~  Newsletter No. 224,  September, 2020 ~


 
Hola Volunteers and Supporters, it has been a busy month here at the Turtle project, here is a rundown of everything that has happened! ~

Turtle wise:  Total amount of nests recorded this season comes to 741, this amount is about 100 more nest than was collected last season at this time, while the poachers made off with about 4.5%.  The number of nests recorded in September came to 345.
 
This has been a very unusual season, aside from few volunteers and several problems caused by the pandemic there were several other interesting factors that have been both helpful or problematic.  On the troublesome side, the Dune buggy has been repaired four time this season, while on the fourth repair the entire motor had to be replaced.  In the meantime we are temporarily using my Honda CRV.  The other problem, the entire beach is cluttered with tons of floating debris, making it nearly impossible to travel over it.
 
On bright side, this season there has been no barking dogs chasing the buggy or digging up nests.  And as luck would have it the rains did not carve deep ditches across the beach which would have stopped the CRV.  And the survival rate of the hundreds of nests left on the beach seems to be higher than expected, many around 89%.
 
Just a reminder, Grupo Ecológico does not maintain an official Facebook account, if you wish to make any comments or suggestions regarding our marine turtle program you can reach us by E-mail or phone only at grupo-eco@project-tortuga.org or go to our website project-tortuga.org on the Home page go to the message box at the bottom.
 
Since we are unable to accommodate visit within the nursery area we are left without a good method of collecting donations or selling T-shirts.  We must rely on PayPal as the only means of carrying out that task for us. 
 
Throughout September we received many donations and would like to thank each contributor for their help:   McCann & Sons, Karen Hope, Caren Elkan, James Ewing, Jennifer Nelsen, Ronald Walsh and Shari Margolin.
 
It is important that members of the community and tourists help the hatchlings on the beach during the hot daylight hours.  If you find any hatchlings on hot dry sand or being attack by birds move them down to the cool damp sand and stay with them until they enter the sea, but don’t bring them to the nursery.
 
September Volunteers:  Karen Sorum and Hallie Loveridge, Julio Gonzales, and Juan Flores  and family, Kimbell Taylor, Esteban Millard and Yanick Uirick.
 
Weather-wise:  Temperatures during the day were in the mid to high 80° to low 90°, while night time temps were in the low to mid 70°.  14.51 inches of rain in August, the total rainfall for the year came to 52.86 inches.   No tropical storm activity.   A strong flow from the west has caused a change in our weather pattern, there should be less thunderstorms.
 
Why does no one read this paragraph?  Lights on the beach is a serious problem that is confusing and killing both hatchlings and adult turtles.  If you own a house that has lights that face the beach, tell your renters to keep their outside lights off after 10 PM.  Marine turtle are attracted to light and will turn away from the sea and inland.
 
Don’t drop-your-guard the pandemic is not over by a long shot, and you need to protect yourself, your family and others. The virus is not responsible for a spike in cases, the spike is caused totally by human carelessness and nothing else.
 
  • The virus is primarily spread by fine droplets from the mouth or nose, if you cough, sneeze, or crying, singing, shouting, or being boisterous you can if infected spread the virus like wildfire.  if possible keep your voice low and always use a handkerchief when coughing or sneezing.
  • You are not protecting yourself and others if you’re not wearing a good face mask.  Important, if you can blowout a small flame through the mask, it is no good and not protecting you, purchase a good one.
  • The minimum distance from others is six feet, although this is only a minimum safe distance, as far from others as possible is considerably better.  Although when talking to others have the wind or breeze at your back.
  • Wash your hands as often as possible, and keep your hands off your face.
  • When shopping or visiting with others wear some sort eye protection. 
  • The virus falls to the surface so leave your shoes outside the house.
  • For recreation or hiking, keep your trips to unpopulated areas, a wild areas.
  • It is a good idea to limit your trips, especially to public indoor gathering, considered them to be extremely dangerous.
  • To help your immune system try vitamin C, D3 Zinc and lot of good sheep. (Take Vitamin D3 in the morning.)
 Frank Smith
Director.
Grupo Ecológico de la Costa Verde, A.C.
http://www.project-tortuga.org
Tel. 311-258-4100

Come Visit our Turtle Nursery!

Call in advance so we can prepare for your visit!
Please Note that we work at Night so Morning Calls May be Missed.

Grupo Ecologico de la Costa Verde
102 America Latina,
San Pancho, Nayarit, Mexico
Tel: 311-258-4100
Email: projecttortuga@gmail.com
grupo-eco@project-tortuga.org