Western Pond Turtle
Drawn by me. đ
Category: Science Education
End of Field Season
Writing this from Kevinâs house; we came straight here from Cobb, after breaking down our camp this morning. Yes, the 2011 field season has officially ended. We had a good night last night. Our first turtle of the year returned last night and laid a second nest â the first time weâve witness a double-clutch.
We had another turtle out of the water, but by the time 240 had finished, the other one still hadnât started nesting. She was WAY the hell out in the far meadow, almost to Sandyâs house, and Nick decided that we wouldnât worry about trying to find her nest. Instead, we went out at 7 this morning, and were able to find her, but not the nest (not a lot of effort was put into it, but itâs not like we actually needed more eggs this year). So, we processed the nest from last night, had breakfast at the Three Broomsticks, and then went back to Jellystone to break camp. We were out of there before 10, and made good time to San Ramon, arriving just after noon. Oh, there was one bit of excitement this morning. One of the workers at Jellystone asked if any of us knew about birds, so of course I said yes. Turns out they had an injured bird, and werenât sure what to do. I told him to bring it over. I was a pileated woodpecker, maybe with a broken neck, but it was definitely still alive and kicking. So, arranged for Katie to take it to the Songbird Hospital; I hope he will survive! That would be a happy story.
I also have some homework for Jellystone. They asked us to put together some information on the plants and wildlife around the campgrounds, and I agreed to work on that. Iâm sure I can get someone else to help, maybe Nicole. Although what we really need is a botanist. I can do birds and animals, but I donât know much at all about the plants. In any case, It will be fun, I hope, and will make the staff at the park happy. They weâre good to us this season, so I donât mind doing them this little favor. Plus Nick will appreciate the effort, too.
Mostly, I had a great time up there. Didnât really feel sad to go this time, though. Not like when we left last week. Probably because weâd been up there a whole week this time, and also the turtle activity had slowed way down. It just wasnât as exciting as it was last week. It was a fantastic field season, though. According to Nick, the best one ever. We certainly got loads and loads of great data.
Turtle Release
Released the turtles from the San Francisco Zoo today, and it was a lot of fun. I kind of love wading out into the middle of the lake. Not sure why it doesnât scare me like a regular lake would, maybe because itâs not open water. Today we got a later start than last week, and also had to get final weights and measurements on the babies, plus renotching a few of them, so we didnât get to the site until about 1:30. Still was fun, though. Hoping that tonight will be an active night out at the lake, and we get some new nests. Itâs been a bit boring with how slow it got up here because of the rain. Although last night we did make one super cool discovery. Our first turtle this year, #240, was recaptured yesterday, gravid. This is the first time weâve seen proof of a double clutch in one season, which I thought was pretty neat.
(Continued from earlier). Another cool event at tonightâs shift. We got a nest from turtle #70, whom I believe was the very first turtle captured and notched by SSU up at this site. Sheâs still alive and kicking! Literally! She kicked me several times, the little grump. Okay, so I can hardly blame her. We grabbed her and prodded her a lot, and opened up her nest. Hopefully no harm was done, though. She was adorable. I took a photo with her because I thought it was super cool to have found her again.
Feeling a bit conflicted about the end of the field season. Iâll be glad to be home, sleeping in my own bed, having some time to sit around the house and do nothing. But I am going to miss this place, and my little turtle-ee-os. I will be back again this summer, when I come up to help Nicole collect the eggs that will be hatched in our lab and head-started. But still. I kinda love turtle season. Then again, probably a good thing to leave before I get really tired of it. This way Iâll be looking forward to next year.
I think Iâm going to head to bed now. Itâs not that late yet, but I havenât been sleeping through the nights. Last night, I got woken up at 4:30 by a skunk going through the trash bag next to my tent. It was actually pretty cute. I knew it was a skunk because I could see the silhouette of its tail through the side of my tent. Like a puffy feather. I eventually had to put in earplugs to get back to sleep,
Okay. Nighty night! More turtling tomorrow.
June 29th
Another cold day up on Cobb Mountain. Only rained a little bit last night, and we were cozy and warm and dry in our tent. Today, itâs too cold to really do much field work, so Iâve spent most of the day in the Rec room, reading fanfic and doodling around on my iPad. We will go out for a four oâclock walkthrough, and maybe a couple of later ones as well, but I doubt there will be much turtle activity. So, another sort of long and boring day. I guess this is the dark side of field work, mwahahahahahaa! This might be the way the season ends â with a whimper, rather than a bang. Then again, if it warms up in the next day or two, we might get one more wave of turtles before we pack up our field camp on July 3rd. So, weâll see. Itâs been a successful season already, one way or another.
More tomorrow, unless Iâm too busy and forget. Weâre releasing more baby turtles tomorrow, which should be awesome, assuming the weather warms up a bit.
June 28th
Rainy day at the field site. Boring and cold. Had a good conversation with Nicole, but the day was kinda long without spending a chunk of it chasing turtles. We did go out for an afternoon walkthrough, though, and found a couple of awesome king snakes (see below). Hopefully it will clear up â and warm up â by tomorrow. Iâm cold, and I donât really like it. Might even sleep here in the rec room tonight, since it will be warmer. Not sure how comfy it would be on the floor, though, even with my thermarest.
Yesterday was a good day at the field site. Five turtles out of the water, and I think people were having a good time. Had a bit of a hassle with a telemetry turtle who couldnât be located after nesting, even though we searched for an hour in the dark. Amazingly, we found her late this morning, though. Weâve already had a good season, so if it slows down now because of the rain, thatâs okay. I would just like for the weather to get a bit warmer than it is now. It is weird to be getting rain at this time of the year. Then again, weather everywhere is screwy. And people still doubt that climate change is real?
Right now, Iâm exhausted and really just biding my time until I can go to bed. Which might actually happen in about half an hour.
June 23
Yesterday was a good day at the field site. I conquered my fear of the tree blind â I sat in it for about an hour and a half, watching turtles. I can now get in and out without any hesitation, and being up in the tree doesnât make me feel sick to my stomach. I actually really like it now. Working on my fear of heights, one tree at a time. đ
Read more June 21st
Still at the field site. Just found out this morning that the Oakland Zooâs turtle release is happening on Thursday, so we decided to just stay up here a couple of extra days, instead of driving back today and back again on Thursday. Plus, there should be plenty of turtle stuff to do. We found eleven turtles out of the water last night, which I think is the most any team has ever found in a single day. Pretty cool, especially since there were just three of us â me, Kristi, and my son, and he wasnât working the whole time.
Tonight we have a big team, so I wouldnât be surprised if we find even more. Yay turtles! Other than that, not much to report. Itâs kind of quiet up here, so itâs not like I have a lot of adventures to detail. Well, I guess I could give more details about the turtle research.
Last night, most of the turtles we found were in the small meadow, but my son and I found one really exciting turtle in the far wooded meadow. Earlier in the day, I had removed an exclosure from one of last yearâs nests, thinking that it would be good to get it out of the way in case another turtle, or even the same one, wanted to nest there. Guess what? We found a turtle nesting less than one foot away from the old nest. I donât know yet if it was the same turtle, but if it is that is really exciting.
The other cool thing is that we found the turtle right after she finished nesting, so we didnât have to wait around for her to finish. I love that turtle. #228. Bless her heart. Turtles are awfully cute.
In other news, my son and I held a king snake today, caught by Erika. Super cute! My son wants to get a snake as a pet, and Iâm thinking about agreeing to that one. Oh, and I have lost the cables and charger for the field camera. That does not make me happy. I hope they turn up soon. Weâre off to the field site in a few minutes, so I think Iâll call this one a wrap. Is that how they say it in Hollywood?
Cobb Mountain
Up in Lake County today, drove up with my son this afternoon. The weather is beautiful here, cooler than back at home, I think, which is good. Itâs starting to get a bit warm for me. Apparently, there have been turtles galore over the past few days, so we should be busy at the field site this afternoon. Which is good, it will make the time pass quickly. I just hope we donât end up being out there until some ridiculously late hour tonight. Weâll see.
Watched a pair of orioles chase away a crow. They must have a nest right near our campsite. The orioles are absolutely gorgeous, orange and yellow and black.
Will be off to the field site shortly, so I guess Iâll wrap this up. Feeling a bit out of sorts . . . hopefully being out with the turtles will cheer me up.
Here are a few photos from the first couple of weeks of the field season, including a Banana Slug Club pic. đ
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Student Helps Songbirds Take Flight
Originally posted in the Sonoma State Star; reproduced here in its entirety as it is no longer available on the newspaperâs website. (Archival information here:Â http://library.sonoma.edu/specialcollections/ssuarchives/studentnewspaper/student-helps-songbirds-take-flight).
By Ronald Pierce
When Sonoma State University senior Wendy St. John is not playing video games or spending time with her son, she volunteers her time at The Songbird Hospital (SBH) based in Sebastopol, CA.
St. John, a biology major focusing on ecology and evolutionary biology, began volunteering at the SBH two years ago for director Veronica Bowers, who runs the SBH on her home property. The organization operates on the US Fish and Wildlife and California Department of Fish and Game licenses of Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue.
Read moreWestern Section Poster
Me and Nicole Christie, coauthors on âTiming of Nesting and Nest Site Selection in a Northern California Population of Western Pond Turtles (Emys marmorata),â presented at the Annual Meeting of the Western Section of The Wildlife Society, in Riverside, California.
