Timmy the Turtle

Today  was like any other day.  I hit the north end, and Steve hit the south end.  My only moment of mention was the discovery of six egg shells and two dead hatchlings at NB4.  There were two ghost crabs hanging around, so I grabbed my shovel and killed one.  My first ghost crab kill.  I didn't think I'd try it, but immediately after I saw the hatchling, I had no problem.  I found myself staking some more out around other nests, probe stick in one hand, shovel in the other.  I never did get any more.  Mark said that we'll find a ghost crab in nearly every nest.  It's a natural relationship, so we can't get too upset.

Steve and I had three nests today, still averaging a good number.  We've been worried about the end of nesting, but they still keep coming, though the days of 8 nests are over.  As I was on my way home, I found Steve at the culvert fishing.  He already caught two nice red drum, so we decided to head home and catch a break before Mark's visit.  Today was our training on nest excavation.  Just after I finished feeding that cats, at only 10:30, Mark called to let me know he was on the island, hours before we expected.  We packed up the truck and headed to Bradley Beach.

Our stop was NB2, our first nest to hatch.  Mark and I discovered the crawls on Monday.  Typically, we'll wait 5 days before we excavate a nest.  This number varies by state, island, organization...  We do this to allow stragglers to find their way out on their own.  It provides ample time for the late bloomers to try, as well as not being to long to help out other healthy turtles.  Mark started by digging in the nest cavity, and started pulling out dead hatchlings, over and over again.  Soon we had lots, not a good sign, but also not the end of the world.

On Monday, Mark counted 49 crawls, so at least that many made it out of the nest.  Eventually, he pulled out a live turtle.  He was slow moving, but still alive.  Mark dug a little hole and covered the little guy with damp sand to keep it cool.  We continued digging up the nest, and once the contents were out, and we only had one live turtle, we took it to the water.  Mark told me to put it down at last night's high tide line, to give it a chance to imprint on its way to the water.  It didn't do so well, not walking directly to the water.  Mark took it to the water's edge and gave it a chance to swim.  The first small waves kept bringing it back onshore.  It was really cute to watch the turtle swim, and especially to lift its head to take breaths.  Mark said that the wave action is also a clue to orient the little guy, and again, it failed.  He said next to take it farther, so that the waves would encourage it out deeper, not back up the beach.  After he let it go this time, we never saw it again.  During the swim trials, we were able to get a better look at the sea turtle.  It had an abnormal lump on its head, and abnormal scutes on its carapace.  Its chance of survival is very low, but we were still glad to send it off in the water.  It's definitely bittersweet to experience this, the live and dead sea turtles hatchlings.  Steve and I are now welcoming the new chapter of our Loggerhead nesting season.

For Mom & Dad Tighe: you should recognize the name reference.  Steve thought of it.  Little Timmys will always have a special place in our hearts.  (For those who don't know - we're referencing Timmy, from South Park).

Other Updates:  I had my first "hole in one" - probe in one.  I used to probe systematically, but Mark and Steve said I'd never get it if I didn't start where I thought the nest was.  The day after (Tuesday), I got it.  Next, the Least Tern egg Steve found on South Middle washed over and is missing.  We're sad, but the terns still seem very active, so we think there are still more nests.  As of a few days ago, the American Oystercatcher nest only had one egg.  We don't know what happened.  Our last bit of bird news is that the Wilson's Plover nest by NB31 never hatched and the parents have stopped returning.  The three eggs are still in the nest.  Steve and I are learning first hand how difficult shore bird nesting really is.

Links of interest: Sea Turtle Necropsy and Oil Spill from NYTimes, Sea Turtles and Shrimping (opinion), Plight of the Sea Turtles