And So It Begins... 11-3-2018

It sure had been cold. Turtles started to wash up on Cape Cod earlier in the week. Heavy winds and rain were predicted for Friday night, the 2nd of November, so we decided to hit the beach at around high tide on Saturday morning. It was going to be mild but with the temps being so low during the week, we know sick turtles are out there. It's just a matter of time before they come in.

After driving for a couple of hours through some pretty heavy rain, we got to our beach at about 9 AM, 40 minutes after high tide. Ready or not, here we come.


I had hoped to have my bird count at 100 before stepping on the beach this Turtle Season but I was six shy of that. I quickly added a few shorebirds to the count. Then we saw loads of Gannets diving. Getting a photo was pretty hard but watching them was a blast.

Having never secured a photo of one, it is now Lifer #178, #98 on the year. (Still need a decent photo of one.)



It had been sprinkling off and on and it wasn't any problem but at about 3 miles out, it started just pouring and hailing and we were drenched instantly, despite our dressing for rain. Since we'd seen no turtles, we turned back with a mile left to go to the point. There was no point in getting sick first time out. Plus, we still had 3 miles to go back in this shit.


It eventually let up a little. Despite condensation on my camera lens, I got a usable shot of two Brants up on shore near us, securing #100 on the year.


We stopped by the sanctuary on the way back. Andrea, who was smart enough to bring dry clothes, wanted to change and we wanted to report that we had seen nothing on the beach. I was poking around, looking at displays and stuff in the gift shop. Then I heard Andrea's voice... she was talking to a man. Just who was this golden-voiced Lothario movin' in on my chick?

I turned the corner and was delighted to see that it was our good friend Tim. He was going to be checking on his transmitter-equipped Box Turtles and asked if we'd like to join him. Even though I was soaked to the skin, the answer was hell yes! Tim time plus turtles is my idea of a great afternoon.

Of his four outfitted turtles, two were already tucked in for the year but two remained up. I was surprised that any Box Turtles would still be up but Tim assured me that some are very stubborn. Sure enough, just inside the woods, we saw a gorgeous male up and alert.


I noticed a slight tunnel in some leaves and peeked in... there was another turtle in there. Tim wasn't sure if this guy was starting to brumate but he decided to get some measurements.


A third young lady was just 10 feet away.


After such a quick start, we didn't see any more turtles, but Tim found 2 of his transmitter turtles... one tucked in and another just about ready to; she hadn't moved for a while. We poked into a known brumation spot and Tim brushed some leaves and saw a shell... already down for the Winter.

He bet me a Mexican dinner that this is #22, but we wont be able to find out until May. That's fine with me. Now, I have no reason to doubt Tim's claim of this being #22 but I took the bet anyway. Worst case scenario... we have dinner with Tim and Kim, two wonderful people that I enjoy spending time with. And I pay.

So, no sea turtles, but a few Boxies, some friend time and my bird number goal. Not a bad day, though it would be quite some time before I got dry. (We left Tim while he looked for his other transmitter turtles... the chill was starting to get to us.)

With a threat of sun on Sunday, we might just have a decent overall weekend.