Tallying Up the 2015 Terrapin Nesting Season

Arms full of terrapins (photo by Rebecca Shoer)

The season got off to a rocky start.  Eighty-eight individual terrapins were discovered in Wellfleet Bay this spring suffering from cold stun symptoms.  The majority of these turtles were adult females, and though only about half of them died we doubted that the remaining females would be able to lay nests this year.  As such, we expected to see anywhere from 70 to 150 fewer nests at our monitored sites.

Happily, we did not see a significant decrease in the number of protected nests this year. We protected a total 364 nests in Indian Neck, Old Wharf Road, Lieutenant Island, the Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, the White’s Lane Conservation Area, and the town of Eastham.  We’ve released over 2,700 hatchlings from these nests into the wild, though we still have a few that haven’t hatched yet!

Our tiniest terrapin named “Alex” poses with namesake Alexandrite ring belonging to turtle staffer Leah Desrochers (photo by Karen Strauss)

The 2015 season also featured a number of unique nests and hatchlings.  On September 5^th a nest hatched with the smallest hatchling ever found, weighing in at just 1.6 grams—that’s less than a dime!  In all likelihood, this hatchling (dubbed Alex) and another of its siblings were twins.  The miniature hatchling was healthy and active, so after a brief stay in the Nature Center it was released into the wild.  We hope that its small size will help it hide from predators!

We also had a number of “miracle nests” this year.  One of these was a human-dug nest, created after six eggs were found scattered along the main road of Lieutenant Island.  Female terrapins may drop their eggs if they are extremely stressed—it’s likely the female was fleeing a car or predator and abandoned her clutch.  The six eggs were placed in a nest, and 67 days later 4 healthy hatchlings emerged!  Our other “miracle nests” were rescued from female terrapins that were struck by cars during the nesting season.  Although the females did not survive, we hope that their genes will live on in their hatchlings.

A big nest! (photo by Rebecca Shoer)

Finally, our largest nest this year had 19 eggs and 19 healthy hatchlings!  Terrapins typically lay about 12 eggs, so it’s likely that this nest was laid by a quite large and old female.  Our oldest identified female this year is most likely in her thirties!

Although our terrapins had to deal with a late spring and a hot, dry summer, we had a very successful nesting season.  Through the dedication of our 80 volunteers who helped check every single nest twice every single day, we continue to support the local population of this rare and unique creature!

Neither heat nor high water stops our terrapin teams (photo by Karen Strauss)