Busy Nights at Sandy Point Wildlife Refuge

Sea Turtle Biologists, Jacob Hill and Molly Clifford, collect data on a nesting leatherback sea turtle at dawn.

Nights at the Sandy Point Wildlife Preserve in St. Croix have been busy lately with lots of leatherback (Dermochelys coriacea)  nesting activities. Sea Turtle Biologists from Geographic Consulting have had quite a few nights with more than five nesting leatherbacks and  even one night with ten. Thus far in 2013, over 65 unique individual turtles have nested this year and most of them have returned to nest multiple times. Of those 65 individuals, 22 are not known to have nested before, and are considered “neophytes”, a female sea turtle nesting in her first reproductive season. (Although, it is possible some of them have lost her tags or switched nesting beaches.)

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Our 25 year old turtle has now nested a total of seven times and she seems to enjoy nesting in the early morning, making her a “dawn turtle“. So the whole turtle crew has had the opportunity  to see her a couple times during the sunrise. We have also been visited by a turtle that has been nesting on Sandy Point for 23 years and she has already returned two times this year.

Three green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) have been nesting ‘out of season’ on Sandy Point this year. All three have returned to nest at least three times each  and we have grown quite fond of them, especially a  tiny one, Miss Wheezy, who was named for all the noises she makes when nesting. It will be interesting to see how many more times we see them this season and if they continue to come during their actual nesting season.

Leatherback sea turtle eggs.

Keep checking back for more frequent turtle blogs and  updates from Sandy Point Wildlife Refuge. As always, feel free to contact us with questions

Courtney King