On the beach this is the logical summer parallel to our bird protection and bird watching activities in winter.
This year we are very grateful to have the support of The Crowder-Messersmith grant from the Audoubon Society in the USA.
see: http://www.audubonnaturalist.org/index.php/conservation/crowder-messersmith
August is supposed to be a good time to see both turtles laying eggs and hatchlings going back to the sea. But it turned out to be quite difficult to get good shots at night in the sea-spray where flashlight gives you misty pictures. Also no adult turtles appeared for six days in a row.
Only because TAP cancelled our flights and we had to stay 2 nights longer we were "lucky" to see everything we wanted.
The group CARETA has headquarters at "Favela" in Achada Igreja. Here they hold meetings and sleep in the breaks of their nightly patrols.
When we came on August 17th they had identified 30 nests. This number seems to indicate a much weaker season than last year. Most nesting sites were just ringed with stones, but some had been removed to a safer place.
Some of the nests are protected by nets. This is going to be improved!
Rest on a nightly patrol.
Whenever a bucketful of hatchlings is to be released children and people from the village gather around to witness the process. Until recently turtles were widely eaten here.
This year there have been two reports of illegal killings on this beach, another four from the wider region.
(also in big style) has led to salt infiltration and a drastic loss in fishes. Now the bored soldiers are happy to have some company during the night watches and assist the Careta people.
The lights of Pedra Badejo in the background.
Field Manager Fredy Cardoso throwing light over the scene.
equipment to mark the adult turtles with numbered metal tags and to take a tissue sample.
On the morning of 26. August: another 51 little ones go back to the sea.
But many eggs had not hatched.
