PB8201 Assessment

Sally and I met with VIP DJ early this morning to assess the last nest of the season, Pensacola Beach 8201. The lone hatchling I released on Saturday is still the only one swimming in the Gulf. That's the bad news...



The good news is that there are three hatchlings, and about 40 eggs, in the office. We finished assessing the nest as it was 72 hours post hatch, but there were some eggs that still looked viable. Rather than open them at the assessment, we're retaining them for a few days to see if the warmer weather in the office may allow them time to hatch.



They've already shown a little progress... The bottom pipped hatchling in this photo was so sluggish on the beach that we weren't even sure it was alive, until it had warmed up a bit in the morning sun. It can be a dangerous thing for these little guys to be so cold in the nest!



It may not work. Sometimes, it does, as in the case of the lone hatchling from SR 8061. Often, it doesn't. This nest is pretty sketchy anyway. It was interesting this morning to see how the nest stopped developing. There were several eggs that stopped in the first two weeks, at stage 1, 2 or 3, and several that stopped developing around three to four weeks, at stage 4 or 5. (Don't worry - I'll spare you those photos!) These dates correspond well with flooding events associated with Hurricanes Gustav and Ike. The earliest failed eggs likely died during Tropical Depression Fay, which was just about three days after this nest was laid. It's interesting, in a sad and clinical way, to see that unfold in the nest, and it's a good lesson about relocation sites for next year. Clearly, the eggs need to be a little further north!



It's great to see we still have a few determined hatchlings in the nest though...



They may be trapped in their eggs 22 days longer than expected, but they still show a lot of spunk!



This guy looks very determined to go for a swim. I wouldn't get between him and the sea as he makes his final dash for the waves!

Last Nest of the Season

Gulf Islands National Seashore turtle program is down to one final nest, Pensacola Beach 8201. Park VIP Melanie Waite located the nest the morning of August 20th, while doing a very thorough job on the Santa Rosa patrol, overlapping my morning patrol on Pensacola Beach. Melanie does such a great job! I arrived about three minutes after she found the nest, so she didn't even have to call for help assessing whether or not the nest needed to be moved.



Melanie headed off to fill in the data sheet while I searched for the egg chamber. Melanie did take a few minutes to get some great photos of our nest relocation protocol.



Just look at those eggs, nestled snugly in their sandy cradle. Momma didn't crawl very far from the water, but she hit a berm and thought she was on safe, dry ground. In reality, she was only about 5 feet from the previous night's high tide line, so the eggs would not have stayed dry for long if we'd left them in place (in situ).



After documenting how close the nest was to the Gulf of Mexico, all the eggs were gingerly placed in a cooler lined with several inches of sand. It's necessary to be even more gentle with developing sea turtle eggs than you would with a dozen eggs from the grocery store. While they have leathery shells, as opposed to the brittle shells of chicken eggs, a minor jolt could kill a sea turtle embryo in the very delicate first stages of development. That's why only highly trained sea turtle biologists move the eggs, VERY carefully, one at a time...



Then, a new nest location was prepared. I dug an 18-inch deep hole in the sand, shaped like an upside-down light bulb, near the base of the sand fence.



Each egg was then placed in the new egg chamber, in the same position they held in the original nest. Once all 106 eggs were back in the sand, they were covered with several inches of firmly packed sand, and the area was signed to keep beach visitors from disturbing the developing sea turtles. We've waited two months now, and expect hatchlings within the next week or two -- they sometimes develop more slowly when the weather turns chilly!



It's a good thing we moved the nest as Tropical Storm Faye removed that section of the beach just 5 days later. With Gustav and Ike hot on Fayes heels, we were triply happy we moved the nest!

Gustav and Ike deposited an extra two feet of sand on top of the nest, which we carefully swept back to return the nest to more normal conditions. The extra sand could have changed the temperature and/or humidity that the eggs were exposed to, and could have effected their development or survival rate. The nest was also subject to much wave overwash in both storms (though neither hit Pensacola Beach, their effects were widespread!). We don't know how the nest will fare given all the trauma it's been through, but I'm optimistic!



This is the nest today. It's high and dry, but that sand cliff is over 5 feet high... That's quite a drop for the tiny turtles, so we'll be certain to have park staff or an experienced volunteer on hand to help the hatchlings to a safer section of the beach.

There will still be one more sea turtle nest in the neighborhood once this nest hatches. Our good friend Gigi in Navarre Beach still has a nest - from September 7th. Let's hear it for the late loggerheads!

Pensacola Beach Turtle Run, After the Storm

The beach was well wind and sea swept this morning, with nary a track in sight, which made turtle patrol very easy!



The lovely blue-green color had returned to the Gulf as the tossed sand and sediments settled out in the calming waters.



A great blue heron stalked fish along the shore.



There was a new color in the sea oats, burnt by the salt spray and winds over the last few days.



And PB nest 7111 was spared crushing with this giant piling...



I replaced the sign this morning, still amazed that the actual egg chamber was not impacted by the large wooden post. That's luck!

Gustav at Perdido Key

Gustav definitely left a mark on the National Seashore, though we are about 200 miles west of where the eye came ashore.



Some of our nests were just wind eroded or washed.



One was completely missing... Though the sand is still there, pushed under the adjacent boardwalk and up on the Perdido Key road.



We're hoping the eggs are still down there, and that at least some are viable. They can survive a little washing, but standing water can drown the eggs, developing embryos and hatchlings in the nest. It's just a fact of nature, but it's hard to take when they're endangered species babies dying in the flood... Each one is so important!



Remember the early June nest on this gorgeous dune? The dune is almost non-existent now. How sad!

Pensacola Beach and Gustav

I didn't spend much time on the beach today. Somehow, my five foot three, hundred pound frame doesn't stand up well in the TS force winds...



I did, however, check on all of our Pensacola Beach nests. The above, PB 7111, was moved to the sand fence yesterday. The sand fence didn't do too well, but we're hopeful the nest will survive it's early introduction to the Gulf.



All were well washed.



Some had several feet of sand over them...



I was unable to check nests on Santa Rosa and Fort Pickens as the roads were impassable and Fort Pickens has breached. That's probably a good thing as there are still rainbands and tornado warnings...



Can you tell I'm a little over-protective of my turtles? My future kids are going to hate me!

Pre-Gustav at Perdido Key

We had one nest that coned Sunday morning on Perdido Key. I was worried that the turtles emerge in the tropical storm conditions we expected to arrive overnight. or drown in their nest, so I was happy to see them ready to go just before sunset. Sometimes they don't wait for darkness in rainy, cloudy weather, and we certainly had that with Gustav's outer rainbands passing through all day!



All 88 were ready to go! They even seemed to be hugging each other goodbye as they prepared to part ways in the Gulf of Mexico.



This white spider was in the egg chamber -- I've never seen that before! I would remember since I have a pathological fear of the critters...



The surf was a little high, but no where near as bad as it is today, so we decided the allow the turtles to try to swim...



At first, they seemed a bit reluctant...



Til a trail blazer lead the way



and they joined in a game of follow-the-leader...



You can almost hear the cadence: left, left, left, right, left.



Some of them were flipped upside down,



'til a kind volunteer set them right-side-up.



That first wave introduces them to an entire new world.



They sure seemed determined!



It must be quite a first day for the tiny tottering turtles!



Eventually, I had to put my camera away as rain bands started to run through the area.



It was probably for the best -- the weather was giving me a kind hint to move inside! It was pretty calm still, but the radar was impressively red!

Loggerheads Everywhere

I've been remiss in posting the last few days as we got ready for Gustav. We had many nests to move, meetings to attend and all that jazz. We still had tiny turtles too!



These loggerheads are from two different nests, with this photo just taken for comparison. The larger of the two is from Santa Rosa 6241, the smaller from Fort Pickens 6241. The variability within the species in terms of color, size, etc. is so amazing! This isn't the best comparison, but it's what I saw that day.



We had to release stragglers on two separate beaches, but the turtles did well playing follow the leader!