Terrapin Nesting Project #LBI

For the last couple of years I have been reading articles and following on facebook the Terrapin nesting project. They need volunteers to help and this summer I have the time to do just that. I went to the meeting where Kathy Lacey, the women who founded this project explained just what we needed to do. It seemed fairly simple, you walk up and down a few blocks of the island looking for the female turtle or as Kathy calls them the “girls” to come out of the Barnegat Bay to nest.

My first day I walked for an hour or so no turtles but it was a nice walk along the bay. There is a schedule of times but really it is when you have time. 

The second day I went with some family members and we did find 2 nests that had just been laid. One the eggs had already been eaten but the other had a few in it. We got to save 6 eggs.  

On my 3^rd day of turtle duty things really got exciting. I got down to the bay beach around 9:00am and you could see all the little turtle heads popping up in the water just waiting for the right moment to come on shore. Not seeing all this before I wasn’t sure what to expect. There were 3 of us and I was wondering if that was too many in one area watching and waiting. 

I took a walk along the road that runs along the bay hoping to see one coming out. I walked about 6 blocks no turtles. As I turned to head back I saw a truck pull over and a guy get out picking something off the road. I knew it had to be a turtle and went running like a crazy lady to the truck. The guy hands this turtle, now what? I was supposed to just follow. I put her down but she was scared and run right back in the grasses. 

A moment later I spotted one that had already crossed the road and was heading across the yards. It was time to follow and see where she ends up.

The Terrapins are born with a strong “site fidelity” programmed into their DNA which is why they keep coming back to the beach they remember to drop their eggs or Clutches. The problem is now where there was once sandy beach is now paved roads to cross, landscaped yards, driveways, bulkheads, docks, and soil that is clay. These girls travel a distance looking for that right sandy spot that doesn’t exist anymore. They end up finding the place but the soil isn’t right and the eggs will never mature. 

As a volunteer we follow the girls at a distance, make sure she doesn’t get run over while crossing the road, and once she has laid her eggs, mark the nest and cover it so the crows or other animals don’t get to it before the eggs are relocated. 

The girl I was following took 45 minutes before she finally found a good location in the backyard of someone’s house. First she digs a hole with her back feet about 6 – 8 inches down and then starts laying the eggs. As she starts to lay the eggs you can get behind her to mark the nest. I watched in amazement as she laid 14 eggs in this small hole. Once done she covers it up and you would never know it was there. Of course the crows are just waiting for an opportunity to get right in there. It is amazing how smart they are. I marked the nest, covered it with a bucket, picked her up, and took her back to the bay.
 

 I figured after all that she deserved a little help getting back. 

The eggs are then dug up by Kathy and a few others that have been trained in handling the eggs. They are then move to the turtle hatchery. It is a spot where there is sand and it is protected from predators.

The rest of the day was crazy with turtles crossing roads, people calling saying they had a nest in their yard, watching girls, digging nest, and bury eggs, the day flew by. There was plenty to do for 3 people in fact we could of used more.

At one point I was driving down the road with Kathy she stops the car, opens the door, and hands me a turtle that had been in the middle of the road.

 Not even 3 seconds later the car stops again and another turtle is now at my feet. Before I knew it there were 3 turtles climbing around under my feet. What a day!

When I finally did call it a day and was driving home I spotted a crow on the ground in the middle of a yard, I knew exactly what he was doing now. I quickly turned the car around and sure enough he was helping himself to terrapin nest.

 I cover the nest and called Kathy to come see if there were any eggs, fortunately there were still 4 eggs left in the nest.

We were able to relocate 7 nest that day.

I cannot wait to see what happens on my next watch. 

http://www.terrapinnestingproject.com