{"id":5153,"date":"2001-05-07T16:30:36","date_gmt":"2001-05-07T21:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=5153"},"modified":"2010-03-09T16:44:16","modified_gmt":"2010-03-09T21:44:16","slug":"frost-on-the-marsh-%e2%80%94-7-may-2001","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=5153","title":{"rendered":"Frost on the Marsh \u00e2\u20ac\u201d 7 May 2001"},"content":{"rendered":"

Unbelievable!\u00c2\u00a0 The thermometer outside Connemara Cottage read 30 degrees when I left for the dawn low tide.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only was the marsh laced with frost, but ice had to be scraped off the windshield.\u00c2\u00a0 Water temperature over the tidal flats dropped to 50\u00c2\u00b0F \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not a turtle friendly reading at all.<\/p>\n

\"05-07-1<\/a><\/p>\n

Panoramo of Low Tide Drained Blackfish Creek at Sunrise<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The wind was dead calm creating an ironing-board flat sea state.\u00c2\u00a0 Anything moving through the rip left a telltale wake \u00e2\u20ac\u201d anything.\u00c2\u00a0 And once the sun rose over Old Wharf Point, water visibility became perfect.\u00c2\u00a0 Horseshoe crab pairs by the dozens flowed through the channel, each leaving an identifying wake.\u00c2\u00a0 So, with some confidence, I can assert that no critter with the mass of a female terrapin passed through the rip during this tide.\u00c2\u00a0 It would have been impossible to slip through without detection.\u00c2\u00a0 Although slightly less assured, I think that few, if any, smaller male turtles moved through the channel.<\/p>\n

\"05-07-2<\/a><\/p>\n

Freezing Male Diamondback Terrapin #907<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The tide ebbed at 0613 and with nothing but horseshoe crabs stirring, I packed up my gear and prepared to wade back across the creek when I spotted two smallish wakes approaching the first drop.\u00c2\u00a0 Well, what could it hurt to check it out?\u00c2\u00a0 The first proved a spider crab edging its way over the rip.\u00c2\u00a0 The second, though, showed a raised keel and, sure enough, here came Terrapin 907.\u00c2\u00a0 He plopped over the rapids and drifted into my left hand.\u00c2\u00a0 Cold to the touch, he was very sluggish, withdrawn as far as he could inside his shell.<\/p>\n

One of the few \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mustached\u00e2\u20ac\u009d terrapins, #907 measures almost 12 centimeters long and weighs nearly 300 grams.\u00c2\u00a0 He was last spotted on 5 August last year swimming the morning tide through the rapids.\u00c2\u00a0 On release today, he basked for a goodly time in the morning sun before stretching his neck and ambling off back into the chilly creek.\u00c2\u00a0 I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll wager he wish he had \u00e2\u20ac\u0153put on\u00e2\u20ac\u009d one more blanket of ooze before drifting off to sleep last night.<\/p>\n

The Real Survivors<\/h2>\n

\"05-07-3<\/a><\/p>\n

Four Terrapins Captured on Afternoon Low Tide<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Bright sunshine warmed water temperatures in Blackfish Creek to 62 degrees by the afternoon tide, and lots of turtles were on the move.\u00c2\u00a0 A stiff southwesterly breeze replaced its northerly counterpart, yet still managed to kick up enough turbulence to obscure visibility.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite those adverse conditions, four terrapins were captured on the evening low.\u00c2\u00a0 Three were first timers and one was a repeat from last July 29th.\u00c2\u00a0 Two were males and two were females.<\/p>\n

\"05-07-4\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00c2\u00a0Male Terrapin #1060 with Exposed Bone in Left Forelimb<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The most interesting captures were #1060 and #1070, both of whom well represent my slogan for these extraordinary animals, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153The Timex critters \u00e2\u20ac\u201d They take a lickin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 and keep on tickin\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d\u00c2\u00a0 Terrapin 1060 was the first captured of the evening as he paddled through the rapids.\u00c2\u00a0 My attention was attracted by a shiny brightness where the sun reflected off an exposed bone on his left forelimb.\u00c2\u00a0 The wound looked somewhat fresh, as the joint had not yet been covered.\u00c2\u00a0 Number 1060 is the largest confirmed Wellfleet Bay male with a 13.7 centimeter carapace length and 370 grams weight.\u00c2\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"05-07-5\"<\/p>\n

Female Terrapin #1070 with Traumatic Injuries to Left Side<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Fifteen minutes later Terrapin 1070 was netted.\u00c2\u00a0 She is a 9-year-old mature terrapin who suffered a traumatic encounter in her distant past.\u00c2\u00a0 A large chunk of marginals on the left side and left rear foot are missing.\u00c2\u00a0 Despite this well-healed injury, #1070 at 17.5 centimeters and 928 grams is a well-nourished and perfectly normal pubescent female.<\/p>\n

On release, both ambled back to the creek and resumed a happy, healthy turtle life.\u00c2\u00a0 Now, these specimens are what I call real survivors, as opposed to Tinsel Town stand-ins.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Unbelievable!\u00c2\u00a0 The thermometer outside Connemara Cottage read 30 degrees when I left for the dawn low tide.\u00c2\u00a0 Not only was the marsh laced with frost, but ice had to be scraped off the windshield.\u00c2\u00a0 Water temperature over the tidal flats dropped to 50\u00c2\u00b0F \u00e2\u20ac\u201d not a turtle friendly reading at all. Panoramo of Low Tide […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","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\/5153"}],"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\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5153"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5153\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5164,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5153\/revisions\/5164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}