Turtle Journal

Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle @ Linnell Landing, Brewster

She may not have been the smallest Kemp’s ridley sea turtle we’ve ever rescued from Cape Cod Bay.  Don seems to remember a 1200-gram ridley from early in the 1999 mass standing season.  But at 8.5 inches straight-line length (nuchal to notch) and 1470 grams mass, this seriously cold-stunned sea turtle surely fell in the lowest 1 percentile size class.  With that size and the razor sharp points along her vertebral keel, we assessed her as a very young ridley.  She proved a great find for the Turtle Journal team as we patrolled Brewster (Cape Cod) beaches on Wednesday afternoon.

(ASIDE:  No, we don’t know that this turtle is a female, but we can be hopeful and “she” reads better than “it.”)

Brewster Coastline from Breakwater (left) to Crosby (right)

Howling winds persisted on the Cape, shifting to north-northwest at 25 to 30 knots.  Temperatures had dropped so fast that moisture had rapidily precipitated from super chilled clouds, producing our first snowfall of the season.  Perfect sea turtle stranding conditions on Cape Cod!  As we described previously (Leapfrogging Sea Turtle Patrol Yields Surprise), the wind vector indicated a center point for the stranding search along the northeast-facing Brewster coastline.  We decided to begin our patrol at Breakwater Beach (left edge of Google photo) and leapfrog to Point of Rocks, Ellis, Linnell and end at Crosby Beach (right of photo), a little over three miles to the east.  The trick to survive these brutal conditions (for the two-legged mammals, that is) is to keep the wind at your back or over your shoulder as you search the beach.

Tiny Kemp’s Ridley Tossed on the Beach by a Rising Tide

The sun flashed in and out of clouds as wind flung them across the sky as easily as the crashing waves tossed debris on the beach.  Aided by the blow, the rising tide forced us to dance across seawalls and zigzag through sand fencing as we were pinned to the dunes by breakers.  And, yes, we did get a bit wet, mostly from spray but also when we were trapped by a few overly aggressive waves.

With nothing to show for 2.9 miles of the 3 mile trek, we were torn between elation to get back in the warm car and disappointment in not finding a cold-stunned turtle to rescue.  But those feelings turned around in an adrenaline rush as Don spotted a dark oval shape thrown onto the white foamy beach about a 100 yards ahead.  It had all the right characteristics of shape and color, but it was awfully small.  Waves began to circle and retrieve the object in the rising tide, so he sprinted and caught the turtle as water started to drag it back into the surf.

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Kemp’s Ridley Beach Rescue and Field Assessment

Kemp’s ridleys are critically endangered sea turtles.  Each fall a large number of juvenile ridleys in the two to four year age cohorts get trapped in hook of Cape Cod by fall’s dropping temperatures and become cold-stunned in the bay.  Once water temperature drops below 50 degrees, they become helpless and are at the mercy of wind and tides for movement.  Eventually, the prevailing autumn westerly gales blow these turtles onto a high tide beach along the inner, bayside beaches.  The earlier in the season those strandings occur, the higher the percentage of animals that we can save.  This year has been calm and mild, delaying the stranding and jeopardizing turtle lives.  But that all changed the last few days, and especially on Wednesday.

Measuring 8.5 Inches and Weighing 1470 Grams

Once at the car, we did a quick field assessment.  The first procedure to check is whether you can get a reaction from the animal to indicate that it is still alive.  One thing that we have learned through the decades of cold-stunned rescues is that it is nearly impossible to determine for sure … absent rigor mortis … whether a sea turtle, beating its heart once a minute, is alive or dead.  But it helps to know for sure that you have a live animal, at least for the human spirit, anyway.  This little turtle was not in rigor, and showed some eyelid reaction and muscle movement in the front flippers.

Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley with Algae Buildup on Plastron

You can see from the plastron (bottom/ventral surface) that algae has accumulated during the turtle’s period of stupor.  Also, the reddish skin near the posterior flippers indicates blood pooling from reduced circulatory flow while its heart rate has been so slow.

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First Stop to Recovery: Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary

First stop on her journey to recovery is Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, turtle rescue central on Cape Cod.  The turtle will undergo triage at the sanctuary and will be stabilized in a “cold room” while transport is arranged to Boston.  At the New England Aquarium, the turtle will receive emergency medical care and will undergo rehabilitation.  The reason for the “cold room” is that these animals must not be allowed to warm up too quickly.  Protocol calls for about five degrees a day.  That’s why, once we have rescued a sea turtle from the beach, we turn off the heat in our cars, crack the windows and shiver all the way to the sanctuary. 

Kemp’s Ridley Rescue from Linnell Landing

Sea turtle patrols will continue so long as the winds sustain.  Twice a day, at each high tide, a small army of layered and bundled volunteers will patrol beaches in search of cold-stunned sea turtles.  If they are as lucky as the Turtle Journal team was on Wednesday, they too will return to their cars with a precious handful of life.

Follow the “Yellow Leaf Road” to Wellfleet Bay

If you follow the Yellow Leaf Road off Route 6 in Wellfleet, you’ll discover more than a thousand acres of pristine beauty, preserving natural Cape Cod habitats and vistas, and saving the native wildlife of Massachusetts for generations unborn.  The entrance to this peaceful refuge, Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, lies just off the main highway.  While its rustic trails, many handicap accessible, offer peeks at unspoiled nature in the raw, don’t miss the magical world that resides inside the sanctuary’s new nature center with a cast of incredible creatures that mystify and delight.  We’ve never seen a kid whether three or one hundred three walk away from these exhibits without a broad smile and a look of wonder. 

Director Bob Prescott Examines Cold-Stunned Sea Turtle

There’s always something extraordinary happening around the corner.  First-ever restoration of an oyster reef ecosystem on Cape Cod, conservation of  a rapidly disappearing native heathland, research to save the ancient and noble horseshoe crab, satellite tracking of osprey journeys, study of sudden salt-marsh die-off on the Outer Cape, educating the next generation of young naturalists, and this month, rescuing the world’s most endangered sea turtles from certain hyptothermic death on Cape Cod beaches (see First Cold-Stunned Sea Turtle of 2008 Rescued). 

What’s next to discover?  Walk around the bend and see.

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“Snappy” Twice as Large and Four Times the Attitude

If you read Turtle Journal, then you’ve met Snappy already (see Meet “Snappy” at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary).  When the Turtle Journal team visited East Fairhaven Elementary School on Wednesday to “talk turtle” to fifth graders, a group of boys serenaded us with a rap song featuring … you guessed it … Snappy, whom they had met on the web site.

When we visited the Nature Center on Friday, we noticed that Snappy had doubled in size and quadrupled in personality since late September.  We also heard a rumor that Snappy has been “stepping out” on the Sanctuary staff.  The word is that the juvenile snapper disappeared sometime last weekend.  Staff assumed that someone had taken Snappy “for a walk” to a local school for an educational program and he’d soon return.  By Thursday, concern rose and flashlights came out to search for the AWOL snapping turtle.  He was found hiding in a corner of the wet lab, a bit dusty but no worse for wear. 

By the time we saw him on Friday, Snappy had resumed his King of the World attitude and was plotting his next escape.  So, boys and girls, look carefully in the corner of your rooms before bedtime.  That scratching sound may not be the wind blowing the drapes, but the Return of Snappy!

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“Houdini” and the Squirrel Proof Bird Feeder

The Nature Center at Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary offers exciting outdoor adventures without the nasty side effects of actually being outdoors.  No, we don’t mean that virtual magic that you get by reading Turtle Journal.  There’s a corner of the center dedicated to quiet observation and reflection … with large picture windows and open vistas of the gorgeous salt marsh beyond and protected bird feeders immediately outside.  We’ve watched visitors spend a hugely satisfying winter day, just sitting by those windows with a book in hand while gazing occasionally at the exquisite beauty within arm’s reach.  And no one has ever watched a winter sunset over Try Island from this vantage without being transformed by the experience.  We even enjoy watching snow showers blow in from the bay to blanket the surroundings in fluffy whiteness.

Friday, we dwelled a moment ourselves in quiet meditation until we burst into raucous laughter at the antics of Houdini.  Cape Codders pride themselves on creating perfect squirrel proof bird feeders … that are never squirrel proof.  Yet, the quest continues.  Houdini, for sure that must be his name; Houdini climbed the center pole and pondered, much like humans on the other side of the glass, which of the three squirrel proof feeders offered the best chance of a good meal.  He decided and sprung into action.

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“Van Gogh” Paints the Tank Red … and Yellow, Too

Finally, on the way out we stopped by the fresh water tank again for a last glimpse of Snappy before he disappeared once more for a weekend adventure.  Instead, we caught sight of Vincent Van Gogh, a juvenile painted turtle, who transformed the tank into museum art with his deep reds and bright yellows.

The Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary has much to offer any time of the year.  A rainy day?  What could be more satisfying than spending time with nature inside a wonderfully designed platinum green building and entertained by the coolest personalities that nature has designed.