, normally at least 4 meters from the vegetation at the bike rack, was level with the vegetation edge. The storm swells resulted in the loss of at least 5 nests, with several more likely to have been affected.
‘Crush’ Update
The turtle found attempting to nest with a crushed shell on July 18th (see Egret's Eye View newsletter) was seen one more time on Pasture Beach on July 25th. Like her previous visits, she was not able to dig her nest cavity due to her injury. Unsuccessful, she returned to the water and has not been seen since.
Thursday, 20 August 2009
Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project
July Update 2009
The 23rd season of the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project began officially on June 1st. Moonlit patrols for nesting activity continue every hour of every night until mid-November to ensure all nesting turtles are documented. So far we are right on schedule with turtle numbers, having seen 42 individual turtles and 93 nests. The season started slowly and inconsistently; nights with no activity would follow nights with 4 to 5 nests. However unpredictable, there has still been a steady increase of turtles and we are now entering the peak nesting period [which means it's a good time to stop by the beach!]. Surprisingly, we have also already had 5 nests hatch, one as early as June 5th – surprising because a 2 month incubation period means a hawksbill nested as early as April!
Patrolling for turtles still manages to surprise us even when it's our second year with the project. In addition to the extremely early nest hatch, this week a turtle left us stunned. Strong and determined, she dragged herself up on the beach with the back end of her shell crushed and her rear flippers limp. A wide, jagged crack in her shell revealed broken bone and tissue, and yet she still hauled herself onto the beach determined to nest. After reading her familiar tags and checking the book we discovered that she had nested on June 29th. The injury – most likely a close encounter with a boat – occurred less than 3 weeks earlier. We transported her to the turtle house to examine and clean the wound. Plans to put her shell back together were abandoned as we saw the severity of the wound and that pieces of shell and the bone plate were missing. After applying epoxy to a reparable part of her shell, we decided it was best to return her to water. Before returning, we saw movement in both flippers and contractions as if she were going to lay – both good signs for recovery. A veterinarian specializing in sea turtles has high hopes for her and suggested transporting her to a rehabilitation center if she returns.
[extract from Egret Eye View published August 18th]
July Update 2009
The 23rd season of the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project began officially on June 1st. Moonlit patrols for nesting activity continue every hour of every night until mid-November to ensure all nesting turtles are documented. So far we are right on schedule with turtle numbers, having seen 42 individual turtles and 93 nests. The season started slowly and inconsistently; nights with no activity would follow nights with 4 to 5 nests. However unpredictable, there has still been a steady increase of turtles and we are now entering the peak nesting period [which means it's a good time to stop by the beach!]. Surprisingly, we have also already had 5 nests hatch, one as early as June 5th – surprising because a 2 month incubation period means a hawksbill nested as early as April!
Patrolling for turtles still manages to surprise us even when it's our second year with the project. In addition to the extremely early nest hatch, this week a turtle left us stunned. Strong and determined, she dragged herself up on the beach with the back end of her shell crushed and her rear flippers limp. A wide, jagged crack in her shell revealed broken bone and tissue, and yet she still hauled herself onto the beach determined to nest. After reading her familiar tags and checking the book we discovered that she had nested on June 29th. The injury – most likely a close encounter with a boat – occurred less than 3 weeks earlier. We transported her to the turtle house to examine and clean the wound. Plans to put her shell back together were abandoned as we saw the severity of the wound and that pieces of shell and the bone plate were missing. After applying epoxy to a reparable part of her shell, we decided it was best to return her to water. Before returning, we saw movement in both flippers and contractions as if she were going to lay – both good signs for recovery. A veterinarian specializing in sea turtles has high hopes for her and suggested transporting her to a rehabilitation center if she returns.
[extract from Egret Eye View published August 18th]
Wednesday, 5 August 2009
Got a crush
A radio goes off; Turtle 18 … she seems injured. Turtle 18 … there is a problem.
The crawl is missing the characteristic 'walk' pattern. She is injured . There seems to be a deep jagged cut on the left side of her shell. Her back flippers don't move. It is a bleak sight. A couple of minutes later she turns and hastily makes her way back to the water.
[the next night]
Quiet night. 11:30 pm. A crawl catches our attention. It is up at 30 over a mix of rocks and sand.
It seems unusual. Is it her? Is she back?
2 am. A similar crawl in the same place. She is on the beach. She needs help. We need to assess the damage and see what can be done. A storm breaks out. We need to get her back to the house. We get a towel and help her on to it. Wrapped tight around her fore flippers, she cannot move any more. No risk for her to injure herself. We lift her into a big wheel barrow. She is heavy, a good 60 kg. We part drag, part float the barrow back to the path. It is only 40 meters away but it seems like 400. Lightening flashes across the sky. Back on the path, only a few meters to the cart. Loaded up, we drive her home. It is 4 am. The rain has stopped. She will have to wait a few more hours before day break and for the vet to arrive.
We get her into an enclosure. We clean the sand off her. In the day light the full extent of the damage is revealed.
There is a wide jagged break approximately 30 cm long from the 3rd vertebral scute to the supracaudal. Pieces of shell and bone are missing, most of the posterior end is crushed. Vertebral 5 and part of the supracaudal seems to be missing. The costals scutes 4 are broken but present. The marginal scutes are barely hanging on. She is strong and determined, able to crawl efficiently by dragging herself with her front flippers. The injury is recent. She first nested on June 29th.
The vet comes. There is nothing that she can do. The best we can do is clean the wound.
At this stage, the shell shouldn't be rebuilt; too much of a risk of infection.
She has contractions, both her hind flippers move. There is no paralysis. She needs to lay but the injury is preventing her from it. The best we can do is release her. We don't have suitable facilities to keep her. It is hot.
We take her back to the beach. She swims out, staying in the shallows for a few minutes as if to say 'so long and thanks for all the turtles'. She takes a breath of air. She has gone.
Who knows, maybe she will be back in a few years.
We get word back from sea turtle specialist. How about sending her to rehab?
The crawl is missing the characteristic 'walk' pattern. She is injured . There seems to be a deep jagged cut on the left side of her shell. Her back flippers don't move. It is a bleak sight. A couple of minutes later she turns and hastily makes her way back to the water.
[the next night]
Quiet night. 11:30 pm. A crawl catches our attention. It is up at 30 over a mix of rocks and sand.
It seems unusual. Is it her? Is she back?
2 am. A similar crawl in the same place. She is on the beach. She needs help. We need to assess the damage and see what can be done. A storm breaks out. We need to get her back to the house. We get a towel and help her on to it. Wrapped tight around her fore flippers, she cannot move any more. No risk for her to injure herself. We lift her into a big wheel barrow. She is heavy, a good 60 kg. We part drag, part float the barrow back to the path. It is only 40 meters away but it seems like 400. Lightening flashes across the sky. Back on the path, only a few meters to the cart. Loaded up, we drive her home. It is 4 am. The rain has stopped. She will have to wait a few more hours before day break and for the vet to arrive.
We get her into an enclosure. We clean the sand off her. In the day light the full extent of the damage is revealed.
 |
| Crush at turtle house awaiting the vet - ©Dom/Kate. |
There is a wide jagged break approximately 30 cm long from the 3rd vertebral scute to the supracaudal. Pieces of shell and bone are missing, most of the posterior end is crushed. Vertebral 5 and part of the supracaudal seems to be missing. The costals scutes 4 are broken but present. The marginal scutes are barely hanging on. She is strong and determined, able to crawl efficiently by dragging herself with her front flippers. The injury is recent. She first nested on June 29th.
The vet comes. There is nothing that she can do. The best we can do is clean the wound.
At this stage, the shell shouldn't be rebuilt; too much of a risk of infection.
She has contractions, both her hind flippers move. There is no paralysis. She needs to lay but the injury is preventing her from it. The best we can do is release her. We don't have suitable facilities to keep her. It is hot.
We take her back to the beach. She swims out, staying in the shallows for a few minutes as if to say 'so long and thanks for all the turtles'. She takes a breath of air. She has gone.
Who knows, maybe she will be back in a few years.
 |
| Going where she knows best - ©Dom/Kate. |
We get word back from sea turtle specialist. How about sending her to rehab?
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
The human touch
The fading moon light starts to reveal a track in the distance. Getting closer, the track becomes clearer and clearer. It looks smaller than usual. She seems small. We creep up behind her and shine red light over the end of her carapace. It is damaged. The supracaudal is missing.
She has trouble digging her nest. She needs help. We settle in behind her and start digging with her. Time for another patrol. Her nest isn't deep enough. There is time to patrol and get back before she starts laying. We get back to her. She has just started laying. The nest will be to small. We start digging a new one and relocate the eggs. We can finally see the extent of the damage.
There are two cuts nearly parallel to the spine. The supracaudal is completely missing. Further up there are two deep cuts perpendicular to the spine. Laterals 3 and 4 on the right, as well as dorsal 4 and 5 are touched.
The biggest cut is 12 cm long and 2 cm wide. Most likely the result of a boat propeller. 60 million years of evolution didn't prepare her for that.
She has finished laying; 176 eggs.
A ghost crab runs across the beach, another wave breaks.
She has trouble digging her nest. She needs help. We settle in behind her and start digging with her. Time for another patrol. Her nest isn't deep enough. There is time to patrol and get back before she starts laying. We get back to her. She has just started laying. The nest will be to small. We start digging a new one and relocate the eggs. We can finally see the extent of the damage.
There are two cuts nearly parallel to the spine. The supracaudal is completely missing. Further up there are two deep cuts perpendicular to the spine. Laterals 3 and 4 on the right, as well as dorsal 4 and 5 are touched.
The biggest cut is 12 cm long and 2 cm wide. Most likely the result of a boat propeller. 60 million years of evolution didn't prepare her for that.
She has finished laying; 176 eggs.
A ghost crab runs across the beach, another wave breaks.
Monday, 29 June 2009
Nesting season's rolling right along
Well, with just about 4 weeks of patrols completed in the 2009 research season, the hawksbills are nesting at a record-setting pace on Jumby Bay. A total of 26 turtles, including 7 neophytes (or first-time nesters), have already been recorded crawling on the beaches. And those hawksbills have laid 40 nests! At an average of about 150 eggs per nest, that means there are about 6000 ping-pong ball sized hawksbill eggs incubating in the Pasture Beach sand.
A nesting hawksbill doing her thing on Pasture Beach.
Dom and Kate have also seen quite a few remigrants (turtles previously recorded nesting on Pasture Beach) on their maiden return to Jumby Bay. In fact, nearly half - 12 of the 26 turtles - are such first-time remigrants. Very interesting indeed!
So far, it looks like those pre-season predictions are looking pretty good, and that 70 turtle mark is still within our sights. Keep the good news coming from the islands....
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Crazy girls!
On our shortest night of the season [that will be June 21st] we had a quite improbable scenario!
No, not the fact that 4 turtles came up to nest that night; we can deal with that, without a problem. Not the 2 neophytes, that is also easy. Just the way they acted!
The first girl came on to the beach around 22:00 and had 3 nest attempts before finding a suitable spot to dig her nest. She chose a small scaevola bush just up by the barbecue in front of one of the houses....was she trying to say something to us?
Anyways! once she dug her nest, she got into position to lay, half a flipper still in the nest chamber (it happens sometimes), cloaca comes down.... contractions and … … no egg. OK try again! Contraction … no egg, contraction … no egg, contraction … no egg...
[1 hour later] contraction … no egg... contraction … no egg...
so we decided that it was worth trying to put a tag on her, just in case she comes back so we can recognise her. Tag applied – normal reaction, slight flinch; tried the second one...no problems!
Wow here comes her first egg! Maybe she needed a little extra help. After 10 eggs we decide it is time to drill her; first hole no problems... a couple more eggs; another hole....wow she is starting to cover!
And so we let her carry on covering without disturbing her and her award winning sized clutch....a grand total of 17 eggs after 4 hours and 30 minutes effort! [for the record a hawksbill turtle lays on average 150 eggs in 15 minutes]
You may say it was the luck of the draw....but little did you know that we had another neophyte up the other end of the beach at the same time. When we left her she had just started digging; when we get back to her, she had just started laying. Cool; we can get an egg count and work up nicely.
Well that was the theory! Look at the nest chamber...15 eggs or so and seemed to be settling into a rhythm. Check the flippers to see if there are any tags or tag scares...none! OK, get the tags out of the bag, put one in the clamp....look at the turtle and you've got it... she started covering! 15 eggs and you start covering? Once in the evening is sort of acceptable but twice in the space of 2 hours? You gotta be joking!
Gave her a tag because we had a feeling she would be back... then left her to cover her nest.
Not impressed!
What is it with these girls tonight?
[3 days later] Jogging along the beach [I was in desperate need of a cup of coffee so thought that I would speed up the patrol] and I see this fresh set of tracks [there goes the coffee!]... take a deep breath, walk up the tracks and find a turtle digging. That supracaudal looked very very familiar [you get to recognise the turtles by the shape and size of the supracaudal with a bit of experience], but I had a little doubt...so a quick glance at her flippers. One tag on the left side. It IS her, she is back!
The girl who had ran away from us 3 nights before was back and this time she meant business.
A nest full of eggs [132 to be precise] later she returned into the water, with her second tag obviously but no drill pattern. We didn't want to push our luck!
That was probably the weirdest night spent on the beach since we discovered Jumby Bay...in turtle terms that is!
Until next time
Dtrain & Rox
No, not the fact that 4 turtles came up to nest that night; we can deal with that, without a problem. Not the 2 neophytes, that is also easy. Just the way they acted!
The first girl came on to the beach around 22:00 and had 3 nest attempts before finding a suitable spot to dig her nest. She chose a small scaevola bush just up by the barbecue in front of one of the houses....was she trying to say something to us?
Anyways! once she dug her nest, she got into position to lay, half a flipper still in the nest chamber (it happens sometimes), cloaca comes down.... contractions and … … no egg. OK try again! Contraction … no egg, contraction … no egg, contraction … no egg...
[1 hour later] contraction … no egg... contraction … no egg...
so we decided that it was worth trying to put a tag on her, just in case she comes back so we can recognise her. Tag applied – normal reaction, slight flinch; tried the second one...no problems!
Wow here comes her first egg! Maybe she needed a little extra help. After 10 eggs we decide it is time to drill her; first hole no problems... a couple more eggs; another hole....wow she is starting to cover!
And so we let her carry on covering without disturbing her and her award winning sized clutch....a grand total of 17 eggs after 4 hours and 30 minutes effort! [for the record a hawksbill turtle lays on average 150 eggs in 15 minutes]
You may say it was the luck of the draw....but little did you know that we had another neophyte up the other end of the beach at the same time. When we left her she had just started digging; when we get back to her, she had just started laying. Cool; we can get an egg count and work up nicely.
Well that was the theory! Look at the nest chamber...15 eggs or so and seemed to be settling into a rhythm. Check the flippers to see if there are any tags or tag scares...none! OK, get the tags out of the bag, put one in the clamp....look at the turtle and you've got it... she started covering! 15 eggs and you start covering? Once in the evening is sort of acceptable but twice in the space of 2 hours? You gotta be joking!
Gave her a tag because we had a feeling she would be back... then left her to cover her nest.
Not impressed!
What is it with these girls tonight?
[3 days later] Jogging along the beach [I was in desperate need of a cup of coffee so thought that I would speed up the patrol] and I see this fresh set of tracks [there goes the coffee!]... take a deep breath, walk up the tracks and find a turtle digging. That supracaudal looked very very familiar [you get to recognise the turtles by the shape and size of the supracaudal with a bit of experience], but I had a little doubt...so a quick glance at her flippers. One tag on the left side. It IS her, she is back!
The girl who had ran away from us 3 nights before was back and this time she meant business.
A nest full of eggs [132 to be precise] later she returned into the water, with her second tag obviously but no drill pattern. We didn't want to push our luck!
That was probably the weirdest night spent on the beach since we discovered Jumby Bay...in turtle terms that is!
Until next time
Dtrain & Rox
Monday, 1 June 2009
State-side nesting predictions
Well, we're looking forward to the start of the Jumby Bay nesting season from back here in Minnesota, too. Our predictions:
Seth: 72 total turtles, 30 neophytes
Carol: 73 total turtles, but the tea leaves weren't quite clear as to the number of neophytes.
And Dom and Kate, we're wagering a couple of mangoes that our numbers will prove correct.
Best of luck on the beach this year - we'll be thinking about you and the hawksbills tomorrow tonight!
Seth: 72 total turtles, 30 neophytes
Carol: 73 total turtles, but the tea leaves weren't quite clear as to the number of neophytes.
And Dom and Kate, we're wagering a couple of mangoes that our numbers will prove correct.
Best of luck on the beach this year - we'll be thinking about you and the hawksbills tomorrow tonight!
Friday, 29 May 2009
Welcome!
Hello and welcome to the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project blog!
For the 23rd consecutive year, the Jumby Bay Hawksbill Project will be monitoring Pasture beach in search for hawksbill turtles. Rox and I (Dtrain) – thanks Sir! – got to Jumby Bay today having spent a few days acclimatising in our home away from home with our Antiguan parents... a few days to catch up on the past 6 months, to get back into turtle mode and back into living our crazy (but awesome) nocturnal life. Warm up started this evening...and we will be patrolling at least half the night to get back into the groove of things!
We went up the beach during the day, and found 7 crawls with what looks like 5 nests. One false crawl was fresh from last night so we are hoping that she will be back tonight. The others seemed older. Things look promising!
To keep things turtle oriented, let’s get a few predictions up and we will find a prize for the winner...although the winner will only be found out in 6 months time! We need predictions for total turtle numbers, neophytes and remigrants; so if you would please leave in comments your numbers or email us on admin@jbhawksbillproject.org
FYI, the last 4 seasons have seen: 23, 23, 27, 28 neophytes and 63, 62, 66, 67 turtles in total. More info is available on the website and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask!
Dtrain: total: 71, Neo: 31, Rem: 40
Rox: total: 70, Neo: 30, Rem:40
Until next time, Dtrain and Roxy!
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