May 17, 2012
The last house member, Sue, arrived
late last night. However she is just here to train, then she will take her
knowledge and will fly back to Bonaire (just off the coast of Venezuela) where
she runs a sea turtle program, Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire.
We went out to the south coast beaches
today. There is a particular stretch that gets MANY turtles, so to distinguish
the location of the nests we put number tags along the almondtrees. This also
helps with the maps we have to draw on our data sheets to show where the nests
are located. While tagging trees we came across 7 or 8 Hawksbill turtle tracks
leading to nests. 5 or 6 we were able to dig and find the eggs. Even though the
area is pretty well trafficked the eggs were not in danger and we did not
relocate any of the nests, just covered the tracks and signs of nesting.
Apparently, this is "slow" or low season for this stretch of beach :)
I can now distinguish between some of
the plants and trees in the area like almond trees and seaside bean. I can also
determine which direction the turtle track is going and approximate where she
finished disguising her nest. It is still really tricky to figure out where
exactly the eggs are within the nest area (about 1 meter area). Something I
hope to get better at over the 2 months here.
Of Note:
“Bajans”
= people local to Barbados (rhymes with Cajun)Eating dolphin does not mean eating bottlenose, it means more like a mahi or tuna
Hawksbill eggs look like ping pong balls – size, shape, color…
Looking
forward to... learning how to "turtle wrestle"! We have to hold the
turtles to check their tags or to place tags. Some may be big (like 200lbs)...
not sure when we will learn this, but should be awesome!
May 17, 2012 – part 2, night patrol south coast... the days are long...some notes...
First time driving… at night, sitting on the right, driving on the
left…AHH! It was fine…
Fort, hook worms talk
Nest + hotline call to boardwalk
First TURTLE
Nest, relocate hole contest
After 1am, find 2 more nest, both have to be relocated (193 eggs)
Call it a night, Portuguese man-o-war sighting
Drive back… I hate roundabouts
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