News

What a great season we are having. Thanks to residents who called to report a turtle siting and the diligence of our volunteers, we gathered and relocated 683 Diamondback Terrapin eggs from May through July. Almost double our 2010 record! About 70% of the eggs have hatched and been released into the eastern and western marsh areas where they will live for the next three to four years before journeying out into the adjacent saltwater rivers and creeks.

It has been difficult to schedule “education” sessions since Mother Nature doesn’t give us much notice when the eggs are going to hatch. The extreme heat this summer has affected the expected incubation period of 60 days, and moved it to anywhere from 65-75 days. If you would like to participate in the release of these hatchlings, please call and I will let you know the probability of the next nest to hatch…we would love to share this experience with you!

I have included below, with the permission of the author, a letter volunteer Ben McMakin received from Landings resident Richard Horton and his family. They were fortunate to witness a Diamondback strutting across the 9th fairway of Plantation looking for a potential nesting area, they watched as she laid her eggs, helped in the transfer of the eggs to the nesting box, and later, had the opportunity to release some hatchlings. Great job!

On behalf of the volunteers, Ben McMakin, Kathryn McLearn, Jim Dills, and Pattye Field, thank you again for your assistance and cooperation with the Skidaway Audubon Diamondback Terrapin Project. Please be sure to visit the Audubon web site (www.skidawayaudubon.org) for turtle photos and updates on all the special projects supported by this organization.

Hope to hear from you!

Carolyn McInerney

Landings Resident Richard Horton writes…

Ben,

As I mentioned to you last week, the entire “turtle experience” has been unique, exciting and very rewarding for my family and for me.

I had heard of your efforts and had noticed the signs and “hatching areas” on Plantation but had not really checked it out in any detail.

In early June, my daughter (Becky) and 7-year-old granddaughter (Rachel) were visiting from Tennessee and we decided to take a bike ride on the southern tip of Plantation (the course was closed for aeration). We stopped briefly at the hatching station behind the # 8 green and read about the turtle nesting program. After resuming our ride, we almost immediately spotted a turtle in the middle of # 9 fairway. With Rachel doing most of the directing, we went into turtle egg laying mode. We put the turtle in the fairway bunker and she immediately found a spot near the edge of the bunker with an upward slope. She dug out an area with her back legs and commenced to lay her eggs. Within about 5 minutes, she had prepared her nest and laid her eggs (11 in total). Leaving Becky with strict orders (from Rachel) to guard the nest, Rachel and I returned to the hatching station for a protective basket and to get a phone number to report the nest. By the time we got back, Becky had already had to discourage a raccoon who appeared out of nowhere. After covering the nest with the basket, we called to report the nest and 5 minutes later, you appeared in full turtle egg garb. After carefully removing the eggs while maintaining their orientation, we then went back to the hatching station to re-bury the eggs. What a great experience!

With your help, we followed the eggs until hatching time in mid August. When you informed us that Rachel’s eggs had hatched, my wife and I rushed down the next day and found you at the hatching station. We watched as you checked two other nests from the same day as Rachel’s and were thrilled to uncover about 15 brand new baby turtles. We watched as these new turtles were released into the marsh. Needless to say, Rachel was very excited about the news and has quite a “Show and Tell” for her classmates in Tennessee.

This is really a great program and I certainly hope that it continues. It is well designed and very effective and the local volunteers along with the (Skidaway) Audubon support should be commended for their involvement.

Richard Horton