A young Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle is found alive in Brewster (USA TODAY)
Photo by Sue Wieber Nourse (Turtle Journal)
The recovery of critically endangered sea turtles on Cape Cod, spurred by plunging temperatures and fierce gale force winds, made national headlines this morning, November 26th, in USA Today. The story, with Sue Wieber Nourse’s picture above of a tiny live Kemp’s ridley from Linnell Landing in Brewster, appeared on Page Three of the national print edition and in the USA Today on-line newspaper. The article was researched and written by Emily Bazar and the photo was selected by Robin Smith. The story was titled “Endangered sea turtles killed by cold snap” and can be read by clicking on the title or on the photograph above.  We would have preferred, of course, “Endangered sea turtles rescued during cold snap,” but we don’t get to write the headlines. We do get to thank and congratulate Ms. Bazar and Ms. Smith for helping us raise awareness … which in turn saves lives.
Russell and Kerry Barton Find Loggerhead on Beach Patrol
The Bartons became regional celebrities as they appeared on the front page of the Cape Cod Times on Tuesday, November 25th. The story by Cape Cod Times reporter Patrick Cassidy and photographer Merrily Lunsford highlighted the Bartons in telling the tale of cold-stunned sea turtle strandings in their report, “Dozens of cold-stunned turtles wash up.” It can be read by clicking on the title or on the photograph above. Again, their great writing and compelling pictures will increase awareness in the region and if past is prologue, the article will lead to more endangered sea turtles being saved. Thanks to Mr. Cassidy and Ms. Lunsford, and of course to Russell and Kerry.
Earth’s axis tilted and the turtle world turned upside down this weekend. There’s no other explanation for the bizarre events that created reptile bedlam on Cape Cod. The evidence?  Oxymoronic “frozen tropical” sea turtles (greens, Kemp’s ridleys and loggerheads) wash ashore through icy slush and freezing sea water. A goofy two-year-old diamondback terrapin juvenile waltzes across Bridge Road in Eastham during the teeth of a snowy gale. And a fresh water painted turtle turns up frozen solid at high tide on a Cape Cod Bay beach in Truro! Sounds a bit like a Marx Brothers movie, Night at the Ocean (sic).
Brutal Wintry Conditions for Sea Turtle Patrols
Let’s begin at the beginning. There’s nothing so crazy as patrolling for tropical and semi-tropical sea turtles in a wintry wonderland. Saturday brought two inches of snow, icy roads and frozen beaches to the Outer Cape. Conditions for Saturday night’s sea turtle patrols proved the worst ever recorded by rescuers with wind chills tumbling below zero. Sea water froze and several feet of icy sludge formed between beach and breakers. Waves flash froze on the shoreline before they could retreat into the sea. Sand pebbles became near lethal projectiles propelled in our faces by gale force winds.
Frozen Wave with Cold-Stunned Kemp’s Ridley Sea Turtle
Yet, even in these conditions, turtles were recovered from the beach and some resilient ridleys came back from the brink. Bob Prescott, director of Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary and leader of the sea turtle rescue team, snatched a smallish Kemp’s ridley from the beach with its flippers frozen into place. “No hope for this one,” thought Bob as he returned home to get some rest and warmth. When he rose the next morning, Bob checked the ridley and noted that its frozen flippers had relaxed, but with no sign of life, the assumption was that it had simply come out of rigor mortis.  Bob breakfasted and geared up for the frigid morning ahead. As he gazed down at the turtle one last time, it winked back at him. Alive! (See video of this Kemp’s ridley below in the Sanctuary triage center as it prepares to go to Boston for medical treatment.)
Squid Flash Frozen by Wintry Storm
How cold was it Saturday night? Bob found a live squid that had been tossed onto the frozen beach by gale-force winds and towering breakers. Yet, by the time he reached his vehicle the animal had flash frozen. You can imagine the effect of those conditions on raw human skin when you remove your gloves to check a cold-stunned animal … or to take pictures for Turtle Journal. (ASIDE: Don still can’t feel anything on the tips of his thumbs and forefingers.)
60-Pound Cold-Stunned Loggerhead Washes Ashore
Morning high tide came at 8 am. Kerry and Russell, a couple from New Hampshire who are supporters of the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay, joined the Turtle Journal team for a sea turtle patrol of Brewster beaches from Breakwater in the west through Point of Rocks to Windslow Landing in the east. When you’re dressed for ski slopes or for scaling Mount Denali (McKinley) in Alaska, it’s really hard to think that you’re going out to search for tropical sea turtles. Nevertheless, about three quarters of a mile into the walk we saw a large object washing onto shore in the frigid surf.
Kerry & Russell Recover Loggerhead from Point of Rocks
A 60-pound loggerhead, the largest sea turtle so far in this stranding season, had beached at the Point of Rocks landing in Brewster. The location was very lucky for us, because if you haven’t had the opportunity to carry 60 pounds of awkward, dead-weight loggerhead a mile down a frozen beach, you haven’t lived.  We would protect the turtle from any additional hypothermia and return with a vehicle to the landing to bring it to the triage center in Wellfleet.
Loggerhead Covered with Dry Seaweed above High Tide Line
We followed sea turtle rescue procedures to a tee. We moved the loggerhead above the high water line, so that it wouldn’t get washed back out to sea. We actually placed it in the lee of a sand dune to block the blistering wind. We scoured the beach for dry seaweed and covered the turtle to prevent additional hypothermia now that it was out of the water.  We would have marked the spot with a gaudy object for a recovery team to retrieve if we weren’t coming back ourselves in a few minutes to load it into the Element for transport to the Sanctuary.
Kerry & Russell Find Cold-Stunned 6-Pound Kemp’s Ridley
But before we could get back to the warmth of the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, we had to finish our patrol. We still had about half a mile to go to reach our pre-positioned car at Winslow Landing. (You may recall from Tiny Kemp’s Ridley Rescued in Freezing Conditions that we try to plan these patrols so that we are always walking with out back to the wind. It helps to prevent two-legged cold-stunned mammal strandings!) Midway between Point of Rocks and Winslow, Russell and Kerry spotted a 6-pound Kemp’s ridley sea turtle lying on the beach just above a flash-frozen wave that never made it back into the sea. This ridley was in the same condition as Bob Prescott’s turtle from the night before; so, we always remain hopeful.
Kerry Examines Ridleys and Loggerhead in Triage Center
Back at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, we brought our turtles into the wet lab which serves as a triage center during stranding season. Sea turtles are dry-docked in a cool room while they are processed and examined. No turtle is considered beyond recovering until it has had ample opportunity … at least 24 hours … to show signs of life. Too many times people have given up these animals as dead when they later snapped back to life. As you may hear in the accompanying videos, these cold-stunned turtles have shut down to protect themselves with ever so slight heart rates at one to five beats a minute.
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtles from Saturday night, including Bob’s “miracle” turtle, were being boxed and prepared for the long drive from the Outer Cape to the New England Aquarium in Boston. Volunteers from New Hampshire had trekked down to Wellfleet to transport this precious cargo to emergency medical care and the start of rehabilitation. These volunteers had also experienced the adventure of sea turtle patrols as they had walked Ryder Beach in Truro in Saturday night’s impossible conditions.
Two-Year-Old Terrapin Juvenile Strolling in the Storm
Turning an unusual situation into the bizarre, we noticed a two-year-old diamondback terrapin juvenile in the wet lab. What? The story goes that a resident had spotted this wayward turtle crossing Bridge Road in Eastham during the weekend’s wintry gale. There are nursery salt marshes on both sides of Bridge Road and perhaps this little critter had become unearthed from its hibernaculum by blustery conditions. Still, the sight of a cold-blooded terrapin strolling down an ice and snow covered road in late November ranks up near the top of the Turtle Journal “Believe it or Not” Listing.
But it’s not at the top of the list, not even for this weekend’s strange string of events.
Frozen Painted Turtle Found on Truro Beach
Okay, here’s the really weird story of the day. Yes, Virginia, that is a fresh water painted turtle in the picture above and perhaps that gives away the punchline. The sanctuary received a call that a cold-stunned sea turtle had washed ashore at Corn Hill Beach in Truro. Emily, the sanctuary’s turtle intern, sped to the scene and diligently searched and re-searched and searched again the beach area where the sea turtle had been reported. She looked for a Kemp’s ridley or a loggerhead or a high pile of seaweed under which a turtle had been buried. No luck. Then, as frustration mounted, she spotted a small shell above the wrack line: a frozen painted turtle. We have NO IDEA what a fresh water turtle was doing on a salt water beach with no ponds or lakes or streams or creeks within hollering range.Â
Is it alive? We don’t make snap judgments about our reptilian friends. This painted turtle holds a privileged place in the wet lab triage center … just like the 60-pound loggerhead and the 6-pound Kemp’s ridley, waiting to tell us, in its own good time, whether or not it lies on this side of the live line.
Finally, the Turtle Journal team thanks Kerry & Russell and all supporters of the National Marine Life Center whose generous contributions have made a dream into a reality as the NMLC’s new marine animal hospital opens in Buzzards Bay next summer.Â
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:Â 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.
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.
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.Â
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.
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.Â
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).Â
What’s next to discover? Walk around the bend and see.
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.Â
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!
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.
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.
Sunny November Lures Terrapin Hatchlings into Deathtrap
In the Great White North we’ve enjoyed a long string of beautiful November weather. This normally overcast month has been sparked by sunshine and temperatures poking into the upper fifties. Clear skies allow dunes to bake under the sun, and while humans and seals and other warm blooded-critters savor the unexpected warmth, these unusual conditions lure diamondback terrapin hatchlings to their death. Twelve babies would have died on Monday if not for the serendipitous intervention of the Turtle Journal team.
Sunny November played a cruel trick on hatchlings over-wintering in late nests.  White sandy dunes absorbed days of sunshine, baking terrapin egg chambers buried several inches below ground.  Warm sand coaxed babies out of winter brumation, cuing these tiny hatchlings to tunnel for freedom.  In a normal overcast fall, without a long string of sunny November days, these hatched but unemerged babies would have slept in their nests until the first warm days of May. Cold-blooded turtles don’t “hibernate” like mammals, sleeping straight through the winter until springtime. Instead, these reptiles “brumate.” Although the two processes are similar, the difference can be critical if a bit subtle. Brumation is triggered by temperature alone and not by season of the year. A cold snap can drive turtles into summer brumation and a warm stretch in November or December can prompt reptiles to emerge from brumation … while hibernating mammals are snugly snoring away. For baby hatchlings, that tiny difference can be fatal … as it would have been on November 10th.
Confused Terrapin Hatchling Tracks
The Turtle Journal team had to split up on Monday. One half attended a board of trustees meeting, and the lucky half got to head into the field to adventure and to look for nature to happen. Pure serendipity brought Sue (the lucky half) to Sandy Neck in Barnstable for a stroll through the dunes along the salt marsh trail.  An early indication that something was surely amiss was finding hatchling tracks scattered across the dunes in confused patterns that seemed to circle and close on themselves. First, 10 November is NOT a day when one expects to see ANY terrapin tracks. But secondly, the confused patterns indicated that these hatchlings were in BIG trouble.
Cold-Stunned Terrapin Hatchlings Wander Blindly in Circles
Scouting the tracks, Sue soon found her first cold-stunned hatchling, stumbling across the dune, eyes blinded by the cold, wandering in circles. Once these hatchlings had emerged from their warmed nests, the stinging reality of cold November winds nearly flash froze their dreams of scrambling to freedom in the marsh. Their body temperatures dropped, they entered a walking stupor, and they were cold to the touch. Their eyes were closed and their limbs stiff. They crawled aimlessly until some just froze in place.
Wobbly, Blinded, Cold-Stunned Hatchlings Near Death
In all, Sue rescued twelve cold-stunned and nearly dead hatchlings. Unfortunately, she was too late to save two others that had already succumbed to hypothermia. Luckily, we have had extensive experience dealing with cold-stunned sea turtles and have successfully applied those techniques to their non-migratory marine brethren. Once out of the debilitating wind, rescued babies began to breath more easily and to relax their frozen muscles. A few opened their eyes as they rested in secure container for the ride back to the lab at Turtle Journal Headquarters.
We are always amazed at how resilient terrapins can be. Given a few hours of gradual, gentle warming and appropriate TLC, baby turtles that seemed within a whisper of death snapped back to playful liveliness. We understand only too well that these hatchlings may not be able to return to the wild until next spring. But their return to the salt marsh in May is a superior outcome to becoming crow bait in November.
Maze of Hatchling Tracks Leading Nowhere
One question we needed to assess was whether these cold-stunned hatchlings had newly emerged from a nest or had emerged sometime in the past, but decided to remain buried upland … as we have observed for some subset of hatchlings. Two key factors decided in favor of newly emerged nests. First, all the hatchling still sported an extremely sharp egg tooth, suggesting that they had recently pipped. Secondly, Sue back-tracked most of these hatchlings to emergence holes and nests.
Cold-Stunned Hatchling Collapses after Blind Wandering
November 10th sets a record for diamondback terrapin emergence within our research area. Yes, we have seen a single hatchling now and then in late fall, but never so many that clearly had emerged directly from their natal nest. The Turtle Journal team was lucky to be on hand to document the event and to save twelve hatchlings that had been tricked by a cruel November into a certain deathtrap.
