Terrapin Nesting Project

"THE DUNES"

Wednesday, January 2, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

Growing up on a "barrier island" instilled in me a deep respect for the Ocean's beauty and force.Long Beach Island is 18 miles long, 6 miles off the coast of New Jersey. There is only one bridge onand off the island. It's vulnerable to hurricanes and nor'easters as you would expect.

Mostly, we weathered them well, there were exceptions, 1962. I wasn't on the Island then, butocean and bay met in several places and many homes were lost. They rebuilt. We moved therelater and took up year round residency in Barnegat Light and later in Loveladies.

This is where I fell in love with the Diamondback Terrapin and the bay, the ocean, the beach, itwas beautiful!

There weren't many of us year rounders in 1970. The Island was always a popular summer resort,but, by Labor Day the tourists left and things returned to their relaxed, very quiet ways.Unfortunately, this soon changed...

The next 10 years saw the beginning of the growth. After that it was unstoppable. For 30 years,the race to fill in every available piece of sand with new houses continued. Each one larger, morespectacular, closer to the ocean, leveling dunes for a better view. Landscaping sandlots intobotanical gardens with non indigenous plants and grassy lawns. Hungry for a view of the ocean,but forgetting the fragile nature of a barrier island and the force of an angry sea.

There have been many hurricanes and nor'easters in the past 40 years. For the most part, LongBeach Island has been lucky. Oceanfront homes with no dunes to protect them, owners refusingto sign for dune replenishment for fear of "losing their view"! What about your neighbors? Theywanted the dunes! The protection!

Then along came Sandy!

Barnegat Light never faltered in it's dune maintenance. Most of their beaches are more than 1/4mile of rolling sand dunes and grasses to the water. And the dunes saved the town. BarnegatLight was spared because of their diligence.

And yet there are still those unwilling to sign for the dune replenishment! Visit my FB page andread the articles from the local paper. Please...

Terrapin Nesting Project - HBH

A MEMORABLE SECOND SEASON!!!!!!

Thursday, January 31, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

The second year of the Terrapin Nesting Project was a fantastic success! 94% of our 1,000+ eggshatched and were released into the bay nursery! We had well over 400 volunteers at one time oranother working with the project. There are so many levels of volunteerism, everyone can fill aniche. From spotting to tracking to stopping traffic, calling in trained volunteers, hanging posters,helping with beach clean ups, educating, checking the hatchery, releasing the hatchlings....the listgoes on, and we had volunteers for all jobs.

We are still working on removing the terrapin from the game species list. The U.S. Fish & WildlifeServices are pushing to have the terrapin added to the CITES Appendices in March. Petitions havebeen signed. I'll be attending the International Sea Turtle Symposium next week, Feb. 4th to the7th, thanks to a mini-grant from the Sierra Club Activist Network. This should be a greatnetworking opportunity as Terrapins are included in the program. Also the U.S. Fish & WildlifeServices are a major sponsor. I'll be updating and posting when I return.

Unfortunately Sandy came right on the heels of the end of the season. We won't know how muchof an impact it had on the terrapin population until this year. The year round residents have beenchecking for and rescuing washed up terrapins, releasing when possible.There are plans in placefor early, March and April, beach clean ups.

Although a lot of folks suffered damage and loss from Sandy, they're looking forward to "season3". The terrapin project has become an outlet of sorts for many people. It gives them a sense ofpurpose. They love their turtles and can't wait to start tracking them again.

I was going through my summer files and found the enclosed cartoon. It shows the true nature ofthe people I have the honor of working with!

The 33rd International Sea Turtle Symposium

Friday, February 8, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

Since Monday, Feb. 4th, I have been in Baltimore, Md. with 1,000 of the world's foremost sea turtlescientists, conservationists, policy makers, educators and enthusiasts from more than 70countries! The theme was 'Connections' and connections were made. Between people, projects,ideas, success stories, adventures from the field and so much more.

The pre-program contained valuable workshops on Terrapins. I connected with many TerrapinConservation Groups from the Mid-Atlantic region. We will be working closely on the issue ofremoving the terrapin from the game species list. Even if the terrapin is listed on the CITESappendices, that will not protect them from individual state harvesting seasons.

The location of the symposium, on the Chesapeake Bay, the largest watershed on the east coastof North America, is an important foraging area for several sea turtles as well as home to a largepopulation of Diamondback Terrapins. The Terrapin is Maryland's State Reptile. They are protectedhere.

Since this was a 4 day symposium, I'll be posting a separate post for each day. Monday was theTerrapin workshops and it was an eye opener. Cape Cod to the Gulf of Mexico is quite anextensive range, with 7 species of terrapins. Being in the north, working with the "Malaclemys t.terrapin', winter hibernation is the norm. As we go further south, with the 'centratra' and the'tequesta', nesting seasons and hibernation seasons vary greatly. What remains the same isthreats from predation, vehicular mortality, loss of nesting sites, accidental by catch in crab traps(those without BRDS).......There is a lot of great work being done, lots more to do.

Going into season 3, I have a lot of ideas. Restoring the balance is of key importance. Continuingeducation is the way to get there. I'll continue this tomorrow.

Thank you Activist Network for making it possible for me to attend this incredible symposium!!!

"CITES LISTING!!!!!"

Friday, March 8, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

Yesterday, March 7, 2013, Diamondback Terrapins were adopted to CITES Appendix 2. This willrestrict import/ export of the terrapins. This is a major accomplishment in the process to preservethis species. Next step is to remove them from the game species list!

On March 23rd, the Terrapin Nesting Project will join the "Wave of Action", to clean up the Jerseyshore. We will be working in High Bar Harbor. The major issue is the small pieces of plastic anddebris tangled in the vegetation. We will be partnering with Project Terrapin, supervised by JohnWnek from MATES, and expect to have a good number of volunteers.

Terrapin season is fast approaching and the remnants of Sandy are all too obvious. We'll bestarting 'our' season early to ensure a clean and healthy environment for this season's nestingfemales.

2013 Nesting Season

"SEASON THREE!!!"

Friday, April 12, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

We have already started work on season #3!! of the Terrapin Nesting Project. The Wave of ActionBeach Clean up went well and opened the door to many more 'plastic days on the beach'! Thiswill be an ongoing project throughout the season and beyond.

Next week starts the first in a series of planning meeting. I have been asked to serve on 'ProjectTerrapin' as an officer and have accepted. This will give me a higher profile in the terrapincommunity and non terrapin community as well. We'll be working a lot on bay conditions, habitatreconstruction, identifying pathogens in the bay. I'd really like to get something going with theplastic bag tax?

This will also give more attention, news wise, to our program! We're looking for more mediacoverage, for the terrapins, the bay, the delicate habitat of our shore. Now, in the aftermath ofSandy we need to take what we've learned and make some changes, serious changes in the waywe view our environment.

"HIKE THE DIKE" BAY BEACH CLEAN-UP

Wednesday, May 8, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

We've been working hard to get ready for 'Season 3'. The 'Beach Sweep' of March 23rd was astart but there is still so much debris! Clean Ocean Action has partnered with the "TerrapinNesting Project" for another clean up to be held on May 18th @ 9:00am on Sunset Blvd. in HighBar Harbor, Long Beach Island, N.J. Visit: FORTHESHORE and click on May 18th, CoastalExperiences. Go to Ocean County and sign up for: "Hike the Dike"Bay Beach Sweep!

We're hoping to get 40 volunteers to finish the clean up job so the female terrapins can safelyemerge and lay their eggs! Nesting season starts in 3 short weeks! There's a lot to do betweennow and then. If you're in the area, we'd love to have you! The turtles would really appreciatethe help.

The after effects of "Sandy" on the wildlife community will continue to be an issue for some time.With every high tide or nor'eastern, the debris continues to wash onto to the beaches. Thereseems to be an endless supply of plastic and garbage.

This season we'll continue to work towards our goal of 'restoring the balance', by providing morenatural nesting sites for the terrapins. Several homeowners are committed to re doing parts oftheir yards to provide sandy nesting areas for the females. These nests will be protected andmonitored, but will not be moved to the hatchery. We started this last year and had tremendoussuccess!

"ANYTIME NOW"

Saturday, June 1, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

The last few months have been busy with preparations for the 2013 season. Cleanups, planningmeetings, recruiting volunteers, acquiring permits, preparing the hatchery and finally posting the'Terrapin Awareness' signs in the local businesses. Now comes the hardest part, waiting for the

females to come up to nest.

This year has been difficult for everyone in the Northeast. The hurricane, rainy cold spring, erratictemperatures have all taken their toll on the wildlife as well. The bay is cold, 55F. We need someconsistent warm weather to warm the bay and the air for the terrapins to mate and then thefemales to nest. We've had a few warm days, however the forecast for the coming week is coolertemps.

There's still plenty to do. Thursday, Carole Hart and I spent the day releasing 'head started'hatchlings, checking in with many of the local volunteers, hanging more posters, walking the baybeaches and planning. I'm thrilled to have her aboard this year! We met at the ISTS in Baltimore.She's worked with the terrapins in Jamaica Bay and has many ideas.

The 'head started' turtles were from a natural nest on a homeowner's property. The hatchlingsemerged on October 17, 2012. It was too late in the season to release them so I overwinteredthem at my home. This particular homeowner and his wife are true terrapin lovers. Last season wehad several protected nests in his yard and the eggs all hatched!! This year they ' turtlelandscaped' their yard! It was such a surprise to see the beautiful sandy areas they added fornesting females! Thank you Tony & Sandy!!!

"SAVING BART"

Monday, June 3, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

After the hurricane, volunteers scoured the beaches, ocean and bay, looking for strandedterrapins. Many were rescued and safely returned to the bay. There were also the unfortunateones who did not survive. Jim, a volunteer of the nesting project since its inception, found seven.Six large females and one male. Five of the girls were feisty enough to be released immediately.One female required a few restful days in Jim's home and was released . The male was lethargic,nearly drowned. Jim agreed to rehab the terrapin with my help, he has good turtle instincts.

I put together a winter 'care package' with food, lighting, salt, vitamins and instructions. Jim and Iwent through a basic "Saving Terrapins 101". We released a healthy, frisky 4 year old male onFriday. Great job, Jim!!! 'Bart', the terrapin, Jim and his daughter Rebecca so successfully savedand overwintered, paused for a moment when he was placed in the bay, as if to say, "Thank you".Then he got his bearings and swam off. What a wonderful sight! Thank you, Jim and Rebecca.

"FIRST NEST AND THEN SOME!!!!"

Tuesday, June 11, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

For the past several weeks I've been scouring the beaches and the bay for any sign of terrapinsto no avail. Last season started early, May 31st and with a bang. By the end of the day I'd pulled11 nests w/126 eggs. This year there wasn't a female in sight! Same for the next week.

I should have known they were waiting for Grace, aka "The Turtle Girl". Saturday, the first decentday all season, Grace pulled her first nest with 11 eggs. The official beginning to the season. Thenext day would prove to be even busier with 6 more nests and another 65 eggs! The hatcherylooks much better. Of course Monday was a rainy dreary day so no turtles came out. But the nextfew days are going to be very nice and we'll be filling up the hatchery!

We've also added some incredible volunteers! I'll be training them in the field tomorrow andThursday.

"MORE NESTS!!!"

Sunday, June 16, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

This has been a crazy 8 days! Good Crazy! The terrapins are nesting. Wednesday I had three newgirls with me to train to 'pull nests'. Fortunately, there were plenty of females out digging. Jennaand I met up early and started on the first nest. It was empty. The homeowners didn't actuallysee the eggs drop. This happens a lot. Rather than lose a nest, we dig.

The next nest was marked in 3 places! The three people on the property had different ideas ofwhere the nest was. After a few false starts I had Jenna start gently tapping the ground to findthe 'plug'. She found it! I was impressed. We pulled 15 eggs out of the driveway. They wouldn'thave survived because the first vehicle to drive over the nest would have compressed the soil andcrushed the nest.

Carole joined us and we moved on. 3 more nests, 38 more eggs. Tara called and we met up withher. She was tracking 2 females around the corner. And the fun continued. By the end of the daywe had 10 nests relocated to the hatchery and 1 protected in Tony's newly landscaped yard.

The next day the before the storms came in, Jenna and I got to release a head started terrapininto the bay behind Tony's house. I was home for the weekend, but Tracey and Grace were inplace and ready to go. They relocated an additional 8 nests over the weekend!

We had a late start. Last year we had our first nests on May 31st. However, in just 8 days we areonly 40 eggs short of last years number. I'll be at the shore early tomorrow and the weathershould be perfect for 'terrapin tracking'. Our new signs will be in this week so we'll all be busy.More on Wednesday.

"ADAPTING TO THE CHANGES"

Wednesday, June 19, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

This is truly a strange season. We are in the third week of June and the temperatures rarely makeit out of the low to mid 70's. The ground is saturated from all the heavy rains. The female terrapinsare confused. They are egg bound, ready to nest, but having problems finding suitable places todig. I had a homeowner report a terrapin trying to dig in her yard in the middle of a down pour!The poor girl kept hitting water and would try in another area. After trying 6 times, she gave upand went back to the bay.

Fortunately, Monday was clear, cool, but clear. Grace and I went looking for terrapins. No luck withthe ladies, but we located a crow raided nest, unfortunately it was empty. I noticed an area nearthe nest that looked slightly disturbed and decided to dig. What a surprise when I actually found anest! 19 eggs! I've never done that before, nests are near impossible to find once the femaleshave filled them in. It was my lucky day.

I dropped Grace off and went tracking crows. They know where the nests are. They've becomeour biggest concern and predator. I found a crow digging in a yard and shooed him away. He hadalmost reached the clutch. I pulled 10 eggs out of the driveway and filled in the hole. I told thehomeowner I was going to park across the road to see if the crow returned for another nest. Iwaited 5 minutes, he returned and went back to the original nest and starting digging again. Aftera few moments he stopped and looked around, as if to get his bearings, then walked around thenest and continued digging. He repeated this behavior, then got more aggressive with his digging.He was getting mad! I could hear the homeowner laughing inside telling his wife,"the crow doesn'tknow Kathy took the eggs!". Finally the crow flew to a fence post (I finally located my camera)cawed loudly, then flew away. First time I outsmarted a crow!

Tuesday was also cool but, 2 females came up to nest.. They are adapting to the coolertemperatures. I expect a much longer incubation period for the hatchlings. Hopefully they're outby the end of September! I'm returning tomorrow and meeting up with Carole. Hoping for someaction. We have 400 eggs in the hatchery. On track with last year!

New Signs, Great Volunteers, and 608 Eggs Incubating

Wednesday, June 26, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

Although the season started out slow, the weather has warmed and the females are nesting! Inthe past week we have surpassed our numbers from last year by 70 eggs! AND, our homeownerhas 5 nests in his yard!I have 3 new volunteers who know how to 'pull' the nests and morepeople are starting to return to the Island for the summer. This means I have more eyes on theterrapins and on the crows!

The crows are a huge concern this year! They are smart and they remember where the nests havebeen dropped. If they aren't covered immediately, the crows will have them dug up and digestedbefore you can get to them! I thought the raccoons were a problem. I can control them with thesolar eyes. Still looking for a crow deterrent!

Monday, Kimberly from ALO joined me to put up the crossing signs. The day was warm and theterrapins active. We never got to the signs until the afternoon. We were too busy relocatingnests! Priorities! By the time we got to the task at hand we realized the digging of holes andcementing of posts was more than we were up to. Plan B. All of that wasted space on the speedlimit signs.

I went looking for the Mayor and asked if we could 'brighten up' his signs with our turtle crossingsigns. His words,"Everyone is so upset about those turtles getting hit by cars. Kathy, you can putyour signs up wherever you want." So we did. In a few places, rather creatively! Thank you Mr.Mayor!

Thursday I started out solo. By nest #4, it was only 9:00am, I called Jenna for help. Fortunately,she was right around the corner. The next 4 hours flew by as we pulled 6 more nests, withfrequent trips to the hatchery to safely relocate the eggs. It was hot. Cos, a friend and 'spotter'whose house we had visited earlier sent a cool, wet towel, cold drinks and power bars to thehatchery to keep us going! These are incredible people.

By the end of Thursday, we had over 600 eggs safely incubating in the hatchery, new signs on theroads and a lot of very happy people! 3 of the nests were marked and covered by 2 newvolunteers. In their first day on the job they saved 47 terrapins to be.

I’ll be back tomorrow for more fun.

"GREAT VOLUNTEERS AND TEACHABLE MOMENTS"

Saturday, July 20, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

The success of the terrapin project has always been due to the dedication of its volunteers. Wehave many different levels of volunteerism. All are vital to the project. The past few weeks havebeen especially hectic, females have been crossing the bay roads and nesting in record numbers.My volunteers have been there, tracking and marking and covering the nests to keep them safefrom predation until one of the 'nest pullers' can get to the site. This is often a long hour or morein the baking sun, waiting for the terrapin to find the 'perfect place' to dig and drop her clutch.Unfortunately, these are not perfect spots anymore. The sandy beach programmed into thefemales has since been re landscaped and is now a driveway!

This is why we move the nests. We're working with several homeowners to keep the nests ontheir property by digging through the rocky substrate to the nest and back filling it with sand. Thiswill give the hatchling a chance to incubate and dig out when they hatch. We then cover the nestwith wire corrals to keep the predators out. We monitor the nests with the homeowner to watchfor hatchlings. This is direction the project is headed in. As far as I know, we are the only terrapinproject working in the middle of a highly populated area. The other conservation groups have theirown protected preserves.

For this to work, we have to work with the local populace. We have over 1,200 eggs in ourhatchery and more nest in 'natural' settings. For the terrapins to survive on Long Beach Island,people and turtle need to live in harmony.

While relocating a nests in early July, Amy fro ALO called from the hatchery beach. She had a classon the beach and they spotted a female looking for a spot to lay her eggs. I was on my way.

When I arrived, the female was back in the bay and the nest was marked. The kids got to see thewhole thing! They were very excited. Unfortunately, the nest was in the middle of a patch of dunegrass. If left there the raccoons would dig it up or the roots from the grass would infiltrate theeggs and kill the hatchlings. I gathered the class around me and began to explain what I wasdoing. What a teachable moment! When I reached the eggs, I had each one of them come closerand touch it's leathery shell. They were hooked! They followed me to the hatchery and watchedme replant the nest, cover it with a corral and record the information.

The next generation of "Terrapin Trackers"!

"108 Nests, 1,445 EGGS AND A SPECIAL BLESSING!"

Saturday, July 20, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

Be careful what you wish for! When the season started out cool and the terrapins weren'tnesting, I said, "We need a heat wave so the females will come out to nest!" We have aheatwave and more females then we can keep up with. Volunteers are busy, spotting the girls

and covering the nests before the crows can eat the eggs has been our major challenge thisseason. I have the most devoted volunteers anyone could ask for!

The terrapins are still nesting and we're running out of room. With such last nesting we'll havehatchlings emerging until the beginning of October! Hope the weather stays warm enough. Wehad some very special visitors the 2nd week of July. Friends of Grace's came down to see her inaction. The 'Turtle Girl' showed the Nuns how to pull a nest! Here's a picture of them with the eggsin front of the hatchery. Special Blessings for all our turtles!!!! Thank you.

"THE END OF NESTING SEASON"

Thursday, July 25, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

Now that nesting season has come to an end, we have a chance to review the past 8 weeks andthe impact the weather has had on this year's females and their clutches. May was a very coolmonth, water temperatures were in the 50s. Terrapins mate when the water and air temps arearound 70+ F, generally the middle to end of May into the beginning of June. We had a shortmating season, short and busy nesting season and possibly a long incubation period.

We've had a lot of rain this summer. Usually that slows down the incubation time for thehatchlings. It can also have another effect. If any of the eggs in a clutch are 'duds' or not fertile, bynow they will start to rot. The 'coffin fly' smells the rotting egg and lays her eggs in the sand ontop of the clutch. Knowing this, we've been checking nests for potential problems. We've foundsome. Females will drop eggs that are not viable. So far we've pulled over 100 eggs that were notfertile and were folded in on themselves. If left in the ground they would have attracted the coffinflies. In a few instances, the larvae were present! We pulled the good eggs and relocated them.

The first of the hatchlings could start emerging in as little as 2 weeks or as long as 4 weeks! It alldepends on the weather trends at this point!Fortunately, I have fantastic volunteers to keep aneye on everything!

"RECOUNT AND EVALUATE"

Wednesday, July 31, 2013 Posted by Katherine Lacey

During nesting season, we relocate all nests laid in poor locations. It's nearly impossible, unlessan egg is broken, to tell whether or not it's viable. Our goal is to give every possible hatchling achance to survive. Within the first 5-7 days, most eggs will develop a 'healthy' white glow if theyare good, viable.

Since we had a problem with the 'coffin flies' maggots last year, we've been checking nests on aregular basis. Wet weather and eggs that aren't viable, 'duds' attract the flies. We've found themin nests again. They have to be removed and the good eggs have to be relocated. We've had tomove 8 nests so far. Not a good sign. One possibility is the females held their eggs for too longbefore nesting due to the cool temperatures. When they dropped them they were already 'bad'.It's kept us all on our toes and nervous about the health of the rest of the nests in the hatchery.

Overall, this has been a tough season. Between the wet, cool weather, the females erraticnesting habits, the large number of crows, we've all been getting an education in "post Sandy"effects on wildlife. We're learning some tough lessons. Hatching should start in the next fewweeks, we'll see what happens. On a positive note, the volunteers have not abandoned ship.They're working harder than ever and keeping a positive outlook.

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