Kemp's Ridley Hatchling Release II

The 114 Kemp's ridley hatchlings from Santa Rosa nest 6211 (June 21, nest #1) were finally ready to leave today. It was sad and lovely to see them swim away, but hopefully, they'll be back when they're old enough to nest themselves.



There were a lot of good questions on the beach this morning regarding Kemp's and sea turtles in general. One of the most common was how to help.



There are lots of ways to help sea turtles. Simple things like using sea turtle friendly lighting in Gulf front homes, closing curtains at night, removing beach chairs and umbrellas in the evening and keeping pets off the beach really help.



Refraining from using plastic bags or buying and releasing helium filled balloons that float away on the breeze, mimicking jellyfish in the water, can also help sea turtles. Kemp's aren't huge jelly aficionados, but leatherbacks and loggerheads love the watery treats.



Volunteering for Gulf Islands National Seashore, or another organization is another great option. There's even a beach clean-up on September 20th throughout the National Seashore that's a great way to help struggling hatchlings as they race down the beach. Can you imagine how huge a soda can looks to a one-ounce hatchling? Their newly hatched minds must be overwhelmed by the strange obstacle!



A lot of folks also asked about whether or not we were interfering with natural selection by shepherding the tiny turtles on their journey from nest to sea. I understand the question, but the answer is rather complicated.



Kemp's ridleys, like other sea turtles, have been in our seas for over 65 million years. They did really well until we discovered how easy they were to hunt. Once we started using their eggs and meat as a food source, and their skin for leather, their numbers plummeted.



Perhaps folks believed every one of the eggs they didn't poach would hatch and return as an adult the in next year or two. Maybe they thought the turtles could only nest once and then their reproductive value was expended. There may have been a lot of things these early hunters, even into the late 20th century, didn't understand about sea turtle biology. They were not intentionally hunted to the brink of extinction, but that's where we found ourselves 30 years ago. Hunting a food source until it disappears isn't a very smart survival technique for their human hunters either.



The turtles were almost lost. The record low 702 nests may have been from less than 200 nesting adults. It's hard to determine an exact number of nesting adults based on these numbers as not all nests are located, and females can lay anywhere from 1 to 5 nests in a nesting season.



At that point, protection of Kemp's ridleys became a priority in the consevation community. We didn't want to be responsible for the extinction of these beautiful, graceful swimmers. Intense recovery efforts were designed and implemented, including head-starting hatchlings at Texas A&M, imprinting hatchlings on sand from different locations and incubating nests on beaches remote from the main nesting site at Rancho Nuevo. We're slowly starting to see results as their numbers creep upwards. It takes about 15 years for a hatchling to reach maturity, so it will be a slow turn-around, but it is a promising trend.



Given all that information, it's easy to understand why we protect this species, and all turtle species. Their population declines were not natural, their nesting and foraging grounds are influenced greatly by human interaction, and their recovery, at this point, still requires some human attention. Even their nesting beaches are no longer natural as they have been recreated by dredges (often with the wrong size and type of sand and wrong beach slope), eroded due to the presence of deepened channels, and covered with high rise hotels and condos. Perhaps fifty or eighty or a hundred years from now, there will be enough turtles that they can again stand a chance against their natural predators. That day is not today, so for now, we keep the sea gulls, herons, ghost crabs, dogs and souvenir seekers at bay.



These turtles are a precious natural resource, a gift from the sea, and they must be protected to ensure they will survive our lack of understanding of their habitats, biology, needs and contributions to the complex ecosystems they utilize. We largely created their crash, and it's our responsibility to help them recover. Just my two cents :)

Kemp's Not Quite Ready

Well, I tried to release the last Kemp's ridley nest this morning, but they just weren't ready. I knew that when I didn't hear them crawling around in the cooler...



They had crawled to the surface, as they would have in a natural nest, but most of them were not buried very deeply as the cooler limited the artificial nest dimensions...



So, they're hanging out, straightening their carapaces, absorbing their yolk sacs and getting ready for a fifteen year swim before returning to the nesting grounds.



Col Limpus, in Australia, has recorded nests taking as long as two weeks to emerge from the nest once they've hatched, so I guess I should cut myself a break... They really do look almost ready, and we'll try again to release them tomorrow morning at Opal Beach.

Kemp's Ridley Hatchling Release

More tiny turtles!



We've had many Kemp's ridley nests in Gulf Islands National Seashore this year.



It's a rare occurrence as they nest primarily in Texas and Mexico.



Guess their range is expanding a bit!



As Kemp's will both nest and hatch during the day, we had a unique opportunity for a daytime release, on a Saturday morning no less!



The turtles and I had lots of support from Interpretive Rangers, head quarters staff, VIP Valerie Walker, and of course, little Zander.



We even had our very own Barrier Island Girl there to help us out. Unfortunately, I think she caught me on film a few times as well...



DJ released hatchlings and helped keep the sea gulls at bay.



With the help of beach visitors and the rest of the GUIS gang, all the tiny turtles made it safely to the sea.



It's so rare to see them swim from the beach -- usually we're watching them by moonlight alone.



Just look at this one fly through the water... It looks so refreshing!



It's sad, in a way, to see them go, but also incredibly hopeful.



Releasing them in a managed way, instead of allowing them to roam north in the dunes, ensured they all survived the first hurdles placed in their paths.



Maybe we'll see the ladies back on our beaches in a decade or two...



Aren't they adorable when they lift their tiny heads for a breath of air?

A Turtle-y Day

Today, I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves...



We had little loggerheads,



going for their first swims,



And stubborn little Kemp's,



refusing to crawl,



and some lovely Reddish Egrets as well...



There was even a banded PIPL (Piping plover).



Anyone recognize that banding pattern?

Drowning Eggs, Mystery Nests and Loco Boomerang

It's been quite a week at Gulf Islands National Seashore. I must admit, the lack of sleep and constant mini-crises where rather tough on my nerves. At times, I need a clone or another biologist!



The week started off well with the offshore release of Loco Boomerang, our sea turtle escapee from Galveston. I was very excited that we didn't see him again for over 24 hours... He's still swimming around in the Gulf as I wait for more advice from the NMFS Galveston lab. Guess I should take the time to call there, huh?



With so many nests due to hatch, most of the rest of the week was a whirlwind of listening for hatchlings, setting (and building) screens, nest sitting, nest assessments and hatchling releases.



I seem to always have a cooler of hatchlings with yolk sacs these days -- maybe 72 to 96 hours isn't long enough for all the hatchlings to emerge on their own...



There are still new nests as well.



This one on Perdido had a wandering crawl over half a mile long.



She also had some rather odd eggs -- there's another snowman egg and spacers here -- I really wish we saw the nesting mothers more often!



We had a few drowning nests as well. Since we have to wait til two weeks after a nest has been laid to move it, if we don't relocate it within 12 hours, we had to just watch these nests get closer and closer to the Gulf as first H. Dolly, then another storm front eroded over 35 feet of beach in less than two weeks...



While I was moving this precarious nest, I got a call about an unknown nest hatching on Perdido Key. I have no photos as visitors to the park escorted all the hatchlings to the Gulf.



It sounds like a Kemp's nest based on their descriptions, but I have to find the nest to be able to tell for certain. Having this photo of the two most common species this year together really helps! With all the recent rain and heavy foot traffic in that area of the park, I may not be able to locate the remaining hatchlings and eggs.



Somewhere in there, I actually had a leisurely day to spend on a bird survey, on my favorite north shore in the Santa Rosa area.



Aren't these semipalmated plovers handsome birds?




Who said reddish egrets are solitary birds?



We don't usually have them in the park, so it was exciting to see so many!



I have the most wonderful job, even if it means subsisting on about 2 hours of sleep a night during the turtle season. That just means the animals are doing well!