There's a New Predator in Town

Predation is a natural part of life for sea turtles and one of the reasons that female turtles lay so many eggs. Nests on Sanibel and Captiva are monitored daily for signs of fire ants, ghost crabs, raccoons, and the occasional bobcat causing damage.  Luckily, this list is fairly short and the damage done by predators on the Islands is minimal compared to other locales.

This March, our predator list increased by one when a coyote (Canis latrans) was photographed by a visitor at J.N. Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge.  Luckily, it took Sanibel’s coyote a bit of time to discover sea turtles as a food source.  So far, it has targeted nests with hatchlings in the process of emerging from their eggs, but not yet out of the nest.  It is probably able to hone in on increase in scents emanating from the nest during this time.  

While it is impossible to protect nests from every predator, there are options available to deter many predators.  In this case, screening nests close to hatching has proved successful against the coyote.   The screens are made of wire mesh approved by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and anchored by tent stakes.  The holes in the screen are large enough to allow hatchlings to emerge from the nest while the screen is in place, but small enough to prevent predators like raccoons, bobcats, and coyotes from digging into the nest.

First Documented Sea Turtle Nest in Delaware

As sea turtle nesting season winds down in Florida, the sea turtle community has been abuzz with excitement with the discovery of the first documented sea turtle nest in Delaware.  The nest was found on August 18 in Cape Henlopen State Park.  Initially thought to be a loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), further examination of photos taken of the nesting female at dawn confirm that it is actually a green turtle (Chelonia mydas). For more on this exciting discovery-Sea Turtle Nests in Delaware

Hatches, Hatches Everywhere!

Sea turtle hatching season is well underway on the islands.  Seventy nests have hatched on Sanibel and 36 on Captiva.  Most of these have been loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests, but our first green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest has also hatched!

Green turtle hatchling from a nest on Sanibel.  Photo by A. Bryant

Three days after a nest hatches volunteers with the turtle program excavate the nest and inventory the contents.  So far, our largest nest had a total of 144 eggs and our smallest nest had only 42 eggs.  

Remember, if you come across a sea turtle hatchling on the beach, leave it where you find it and notify SCCF immediately.  We'll give you directions for what to do next to protect the hatching.

Hatch Season Begins on the Islands!

Hatchling entering the Gulf of Mexico early in the morning in 2010 (Photo by: A. Bryant).

Last night the first loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) nests laid on Sanibel & Captiva hatched and the hatchlings made their way to the Gulf of Mexico!

Happy World Sea Turtle Day!

In honor of World Sea Turtle Day, please consider doing something nice for the planet's sea turtles. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Reduce your plastic use
• Switch to reusable bags instead of plastic bags
• Pick up garbage on the beach
• Dispose of fishing line & hooks properly
• Turn out or shield lights near the beach
• Avoid using a flashlight on the beach at night
• Fill in holes on the beach
• Support sea turtle conservation organizations
• Educate others about sea turtles

Loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta) crawl on Sanibel Island (Photo by: A. Bryant)

The Greens are Nesting!

Well, one green at least.  Over the weekend we had a green turtle (Chelonia mydas) nest on Sanibel!  This was somewhat unexpected because usually green turtle nests are laid in even years on Sanibel.  This is probably because there are one or two green turtles that return every other year to nest.  This just happens to occur on even years typically.  Now, things will be a little less predictable, but no less exciting!

Shrimping to Blame Not the Oil Spill

An article in the Washington Post highlights a problem many initially attributed to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill-- hundreds of sea turtles, mainly Kemp's Ridleys (Lepidochelys kempii), are washing ashore dead along the Gulf coast.  In 2010, 600 sea turtles washed ashore, this year 563 have been found.  After completing necropsies on almost all of the 2010 turtles and some of this year's turtles, there is evidence that they were caught in shrimp nests, where they drowned. 

The shrimp fishery is required to use turtle excluder devices, also known as TEDs, in their nets.  Use of TEDs became mandatory in the 1990s. Emails obtained by Oceana from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration suggest that in many cases TEDs were not used, and if they were, they were not installed correctly. When installed correctly, they are 97% effective.