We had a 68% success rate this year. No hatchlings or eggs were lost to maggots and only one to ants, but 14% were lost to root depredation, likely because of all the rain we had in June. We also lost 4 nests to a fox that figured out how to get under the predator excluders. The biggest loss was eggs that just didn't develop (32%), the vast majority of which were in nests that were laid in the last 10 days of the season. Despite everything, nearly 300 hatchlings were released back at the edge of the sanctuary's salt marshes.

This season the first nest was laid on June 13th and the last on July 27th, making this year's season 20 days longer than last year's! The first nest to emerge was on Labor Day after 86 days of incubation, which just shows how much the cool and rainy June affected the season when considering that the first nest last year emerged after 68 days.

So another successful terrapin season is now behind us, and it couldn't have been accomplished without our dedicated volunteers. If you would like to help us with this work next season, contact our volunteer coordinator, Cynthia Franklin.

Emily Goczalk

8:30 - 9:00    Continental Breakfast, Sign In
9:00 - 9:10    Opening Remarks - Jerry Houk

Moderator - Ned Hitchcock

9:10 – 9:30    Monitoring Program for Herring River Restoration - Tim Smith                                   
9:30 – 9:50    Tidal Restoration and the Coastal GroundwaterAquifer - John Portnoy
9:50  – 10:10  Native Sea Run Brook Trout Restoration - Steve Hurley
10:10 – 10:30  Q and A Session
10:30 – 11:00  Poster Presentations and Break
11:00 – 11:20  Ocean Management Act as it applies to Wellfleet - Jack Clarke
11:20 – 11:40  Pharmaceuticals and Hormones in Ponds and Groundwater on Cape Cod - Laurel Schaider
11:40 – 12:00  Q and A Session
12:00 – 12:45  Lunch
12:45 – 1:05   Oyster Habitat Restoration - Mark Faherty
1:05  – 1:25   2009 Herring Count - Wellfleet Results - Jo Ann Muramoto
1:25  – 1:45   Methodology for Sampling Fin Fish - Ethan Estey
1:45  – 2:00   Q and A Session / Closing Remarks

The goals of the conference are to distribute information about current and ongoing research and monitoring projects that are taking place in Wellfleet Harbor and to identify citizen's concerns and questions about the health of Wellfleet Harbor.
 
The conference is free.  A continental breakfast is included.  No registration is required.

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

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

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