First Terrapin of 2013 Research Season Is Legendary Turtle

Legendary Terrapin #265 First Capture of 2013 Season

A warm front moved through New England bringing thunderstorms overnight and morning showers, followed by bright sunshine and temperatures jumping into the 60s.  With high expectations, the Turtle Journal team scouted Head of (Sippican) Harbor in Marion for the first sign of diamondback terrapin activity.  Sue Wieber Nourse spotted a large female head snorkeling near some rocks and decided the time was ripe to capture the first terrapin of the 2013 research season.

Sue Wieber Nourse Nets Legendary Terrapin #265

We drove back to Turtle Journal Headquarters, loaded the kayak and hauled it to the town landing to launch.  Since she saw the first active terrapin, Sue had the privilege of first capture.  She paddled the half mile to Head of Harbor into a stiff northerly breeze, yet despite challenging conditions, Sue quickly and smootly netted legendary Terrapin #265, a beautiful and distinctive female terrapin that we have been tracking since May 2005.  She is immediately recognizable because unlike other terrapins she sports no markings on her skin.

Legendary Terrapin #265 Nesting at Holly Lane Beach

Over the last eight years, Terrapin #265 has taught us many lessons about how this threatened species uses the fragile salt marsh, coastal and abutting upland habitats of Sippican Harbor and Buzzards Bay.  Last July, she became the first identified terrapin to nest at a newly discovered nesting beach in Sippican Harbor.  Since we first observed her in 2005, she has grown 1.5 centimeters in length and width, and she has gained nearly 300 grams in weight.  You can read more about the history of this famous Sippican terrapin at Tracking Elusive Terrapin Yields Important Discovery, July 2012.

Release of Legendary Terrapin #265 into Sippican Harbor

After examining, measuring and weighing Terrapin #265 and documenting her changes since last July, we released her back into Sippican Harbor.  In the next few weeks she will welcome other terrapins as they emerge from winter brumation.  As water temperatures rise, she will begin foraging to restore weight lost over winter, and in mid-May she will join the mating aggregation in Head of Harbor. 

Legendary Female Diamondback Terrapin #265

We will be watching for Terrapin #265’s return to the Holly Lane Beach nesting site in early June and again in early July to deposit her two annual clutches of eggs.  As healthy as she appeared today, we have great hope to follow her exploits in Sippican Harbor for many, many more years.  At an Outer Cape research site, we have followed one mature female terrapin for more than three decades since she was first tagged in June 1980.

Comments are closed.