Wednesday 8/31/22 Inventory & Emergence

 Lots of very large mosquitoes at beach parking and in the dunes where we did the inventory.  We had a good showing of walkers, two of which were fairly new to inventories.  The  weather was cloudy and warm.  We were fortunate that Nest 11R was at the entrance to the beach.

Starting the inventory on Nest 11R

We had a windy summer and lots of sand accumulation on the nests.  It took awhile for those digging to get to the egg shells.

Because this nest was located at the entrance to the beach it had to be relocated into the dune.  Half way down into the nest, during the process of relocating the eggs, they found 5 eggs that were broken.  They took one of these for the DNA study and recorded the loss.

Including the 5 broken eggs, this turtle laid a total of 92 eggs so they transferred 87 eggs into the new nest.  When we opened the nest we had:

Unhatched eggs: 12

Hatched egg shells >50%: 74

Dead Hatchlings: 3

Live Hatchlings: 0

Lots of pieces which could account for the missing one.

Nest #11R had an 80.4% Hatching Success & 77.1% Emergence Success

While we did the inventory, Leslie and Kim walked up the beach to check on the other nests.  The rest of us followed after completing the inventory.  We could see in the distance that Leslie and Kim were checking something out up in the dune.  As we got closer, sure enough, we saw the Hatchling tracks.

Nest #14 had emerged at day 55.  

All-in-all it was a very productive morning and our new walkers were able to see what a Hatchling track looks like vs a Ghost Crab track.

Thanks to Leslie P. and Barb D. for the pictures.

Tuesday , August 30, 2022

  The Tuesday team was in full attendance today.  Thankful that Grace and Avery were there to dig!  Bill and I walked the short end.

Nest #11R has not been disturbed and is ready for its inventory.

Joined the team at the first suspicious area.  This is area is one we are keeping an eye on in case it is a wild nest.  Nothing unusual. The crab trap was emptied.

Suspicious area #2 had coyote tracks around it but none right up to where we think the nest might be. We found egg shell pieces in the sand around the nest. They are on the ground to the left in the picture. The hole looked to us like a depression from yesterday's team digging.

We probed all around the area.  The ongoing summer winds has left that whole area with very soft sand as demonstrated by the probe.

Grace and Avery began digging (With Leslie's permission) in an area where the probe sank pretty deep but hard some firm sand around it. The walls of the hole seemed to be firm so they kept digging in the soft spot.  One small piece of shell was found while digging. Gave up when the hole was too deep.  

There were coyote tracks all over the place today.  None right up to any nest but lots of them!

It was a cloudy day with rain threatening that turned into a lovely day.  No new nest found  but still lovely.

Monday, August 29th: Nest 12 Emerged

 There was a storm off the coast to greet us this morning and luckily we dodged it. It started off to be a buggy morning due to no wind, but ended with a light breeze.

 Volunteers split the responsibility of checking nests starting at marker 5 and walking each direction. While walking Janice and Sandy checked on Nest #12 and noticed it had emerged over night! It was laid on July 1st and was 59 days old, today. 

Janice and Sandy with hatchling tracks hidden in the sand

Erin and Leslie noticed two areas of suspicion while walking their half. One of which had egg shell pieces but no distinct hole and the other had a whole egg shell and a small depression. The area with no hole was not far past m5 and Erin and Leslie dug to see if there was any other signs of a nest. There was no other signs of a nest. 

 The one with a whole egg shell was in between m6 and m7 but closer to m7, near previous nest #7 and false crawl #2 previously were. They also dug into that hole, but did not find any other eggs.

Both areas were marked as "Areas of Suspect" to keep an eye on in case of any other signs of a nest.

 It ended up to be a pleasant morning and we were glad we did not get wet! 

Photos by: Erin and Leslie

Narrative by: Erin

Nest 24/PN3 and 11R emerged

Picturesque start to the morning

Half of today's group waked the island and the rest did inventory of Nest 24.

Originally this was PN #3 found by the Saturday team on 6/25.  They could not find egg chamber so it was marked as a PN.

On Thursday 8/25 hatchling tracks were found so it became our 24th nest of the season.  

Wonderful nest results today.

108 hatched eggshells and 4 unhatched eggs.  With a 96.4 % emergence and hatch success.

Eggshells were very white and no predators  had disturbed this nest.

It was also very deep, 25" down.

Karen took the DNA sample with the help of Donna (guest).

Nest 11R right at entrance also emerged today.  It was great to see lots of hatchling tracks going to the water first thing this morning!

Very enjoyable day with lots of great team work!  Pictures provided by Karen, Leslie and Lorna.

Some beach art by Mother Nature

Nest 8R Inventory

On the schedule for today was to inventory Nest 8R. This nest was laid back on June 22 (along with Nest 9R) and the original nest contained 105 eggs. Because the nest was not in a safe location, it was relocated higher up on the beach. One eggshell was sacrificed for the genetic sample.

 The nest emerged on August 24 at day 63. Today we counted 67 hatched eggs, 32 unhatched, no dead hatchlings (a good thing) and one lone very lively hatchling left in the nest! It was released closer to the water to make its way onward... 

Statistics for this nest are 63.8% hatch success and 62.8% emergence success.

Thanks to everyone who helped out this morning and shared their photos.

Barb and Steve

Thursday adventure- Nest#24 discovered/hatched - Inventory N#10

Warm, cloudy, windless start to our morning on Waties. Short end covered, then all made their way up the beach, checking nests and closely searching for hatchlings or their tracks on our way to complete the inventory of N#10. As we walked, we wondered if more surprises would await us…

Stopped at N23 (previously PN8)  discovered and caged yesterday. Couple of ghost crab holes within the cage. Checked for any crabs in the nest- none . Although we appreciate the ghost crab’s help yesterday in helping us find this nest, we don’t feel that entitles them to a free buffet from here on out, so we filled in the holes, installed a screen and reinstalled the cage. 

Lots of other critters also patrolling the beach 

As we passed M5 approaching our destination at N#10, yep, we got our surprise. A large, but shallow canine dug out hole very near PN #3 marker (6-25) with lots of hatchling tracks leading to the tide line. No evidence of egg shells or hatchlings. From the tracks, and our investigation, it appears the nest emerged before the coyote dug in the area of the nest😊

The nest was marked, reed placed, GPS’d, triangulated and caged. Inventory will be Sunday.

Finally we arrived at N#10. Val walked the rest of the island checking all nests- all good- while we commenced with the inventory. First timer Brenda and Erin shared digging honors, which may have been a tactical error in that the nest was vey deep - at least 18-20 inches before the first eggs were reached- and they were our shortest participants! As you can see, they were about to get swallowed up when Leslie, stepped in and used her height to her advantage in getting to the bottom of the nest.

Smaller nest, but a decent result. 89 eggs laid. One sacrificed for DNA, 79 hatched eggs, 8 unhatched eggs. No dead or live hatchlings. 

I’m posting this picture from above again, as I believe it represents a microcosm of the unique year we’ve had in finding these nests. Look at all the notations and cross-outs on the pole. Started out as FC#22, was reconsidered and changed to PN#8, and now N#24!

The Thursday crew appreciates the help today from our additional volunteer and leads. Thanks to Bill and Leslie for the additional photos. 

Wednesday 8/24/22 Busy Day

 First thing upon entering the beach we checked the lower end.  Both of these nests were good, but we did notice a lot of Ghost Crab and coyote tracks.  We headed up the beach, again noticing lots of tracks.  We split the beach up between the dunes and the high tide line.  PN #8, located on the wrack line had two very large Ghost Crab Holes just to the right and not far from the sign.  We decided to investigate.  The second hole showed us where the nest was.  We marked the nest site with a reed and filled in the holes.

 

Eggs 

We finished our walk, picked up the secondary poles and cage on our way back and finished marking and caging what is now Nest #23 which is 24 days old today.

On our way up the beach, checking all the nests and possible nest sites, past MM 6, and just above where nest 9R had been inventoried, we noticed a hole dug by a coyote. Investigating, we found a few very small egg shell pieces.  We had to check it out.  We dug very far down, but found nothing.  We closed up the hole.

Phyllis showing the distance between 9R and the hole dug by the coyote.

When we got to Nest 8R it had emerged.

Nest 8R is 63 days old today.

Nest 8R from the dune side.  Lots of Ghost Crab tracks.  We looked around the area to see if any of the Ghost Crabs had gotten any of the hatchlings, or if any had strayed in the wrong direction.  None found.

Our walk up the beach showed a lot activity by the deer, coyotes and Ghost Crabs but all other nests were undisturbed. 

Nest 9R Inventory and Sea Wasps!

 It was dry this morning, thankfully, making our walk up to Nest 9R for the inventory an easy one. This was one of two nests laid on June 22 (a double header). The original nest contained 109 eggs - one was used for the genetic sample and one other egg was lost to a ghost crab in early August.

Everyone was reminded of the proper way to excavate the chamber and what to expect. They had to dig pretty far down before reaching the first of the eggshells.

 

Dig with the side of your hand

Starting the dig

 We did eventually find four hatchlings further down in the chamber. All were released on the beach to make their way into the ocean.

Four live ones!

On the way...

The eggshells were sorted into four categories: hatched, unhatched, live and dead hatchlings. Final count was 100 hatched, 7 unhatched, 4 live and no dead hatchlings. A very good outcome with almost a 92% hatch success.

The beach always seems to have something interesting for us to see and today was no exception. We found lots of sea wasps (they sting; don't touch), a ghost shrimp partially out of the sand and some small brownish jellies.

Sea wasp aka box jellyfish

 

Ghost shrimp

 

Only about as big as a silver dollar

Thanks to Erin for sharing her photos today!

Barb and Steve