Today our hearts and minds were in two vastly differing venues and points in time. At present, we were on our beautiful island to complete the inventory on Nest 13R, bearing witness to a natural cycle of life that has been carried out for millions of years regardless of happenings within the human realm. All the while, we were remembering the events of 25 years ago - September 11, 2001, when the human world stopped and changed us forever. A cross section of varying generations of humans were on the beach today - some who remember vividly where they were on that fateful day and others who only know the events as relayed to them by parents and teachers.
Nest 13R was laid on Saturday, July 18 by our “little lady” whom, we believe, is the momma responsible for up to four nests this season on Waties. While we never know for certain until we get DNA confirmation, certain cues- size and characteristics of the crawl, timing, and location of the nest- provide clues to determining if we have a repeat nester throughout the season. Because of the small size of the crawl-28”- it is likely she is a young - potentially first time - nester.
The nest was moved by the Saturday crew to a location on the beach away from the potential wash-over perils present at its original location. The nest contained 80 eggs with 1 sacrificed for DNA research.
The Tuesday crew discovered the emergence on day 52, happily recording numerous hatchling tracks making their way to the water.
The inventory was carried out by enthusiastic members of the CCU Sea Turtle Club who dove right in to dig, help and sort under the watchful eye of seasoned volunteers and daily Leads. After a pesky ghost crab who was inside the nest was dispatched (and the squealing ended), things progressed quickly. The nest had a great result with only 1 unhatched egg and, to the delight of all 1 live and ready-to-go hatchling. A 90% hatch success rate and a 88.7 emergence success.
Mr. Crab after being dispatched from the nest cavity.
After all the work was done, our intrepid straggler was released and on its way.
Our photographer extraordinaire Cherie, and Friday team members, Kim P, Caroline and Kim T
Pics by Cherie, Leslie, Kim P., Caroline. Text by Kim.
All sea turtle monitoring by the Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol is permitted and authorized by SCDNR under Permit MTP500.
No comments:
Post a Comment