Life Without Vols

Iguana Necropsy

Now that the volunteers are gone, it feels like every turtle could possibly be my last, at least my last leatherback...of course, now that my project does not appear to be working out, I may be back next year. Just in case, I've been trying to absorb as much of the last couple turtle experiences I've had. I had a black turtle nest hatch, I missed the mass hatch, but I was able to rescue one little hatchling who was being carried away by a crab! He was beautiful!!! Of course, I don't really know if it was a boy or a girl, but the nest was in the shade and due to temperature sex determination in hatchlings, boy seemed to be the most likely choice. Black sea turtle hatchlings are rounder than the others I have seen, and have a brilliant bright white stomach. Even when he was resting on his way to the ocean, his back flippers kept moving...I think he was in a panic about predators. That same night I was also ables to see a black turtle and a leatherback nest, and it was all on Ventanas (the beach that does not get as many turtles) in the full moon light!!!

Our friends' band playing on a night off

I've started looking into some summer jobs and trying to figure life out, mostly I am waiting to hear back from a lab to see if they can process my samples without breaking the bank before I leave in 4 days! That way I know if I still have a Master's thesis. AAAAAHHH! I guess I thought things would be clam and relaxing my last few days here, but I was wrong.

A hatchling from an excavation we showed the sixth graders

Mantis

 

Salt marsh mangroves with salt excretion on leaves

We currently have a group of sixth graders in from California who are presenting at the Sea Turtle Festival here on Saturday, like they do every year. Since I am good with bird identification, at least I seem to like them more than the other biologists, I was sent on bird walks through the salt marsh. There wasn't a whole lot to see, and by the time I pointed out a bird, it was usually gone before the kids could see. However, between the fiddler crabs, a walking stick, a preying mantis, coati, and hummingbirds, the kids saw plenty and were very excited. The kids were also able to see a leatherback who had problems with collapsing egg chambers and left the beach without nesting, and a black sea turtle whose nest had to be relocated because it was below the high tide. Considering we had not seen a turtle in three nights, that fact that we found two and were able to get 40+ people to them was pretty fortunate.

The last week of season has not been just about the turtles, but about having some fun. The whole staff went to the Brazilito festival. Costa Ricans know how to do a fair right! All food is homemade, delicious, and not more that 2 dollars.  There are games, dancing, and a huge rodeo. I paid for parking, ate an arrepa, tamale, and went in on some doughnut holes all for $10...try doing the at the Puyallup Fair! We still had to patrol so we were unable to make it to the rodeo, but it looked fun. There were even some rides and bumpercars! For such a small town it was pretty impressive, but I can't wait to do the Puyallup next year now.

Churros at the festival, Matt says he loved the churro but his face shows differently

Avalon posing for Tera's pic at the festival

I'll probably have one more post from my Costa Rican adventures to cover the sea turtle festival and my leaving, but that won't be until I get home. Hopefully there will be a lot to report, starting with what is happening with the Master's Degree. That is all for now, and I'll see most of you when I get home!...4 days!