July 2, 2013
I had Laura and her friend Patti with us. Laura first came to Singer Island in 2007 for the annual Central Michigan Universities summer break program. Laura told me she had such a great time on that college trip, that she wanted to ask if she and her friend could accompany me and my group while we did our nesting surveys during the first week of July while they are on vacation.
It was a busy morning today, and along with lots of nesting and false crawls, we excavated our 3rd hatched leatherback nest. As I dug down into the nest to collect our hatchling success information, I pulled out two stragglers.
The first one was pretty sleepy, but the second one was much more peppy. Unfortunately, neither one was quite ready to be released into the ocean at that time. Therefore, Donna and Mark took them up to the Marinelife Center in Juno Beach, to be held until they could be released sometime in the dark of the night.
You won't see any leatherback hatchlings in the tanks at Loggerhead Marinelife Center, because this species will continually swim into the sides of the tank and clunk their heads. They will be placed in a cool, dark container lined with sand until they can be released. The darkness of the inside of the container will calm them down and help to keep them quiet. Some are released to the ocean during the dark of the night, and some will be "VIP" turtles and given a boat ride out to the sargassum seaweed beds, about 10 miles off our shores. We are so lucky that we have such a wonderful sea turtle rehab facility right in our backyard. If you haven't visited it yet, please make sure you take the time to do so.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Saturday, June 29, 2013
June 25, 2013
Monday morning, Adriana and Sandy, two of our volunteers, excavated our first Leatherback nest that was laid on 4/8. This was the nest that we watched 52 hatchlings rush to the ocean on Friday morning, 6/21. After the mandatory 72 hour wait period, the final count was as follows:
I was surprised at the high number of hatched eggs. Leatherbacks have an average clutch size from 60-80 eggs. But as I tell my Volunteers, once you think you know everything about the "norm", nature will throw you a curve ball and leave you standing there in astonishment.
This Leatherback sea turtle was named "Pumpkin" by Christy back in 2010, when she was part of the night time leatherback study being conducted through the Juno Marinelife Center. Christy is now back with our group helping me with the morning surveys. We found out about Pumpkin nesting on our beach back in April by one of the night time surveyors from this study.
Today, my volunteer trainee group watched as Tyler and I excavated our second leatherback nest that was laid on 4/10. Here is the final count:
Another successful hatch for this critically endangered sea turtle.
On Thursday, 6/27 our first loggerhead nest of the season hatched. It was laid on April 25. We will get a hatchling success count on that nest on Sunday.
Monday morning, Adriana and Sandy, two of our volunteers, excavated our first Leatherback nest that was laid on 4/8. This was the nest that we watched 52 hatchlings rush to the ocean on Friday morning, 6/21. After the mandatory 72 hour wait period, the final count was as follows:
Hatched
|
Alive
|
Dead
|
Infertile
|
Pipped Live
|
Pipped Dead
|
Spacers
|
101
|
10
|
5
|
11
|
0
|
1
|
12
|
I was surprised at the high number of hatched eggs. Leatherbacks have an average clutch size from 60-80 eggs. But as I tell my Volunteers, once you think you know everything about the "norm", nature will throw you a curve ball and leave you standing there in astonishment.
This Leatherback sea turtle was named "Pumpkin" by Christy back in 2010, when she was part of the night time leatherback study being conducted through the Juno Marinelife Center. Christy is now back with our group helping me with the morning surveys. We found out about Pumpkin nesting on our beach back in April by one of the night time surveyors from this study.
Today, my volunteer trainee group watched as Tyler and I excavated our second leatherback nest that was laid on 4/10. Here is the final count:
Hatched
|
Alive
|
Dead
|
Infertile
|
Pipped Live
|
Pipped Dead
|
Spacers
|
75
|
2
|
2
|
8
|
0
|
2
|
19
|
Another successful hatch for this critically endangered sea turtle.
On Thursday, 6/27 our first loggerhead nest of the season hatched. It was laid on April 25. We will get a hatchling success count on that nest on Sunday.
Saturday, June 22, 2013
Leatherback nest hatches in the morning 6/21/13
June 21, 2013 (Written by Debbie)
Erica and I began the turtle survey at 6:30 AM. This is a busy time of the year (JUNE) for turtles nesting on our beaches in Palm Beach County. Singer Island included.
One of the loggerhead nests we came upon was located at the base of a 4 ft. escarpment at the waterline. I dug around until I located the clutch of eggs while Erica moved directly westward of where I was working and dug a new loggerhead nest. I was worried that we would loose that clutch of eggs at the next high tide, due to it precarious location. That loggerhead mom just couldn't make it over the escarpment and decided to nest anyway.
While I was removing eggs from the original nesting chamber, a few beach walkers told us that a nest was hatching at Ocean Reef Park and people were watching the emergence and keeping the crows from snatching up the hatchlings. At this time, we didn't know which nest or what species was hatching.
Erica and I finished relocating that clutch of 60 eggs, which is a small clutch compared to the average clutch which is about 100 eggs.
We hurried north as we continued our nesting survey, with a nice family accompanying us down to the hatch in progress.
One lady stood watch over the nest site. She said she was waiting for us to arrive, because she was afraid the crows would come down and try to grab a hatchling. There at the top of the sand, were 10 little black leatherback heads sticking out of the top of the nest site. Since it was daytime, I told everyone that was present that they could take photos.
* It is against Federal Law to bother a nesting female, or the hatchlings as they make their way to the ocean after emergence. All of this usually takes place in the middle of the night. People are not allowed to take flash photograpy or shine flashlights onto the turtles at night. Marine Patrol will regularly patrol the beaches and give out tickets to those folks who may be disturbing the turtles.
When my trained/permitted volunteers see hatchlings exposed to the hot sun and the heat of the day, we know we must get them moving and into the water as soon as possible.
I gently "tickled" up the leatherbacks that were exposed to the elements and they began moving out of the nest site and onto the early morning sand. And from that moment, all the others that were making their way out in a large group, began to move out too. They always try to hatch together at night in a large group, because there is safety in numbers. Also, at night, there are less predators waiting to prey on them. (Especially birds).
By that time, we had a large gang of people watching all the leatherback hatchlings march down to the water and swim away. They all stood on each side of the turtle trek and helped us watch for any crows that may try to swoop down and pick up breakfast. One boy chased a crow when it landed, not too far from where we all stood.
I told the people how special this event was, as we all watched in awe as 52 hatchlings emerged and ran down to the water. Hopefully, they will survive and return to their natal beach to nest, years later.
Erica and I began the turtle survey at 6:30 AM. This is a busy time of the year (JUNE) for turtles nesting on our beaches in Palm Beach County. Singer Island included.
One of the loggerhead nests we came upon was located at the base of a 4 ft. escarpment at the waterline. I dug around until I located the clutch of eggs while Erica moved directly westward of where I was working and dug a new loggerhead nest. I was worried that we would loose that clutch of eggs at the next high tide, due to it precarious location. That loggerhead mom just couldn't make it over the escarpment and decided to nest anyway.
While I was removing eggs from the original nesting chamber, a few beach walkers told us that a nest was hatching at Ocean Reef Park and people were watching the emergence and keeping the crows from snatching up the hatchlings. At this time, we didn't know which nest or what species was hatching.
Erica and I finished relocating that clutch of 60 eggs, which is a small clutch compared to the average clutch which is about 100 eggs.
We hurried north as we continued our nesting survey, with a nice family accompanying us down to the hatch in progress.
One lady stood watch over the nest site. She said she was waiting for us to arrive, because she was afraid the crows would come down and try to grab a hatchling. There at the top of the sand, were 10 little black leatherback heads sticking out of the top of the nest site. Since it was daytime, I told everyone that was present that they could take photos.
* It is against Federal Law to bother a nesting female, or the hatchlings as they make their way to the ocean after emergence. All of this usually takes place in the middle of the night. People are not allowed to take flash photograpy or shine flashlights onto the turtles at night. Marine Patrol will regularly patrol the beaches and give out tickets to those folks who may be disturbing the turtles.
When my trained/permitted volunteers see hatchlings exposed to the hot sun and the heat of the day, we know we must get them moving and into the water as soon as possible.
I gently "tickled" up the leatherbacks that were exposed to the elements and they began moving out of the nest site and onto the early morning sand. And from that moment, all the others that were making their way out in a large group, began to move out too. They always try to hatch together at night in a large group, because there is safety in numbers. Also, at night, there are less predators waiting to prey on them. (Especially birds).
By that time, we had a large gang of people watching all the leatherback hatchlings march down to the water and swim away. They all stood on each side of the turtle trek and helped us watch for any crows that may try to swoop down and pick up breakfast. One boy chased a crow when it landed, not too far from where we all stood.
I told the people how special this event was, as we all watched in awe as 52 hatchlings emerged and ran down to the water. Hopefully, they will survive and return to their natal beach to nest, years later.
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
7/31/12 Hatchling Emergence
Our volunteers found a few hatchlings popping out of the sand is here is what happened after that...
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
A look at a day on the beach... (Autumn reports)
We arrive at the beach just before the sun comes over the horizon...
Volunteers blocked with sunscreen and floppy hats start out their morning survey with a beautiful sunrise saying good morning...
A lurking predator has been here already...
These could belong to the night heron who likes to snack on baby turtles :-(
The night heron is on the lookout for baby turtles and knows they will soon be hatching...
Volunteers come across the tracks to assess the species and determine if the momma turtles nested or not. These tracks belong to a loggerhead turtle...
Stay tuned for more pictures to come...
Tuesday, July 10, 2012
Tuesday, July 10, 2010 (Debbie Reports)
This morning 2 of the new volunteers who are training with me every Tues., called in to say they couldn't make it. Maybe the showers in the southern part of the county scared them back to bed, but we had no rain at all on Singer Island. Even if it rains, the turtle survey must be completed each day.
Erica, my other new trainee and I were surprised to meet up with Jayce at Ocean Mall on our way out to the beach. She is a trained volunteer who is a flight attendant and fills in for my people who are on vacation when she is needed.
Walking out of the southern pathway at Ocean Mall, I spotted 5 loggerhead hatchling tracks in the sand. This is a sign that a nest has hatched and the hatchlings have turned west away from the water towards the artificial light. We call this a disorientation. Walking north we checked the beach and the staked nests for the location of the hatch. More and more hatchling tracks were found, until we came upon a nest laid on 5/14 right in front of the southern lifeguard stand that had hatched. All the tracks that came out of the nest site went directly west and away from the water. No tracks went the short distance of about 10 feet into the water. I guestimated that there were at least 50 loggerhead hatchlings that were disoriented.
When we have a disorientation, we fill out the disorientation report, documenting the location and movements of this event. The tracks we see in the sand give us the information that is needed to fill out the form. Sadly, we found one dead hatchling not far from the nest site. It looked like a bird had pecked it and it had been bleeding. I buried it deep into the sand in a different location away from the nest. We didn't find any of the disoriented turtles though. Some did eventually turn to the water on their own, but most may have been picked up by other people out on the beach at night, and placed into the ocean where they belong.
As we continued walking north, another hatched and disoriented nest became apparent. This nest, also laid on 5/14, showed the hatchling tracks going to the brightest area, which happened to be the 2700 building, just on the north side of Ocean Mall. Skyglow is a big problem, difficult to correct, but the other problem we face and that can be fixed, is the interior lighting coming onto the beach from inside the tall condos and hotels. It is so important during this time of year, for people living on the ocean to keep their curtains, blinds, and shades closed from 9 PM until sunrise. We hope those people living on the ocean, will turn off lights inside their units and try to help minimize the artificial lighting impact on the hatchlings. That would be fantastic~!!!!!
Those hatched nests from today will be excavated by trained and permitted volunteers from The Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island in 72 hours. This will give us more information about the number of hatchlings that went the wrong way and did not head to the sea.
Erica, my other new trainee and I were surprised to meet up with Jayce at Ocean Mall on our way out to the beach. She is a trained volunteer who is a flight attendant and fills in for my people who are on vacation when she is needed.
Walking out of the southern pathway at Ocean Mall, I spotted 5 loggerhead hatchling tracks in the sand. This is a sign that a nest has hatched and the hatchlings have turned west away from the water towards the artificial light. We call this a disorientation. Walking north we checked the beach and the staked nests for the location of the hatch. More and more hatchling tracks were found, until we came upon a nest laid on 5/14 right in front of the southern lifeguard stand that had hatched. All the tracks that came out of the nest site went directly west and away from the water. No tracks went the short distance of about 10 feet into the water. I guestimated that there were at least 50 loggerhead hatchlings that were disoriented.
When we have a disorientation, we fill out the disorientation report, documenting the location and movements of this event. The tracks we see in the sand give us the information that is needed to fill out the form. Sadly, we found one dead hatchling not far from the nest site. It looked like a bird had pecked it and it had been bleeding. I buried it deep into the sand in a different location away from the nest. We didn't find any of the disoriented turtles though. Some did eventually turn to the water on their own, but most may have been picked up by other people out on the beach at night, and placed into the ocean where they belong.
As we continued walking north, another hatched and disoriented nest became apparent. This nest, also laid on 5/14, showed the hatchling tracks going to the brightest area, which happened to be the 2700 building, just on the north side of Ocean Mall. Skyglow is a big problem, difficult to correct, but the other problem we face and that can be fixed, is the interior lighting coming onto the beach from inside the tall condos and hotels. It is so important during this time of year, for people living on the ocean to keep their curtains, blinds, and shades closed from 9 PM until sunrise. We hope those people living on the ocean, will turn off lights inside their units and try to help minimize the artificial lighting impact on the hatchlings. That would be fantastic~!!!!!
Those hatched nests from today will be excavated by trained and permitted volunteers from The Sea Turtle Conservation League of Singer Island in 72 hours. This will give us more information about the number of hatchlings that went the wrong way and did not head to the sea.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012 (Debbie reports)
After completing our morning nesting survey on South Singer Inland we were ready to excavate two hatched nests in order to record the hatching sucess of those nests.
The first nest, a leatherback named Jody, who nested on April 24th, was spotted by one of the biologists from the Juno Marinelife Center on that date. All night the biologists drive from the Jupiter Inlet to the Palm Beach Inlet hoping to encounter nesting leatherbacks. Once one is spotted, they check for pit tags on the flippers of the turtle. From those numbers, much information about that individual turtle can be found in their data banks. For example: what date she was first encountered, what her name is, what years she returned, how many times this season she has been found nesting, and more. The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle in the world and can grow to be 2,000 lbs. It swims the farthest, dives the deepest, can take the coldest waters, and loves to eat Jellyfish. This is also the only species of sea turtle with a smooth carapace (shell) that feels something like an eggplant. (All the other species have a hard carapace.) The Sea Turtle Conservation League's Logo shows the leatherback. A very impressive turtle~! (For more information about the Leatherback study you can go to: floridaleatherbacks.com).
Jody's nest hatched on July 2nd. After waiting the required 72 hours to do our excavation, (which allows most of the hatchlings to emerge and make their run to the water), we were ready to dig~!
We had a large entourage of tourists and locals eager to see what we were doing. This is the best time for my volunteers to educate the public about the sea turtles plight.
First, we push back the dry sand and then begin our decent down into the egg chamber, which is hidden deep in the sand. The heat of the sand is what incubates the eggs. Once the mother turtle has nested she never returns to her nest and she may lay up to six nests in one summer in 9 to 10 day intervals.
This was a deep nest, about 6 ft. deep. Half way down I felt the front flippers of a hatchling. Sure enough, there was a little black leatherback hatchling with white longitude lines along its carapace, still making its journey to the top of the nest site. Then 3 more leatherback hatchlings came to the light. Four in all~! They were all healthy, but not ready to be released into the ocean. Two of my volunteers, Christine and Anastasia were also helping me, by passing out our brochures and helping to answer any questions. Anastasia also helped with the excavation. The people were able to take photos of the hatchlings. Seeing a leatherback hatchling is an unusual treat, because they are critically endangered.
We counted 85 hatched shells, 4 were found alive, and 2 were found dead. This is the only species of sea turtle that has "spacers". They are smaller different sized yokeless eggs, which can be the size of a pea to the size of a ping pong ball. These spacers are randomly deposited into the nest as the mother turtles lays her eggs. The leatherbacks eggs are a little smaller than a tennis ball. Since they are so large and are incubating so deeply in the sand, the spacers help to provide the proper environment for the eggs to develope. We counted 62 spacers of various sizes with this nest.
This was a very successful nest. Hopefully, one of these hatchlings will survive and return to Singer Island to nest one day.
The next nest we excavated was a Loggerhead sea turtle, named for its large head and strong jaws. These turtles grow to be on average about 350 lbs. Most of the nests on Singer Island are loggerhead nests. The loggerhead is classified as threatened, one notch down from endangered. Our loggerhead nesting numbers have been down for the past 5 yrs., but this 2012 season is looking fantastic as reported from other Permit Holders like me, from all around the state of Florida. These turtles have a varied diet compared to the others, and will eat, clams, crustaceans, and jelly fish.
Anastasia began to excavate this nest which was laid on May 8th and hatched on July 6th. Just 6 in. underneath the sand she encountered 9 living loggerhead hatchlings. The crowd was so excited and many folks made a nice smooth pathway for the little babies to follow down to the water. It was a nice treat to show the differences between the two species. The loggerhead hatchling is a rusty grey color and can blend very nicely into the sargassum sea weed beds that lay at least 10 miles off our shores. This is the place the hatchlings will swim to try to encounter once they leave the beach. There, they will find food and shelter for at least the first year of life.
As Anastasia continued down, she pulled up 11 pipped alive loggerheads. Pipped means that the turtle has bitten open its shell and is trying to wiggle its way out. We were able to watch two hatchlings go through the complete endeavor, until they were completely out of the shell. These 11 hatchlings had absorbed their yolk sac, but were not quite ready to be released into the water.
The final count on this nest was: 53 hatched eggs, 9 alive, 2 dead, 3 infertile, 11 pipped alive, and 3 pipped dead.
I took the bucket of hatchlings (4 leatherback and 11 loggerhead), up to the Juno Marinelife Center. They hold them until they are ready to be released into the ocean. And these are VIP hatchlings, because they are lucky enough to get a nice boatride out to the sargassum seaweed beds, where they are released. Maybe they will meet a few of their nest-mates, who have made it on their own. I sure do hope so.
The first nest, a leatherback named Jody, who nested on April 24th, was spotted by one of the biologists from the Juno Marinelife Center on that date. All night the biologists drive from the Jupiter Inlet to the Palm Beach Inlet hoping to encounter nesting leatherbacks. Once one is spotted, they check for pit tags on the flippers of the turtle. From those numbers, much information about that individual turtle can be found in their data banks. For example: what date she was first encountered, what her name is, what years she returned, how many times this season she has been found nesting, and more. The leatherback sea turtle is the largest turtle in the world and can grow to be 2,000 lbs. It swims the farthest, dives the deepest, can take the coldest waters, and loves to eat Jellyfish. This is also the only species of sea turtle with a smooth carapace (shell) that feels something like an eggplant. (All the other species have a hard carapace.) The Sea Turtle Conservation League's Logo shows the leatherback. A very impressive turtle~! (For more information about the Leatherback study you can go to: floridaleatherbacks.com).
Jody's nest hatched on July 2nd. After waiting the required 72 hours to do our excavation, (which allows most of the hatchlings to emerge and make their run to the water), we were ready to dig~!
We had a large entourage of tourists and locals eager to see what we were doing. This is the best time for my volunteers to educate the public about the sea turtles plight.
First, we push back the dry sand and then begin our decent down into the egg chamber, which is hidden deep in the sand. The heat of the sand is what incubates the eggs. Once the mother turtle has nested she never returns to her nest and she may lay up to six nests in one summer in 9 to 10 day intervals.
This was a deep nest, about 6 ft. deep. Half way down I felt the front flippers of a hatchling. Sure enough, there was a little black leatherback hatchling with white longitude lines along its carapace, still making its journey to the top of the nest site. Then 3 more leatherback hatchlings came to the light. Four in all~! They were all healthy, but not ready to be released into the ocean. Two of my volunteers, Christine and Anastasia were also helping me, by passing out our brochures and helping to answer any questions. Anastasia also helped with the excavation. The people were able to take photos of the hatchlings. Seeing a leatherback hatchling is an unusual treat, because they are critically endangered.
We counted 85 hatched shells, 4 were found alive, and 2 were found dead. This is the only species of sea turtle that has "spacers". They are smaller different sized yokeless eggs, which can be the size of a pea to the size of a ping pong ball. These spacers are randomly deposited into the nest as the mother turtles lays her eggs. The leatherbacks eggs are a little smaller than a tennis ball. Since they are so large and are incubating so deeply in the sand, the spacers help to provide the proper environment for the eggs to develope. We counted 62 spacers of various sizes with this nest.
This was a very successful nest. Hopefully, one of these hatchlings will survive and return to Singer Island to nest one day.
The next nest we excavated was a Loggerhead sea turtle, named for its large head and strong jaws. These turtles grow to be on average about 350 lbs. Most of the nests on Singer Island are loggerhead nests. The loggerhead is classified as threatened, one notch down from endangered. Our loggerhead nesting numbers have been down for the past 5 yrs., but this 2012 season is looking fantastic as reported from other Permit Holders like me, from all around the state of Florida. These turtles have a varied diet compared to the others, and will eat, clams, crustaceans, and jelly fish.
Anastasia began to excavate this nest which was laid on May 8th and hatched on July 6th. Just 6 in. underneath the sand she encountered 9 living loggerhead hatchlings. The crowd was so excited and many folks made a nice smooth pathway for the little babies to follow down to the water. It was a nice treat to show the differences between the two species. The loggerhead hatchling is a rusty grey color and can blend very nicely into the sargassum sea weed beds that lay at least 10 miles off our shores. This is the place the hatchlings will swim to try to encounter once they leave the beach. There, they will find food and shelter for at least the first year of life.
As Anastasia continued down, she pulled up 11 pipped alive loggerheads. Pipped means that the turtle has bitten open its shell and is trying to wiggle its way out. We were able to watch two hatchlings go through the complete endeavor, until they were completely out of the shell. These 11 hatchlings had absorbed their yolk sac, but were not quite ready to be released into the water.
The final count on this nest was: 53 hatched eggs, 9 alive, 2 dead, 3 infertile, 11 pipped alive, and 3 pipped dead.
I took the bucket of hatchlings (4 leatherback and 11 loggerhead), up to the Juno Marinelife Center. They hold them until they are ready to be released into the ocean. And these are VIP hatchlings, because they are lucky enough to get a nice boatride out to the sargassum seaweed beds, where they are released. Maybe they will meet a few of their nest-mates, who have made it on their own. I sure do hope so.
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