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:: Saturday, November 21st, 2009Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary
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Neighborhood Party Turns Wild as Loggerhead “crashes”
On Sunday October 11th, Joe and Sharon Tatulli, long-time Mass Audubon members, were enjoying an afternoon party at a friend’s home that overlooks Drummer Cove in South Wellfleet. Despite the good company and fine conversation, Joe’s attention was distracted while he was gazing out over the marsh because he noticed a large animal moving through the water. He quickly left the party and hurried down to the water’s edge to see what it was.
What it turned out to be was a 175 pound, female Loggerhead turtle! However, she swam away and was not seen again that evening. But she’d be back….
Joe recounts the rest of the story:
“On Monday morning I headed back to Drummer Cove to see what I could find. The tide was low and I trekked across the mud flats to the small stream that runs through the marsh where I had last seen the turtle. There she was.
Mrs. Santos (the host of the previous day’s party) had called Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary earlier and left a message. It was 8:37 when I called and got Wellfleet Bay’s Diane Reynolds. Diane sent her co-worker James Nielsen down with a pickup truck and we proceeded to pull the turtle out of the stream and carry it to James' pick-up and then to the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary.
Wellfleet Bay staff contacted the New England Aquarium in Boston. Biologist Adam Kennedy came down to the Cape and picked up the seemingly healthy turtle for blood tests and an x-ray back at the aquarium.
As of this post I am awaiting news on the turtle's condition and where and when she will be released back into the ocean for her long swim south for the winter.”
Check out New England Aquarium’s blog post from October 12 that also chronicles this event.
Each fall and winter, typically starting in November, but as early as the end of October, cold-stunned sea turtles are found stranded on bayside beaches. Succumbing to dropping water temperatures, these rare marine reptiles wash ashore—most of the immobile and appear lifeless. Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary staff and scores of volunteers canvass the beaches in search of stranded turtles and send them to the New England Aquarium for rehabilitation.
This large Loggerhead was a big surprise because the smaller individuals, the juvenile turtles, typically strand early—and it is usually Kemp’s Ridley and Green sea turtles that come ashore first. And what makes this turtle even more unique was that she was the second largest Loggerhead known to strand on Cape Cod beaches. Perhaps her health was compromised in other ways—only time and tests will tell. But it was a good sign that she was active and feisty!
We thank Joe and Sharon Tatulli for their commitment to this turtle and Mass Audubon. And thanks to Joe for contributing to the blog post and the great images.
You can learn more about stranded wildlife in Wellfleet Bay’s special Marine Animal Stranding Weekend for adults coming up next month. Click here for program details. Email me directly for a detailed itinerary.
Melissa Lowe
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Egrets, We've Had a Few!
Snowy Egrets are staging in growing numbers along with Great Egrets in many salt marsh locations on the Cape. With the nesting season over, they are preparing for migration to Central and South America. The beautiful snow white plumage provides a striking contrast from the marsh grass in the early morning light at Great Sippewissett Marsh.
The first two images shows the Snowy Egret extending its wings and droping down its black legs with yellow feet for a soft landing. The other two images show their graceful flight motions. Click here for more recent images of Snowy and Great Egrets.
Enjoy!
Craig Gibson
Woods Hole
Green Heron
The Green Heron is one of the smaller wading birds. The Green Heron is very difficult to locate 
and observe. It is darkly colored and about the size of crow. It is mostly a solitary and secretive bird and most often found around dawn and dusk. The Green Heron is found in saltwater and freshwater wetlands, marshes, ponds and streams with thick vegetation. Green Herons typically stand quietly and still in shallow water or perch upon branches to find and strike their prey. They usually feed on small fish. Green Herons have a tendency to fly away from a disturbance while making a loud squawking noise.
These images of a juvenile Green Heron show its brownish upperparts with white speckles on the wings. They have heavily streaked chestnut brown and white underparts with distinctive yellow eyes. They have greenish yellow legs and a thin straight yellow and blackish bill. These close up images were captured with a handheld long lens near Hadley Harbor on Naushon Island from a kayak. Click here for more wading bird images.
According to Birds of New England by Petersen and Burrows, “Green Herons sometimes drop small debris, including twigs, vegetation and feathers, onto the water’s surface as a form of bait to attract fish within striking range.” This unique fishing method sets the Green Heron apart from all others!
Enjoy!
Craig Gibson
Woods Hole
Semipalmated Plover
The Semipalmated Plover is probably the most common small plover on Cape Cod. These plovers gather in loose flocks during fall migration on open mudflats and sandy beaches. They are noted for their run and stop feeding style. They have a high pitched, two part whistled call that sounds like “chu-wee.” This plover is easy to identify with a single dark breast band, a black-tipped orange bill, long orange legs along with white underparts and dark brown upperparts.
According to Wayne Petersen in Birds of New England, “there is tremendous pressure for these long distance migrants to complete their breeding duties before the end of the short northern summer. Fall migration is more relaxed, with adults first appearing on Cape Cod in July, followed in late August by the first juveniles.”
Thanks to local lighthouse and nature photographer, Brian Tague, I had a chance to join him on a shorebird trip to South Monomoy for a visit to the lighthouse and the Powder Hole area. We encounted lots of semipalmated plovers on our visit. Here’s a little back ground on Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge. According to the National Wildlife Service “it was taken over by the US government just before World War II. Monomoy was established in 1944 to provide habitat for migratory birds. Sand stretches for eight miles (13 km) off the elbow of Cape Cod, forming the barrier islands of North and South Monomoy. In addition to the two islands, a 40 acre unit on Morris Island is also part of the refuge. This is where the headquarters and visitor center are located, including hiking trails and a scenic overlook of the Atlantic Ocean. The total size of the refuge is 7,604 acres (31 km²) with varied habitats of oceans, salt and freshwater marshes, dunes, freshwater ponds, and some historic manmade structures, such as the Monomoy Point Light and keeper's quarters (now decommissioned but open to the public). The refuge provides important resting, nesting and feeding habitat for migratory birds, including the Federally protected piping plover and roseate tern. More than ten species of seabirds, shorebirds, and waterbirds nest on the islands. The refuge also supports the second largest nesting colony of common terns on the Atlantic seaboard with over 8,000 nesting pairs.
Enjoy!
Craig Gibson
Woods Hole
Wellfleet Audubon tells it like it is
Ed. Note: Sarah Durham is the principal of Big Duck (www.bigducknyc.com), a communications firm that works exclusively with nonprofits, and regular visitor to Wellfleet. She blogs at www.bigducknyc.com/blog. She posted this on her Duck Call blog on September 1 and we are reprinting it with her permission.
Every summer, I have the great good fortune to spend time with family in Wellfleet, Massachusetts- arguably the most charming town on Cape Cod. This year, my kids attended day camp at the local Audubon- three hours of mucking around in the tidal flats, learning about brackish water, poking at hermit crabs, and imbibing ‘leave no trace’ principals. What could be better for two kids from Brooklyn?
In addition to effectively implementing their mission to build an appreciation of nature at the programmatic level, the Wellfleet Audubon does lots of things well. One of the best examples of in-person communications I’ve seen recently is the signage in their new buildings. A few years ago, they redid their programs buiidings using the latest in green technologies- recycled materials, composting toilets, and more. But rather than describe it only in their newsletters and other member-focused communications, they wove explanations about these items through the spaces themselves.
Using green circles about a foot in diameter, they tell the stories behind each item in their construction. As you walk through, you can read them or ignore them- but there’s no doubt this organization is ‘walking the talk’ and demonstrating the value of sustainability in this key venue, where most audiences connect with them.
How is your organization walking the talk?
For more on our green building view Bob Prescott's video
About This Blog
Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary’s 1,100 acres of salt marsh, sandy beach, pine woodland, freshwater pond, and rare heathland attract a wide array of wildlife, especially songbirds and shorebirds. A large trail map and a recent sightings board allow you to read about what plants and animals have been seen and to choose a trail to walk during your visit. The Esther Underwood Johnson Nature Center at the sanctuary is an example of green architecture with a Butterfly Garden at the entrance and exhibits and visitor facilities inside the welcoming building.
Programs for children, adults and families are held throughout the year. Please check the website for program listings.
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