The world according to me....

Seems like deja-vu again.

As before, Catherine started getting new data from a satellite tag that had appeared to have stopped working months ago. The new signals all gave locations close to each other, near the inshore beach side of Shackleford Banks. Off we went in the boat to look for the turtle to which she had attached the tag in 2003. When we got to the spot that the satellite data said the turtle would be, there was no turtle. So, off we went on foot: Ari, Catherine, Wendy and me, looking for the turtle. Unfortunately, we didn't find Catherine's mystery turtle, but it was beautiful out there and we did see some other things that were also interesting: birds, feral horses, and a rusted out shell of a car:

The question is: will the satellite tag transmit again later on? And if so, will we be able to find it?!?

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 07:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This is a picture of Wendy releasing a turtle that was brought back for sampling from Core Sound, North Carolina, as part of a larger sea turtle health assessment research project. This is just another example of my turtle-rich experiences that I have with Wendy here in North Carolina.

Yesterday, I stopped in the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Topsail Island and many of the turtles currently being treated reminded me of previous adventures with Wendy, including:
India: the first turtle I ever responded to with Wendy. We had to carry the turtle up some steep wooden stairs and I realized how tough Wendy was when she kept going, gritting her teeth, despite the heaviness of the the turtle and awkwardness of the climb;
Breakers: a turtle that was sick and floating off of Atlantic Beach last May. Wendy and I swam out several hundred meters and slowly pushed it back to the beach through the waves;
Caspar: a loggerhead that was accidentally hooked and brough to shore by a concerned fisherman. I originally picked him up from the marina in Swansboro and then transferred him to Wendy's truck and she took him down to Topsail while I tried to recover from a fever.

Then there are the amazing people and personalities that we have met on our travels around the state:
The grandfather who insisted we eat watermelon from his garden after we finished a turtle necropsy in his front yard;
The kids whose sandcastles we had to judge;
The people from the media who seem to want us to say certain things
etc.

There seems to be no limit to the new experiences that are available in working on the NC Sea Turtle Project.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 02:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Ingredients:
Michael Coyne
Two satellite tags
Lots of epoxy
Humid weather
Some driving
Eager beach patrollers
Collaborators from Newport Aquarium

Methods:
1) Go get Michael Coyne, who happened to be spending a week with his family on Topsail Island, and bring to Bald Head Island.
2) Wait at Bald Head Island Conservancy house for a radio from patrollers that a turtle is nesting. Take a golf-cart ride to the beach access, walk 200 meters to the turtle, and wait until she is finished nesting. With the help of BHIC interns, set up turtle for satellite tag attachment, apply epoxy (not too much!) and PTT, wait for it to dry. Add some antifouling paint at the end, wait another 45 minutes, then allow turtle to go to the sea. Go to sleep a few hours
3) Early next morning, get dropped off at the ferry by kind Maureen of BHIC. Go to Southport coffee shop for caffeine, then go to Southport Ferry to Fort Fisher Aquarium. There, tag and sample blood from a Kemp's ridley and loggerhead to be released in a few days.
4) Attach another satellite tag to the loggerhead at Fort Fisher Aquarium: make Michael do the epoxying (see photo above). Constantly step in front of video camera, obscuring field of view. Add enough (but not too much) epoxy so that the PTT remains secure. Let dry, then say goodbyes to the crews from Newport and Fort Fisher Aquaria.
5) Head back to Topsail by way of the Topsail Turtle Rehabilitation Center.

Serving suggestions:
Ensure that the turtles' movements are available on www.seaturtle.org/tracking

Optional variations:
Turn on satellite tags the night before they are deployed, not only to test that the tags function but also to increase the blood pressure of Brendan Godley. It will also ensure that you get a telephone call in a few hours.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 08:22 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

It happens to everyone who participates in a stranding network: you respond to a call and when you arrive you find that it is not quite what you expect. In my case, I found not a sea turtle but a diamondback terrapin. Although strictly speaking this species is not considered "marine", the diamondback terrapin nevertheless shares several characteristics with true marine turtles. The diamondback terrapin lives in brackish and salt water habitats, it must emerge from the water to lay its eggs, the sex of the hatchlings is influenced by incubation temperatures, and in the past this species was widely harvested for human consumption. Diamondback terrapins have some of the coolest color patterns on their shells. Although I always enjoy going to that area of Bogue Sound where this turtle was, it also turns out that there are people working on terrapins in the area, so I could pass along the information and tell myself that it was worth the trip. I remember that last year Wendy reponded to a stranding call and found an algae-covered dead yellow bellied slider on the beach. She made the trip worthwhile by taking it back to the big freezer in anticipation of a future necropsy. I have also heard the story of someone further south being called out for a turtle found on the beach, only to find a coconut. Although she couldn't find justification for the trip, it does make a funny story.

Posted by Matthew Godfrey at 07:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)