This was a big week! Following months of planning, I launched the crowdfunding campaign for this project after completing the associated video. I'm happy to report that $100 have been raised so far, but this is a small fraction of the goal. More help is needed to reach a larger audience of supporters. Please visit our GoFundMe page to watch the video and consider making a donation. Sharing the GoFundMe link (gf.me/u/ygrcpp) on social media or by any other means is critical for increasing donations, which will allow these surveys to continue and expand to other locations. We're also very eager to purchase litter removal supplies and get started on that component of the project. Any help is greatly appreciated!
Before launching the campaign this week we also completed our regular weekly survey, during which we documented 37 additional turtle nests that had been dug up by predators. We saw what appeared to be raccoon tracks at one of the freshly depredated nests. There was also another road-killed muskrat (the third this season), and another four road-killed birds. Birds included a swallow, a goldfinch, and two that were not in a condition that allowed us to determine species. Once again, we found no newly road-killed terrapins. It's possible that nesting is winding down as we approach the end of July. There may be a lull in activity before hatchlings begin to emerge later this summer.
We also observed three live terrapins floating around in a creek within the saltmarsh, where they're typically seen. After this, we were surprised to count at least 24 terrapins swimming around in another location. This is the most I've ever seen at one time. These appeared to be smaller, perhaps juveniles, and also seemed to be busy. Their heads would pop up from time to time. Motion on the water's surface may have been the result of turtles swimming below, or may have been caused by some type of prey they were after. The first photo below shows the creek where these terrapins were seen. In the photo below that, you can see the many turtle heads poking out of the water (this photo is blurry because zooming in on my iPhone was the only way to capture a photo in which the turtles could be distinguished).
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