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Don Lewis, Massachusetts Audubon Society,
Fox Island Wildlife Management Area

The Ides in Ooze — Sunday 15 October 2000

Beware the Ides of October?  Nonsense.  The Land of Ooze embraces fall, tourist free, striper rich, and color full.  Requiting October reciprocated with a perfect autumnal bouquet this weekend.

While air temperatures ranged from 55 at sunrise to near 70 at sunset, water over the tidal flats held steadfastly to its chilly 12.5 Celsius.

After two days of mildness, several terrapins surfaced in this morning’s low tide parade.  One, Turtle 959, came late in the tide and was an easy hand-capture as she barreled through the rip.  A healthy 11-year-old female of 18.2 centimeters carapace length and a chunky 1140 grams, she seems well prepared for winter brumation.

As temperatures climbed, I thought the moment ripe to release the maturing hatchlings from Nest 177 discovered on 12 October.  They were bathed and warmed and maggot free, ready to join their siblings and cousins in the rich nursery habitat of the south Lieutenant Island marshes.  After release at the wrack line, they scurried ’neath patens cover and quickly disappeared from sight.

The mutts and I patrolled the shoreline in forlorn hope of finding a last nest of the season. 

[Let me digress for a moment.  If any colleague or correspondent thought they heard me, sometime in the past, say something along the lines of, “While we don't have a lot of data from which to extrapolate, limited evidence seems to indicate more Wellfleet hatchlings over-winter in nests than emerge directly upon hatching in the fall.” . . . if you mistakenly thought you heard such a statement, I can assure you that I couldn’t possibly have said it and urge you to consider a good eye, ear, and nose specialist.  Extensive field research this fall points to an overwhelming majority of hatchlings emerging rather than over-wintering in nests.  But before you mis-hear me again, I think I’ll wait until spring passes to actually say what you thought you just read.]

Nest 178 opened two-thirds up the west sandy slope of Turtle Point.  We had scoured this area yesterday and did not observe the opening.  Hand-excavation revealed 11 fresh egg shells from which hatchlings had emerged and escaped into the marsh.  As I gently lifted each fragment from the chamber, I detected that very familiar rustling in the sand.  At the absolute bottom of the nest, Hatchling 89 emerged rear first from her shell.

Weighing 4 grams and measuring 2.6 centimeters carapace length, she soon gained her footing, eager to join her siblings in freedom.  So the Land of Ooze was twice blessed by October’s Ides: great weather and great promise of good things to come for diamondback terrapins at the edge of their universe.