Time for Turtle Tracks!

A new group of tiny loggerheads crawled down Opal Beach yesterday.



The nest had been threatened by TS Fay, but did well, so we were happy to see the little guys healthy and ready to go...



They almost crawled out of their temporary tranport on their own! Click on the image to see the cutest turtle ever; you can almost hear the turtle crying "let me out!!!"



Nicole had a chance to help out with her first hatch this season, though she has already found us several nests this year.



One of hers is due to hatch on Fort Pickens this weekend... Can't wait to see them swim away!

Hatchling Bite!

I took photos last night at a hatching nest. Since we only use red lights around hatchlings at night, the pics are not the best. Maybe I'll buy an infrared camera soon...



We screen all of our nests from dusk to dawn around the time we start hearing hatchlings scratching their way to the top. The screens help keep the hatchlings from scattering in the dunes, and usually prevent ghost crabs, night herons and other predators from snatching the young.



Having the screens makes it easy to see when, and to what direction, hatchlings may be disorienting as well...



A lot of hatchlings last night were unable to get out of the egg chamber, which is a little odd. The walls were steep, and it was very deep. What happened to all the sand that should have been over the nest? Sometimes, these things happen, but it makes the hatchlings sitting ducks for predators if we are not there to help.



The turtles had other problems last night as well. Three ghost crabs dug at angles under the screens, straight into the egg chamber. One tiny hatchling was hanging out about a foot west of the screen, though there was no tiny turtle crawl, just a ghost crab track with a drag in the middle.

The hatchling was on his/her back, actively fighting a ghost crab. I bent down to pick him/her up, and carried it to the gulf. As soon as I had it in my hands, the tiny loggerhead (Caretta caretta) bit me! It just felt like a little tickle on my fingertip, but still, I was shocked! I've been helping hatchlings find their way to the sea for many, many years, and this was a first...

I was pretty happy with the little dude though -- that bite told me the turtle had a fighting spirit. Once near the Gulf of Mexico, the turtle booked for the sea, escaping the ghost crabs and green and gray clad humans that scared him so much on the beach.

A few hours later, 45 more hatchlings joined the fray, and needed an escort from the relocated nest to the Gulf shore. This particular nest was north of the road, so they really did need a boost.



I'd forgotten the cooler back in the POD, and all I had was my gear bag -- a reusable Publix grocery bag. I wonder if they'd be willing to sponsor our turtle project -- that's pretty good PR from the little hathchlings! The hatchlings could self-release from the bag, which is bad if you leave it unattended near ghost crab holes, but good for a more natural nesting experience for the critters.



They crawled out in ones and twos and headed for the Gulf. All were safe and sound (I hope), swimming in the warm sea half an hour later. Hope to see them back in 25 years or so!

A NEW Nest!!!

Another turtle patrol on Pensacola Beach dawned with a rosy hued sky. Surely, this was a good sign!



I'm often accused of being the park "Pollyanna", but even my critics have to see the pink there without the aid of my rose colored glasses :). The pink sky turned out to be a very good omen indeed!



Melanie beat me to the new loggerhead (Caretta caretta ) nest on Pensacola Beach. She does such a thorough job on Santa Rosa, that meets Pensacola Beach to the East, that she nabbed one on the border between the two. Great job, Melanie!



I did get there in time to help find the eggs.



We decided to move the nest, so next came the cooler full of 106 eggs.



Even though the area was a little elevated, it was about 12 feet from last night's high tide. With Fay threatening to turn back to this coast, we couldn't just leave it and hope...



We found a nice area by the SRIA sand fence for the eggs to incubate in for the next two months.



A hundred six eggs means 212 toe-touches for me, after spending 10 minutes digging for eggs. It felt great to stand up and stretch my aching back, even though that meant having to pound in the stakes surrounding the nest!



I'm getting too old for this, aren't I?



Just so you know, Melanie -- we're expecting at least two more nests on your patrols this season. A green would be nice, and she should be back to lay another clutch!

Many thanks to my substitute photographer, Melanie. Fantastic job with that new camera of mine!

Stormy Morning

There were no new nests on Pensacola Beach this morning, which is good!



The wind swept sea, and stinging sand, would have made moving a nest less than fun. Though work with sea turtles is always a joy, sandpapering my legs is never one of my favorite things!



I was surprised there were not any surfers, but maybe the seas were just too sloppy.



We did have lots of hatchlings last night though -- 110 at Santa Rosa and 31 at Perdido. Hope those waves help keep the predators at bay!

A Beautiful Day in Pensacola Beach

Monday was my day off, which makes me wonder why I was on the beach searching for nesting and hatchling sea turtles at 0400....



Being a sea turtle biologist is a calling, a way of life and a genuine passion.



Plus, we get to see so much of the beauty in the world that many miss while still asleep...

The lighting in these turtle photos is kind of bad -- it was dusk when they emerged, and flash photography is not permitted!!!



We turtle girls will sleep in the fall! For now, we're watching for these emerging hatchlings. Check out that little flipper... Usually, it's a tiny head we see poking out of the sand first!



Once they emerge, we allow them to crawl over their nest for a few short minutes



before gathering them for a free lift, past the ghost crabs and night herons, closer to their new life in the sea.



Sometimes, like last night, we have lots of hatchlings and lots of lightening! That's the price you pay, but seeing the tiny turtles make it safely to the sea makes it all worth it ...


Ok, I'm catching from flak for this, so let me outline my thoughts -- maybe someone has a better solution...



The rain storm started at 0400. At that point, I was at mile marker "J" on Perdido Key, six miles from the nearest shelter. At first, it was just rain, which I always work through -- we all dry eventually!

Soon, the wind picked up, gusting so strongly that I couldn't stand straight, and didn't want to as the blowing sand grains gave me a free microdermabrasion treatment on all my exposed skin. Then came the lightning, fast, furious and near. The flashes of blue white light were so intense and frequent that I was at times blinded by them.

I had a choice to make and I didn't know the best one to make. There was no doubt I, at 5'3", was the tallest thing on the GUIS half of Perdido Key. Huddling down in my rain gear by my atv made me smaller, but was it good enough? Was it safer to stay there, or risk driving the six miles back to the Ranger Station/Visitor's Center? That would mean driving in the dark, through blinding lightning, blowing sand and rain that made it impossible to see anything, even with me headlights on (which we try not to use as there still may be nesting turtles out there). I could run off the most recent erosion bluffs, two to three feet from the pounding surf (not such a bad thing, but it might break the atv), I might hit a nesting turtle or large piece of driftwood, and I would be the tallest thing on the beach the whole way back.

In the end, I stayed, huddled in rain pants and a park rain coat, at mile marker J. It didn't feel very safe, but driving through the storm felt even less safe. I tried to drive at one point, and literally couldn't see. Freaky. Not a morning I'd like to repeat, but at least I had two nests of little loggerheads safely in the sea before the storm hit!

I just checked the weather for tonight as I have to return to those same nests... Tornado watch until 10pm. I think I'll make a quick trip instead of staying out there all night tonight!

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?

Perdido Key and Eduoard

Eduoard continued his track west, but not without taking more of our dunes.



He also left a boat ashore on Perdido Key.



Check out this nest -- it's even closer to the edge than yesterday, and it's due to hatch in about two days. How precarious is that first 'step' for the little guys? I think I may have to take them to another stretch of beach to introduce them to the Gulf of Mexico.



We're fortunate to have so many sea oats to help hold the dunes, and the island, together, even in the face of the battering waves. Their delicate seedheads belie the strength of their underground root system.



There was one more loggerhead hatchling from PK6021 this morning.



Unfortunately, it looked like a ghost crab had attacked it. I'm not sure how he'll do in the Gulf.



See the neat anomaly on his vertebral scutes? I keep calling this hatchling a him, but I don't know if it's male or female.



S/he seems to be swimming in a heart of bubbles. It will take that to help this little loggerhead survive amidst all the obstacles ahead.



It was still a beautiful morning on the Key, but then, isn't it always gorgeous in paradise?



The egrets seem to agree...



What a wonderful life!