Hellllloooooooo trusty turtle bloggers,
Sorry this post is a little late reaching the net, but it’s been another busy morning none the less down at the Goatshed. As we prepare to say a very sorry farewell to Niall, an old returnee volunteer of at least 4-5 years who originally bargained for a two week stay after Robbo's wedding, turning into a 2 month stay, is sadly packing for his return home this evening. He has been backbone to the project and a brilliant mentor to the new volunteers arriving, and we all feel extremely sad to see this wonderful person leave.
However through the sadness comes a glimmer of hope, as we have and excavation on this evening. Last night 3 nests hatched, and the excavation will be held on our second bay of Alagadi. The nest is a green nest, being the female's first clutch of the season, although many hatchlings have already started their great adventure to the sea, we hope to find a few stragglers left behind.
An invitation goes out to everyone to come down to view the excavation, we meet at the Goatshed (HQ) for 5:30pm where we will take you down to the nest from there. May I remind you that no flash photography can be used during the excavation as not only does it potentially damage the eye sight of the hatchlings but will also show up the grubbiness of the volunteers!
If you are unable to make it down to our excavation this evening, do not fear we have plenty of nests still to hatch. If you would like to give us a call on the morning that you are hoping to see an excavation to see whether we have one on, please feel free to on: 05338798533.
We hope to see a good turnout tonight.
Collsy xxx
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Excavation Tonight & Weekly Update
Hello Bloggers!
I hope you've all had a great week and have been keeping an eye on all the activity going on here at the Alagadi Turtle Project.
EXCAVATION TONIGHT 6PM:
- Meet at the Turtle Project Base in Alagadi at 6pm
- Please no flash photography as this does tend to show up the dirt on the volunteers
- The excavation is open to all the public so please feel free to come along;the more the merrier!
- Please no dogs to be brought to the excavation
- Donations are greatly appreciated! - As the hatchling season gets into full swing we're all incredibly busy and with your help we can buy the essential equipment that we need in order to sustain our work here.
WEEKLY NEWS:
It's been another crazy week with both Alagadi 1 and Alagadi 2 having multiple activites during our night work. We've had 11 nests hatch as well as many Green females still coming to the beach to nest. There are obviously still Loggerheads in the area as we've had several Logger FCU's (Falso Crawl U-Turns) but we're yet to see one lay.
Watch this space bloggers, i'm sure the next phase of work is only just getting started so if you're interested in coming to one of our excavations or spending an evening/night with us, pop by our office 'The Goatshed' in Alagadi (follow the signs to Turtle Project) or give us a call on 009 0533 879 8533.
I hope you've all had a great week and have been keeping an eye on all the activity going on here at the Alagadi Turtle Project.
EXCAVATION TONIGHT 6PM:
- Meet at the Turtle Project Base in Alagadi at 6pm
- Please no flash photography as this does tend to show up the dirt on the volunteers
- The excavation is open to all the public so please feel free to come along;the more the merrier!
- Please no dogs to be brought to the excavation
- Donations are greatly appreciated! - As the hatchling season gets into full swing we're all incredibly busy and with your help we can buy the essential equipment that we need in order to sustain our work here.
WEEKLY NEWS:
It's been another crazy week with both Alagadi 1 and Alagadi 2 having multiple activites during our night work. We've had 11 nests hatch as well as many Green females still coming to the beach to nest. There are obviously still Loggerheads in the area as we've had several Logger FCU's (Falso Crawl U-Turns) but we're yet to see one lay.
Watch this space bloggers, i'm sure the next phase of work is only just getting started so if you're interested in coming to one of our excavations or spending an evening/night with us, pop by our office 'The Goatshed' in Alagadi (follow the signs to Turtle Project) or give us a call on 009 0533 879 8533.
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Public excavation 6pm tonight
Two more nests hatched last night over on our far beach, so meet us at the goatshed at 6pm to drive round in convoy to the Iki car park.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Second Public Excavation of the season - meet us at Goatshed at 5 PM!
Now that the ice has been broken, hatching season has been moving forwards non-stop. Four nests hatched last night, so it's going to be a busy afternoon!
Join us to see the hatchlings emerge from the sand, and book for next week if you want to see the releases. You can either book by calling 00905338798533, or by coming to the Goatshed. As we've said, we can only know wether we'll have any releases based on the night before, so ring us on on the day that you're coming to check.
Once again, we leave from the goatshed (it's only a short walk to the beach) at 5PM. Thanks and hope to see you tonight!
Turtle Project volunteers xx.
Join us to see the hatchlings emerge from the sand, and book for next week if you want to see the releases. You can either book by calling 00905338798533, or by coming to the Goatshed. As we've said, we can only know wether we'll have any releases based on the night before, so ring us on on the day that you're coming to check.
Once again, we leave from the goatshed (it's only a short walk to the beach) at 5PM. Thanks and hope to see you tonight!
Turtle Project volunteers xx.
Monday, July 25, 2011
Public excavation tonight - meet at Goatshed 6PM!
After a slow start, the hatching season seems to have finally kicked off. One green and one loggerhead nest hatched last night, meaning we can do our first public excavation of the season tonight.
Meet us at the Goatshed at 6PM to walk down to the nest site on Alagadi Beach. There we will dig up the remains of one of the nests that hatched last night and show you what we find inside. This will mainly be hatched egg fragments but usually also includes live hatchlings that didn't make it to the surface yet. Excavating the nests allows us to increase the number of hatchlings that make it to the sea in an attempt to boost numbers to combat other pressures such as fishing net entanglement of the adults. It also reduces predation, as a hatching nest can easily be located by stray dogs and foxes by the smell emerging from the sand with the first hatchings to come out.
Any live hatchlings that we do find in the nest will be kept until after dark for release when predation risk in the sea is lower. Please make a booking at the goatshed if you would like to see hatchlings released later in the week. We are currently booked up a few days in advance for nightwatch as we are still in the overlap period between laying and hatching. You are welcome to make a booking to see a hatchling release but we will not know until the day whether or not we will have any hatchlings to release, so please call back on the day of your booking to find out.
Thanks and see you later!
Meet us at the Goatshed at 6PM to walk down to the nest site on Alagadi Beach. There we will dig up the remains of one of the nests that hatched last night and show you what we find inside. This will mainly be hatched egg fragments but usually also includes live hatchlings that didn't make it to the surface yet. Excavating the nests allows us to increase the number of hatchlings that make it to the sea in an attempt to boost numbers to combat other pressures such as fishing net entanglement of the adults. It also reduces predation, as a hatching nest can easily be located by stray dogs and foxes by the smell emerging from the sand with the first hatchings to come out.
Any live hatchlings that we do find in the nest will be kept until after dark for release when predation risk in the sea is lower. Please make a booking at the goatshed if you would like to see hatchlings released later in the week. We are currently booked up a few days in advance for nightwatch as we are still in the overlap period between laying and hatching. You are welcome to make a booking to see a hatchling release but we will not know until the day whether or not we will have any hatchlings to release, so please call back on the day of your booking to find out.
Thanks and see you later!
Monday, July 18, 2011
52816 has today been inside the port of Latakia, Syria
This loggerhead turtle tracked from the west coast of Cyprus is now spending time in and around Latakia harbour, Syria.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Repeat radio interview on turtles and fisheries in Cyprus
Today at 19:00 you can listen live here: http://www.brtk.net/index.php?Itemid=2
Update on tracked turtles 2011
52816 has now hit the Syrian coast and is heading South.
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52816&full=1&lang=
52813 has laid her final clutch at Tatlisu and has bolted in the same direction as 52816.
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52813&full=1&lang=
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52816&full=1&lang=
52813 has laid her final clutch at Tatlisu and has bolted in the same direction as 52816.
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52813&full=1&lang=
Hello Bloggers!
So it’s been another busy week at the project, it seems many of the females have finally decided to come up to lay one last time and our sleeping patterns have felt the effects!
The week kicked off with a magnificent Green ‘dawnie’ that only ascended at 5am and stayed until 7! Brilliant for me as I won a can of cold drink for correctly guessing her descent time, and everyone got some great photos. She seemed to pass this message on to fellow females as we’ve had dawnie’s nearly every morning this week.
Sadly, a message from our volunteers up North relayed that one nest they’d found had been fully predated by what looked like a fox, the news of which hit us all hard at Alagadi seeing as a fox has also been spotted roaming the beaches here. Spirits remain high though with the anticipation of our first hatchlings as the laying season draws to a close. The Goat Shed is manic with 25 volunteers making cages for nests, notices for visitors and beach users, and generally promoting our work here which has been so well received by our recent visitors – Thank you!
Thanks goes to the stunning full moon on Thursday night for making our night work a stealth operation. Everyone was fully trained in the tuck-and-roll ‘SAS style,’ and following females became a covert operation. One particular Green that made four separate ascents onto Iki Beach was renamed ‘Scary Mary’ as it didn’t matter how far away we were or how little we moved, somehow her sixth sense kicked in and she failed to lay (despite a multitude of body pits).
Five new volunteers have joined the group at the Goat Shed, with some being trained next week to head out West to help with day work, as from the sounds of things they are swamped!
Watch this space as our first hatchlings will be any day now – we have five nests ring caged on Alagadi and one on Iki that are due to hatch soon and are being checked every night. Keep an eye out for our first hatchlings bloggers! We’re sure to put some photos up for you. Till next week – Rhi.
So it’s been another busy week at the project, it seems many of the females have finally decided to come up to lay one last time and our sleeping patterns have felt the effects!
The week kicked off with a magnificent Green ‘dawnie’ that only ascended at 5am and stayed until 7! Brilliant for me as I won a can of cold drink for correctly guessing her descent time, and everyone got some great photos. She seemed to pass this message on to fellow females as we’ve had dawnie’s nearly every morning this week.
Sadly, a message from our volunteers up North relayed that one nest they’d found had been fully predated by what looked like a fox, the news of which hit us all hard at Alagadi seeing as a fox has also been spotted roaming the beaches here. Spirits remain high though with the anticipation of our first hatchlings as the laying season draws to a close. The Goat Shed is manic with 25 volunteers making cages for nests, notices for visitors and beach users, and generally promoting our work here which has been so well received by our recent visitors – Thank you!
Thanks goes to the stunning full moon on Thursday night for making our night work a stealth operation. Everyone was fully trained in the tuck-and-roll ‘SAS style,’ and following females became a covert operation. One particular Green that made four separate ascents onto Iki Beach was renamed ‘Scary Mary’ as it didn’t matter how far away we were or how little we moved, somehow her sixth sense kicked in and she failed to lay (despite a multitude of body pits).
Five new volunteers have joined the group at the Goat Shed, with some being trained next week to head out West to help with day work, as from the sounds of things they are swamped!
Watch this space as our first hatchlings will be any day now – we have five nests ring caged on Alagadi and one on Iki that are due to hatch soon and are being checked every night. Keep an eye out for our first hatchlings bloggers! We’re sure to put some photos up for you. Till next week – Rhi.
Friday, July 15, 2011
Water Park Fundraising Event 23rd Aug, Lapethos Aquapark
A fund raising event is due to be held at Lapethos Aquapark on 23rd Augus. Tickets can be obtained from Chatteaux Lambousa market from this Saturday onwards.
Robin talks about fisheries conflicts relating to turtles in Cyprus on radio Bayrak International
Today at 19:00 you can listen live here: http://www.brtk.net/index.php?Itemid=2
or tune in to 87.8FM
or tune in to 87.8FM
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Loggerhead 52816 has left the island.....
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52816&full=1&lang=
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Update on satellite turtles
Our male green turtle who got more than he bargained for when we attached a satellite transmitter to him as he rode in up the beach on top of a nesting female, has left Alagadi and has been hanging out off Paphos international airport for the last week. Will he stay there to winter or move of to warmer waters when winter comes?
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52818&full=1&lang=
One of two female loggerheads has now left the Guzelyurt/Morphou bay area where she was tagged and has trekked across the north coast over the last 2 days and is now off Karpaz. Will she carry on East to Syria?
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52816&full=1&lang=
To keep up-to-date with these turtles and three other loggerheads, and to follow them to their wintering grounds, wherever in the Mediterranean these may be go to:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=635
To see tracks of turtles followed in 2010 go to:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=514
Tracks from 2009 turtles can be found here:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=397
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52818&full=1&lang=
One of two female loggerheads has now left the Guzelyurt/Morphou bay area where she was tagged and has trekked across the north coast over the last 2 days and is now off Karpaz. Will she carry on East to Syria?
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/index.shtml?tag_id=52816&full=1&lang=
To keep up-to-date with these turtles and three other loggerheads, and to follow them to their wintering grounds, wherever in the Mediterranean these may be go to:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=635
To see tracks of turtles followed in 2010 go to:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=514
Tracks from 2009 turtles can be found here:
http://www.seaturtle.org/tracking/?project_id=397
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Alagadi update
Hey bloggers!
Today we'll be giving you an update on the turtle nesting at Alagadi. We've just passed the midway point of our nesting season and we currently have 115 nests. Last season we totalled 123 nests so it looks like we are on the way to an impressive nesting season.
Of these 115 nests, 86 are from green turtles and 29 from loggerhead turtles; 23 of these greens and 1 of these loggers are first time nesters. The volunteers are being kept busy during their nightwork, as females seem to be synching their laying - we had 8 nesting at the same time during one night!
Our nightime nesting excursions are still occurring and will continue to until the end of the nesting season (early August). If you would like to join us, please drop by the Goatshed or give us a call on: 05338798533. Please note, we fill up quickly so book your night as soon as possible!
In the following weeks, volunteers will be writing little profiles to inform you about the individuals doing the hardwork of turtle conservation and research.
Until next time.
~JB
Today we'll be giving you an update on the turtle nesting at Alagadi. We've just passed the midway point of our nesting season and we currently have 115 nests. Last season we totalled 123 nests so it looks like we are on the way to an impressive nesting season.
Of these 115 nests, 86 are from green turtles and 29 from loggerhead turtles; 23 of these greens and 1 of these loggers are first time nesters. The volunteers are being kept busy during their nightwork, as females seem to be synching their laying - we had 8 nesting at the same time during one night!
Our nightime nesting excursions are still occurring and will continue to until the end of the nesting season (early August). If you would like to join us, please drop by the Goatshed or give us a call on: 05338798533. Please note, we fill up quickly so book your night as soon as possible!
In the following weeks, volunteers will be writing little profiles to inform you about the individuals doing the hardwork of turtle conservation and research.
Until next time.
~JB
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