Simone, if you don’t know, is the favorite loggerhead sea turtle of most Little St. Simons Island staff members. Simone washed ashore late in the evening of June 30; she was sick, weak, and barely alive. Our staff members made a decision to do everything possible to save the poor girl, even though it was so late at night. We made dozens of frantic phone calls, waiting to contact someone who could help us. Finally we got through to volunteer and staff members of the amazing Georgia Sea Turtle Center, our neighbors to the south on Jekyll Island. Simone was taken off LSSI (in a skiff!) and transported to the sea turtle hospital. During the transport, she became a bit feisty, so we knew that she would be a great fighter and have a chance at recovery.

In mid-November, the naturalist staff made a visit to the sea turtle center to catch up with our turtle friend. Simone looks fantastic! Upon her rescue, she weighed barely 50 pounds. The vets at the turtle center thought she was suffering from debilitated turtle syndrome. Her GI tract had blockages and she couldn’t digest or defecate her food. Her shell and skin were covered with epibiota (animals like barnacles living on her), and her right rear flipper was missing from an old wound. With the help of the talented and dedicated staff at the Georgia Sea Turtle center, she is on her way to recovery. Simone is taking part in a vitamin study and is gaining weight rapidly. The staff told us that they even had to cut back her diet because she was getting a bit chubby! All the epibiota were removed and her shell is healing from where the barnacles were taken off.

While we were at the center, Simone gave us a little show and swam circles in her tank. She came up for air and “greeted” us. We all agreed that she looked happy and well. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center staff has hopes to release her in the spring, once the ocean temperate gets warmer. We encourage everyone to visit Simone on Jekyll Island and send her our love! You can also help out the sea turtle center and adopt Simone or other turtles. We are thankful to the staff at GSTC for their commitment to conservation and for providing a place for turtles like Simone to have a new chance at life.

The loggerhead sea turtle nesting season kept our turtle intern, Sydney Sheedy, very busy this past summer! It was a record year for loggerheads on Little St. Simons Island. Sydney dedicated herself to patrolling the seven mile stretch of beach via bicycle every morning. She searched for tracks and tried to determine if nests were present where tracks were visible. The total number of nests was 113. There were also 101 “false crawls,” also known as non-nesting emergences, which brought the total number of loggerhead emergences on to the LSSI beach to 214.

During the nesting season, loggerheads face many challenges in hatching successful nests. High tides and storms washed over 24 nests and washed away 10 additional nests. 9 of the 24 washed over nests did have hatchling turtles. In order to try to avoid wash-overs, 33 nests were relocated farther back into the dunes. 3,936 eggs were relocated in those nests. Raccoons and ghost crabs also played a factor in nesting success. 18 nests showed signs of predation, and 4 nests were completely predated.

The total number of eggs excavated after the nests hatched was 10, 297. 6,902 of those eggs had hatched, leaving 3,395 unhatched. This equals about a 67% success rate. The total number of nests in Georgia was 1,646. This is the highest number of nests in a season since data collection began nearly 20 years ago.

Two stranded turtles were also found. One was deceased, but happily the other was alive and was able to be rescued. You can get updates about the rescued turtle, Simone, on the NatureLSSI website, or by visiting the Georgia Sea Turtle Center website at www.georgiaseaturtlecenter.org.

Thursday was full of excitement for LSSI naturalists. Biologists Brad Winn and Chris Depkin were up at Sancho Panza beach cannon netting for marbled godwits. The goal was to capture eight marbled godwits and outfit them with tiny radio transmitters – allowing for breakthrough data collection to track their impressive migratory journeys. We arrived just after the firing of the nets but did not miss a moment of the action. A marbled godwit is an incredible bird to watch through binoculars and even more incredible to gawk at through a powerful spotting scope. To see one up close and in hand was an experience that we will not soon forget. Their two-toned bills can measure in at over 100 mm which is a striking contrast when compared to the birds’ relatively small body size. Their warm cinnamon plumage was absolutely beautiful in the late afternoon sunlight and we stared at them in admiration as they were measured, weighed, banded, and for the lucky four that weighed in at over 300 grams, fitted with remarkably stylish radio transmitting backpacks. The sun set rapidly and the sand gnats erupted onto the scene, but we worked quickly to process and release the birds. After a failed attempt at firing the nets earlier in the month, Thursday was quite a success! Although all eight transmitters were not used, we are now halfway there and look forward to the next attempt.

With the high nitrogen levels in our raised bed soil mixture, which is part peat moss, part composted chicken manure, our winter greens are thriving! Thank you chickens! This month we have harvested chard, kale, salad mix, arugula, radishes, cilantro, oregano, mint, thyme, rosemary, chives, and parsley for our kitchen. We have also began collection for our future orchard with the purchase of three Meyer Lemons, Ruby Red Grapefruit, and Brown Turkey Fig trees.

We are pleased to announce the 2009 dates for our premier birding event, Spring Birding Days. This year there will be fourteen days of fantastic birding fun, from April 20, 2009 until May 3, 2009! Spring Birding Days falls during peak migration time, and the birds are just phenomenal. Whether you are a shorebird aficionado, a warbler fanatic, a hawk chaser, or a beginning birder, Spring Birding Days is a great time to bird on Little St. Simons Island. We are still lining up the 2009 guest ornithologists, but past speaker’s have included Scott Weidensaul, John and Cathy Sill, Giff Beaton, and Brad Winn. These birding experts provide help in the field as well as give presentations in the evenings on birds and other nature topics. Mark your calendar and call quickly to make your reservations — space is limited on this pristine barrier island retreat!

Yesterday in the late afternoon, we took the spotting scope to South Pond Trail to try to catch a glimpse of the Bald Eagle pair around their rebuilt nest. Several guests and naturalists have seen the pair in the vicinity of the nest. As we were getting the scope in place, a bird streaked through the air in front of us and alighted on a nearby snag. A quick glimpse told us that we should move the scope onto the new bird — a beautiful male American Kestrel. Our smallest falcon, the kestrel is boldly patterned and a colorful mixture of slaty blue-gray, rufous brown, black, and white. When we looked through the scope, the bold facial markings were striking enough, but to our delight the kestrel was feeding! He could be seen tearing tiny scraps of flesh of his prey item. After we indulged in the show for a few more minutes, we went back to looking for the eagles. Even though the eagles weren’t around the nest, we couldn’t help but think the trip was a definite success!!

The past few weeks have signaled the return from the north of many bird species, and the majestic Bald Eagle is one them. We have been seeing adult and immature age classes of Bald Eagles all over the island. Guest Bill Hixon spotted a pair of eagles hanging around the nest on the north end of the island, just off the Backbone Trail. The other nest, visible from South Pond Trail, was destroyed last spring after the young left the nest; we took a spotting scope out this morning and are happy to announce that the pair has been busy reconstructing the nest! Many other eagles have been seen out on the beach and flying over Mosquito Creek and the marshes around Beach Road. Keep checking back to get updates on the nesting pairs as they prepare to begin the nesting season!!