Stepping into the Second Season. Nov. 10th and 16th.

Back to the beach for us. Winds and temperatures were making it look like turtles would start washing in so we made an effort to be on the Cape, on our big beach at first light on Sunday, November 10th. We made it. It was going to be pretty warm but winds had been blowing and maybe some knuckleheads would wash up. At any rate, we needed desperately to do the walk, to get ourselves into shape for the season.

The beach was quiet when we got there (6 AM), the water tranquil.

We pretty much knew right away that we'd not see turtles in need, but we welcomed the walk and did a little birding.

It was pretty uneventful the whole way out. We went to the very tip, roughly 4 miles out.


It was out there that we finally saw our first seal of the year, a Gray.


Here's a cute Semipalmated Plover (#97).


As expected, we saw no turtles, even though the high tide was coming in as we walked back. One Kemp's was found on this beach later in the day (in the opposite direction) and luckily, somebody was there to rescue it.

The next weekend followed a week of very cold temperatures and wild winds. Turtles started coming in on Wednesday and many volunteers were  beckoned to walk during the high tides. We didn't get a call, as we live off-Cape, and we don't expect to get many this year. But we told them we'd be at our island at first light again, which would be at low tide.

It was a hell of a lot colder this Saturday morning than the previous week and very very windy. The low-tide made things tough as we had to scan the sand flats that were exposed. The enlarged shoreline presented a few challenges. I was looking for a dinner-plate sized turtle among a maze of rocks and seaweed.


We couldn't tell where the high tide had reached (at 1 AM during the night)... I thought it hadn't reached very high, as I could see the night-walker's return footprints down by the shoreline. But Andrea stubbornly stayed up higher. As it's good she did. Almost to the point, she yelled "turtle!"

I ran up and she'd found this stranded fella, obviously missed during the high-tide walk.

Now, we'd never seen a Green on our walks before so we knew this guy looked a little different, but couldn't comfortably call "lifer", especially since it showed no signs of life. We called him in and covered him up before continuing on. We were almost there.


As we neared the end, Gray Seals started to spy on us.


Almost there, Andrea stopped and urged me to look at the point... it was covered with seals!


Obviously, despite their curiosity, they got into the water, but stayed very close as Andrea walked by.

There must have been 60 or so seals out there!

They followed Andrea for a while as she started back.


We were asked to retrieve the turtle and bring it back to base, so since I'd neglected to bring a towel, I secured it in my backpack to keep it out of the wind. I put a heavy rock on the sled so the wind wouldn't blow it over. Dead or not, you have to treat them like they're alive.


I'm not going to lie... the walk back was pure hell. The heavy wind was right in our faces and the turtle/ rock combo was making me really work. I could feel the damn plate in my arm as I pulled the sled. We struggled up the eroding, sandy dune and got to the car, windburned, muttering that perhaps we really are getting too old for this. But we had a turtle, so we had to do it.

We got him back to the sanctuary, laid him out and had it confirmed that yes, it was a Green Turtle, the first that we'd ever seen on our walks. The "pinhead" is our new diagnostic for these guys.

Best of all, it had shown a little response to some testing... I even got a slight blink as I wiped some sand from it's eye (a test that had yielded nothing on the beach). It was alive. Barely, but it was alive.

There were no other turtles there as a batch had been taken to the aquarium at 9 AM. (It was now about 10:45 AM). Wait a minute... there was one other turtle there... a poor Diamondback Terrapin whose hibernation had been interrupted by somebody gardening!! He was not in a good mood.


Since the next turtle delivery to the aquarium wouldn't be leaving until 2 PM, and high-tide would be at 1:30, no more turtles would be going up on the day. We said we'd be happy to take this one to the aquarium on the way, since we actually pass the place on the way home. Calls were made, it was approved and we had our first turtle in the new car.


We kept it as close to 55° for the next 90 miles and dropped him off. Less than 5 hours from beach to aquarium. We don't know if he'll survive but we gave it our best shot. And now the new car has been properly sanded and still smells a bit like turtle. It's all good.

Getting Ready for Bed, 11-2-2019

Andrea and I had been wondering if everyone was back to their den sites since the nighttime temps were scraping the freezing mark these days. So, since we had just a little time before an afternoon band thing, we went to our local stomping grounds to check out the known den areas.

On the way, we saw a Redback under a rock. No frost yet, so this was still possible.


We got into the Valley of Nerodia and Andrea spotted a namesake snake... a gorgeous (if a bit dusty) Northern Water Snake stretching out in the sun. It was only about 45° but the sun was obviously warm enough.

Beautiful snake, easily 3 feet long. A yard of Nerodia.

The Cottonwood Den had a heartbreaking sight waiting for us... the very tree for which the den is named, a huge Cottonwood introduced to us by our friend Andrew, had fallen.

This tree was our signpost, our beacon in the woods to alert us to the Cottonwood Den that Andrew had introduced us to, a den site that usually delivers a stubborn Garter or two.

Undeterred by the fallen tree, this little Garter was sunning outside its hibernaculum.


On the way to the Rock Wall Den, we encountered another plump Redback.


The Rock Wall Den didn't show us anything until we were leaving to head back. This slim Garter was poking around in front of it.

That scale in front of the eye almost had me thinking we'd seen a Ribbon!

Heading out, we looked in on the Water Snake, who was following the sun. Just beyond Sly's Den (which has been empty for a few years now), this Garter was deciding whether or not to return to the underground.


Lastly, up at Roble's Den, this slim Garter was grabbing some last minute rays.


So, we had answered our question. Yes, snakes are all back to their Winter digs and will be there for the next 5 months or so. On sunny days, we will probably visit them until the Spring but our usual hikes have ended for the year.

Besides, we're back on the beach on Sunday.