{"id":11373,"date":"2012-07-02T13:17:33","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T18:17:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=11373"},"modified":"2012-07-02T13:17:33","modified_gmt":"2012-07-02T18:17:33","slug":"rare-turtle-nests-at-tabors-schaefer-lab","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=11373","title":{"rendered":"Rare Turtle Nests at Tabor’s Schaefer Lab"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Sue Wieber Nourse Examines Terrapin @ Schaefer Lab Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Turtle Journal’s Sue Wieber Nourse discovered a beautiful diamondback terrapin nesting on the beach\u00c2\u00a0at Tabor Academy’s Schaefer Lab off Sippican Harbor\u00c2\u00a0in Marion, Massachusetts on this morning’s high tide.\u00c2\u00a0 A large female, she measured\u00c2\u00a08 1\/2 inches long and weighed 3 pounds 2 ounces after laying a 5 ounce clutch of eggs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Female Diamondback Terrapin Nesting @ Schaefer Lab<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Wieber Nourse, as former director of the Schaefer Oceanonolgy Lab and inaugural holder of the Jaeger Chair for Marine Studies at Tabor Academy, had documented the presence of rare diamondback terrapins in Sippican Harbor with her advanced marine science students under a major grant from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation.\u00c2\u00a0 See the Boston Globe article of December 7th, 2003: Students Follow Clues to Rare Turtle<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Also see\u00c2\u00a0the New Bedford Standard-Times report\u00c2\u00a0of September 17, 2004:\u00c2\u00a0 Rare Terrapins Come Out of Their Shells<\/a>.\u00c2\u00a0 Diamondback terrapins are a protected species in Massachusetts where they are listed as threatened.\u00c2\u00a0 Their existence in Sippican Harbor had not been known before Wieber Nourse launched her hands-on,\u00c2\u00a0original research project at Tabor, a groundbreaking study at the secondary school level.\u00c2\u00a0 Now, with Turtle Journal, she works to restore the at risk population of terrapins that she and her students found in Sippican Harbor.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Rare Terrapin Nesting Among Summer Obstacles<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Coming ashore on the morning tide, this protected female first had to scale a concrete barrier installed at the beach edge (see top left).\u00c2\u00a0 After climbing this obstacle, she had to zigzag among inflatable rafts, kayaks and canoes piled on\u00c2\u00a0formerly documented\u00c2\u00a0nesting sands.\u00c2\u00a0\u00c2\u00a0Beyond the watercraft maze, the female\u00c2\u00a0terrapin had to negotiate her path\u00c2\u00a0around a fire pit to locate a nesting spot\u00c2\u00a0within proximity of her natal site.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/object><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0Rare Protected Turtle Nests @ Tabor’s Schaefer Lab<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

When Sue came across this turtle, she was well into the nesting ritual, offering a great opportunity for Wieber Nourse to document the process for Turtle Journal.\u00c2\u00a0 Once egg laying had finished and the terrapin had begun to cover, Sue was able to move in closer to record the unique way that turtles meticulously bury and disguise their nests.\u00c2\u00a0 Without eyesight, they depend exclusively on their rear limbs\u00c2\u00a0that move with the delicacy of a Gheisha’s hands\u00c2\u00a0to emplace and then cover their eggs.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

12\u00c2\u00a0Rare Diamondback Terrapin Eggs @ Schaefer Lab<\/strong><\/p>\n

This large female had deposited 12 perfect eggs in the nest, each weighing about half an ounce and measuring 1.5 inches long and almost an inch in diameter.\u00c2\u00a0 Because of heavy activity at this beach during summer months, the eggs were harvested and relocated to a safe turtle garden to incubate.\u00c2\u00a0 Once hatchlings emerge in September, they will be returned for release to the nursery salt marsh abutting Schaefer Lab.\u00c2\u00a0 These babies will\u00c2\u00a0renew the cycle of life and restore the threatened terrapin population in Sippican Harbor that\u00c2\u00a0had been on the verge of extirpation before Wieber Nourse launched her successful research efforts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sue Wieber Nourse Examines Terrapin @ Schaefer Lab Beach Turtle Journal’s Sue Wieber Nourse discovered a beautiful diamondback terrapin nesting on the beach\u00c2\u00a0at Tabor Academy’s Schaefer Lab off Sippican Harbor\u00c2\u00a0in Marion, Massachusetts on this morning’s high tide.\u00c2\u00a0 A large female, she measured\u00c2\u00a08 1\/2 inches long and weighed 3 pounds 2 ounces after laying a 5 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11373"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11373"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11405,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11373\/revisions\/11405"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}