Newsletter December 2012
The Hawksbill breeding season is going well since our first turtle visit way back in September last year. To date 289 nests recorded by the end of December.
Most of the nests this season are concentrated from the southern end of the island along the west coast and the north east. Very few turtles came up on the east coast due to the abundance of drift wood on the beach.
Our first ever turtle tagged in 1995 was back again this year. See her history
| ISLAND | SPECIES | DATE | TAGS | BEACH | TAGGED BY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bird | Hawksbill | 27th Nov 1995 | E1703, E1704 | DE | Jeanne Mortimer |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 29th Nov 1995 | E1703, E1704 | EF | George Norah |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 26th Nov 1998 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | FG | Serge Robert |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 25th Dec 1998 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | DE | Marie-France Savy |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 9th Jan 1999 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | BC | Marie-France Savy |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 16th Oct 2001 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | FG | Steven Barbe |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 3rd Nov 2001 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | EF | Cecile Marcel |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 19th Nov 2001 | E1703, E1704 SEY2591, SEY2592 | CD | Steven Barbe |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 3rd Dec 2001 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | CD | Serge Robert |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 1st Dec 2003 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | AB | RM Vinda |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 25th Oct 2006 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | CD | Roby Bresson |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 18th Nov 2010 | E1704, SEY2591, SEY2592 | AB | Roby Bresson |
| Bird | Hawksbill | 3rd Dec 2010 | E1703, E1704, SEY2591 | BC | Roby Bresson |
Another one tagged in 1997 also made her way back in November. She has been seen 19 times since she was first tagged.
The land crabs are the main predators to the nests and hatchlings. An alarming proportion of eggs and hatchlings are destroyed by them during the course of the season.
We can partly improve the situation by either culling the crabs or remove the eggs and incubate them in a different environment. The former would be a better solution.
Turtles lay all around the island where sand composition and temperature varies, resulting in proportional hatching of males or females turtles depending on the nest temperature. Relocating eggs in polystyrene boxes or in plastic buckets for incubation in a confined environment is a bit risky. You could end up with too many males or visa versa. Unless we are sure at what stage the sex is determined, then it should be no problem safeguarding the eggs in boxes. Dr Mortimer is visiting next week and this issue will be discussed.
The Green turtle breeding since July last year has been the best so far on Bird, with 108 nests and 9 new turtles. The average number of nest since the beginning of the project is around 45 to 50 per season.
BIRD NEWS
We are pleased to include the list of migrants and waders provided by John and Viv during their stay on Bird in November