Volunteers watch for sea turtles on Cape Cod beaches in the fall

November 6, 9:53 AMCape Cod Travel ExaminerDawn M Smith

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Cold-stunned oggerhead sea turtles may strand on Cape Cod Bay beaches in fall

Fall is serious beach walking season for a group of volunteers from Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary. They’re looking for sea turtles. But this is not for fun. Cold stunned sea turtles may begin showing up on Cape Cod beaches around Halloween, with November and December being the busy months. The first real cold snap of the year often brings cold stunned sea turtles to Cape Cod Bay beaches.

Beach walks save cold stunned endangered sea turtles
Unlike the beach counts and nest monitoring programs for diamond back terrapins on Cape Cod, this fall beach survey is looking for cold stunned Kemp’s ridley, loggerhead and green sea turtles. All three sea turtle species are on the endangered species list, with the Kemp’s ridley considered critically endangered.

These sea turtles are usually juveniles who should be riding the warm, nutrient-rich Gulf Stream offshore. Instead they end up in the rapidly cooling waters off of Cape Cod. The lucky ones drift onto Cape Cod Bay beaches where the search teams find them.

Rescued sea turtles cared for at New England Aquarium and the National Marine Life Center
When a cold stunned sea turtle is found, the team from Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary rescues the animal from the beach, stabilizes them at the sanctuary, then transports them to either the New England Aquarium in Boston or the National Marine Life Center in Buzzards Bay. The National Marine Life Center is busy working to finish a portion of their new hospital to be ready for the first wave of cold stunned sea turtles. You can help get this hospital finished by donating to the Center.

What to do if you find a sea turtle on the beach

Wellfleet bay Wildlife Sanctuary says when you find a cold stunned sea turtle:
1. Move the turtle above the high tide line, DO NOT PUT IT BACK INTO THE WATER or REMOVE IT FROM THE BEACH
2. Cover it with seaweed or eelgrass so it is no longer exposed to cold wind
3. Mark the spot with a piece of beach debris (lobster buoy or driftwood)
4. Call Mass Audubon's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary Sea Turtle Hot Line at 508-349-2615 ext. 104 and leave exact location as well as distinguishable landmarks; a rescue crew will be promptly dispatched to the location.

Learn more at a series of marine animal strandings  classes at Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary,  November 13 – 15, 2009. Contact information:  Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary
Phone: 508-349-2615   Email: wellfleet@massaudubon.org
 

(photo credit-Nuno Loureiro)