Turtle Journal

Handful of Hatchlings

Hurricane Irene stormed into New England on Saturday night and Sunday.  Before its arrival, the Turtle Journal team harvested diamondback terrapin nests vulnerable to the forecast storm surge.  Each nest was carefully excavated.  Eggs were transferred to sand-filled buckets that were moved to the sunroom incubator at Turtle Journal Central.

Hurricane Irene Sweeps through Sippican Harbor

As Hurricane Irene approached and as the barometer plunged, hatchlings tunneled to the surface of their bucket nests.  They circled and waited, never noticing the 70 mph gusts, never hearing the limbs crashing around them, unconcerned that electricity and modernity disappeared in the intensity of the storm.  They simply waited for release.

Sue Wieber Nourse Documents Release

On Monday after the storm passed, the Turtle Journal team returned fifty hatchlings to Turtle Point on Lieutenant Island in South Wellfleet on Outer Cape Cod.  Placed at the tip of Turtle Point, hatchlings scrambled in every direction looking for the cover and safety of vegetation.

Terrapin Hatchlings Scramble to Safety

One hundred ten more hatchling were released on Thursday, and several dozen that have emerged overnight will see freedom on Saturday morning.  Nothing like a tropical storm to kick the diamondback terrapin hatching season into high gear!

“Cape Abilities” Protects Diamondback Terrapin Nests

Diamondback Terrapin Hatchling Emerges

The full Turtle Journal team hit the field this Saturday morning to check for hatching diamondback terrapins and stumbled across a most awe-inspiring moment:  the miracle of birth.

Sue Wieber Nourse & Rufus on Patrol

Sue Wieber Nourse, the one with the clip board, and Rufus Wieber Lewis, the four legged researcher with red hair and pink tongue, patrolled Lieutenant Island’s Marsh Road and Turtle Point for signs of emerging nests.  At the high dune of Turtle Point, the team discovered several nests on the cusp of “pipping.”  In one nest, three of the babies were advanced enough to be born in front of our video cameras.

Witness the Awe-Inspiring Miracle of Birth

First Diamondback Terrapin Hatchling of 2011

We didn’t have to wait 48 hours; we didn’t have to wait 24 hours for the first 2011 terrapin hatchling to emerge.  This afternoon, shortly after we discovered a pipped egg in Nest 368 (see posting immediately below), we found a hatchling near the bottom of the nest that was scratching its way to freedom.

Terrapin Hatchling Emerges to Freedom

Hatchlings use their temporary egg tooth to pierce the hard shell.  Once a hole has been cut through the egg, the hatchling widens the opening with its sharp and strong claws.  About four to five days after the egg is “pipped,” the hatchling has absorbed its large yolk sac sufficiently to emerge from the egg, tunnel to the surface and scramble to the safety of vegetation.

The 2011 Terrapin Hatchling Season Begins

This hatchling has ripped its shell apart and has managed to squiggle free.  It will shortly be released into its native salt marsh nursery habitat south of Lieutenant Island in Wellfleet on Outer Cape Cod.  In the next few days, hatchlings will begin emerging from nests throughout Southeastern Massachusetts.  Keep a sharp eye to the ground and let Turtle Journal know if you discover hatchlings emerging at our 508-274-5108 hotline.

Diamondback Terrapin Egg Initial “Pip”

A diamondback terrapin hatchling pecked a tiny hole in its egg about 1 pm this afternoon, August 19th, after 63 days of incubation.  This egg came from a nest deposited on June 17th inside a slate stone walkway off Lieutenant Island’s Marsh Road and relocated to Turtle Point for safety.  Turtle hatchlings are equipped with a tiny sharp egg tooth that they use to “pip” through the egg shell.  Once the shell is pierced, they use their sharp and powerful claws to rip open the egg.  The process from initial “pipping” until emergence can take from four to five days, during which time hatchlings are extremely vulnerable to predators from insects to raccoons.

Turtle Journal expects to see our first emerged hatchling of the season within the next 24 to 48 hours.