How to bury 100+ turtle eggs

To start, find a nesting mother turtle. It doesn't have to be a Kemp's Ridley, though they might be the easiest turtle to spot due to their daytime nesting behavior. As I had previously mentioned they also nest in arribadas. To give you an idea of what an arribada once was - in 1947 there was video footage of an arribada in Tamaulipas, Mexico. In one day an estimated 40,000 female Kemp's nested on the Mexican beaches.

Can I just emphasize something here...40,000 turtles in one day

I'm getting off topic. I'll talk more of this another day.

So once if you actually find a nesting mother you're in luck. What a patroller looks for while scouring the beaches is a set of tracks. Where the tracks meet is generally the nesting site. Once the nest is found (a whole different process i won't get into now) the eggs are removed from the environment.

Lauren excavating the nest.
**Nina Nahvi

The styofoam container protects nearly 100 eggs. The natal sand is also transported.
It is believed to have antimicrobial and antifungal mucus. A study that has yet
to be confirmed.
**Lauren Miller

Once the eggs are obtained, they are brought back to the corral. A sea turtle corral is an enclosed area of sand that's primary purpose is to prevent any kind of predation. The animals found feeding on eggs come in all sizes. Coyotes, feral dogs and cats, and crabs all prey upon the turtle eggs, even fire ants! The corral must be positioned in an area of the beach where the sand doesn't get too dry but the sand cannot be subject to high tidal action.

Stoked! Nina and her first nest :)
**Lauren Miller

Apparently the excitement is contagious...Anthony holding the eggs for the drive to the corral.

So the eggs are now at the corral and they need to be reburied. Turtle eggs are leathery as they are dropped from the female so our goal is to transport them while they are soft. 

Jefe letting Anthony and Lauren touch the eggs 

The next step is doing exactly what the momma turtle did a a few hours before. The correct size and shape of the nest is absolutely vital. The nest look shape resembles and upside down light bulb. If the walls of the nest are shaped at an angle, improper gas exchange may occur resulting in a low hatch rate. If the nest isn't bulbed enough not all of the eggs will be incubated at the correct temperature range. The depth should be about the length of a grown man's forearm - or up to my bicep...haha

Jefe ensuring the depth is correct

Jefe scooping the nest...it's all in the wrist. 

So the female is able to dig this entire nest with her rear flippers, a feat that seems impossible. Once the correct shape is dug, the eggs are counted again. This particular nest had 92 eggs (I know I know, not over 100 this time). It's important to get the number correct since successful hatch ratios are recorded for each nest. Halfway through burying the little guys, we plant a data logger that will record the temperature over the incubation period (45-50 days).

The natal sand then fills in the whole and a stake marks the precise location of the nest. The stake is dated and numbered and helps us regulate the amount of sand over the nest. Every Monday we keep general maintenance of the corral by leveling, shoveling and moving sand.

As of May 08 we have 20 nests! Come July I hope to report thousands of babies :)

Hasta la vista

Hot momma!

Saw my first nesting turtle today. Well she was leaving - apparently I was late. But nonetheless the nest had 124 eggs.

I saw her in the Sargassum making a dash (if marine turtles can dash on land...) for the ocean. Unfortunately I did not get to check if she was tagged (just like a microchip for your pets) since she was already on her way. I marked out the tracks and did my best to find the disturbed area without tramping all over the nesting evidence.

Making contact with Jefe was the hardest part. I think it's time for a new phone seeing as my POS doesn't manage to hold 4 hours of battery. I was running up and down and all over the dunes hoping for 30 seconds of service while I tried to text Jefe (the responder) AND praying that my phone didn't die. I managed to run into a couple coming down the beach and shamelessly begged them to send Jefe a text too :D

I then nervously waited for Jefe to pull up in the new nest collecting Chevy Blazer. As you know, the last time I called in a nest - it was a dud...But I was feeling a little better this time seeing as I actually saw the turtle. That's got to count for something

I waited and waited, even tested out the handling capabilities of the ATV (shhhh don't tell). I had to do something to keep me busy. Otherwise I would have surely marked and remarked the tracks 30 times while trampling over everything. I didn't want that.

Jefe arrived and didn't look too pleased. My "disturbed area" (where the mother has laid her eggs) was not a a disturbed area at all. Which means he set to looking for a needle in a haystack. Or a hundred ping pong sized eggs in an infinite amount of sand. ummm goodluck

He sent me off to continue my patrol (I think next time I should like to help count the eggs :P) and he later drove past and signaled a good ol' thumbs up. Sweeeeet!



My first nesting momma heading out to sea

  

Perfect in (L) and out (R) tracks

Here’s an official SPI Kemp’s Ridley recap (it’s official because I say so):

Our first nest was found on April 12th by one of our ATV patrollers. Shortly after the track siting was called in, Anthony, the sole male intern (poor soul), spotted tracks on Boca Chica.

Before these tracks were found, North Padre Island had contacted Jeff (the man in charge) and reported that three nests had been recovered that morning. The communication between North Padre Island (part of the National Seashore), South Padre Island and Rancho Nuevo is impressive. Kemp’s Ridleys nest in arribadas, meaning arrival. I’ll talk about this in another entry, but we consider any report from the other stations as a sign for extra vigilance.

There are about three ATV patrols a day. The first track hunter on duty heads out around 7:00am. The rest are to depart an hour and a half after the previous patroller. It is important to keep the timing between each ATV. This optimizes the patroller’s likelihood of finding a nesting mother. While we tell the public we’re looking for turtles, the most realistic sign of a nesting mother will be her tracks. Since Kemp's Ridleys generally nest on windy days their tracks can be blown away within 10 minutes, leaving nearly nothing for a patroller to identify. 

Packs, helmets and ATVs are prepped the previous day. 

My first ATV patrol. 32 miles in and loosing my mind.

While roving the isolated beaches we've seen some amazing views.
Unfortunately the copious amounts of trash on the beach really ruins it.
People can be so creative and beautiful yet 100% destructive without even
realizing it.
PICK UP YOU TRASH $#%^ers

Patrollin' ain't no joke

Nina taught us all - don't forget to reapply
the sunscream...

I told Nina these photos wouldn't see the light of cyberspace...I lied.

As of right now we have found 4 nests. Boca Chica has produced 2 and the northern part of SPI has done the same. The tracks that Anthony identified proved to be very difficult to follow to the nesting site. Dave and SPX (remember the recovery dog!) responded to the call, but Jefe headed out later to help find the nest. These nesting mothers can be pretty tricky!

More info to come. More photos too. It's difficult to capture everything when you're knee deep in different sandy tasks.

My day off...

I went on my first bike ride with Deacon today. I considered it an experiment. If I hit him with a bike - he is not a good bike dog...or maybe I'm not a good dog-bike biker. If I don't hit him with the bike - then we're both dog-bike individuals...

We headed to the Blue Marlin to grab some puppy treats and a birthday card for Karen. I guess I'd give her the title of Retail Manager...I'm not sure. So I raced up there and back - ended up being half an hour late to work. OOOOPS. I ran in apologizing only to find out that I wasn't working today. haaaaa
So Sarah, Lauren and I are now at the Pura Vita. 

Please, step into my office.

I'm going to do a nice long write up about the nests we've found so far in my next entry. As of April 17th we have four nests in our corral and the state of TX has around 20 in total. Jefe mentioned that these numbers are great this early in the season. WAHOOO

Strike One

What a mess. I was out a Boca Chica today for a UTV patrol. My day started around 6:30. I took the new Yaris out for a spin - it's adorable and white and looks like a little turtle egg. I'll post a photo someday...maybe.

Anyway I was rocking out to some spanish music - getting pumped up to find me some turtle eggs. We keep the UTV in some shanty run-down house. I gassed her up and we hit the beach. The shoreline was teh first obstacle. The tide was so high. There were three sections of the beach. First the washed out sand line, then the sargassum swamp line, then loose hot sand. None of these descriptions are ideal for tracking Kemp's Ridleys.

I was two hours in of the 6 hour patrol when I felt absolutely useless! The terrain was so difficult to manage and I felt I was looking for a needle in a haystack. The tell-tale sign of a Ridley track is a series of 6-7cm check marks. And that's if you're lucky.

Near my breaking point I finally spotted tracks. WAHOO I wasn't useless! I called Jefe - not the responder for the day...oops. He sent Toni (the Ridley Guru) out to my site. I marked the tracks, took measurements, sketched the scene, took photographs, and directed traffic around the tracks. EVERYTHING I was supposed to do. Turns out...they weren't tracks. Great going. Toni came and withing five minutes she knew.

$%^&*(#$%*(

And to top it off the Jeep's radiator was steamin' like crazy. It was near death. So Toni booked it back along the beach and the vehicle died right on the road way. After an hour of waiting we decided to push the Jeep with the UTV for about 1 mile. It was a total success and kind of fun...but my bank account shall suffer the most now that I owe Toni a few beers.

I'm out of time but that's my story in brief.

The first great release

Day off! Wahoo! Except I used it to get lots of important things done. Continued organizing the RV. I had some of my gear stashed in the compartment under my bed but I’ve moved it all due to a potential unannounced resident. The previous night I definitely heard a mouse. The noise at a trailer park really fluctuates. Some nights you can hear conversations like the people are sitting right next to your bed, others, it’s DEAD quiet. Every noise that was once considered silence now echoes. I just pictured the little furry fellow chewing through my new rain jacket, my balls of yarn (yes they’re considered gear), my pack, or my fins.

So reorganizing was a must. Then a few of the interns and I made the journey to H.E.B. (the local grocery store) to do some necessary shopping. We hopped on “the Wave” which is a free bus service provided for the whole island.

Blah blah blah. Lots of stuff happened…

THEN! We headed off for our first turtle release! Two of our Atlantic Greens were going back to the big ol’ blue.

Hilton - Came into the center in December of 2011. I'm pretty sure he/she suffered
from hypothermia...but i need to double check. oopsy poopsy

Lucky 2012 - The man who found Lucky spotted him from his hotel room and noticed fishing line tangled around his head. He was amazed by the beach goers that did nothing for the turtle. They would stop and look at the
 stranded turtle and remark "Oh that's so sad" then keep walking. Lucky's rescuer used toe nail clippers to removed the mono filament line then immediately called STI. wahoo!

The whole experience was a blast. The turtles were celebrities. Before placing them in their pools on the boat there was a red carpet experience. Less red carpet more boat dock - but still plenty of photos and lots of questions. It was great to see some familiar faces of visitors that had stopped to the center that week.

We were all eager to jump on the boat and send the little dudes off. But first we had an hour long dolphin watch. Pelicans were diving left and right of the boat in search for a salty meal and a few dolphins dangerously danced at the bow. I was in a great place.

I really didn't think i'd get tearful at the actual release - and i didn't! But I was darn close. 

I apologize this is so choppy - but it's my day off and the sun is out.

 oh and pictures will get better I promise

Catch up!

March 29^th

Woke up to the foggiest morning I’ve seen on South Padre Island (SPI). I walked out the door and felt as though I’d taken a dip in the ocean – not the best look for greeting visitors in a semi-professional manner.

I’m living in Casa de Mariposa. I’d say it’s a villa. Or at least the closest thing to a villa that I’ll ever step foot in. The walls are all painted bold, bright, and beautiful colors, the garden is thriving with all sorts of unknown and radiant flora and at every step there is some sort of cultural piece – paintings, stain glass, mini sculptures, and imported support columns...I wish I could go in more detail but a great deal of it flew right past me on our grand tour.

 

Rosalita lived with me for a few days. She's the rusty yet seemingly reliable Sea Turtle Inc. (STI) bike that interns are permitted to ride We would awkwardly scramble through the grand front doors and set off in the mornings. Unfortunately, I pulled her up to the street and realized her rear tire was dud. This flat set me off to a great start. So we walked handle bar in hand for about 45 minutes down Padre Blvd (the main strip) to STI. I’d say the most frustrating part of living on a flat somewhat barren piece of land is that your destination is in sight for a little more than half of the trip. It taunts you. It teases you. It almost seems as though it’s getting further away.

                We arrived 10 minutes late – lucky for me most people here run on island time. Finally people get me! Right away I set to cleaning all the windows on the sea turtle tanks. Squeegy in my right, windex in my left. We feed, vacuum, backwash and conduct any necessary modifications from 8:30am until the doors open at 10:00am. Today’s modifications included relocating Canuck and Emanon, two sub-adult Kemp’s Ridleys, to a larger tank. We constructed a barrier from previously used PVC and plastic lattice fencing. Atlantic Green turtles are the only species we have in our facility that can occupy the same tank with no barriers. The rest act aggressively and will attack any “tank roomies”. Two other juvenile turtles Pedro, a Hawksbill, and Jack, a Kemp’s Ridley, got a mega-upgrade as we relocated them from the gift shop to the main facility. Turtles in a gift shop? No, not for sale. I’ll discuss this later. I managed to get another saltwater shower from Canuck – soaked from head to toe. Thanks man.

SPX the Red Heeler on duty. He was a SAR dog in
 New Mexico. He keeps his skillz sharp by sniffing out
turtle nests. He's found ten in the past three years!

Once visitors enter all the interns take a deep breath – it’s time to talk for the rest of the day. We roam the floor, answering as many questions as possible. Some questions I have yet to learn the answer to. So I politely ask them to excuse me while I hunt down a turtle expert. Today my victim was Dave.

                Dave and his dog SPX have worked at the centre for some time. He has retired from his non-turtle occupation, and has become a part-time staff member here at STI. He is eager to share his seemingly endless turtle knowledge. All throughout the day I’d riddle him with questions and he fired back in-depth answers without even blinking. He also convinced me to give my first solo “turtle talk” which went well – his advice? Don’t be so hard on yourself – you are your worst critic. Noted.

                The day went fast. Before we knew it the doors were closing and we were ready to get outside. I’ve volunteered some free time to walk shelter dogs. I took the bus up to “Island Dog Wash” where I was created by seven panting, barking, nipping bodies. In the back were the bigger dogs – I walked Booger. A staffie, lab, mastiff mix? Great personality – super relaxed and ready to be my best friend. The walk didn’t last long as all the interns were gathering at D’Pizza Joint to meet Anthony’s parents. They so kindly offered to treat us to some grub. Lots of laughs and goofing around until the pizza came. Sharon (Cali intern) and I may have put away four hefty slices of pizza. HIGH FIVE. We said our goodbyes then retired to Casa de Mariposa for some banana grams. wahoooooo

March 30th

An early morning. Earlier this week Anthony, Sharon and I had a day off to explore the Island. We checked out all of the “Spring Break Party” stores which were absolutely overwhelming. The superstores are scattered along the main strip, Padre Blvd. They sell useless tacky trinkets along with some funny clothes a “typical spring breaker” would love to sport (i.e. “DTF”…actually I don’t think I’m going to continue the descriptions – naaaat so appropriate)

Anyway, my point is, there was a store that stole my heart. Friend of Animal Rescue is both a resale store and a shelter for abandoned animals. We immediately volunteered our free hours to walk any of the dogs that were itching for some play time. I found a dog that jumped higher than the rest, nibbled hands like there was no tomorrow and was extremely vocal. Needless to say he could use some one on one training increase his chances of adoption.

I volunteered (yay! a permanent running buddy) – hence the early morning.  I figure getting a good walk in before each shift at the center might do me good. Wrong. I was dog tired for the rest of the day (haaa see what I did there?).

So I’m at STI and Kat (the energetic education coordinator) informs us there will be three school groups coming in today. Great! I’ve heard so much about her education talks and I hear some of the kids ask some pretty cute questions. After the first presentation the interns were given a group of kids (fourteen first graders) to take around the hospital. Oh. My. My. It was pretty chaotic – kids grabbed your shirt left and right “Miss! Miss! Can I pet the turtle?” “Miss! Miss! What is this turtle’s name?” “Miss! Miss! Did you know my dad can lift me over his head?!” “Miss! Miss! I can’t see the turtle!”

AHHHHHHH

Sarah and Gerry killin' it with some of the first graders

Initially you could say I was overwhelmed. It was more difficult than leading a birthday of 25 sugared-up screaming 9 year olds. The biggest obstacle was gaining all fourteen children’s attention at once. And to be honest all they wanted was too “Oooooo” and “Ahhhhh” at the turtle swimming by and move on.

By the time the third school came in I think I managed the situations much better. Sure, throughout the whole day I had a few kids sneak a hand in the tank, but no fingers were lost and I learned a heck of a lot! And that’s all that matters. Right?

Jeff and I also managed to re-locate the last RV that was for Sarah and me. We used the little ford pick-up to move the monster and Jefe did a flawless reversing park job. Three cheers for no catastrophes!

Five o’clock rolled around so Nina (an intern from-ish Humbolt) and I headed back to the dog shelter to walk some more dogs. I was so tired by the end of the day I think I passed out at 10:00. Bags were dumped, the RV was a mess, but at least it was home.

April 1st

Third night in the RV and I love it. I hung out my laundry the night before (mum and dad would be proud). It was a bit wet from the ocean spray but I figured it will dry by lunch time. All the interns were working today except Anthony. Sarah and I were informed we were to give a presentation to a Girl Scout troop that was coming in today. Remember how I said Kat had such a great presentation for younger kids? Well she seems a seasoned public speaker – especially with kids. So Sarah and I were to deliver the same type of presentation – one that would require lots of energy. We planned the skeleton of the material we wished to cover in the staff room then tried doing a rough rehearsal that didn’t really go well. Sooooo we decided to jack ourselves up on coffee and microwave popcorn. A foolproof plan to success!

The Girl Scouts were out earlier this morning picking up trash along the beach. So we wanted to cater our presentation on WHY it’s important to take care of our beaches. We ended up having a full audience of regular visitors. So before we got started we asked the visitors and staff to give a big round of applause to the timid girls sitting up front. It was a little heart-warming. But only a little. :P

Sarah and I dressed a brave young Girl Scout as a goofy looking sea turtle, did the hatchling dance, chased the wee girls with coyotes and sharks, showed some gruesome photos of turtles pooping plastic (it’s impossible not to cringe once you figure out what’s going on in the photo), and emphasized how important it is to be the voice of our non-releasable turtles found at the center. The session ended with group tours, photos with Gerry (the super social Atlantic Green sea turtle), and cupcakes. WHAT? Waaaahoooooo! Best part of the job. Hahaha

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. I managed to speak with a few visitors who were really excited by our presentations and seemed so enthusiastic about sea turtles. This is my goal; to reach the entire audience and have their brains swirling with swimming sea turtles and our conservation efforts - even if for only 10 minutes. Heck 5 minutes! We get people of all shapes and sizes. How do you make their visit personal? What is the most effective way to influence their lifestyles? Everyone is just so different. It’s a daunting task and personally, I get overwhelmed at times. But what the staff has been repeating over and over is just do your best. There’s nothing more you can do if you give it your all.

I’m mentally checking out for the rest of the day.