Cano Palma- Day 23

White-lipped Mud Turtle

 Another mourning we woke up bright and early. The special occasion was turtle census. The day was overcast but the rain was holding back. It was a very nice temperature to be hiking. Within a few minutes of a walk down the beach I discovered a white-lipped mud turtle. The dark brown shell blended in well against the seeds and driftwood along the beach. It was just the distinct shape of the shell that is similar in size and shape to the Stinkpot turtles in Ontario.

But what would a freshwater turtle be doing on an oceanside beach?! 

White-lipped Mud Turtle

The previous lagoona now turned into a brackish river

Since the town had began to flood heavily the locals dug a trench from the lagoon to the ocean and many freshwater fish and other creatures were being washed out into salt waters. The mud turtle and black river turtles were seen on the beach further down from the lagoon and a few turtle tracks led back towards freshwater with the obvious claw marks of these freshwater turtles.

Green Sea Turtles

The change in water levels were quick and drastic. In town the water levels dropped over the course of the day and at the station we were able to walk on the paths with only a few inches of water instead of a few feet. 

One the way back we excavated two turtle nests. The first had no hatchlings but while digging out the second my hand touched something... and it moved! Gently brushing away sand revealed many more hatchling green sea turtles. We left these in the nest since they were not ready to emerge and the nest will be re-excavated in a few days to complete the research and count the numbers of hatched eggs and infertile eggs. 


 On on way back from turtle census we noticed a black river turtle and a large green iguana basking nearby the dock. Chris was sitting at the front of the canoe and at the urgings of people watching on the dock we steered over and he caught the large lizard.

Chris and a Green Iguana