Monday, June 4, 2007
Posted on June 6, 2007 | Filed Under Daily Journal
Observations: We left the Turtle House at 5:15 A.M., I monitored North Beach and Katy monitored South Beach entering at South Beach Entrance at approximately 6:00. North Beach was monitored by entering at Seaside Ramp, driving northward through the boneyard and on to St. Catherines Sound, then returning during daylight along the entire length of North Beach.
South Beach was monitored from South Beach Entrance northward toward McQueens Inlet at near dead low tide. Katy encountered x crawlways, turned at McQueens and monitored southward across Flag Inlet and to the south mudbank, parked the Gator and walked SW Beach. When I radioed Katy after exiting North Beach, she said she had seen 3 crawls and had two probable nests. I responded by driving south to South Beach Entrance where we joined forces. Katy’s first probable was a certain nest [31.60117 N; 81.14702 W], which we left to excavate later. This second probable nest was just south of the Big Washover at [31.60653 N; 81.14456 W], little more than a swirled area surrounded by flattened grass on the scarp. We excavated this non-nest (my call!) to check it, pulling at the flattened grass to see if it was still rooted, which it was and … saw ants on a flattened egg shell under the seaward edge of the grass!!! When pulled back, the grass exposed two additional flattened eggshells (broken by the nesting female in depositing her clutch of 107 eggs). The eggs were removed from the egg chamber, ants picked off, and relocated to McQueens Dunes, a long move, but to much habitat that will be utilized when possible due to limited habitat south of the (high tide) tree gates on the Big Washover. The relocated clutch, Nest 007-006a was out of the ground for 19 minutes and was relocated at [31.62657 N; 81.13311W].
Nest 07-006 was situated on the back shore between South Beach Entrance and the Big Washover. Although surrounded by swirled grass this nest was deposited as a simple, obstructed, backbeach nest. It was situated in a vulnerable position and was moved onto a dune at McQueens Dune Field.
On the way back to deal with the other nest, I found a beautiful coral colony in a shell lag near the south end of the McQueens Dune Ridge (GAB 200706041) that was associated with an elusive Lightening Whelk, a second small coral colony, and … about 40 Lettered Olives, and an Atlantic Pen Shell, a Polinices carrying Slipper Shells (Crepidula) and Shelf Oysters inside. The will be cataloged into my Atlantic invertebrate collection.
We returned to the first probable nest and Katy excavated it, discovering a clutch of 52 eggs in Nest 07-007. The small clutch was moved out of harms way onto the dune that was scarped at the back of the original nest site.
Nest 07-007 was a simple, obstructed, backbeach nest deposited in front a scarped surface north of South Beach Entrance in the wrack zone. This, again, is a highly erosional area, indicating the nest must be moved if it is going to hatch. It was moved onto the surface lying above the scarp and about 3 m back from the scarp.
So, What is a scarp?
A scarp is a small erosional cliff formed as the waves erode into the backbeach area or downward, lowering the beach level. Scarps thus formed are always evidence of an erosional shoreline. Fresh scarps are straight, steep, and “clean”-looking. As they are attacked by the weather they slump and collapse forming a less steep appearance with a depositional “toe” at their bottom. Scarps are important in sea turtle conservation because they stop turtles from crossing from the beach into the preferred nesting habitats behind the shoreline.
Gale A. Bishop
6/06/07
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