2010 season updates

[ellie]

Update 1
up to 15th of July 2010

Mounda
So far we have had 31 nests/possible nests across Potamakia and Kaminia, with 24 false crawls and two relocated nests. We've seen loads of turtles while snorkelling, Wendy has been seen a couple of times and the confused green turtle which has been seen off Mounda beach for the last couple of years has also been seen. Helen and Liz also saw an octopus (which they prodded a bit) off Mounda in June. We've also seen a lot of sand martins during the nightshifts on Kaminia, and there was an incident with a bat biting James' neck but he has not yet died of rabies so no worries there. There have been a couple of dinner parties and a wedding on the beach but nothing too bad, however yet as more tourists come there is an increased likelihood of parties and things on the beach. over the last few days our kayak seems to have been commandeered by some one to take it out paddling, but he was caught red handed yesterday by Courtney and hopefully wont be doing it again. One turtle that came out on the last walk of one of the night shifts had only 3 flippers and began to squash her eggs as she tried to bury them whilst she struggled back to the water. This nest was relocated as it was very close to the water, and not dug very deeply; hopefully it will now be able to incubate and hatch as normal.

Koroni and other beaches
Beware of jellyfish if you choose to swim round Koroni, (if you're braver than the average volunteer) although if you do swim around there people have seen stingrays. On Koroni we've had 5 possible nests, and 7 more on nearby beaches. This year the beaches have changed and are much more stony which could be why there have been less nests. The beach is still being visited by cows and sheep and there is a healthy population of ticks which we are slowly eradicating, (bad conservationists!).

The presentations that we have been giving in Katelios and Skala have been pulling in the crowds (sort of) and have been subject to rave reviews (sort of). 7 of the volunteers have been involved in giving the presentations up to now and no one has died on their feet

looking forward to meeting everyone else who is coming out over the rest of the summer...

Ellie and Ian

[ellie]

Update 2
from 15th to 30th of July 2010

Mounda
We now have 37 nests / possible nests on Mounda beach. In the last 5 night shifts we have had no new nests or any turtle activity so we are just finishing off the last few nightshifts of the season, we are now expecting the nests on Mounda to start hatching; there are 2 nests which are due any day now. We had a dead turtle wash up on Mounda near the middle sun-beds last week, which had no obvious cause of death. It was buried at the back of the beach, to the disgust of the sun-bed owner who suggested we carry it away. We have had a lot of people on the beach at night camping, and a few couples on the sun-beds, which is normal for this time of year (high season) when the most tourists are around. The 3 flippered turtle returned to Mounda and did 2 false crawls but did not nest again. However, there was a track from a 3 flippered turtle (turtles missing flippers leave very distinctive tracks) on another beach near Argostoli, so that might have been her. We also had a cage at the end of Kaminia destroyed and thrown to the back of the beach.

Koroni and other beaches
We have one nest around Koroni which is due to hatch any day now and has been marked out in preparation. There have also been a lot more tourists on those beaches. We discovered it is possible to do a Koroni shift with 2 people on one kayak although wouldn't recommend it as the person at the back will fall off and the person kayaking will lose all the feeling in their arms, and hips....! We haven't had many more nests made on Koroni for about a week now, but the week before that we had 3 false crawls and 2 possible nests.

On the beaches near the airport we have had problems with the cages and a sign being destroyed and moved as well as a couple of attempts to dig up nests! This morning 13 of us went to the police station to try to get them to investigate. We were moved around the building for a while before a statement was taken, so we'll soon see if any further action will be carried out.

The presentation at the school on Tuesday did actually pull in a crowd! we had 28 visitors and got over 70 euros in donations

At the end of this week 8 people are leaving and we are expecting 4 new arrivals. See you guys soon and thanks to everyone who is still here for the hard work you have all put in.

Ellie and Ian

[ianwilson1989]

Update 3
from 31st of July to 7th of August

Mounda
The number of total nests on Mounda beach has now risen to 44 (8 of which have been marked and are due to hatch imminently), with 6 of these having been laid since the nightshifts ended seven days ago! Happily, we now have the added complications that hatching nests bring, as the first hatchlings of the season emerged in the early hours of the 5th of August.
We'd like to thank the Poros police force who were quick and decisive in dealing with the sunbed owner next to the Kiln who has repeatedly flouted laws designed to protect the turtle population and nesting habitat of Mounda beach.

Koroni and other beaches
We have also had 1 more nest on Koroni bringing the total to 7 nests, one of which is due to hatch any day now. Beaches nearby to Koroni have also had hatchlings and we are expecting more very soon.

Once again the presentation has been attracting significant crowds of 20 or more people both in Katelios and Skala, which is always welcome - donations aside, the more people we can inform about the turtles, the better!

The end of the coming week signals the departure of the old (including your esteemed author) and the arrival of the new in the form of 3 brand new volunteers, who we hope will show both the charisma and charm to match that of the 3 volunteers that are leaving.

Ian

First hatchlings on Mounda beach 5th of August 2010

hatchling1stnest.JPG (65.85 KiB) Viewed 75 times

[Fiona]

Update 4
7th - 14th August 2010

Mounda
There have been no new nests made on Mounda since the last update - so our nest total rests at 44.
5 nests are currently hatching on Mounda beach; P1, K2, P5, P10 and P13
6 more nests have been discreetly marked out and are expected to hatch soon.
Sadly some dead hatchlings were discovered at one of the nests, they had emerged during the day and probably died because the sun was too strong.

Now is the busiest season for tourism, and Mounda beach is very busy every day. Our volunteers are doing a great job of informing people using the beach about the tourists, we have noticed that most people have their umbrellas down where they should be, below the high tide line. There have however been the usual few stubborn people who are rude, leave furniture on the beach overnight or refuse to move away from the nests. However these are definitely the minority and the majority are very positive! Thanks!


Koroni and other beaches
There has been a bit more action in the Koroni area, with 1 false crawl and 2 possible nests being laid. However we are still waiting for signs of hatchlings from the nests there.


In other news, a photographer has been accompanying our volunteers on their shifts for a couple of days to document our work and hopefully take some great pictures of turtles! We're looking forward to the results.

[ellie]

update 5
14th-25th August 2010

Not a precise weekly update but never mind
Mounda
This week we completed our first nest excavations, the first one was carried out at p1 with a large audience as it was right outside the hotel, we had about 30 people watching and found 2 live hatchlings. the nest was very large and contained over 150 eggs in total, although the sand was quite compacted. k2 was excavated on thew 20th and over 100 people came to watch!! hopefully this will also bring more people into the school. p13 our unlucky nest which has had dead hatchlings found at on more than one occasion was also excavated, on the 24th, and the nest was normal. There have been new nests hatching at k4, p17, p15, k12 and k24. k24 was a nest we had previously relocated as it was laid by the turtle with 3 flippers so it was really good to see that that nest has incubated normally, if a little more quickly than a normal nest at only 48 days. A dead turtle was found on Kaminia beach on the 18th of august it had no obvious cause of death, and was buried in the sand near the road at the back of the beach.

Koroni and other beaches
a nest hatched on a beach near Koroni on the 14th, and Koroni 3 hatched on the 17th. One excavation was also carried out on the beaches around Koroni on the 18th. Another dead turtle was found on one of the airport beaches on the 19th.