|
|
 |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
Measurement posts on Dalyan Beach |
After dinner, went with Ali and Daryl by boat to the beach, for an all-night turtle patrol. Found a turtle just re-entering the water after a 'false crawl', then just after midnight we found a turtle preparing to nest. She spent about half an hour digging while we waited behind her. Ali went up closer to monitor her progress, then signalled to us to approach. Daryl and I were to count the eggs. In addition, I counted the instances of three eggs ejected together while Daryl counted the twos. There were about 95 eggs in total. When she had finished laying, Ali and I continued to patrol the beach. There were no more new tracks. |
| At about 3am we returned to the camp and slept in a student's tent. It had been a remarkable experience to lie on a beach in the middle of the night, looking up the rear end of a loggerhead turtle. In the morning, Ali took us to the beach on the other side of the river mouth, where we measured and recorded turtle tracks.
Sat 4th: Returned to the pension for breakfast and some sleep. Had enormous pancakes for lunch. Slept until evening when we went down to the village, to the bar we had been to previously. It was Daryl's birthday, Sedat's the |
Daryl and Ali on Dalyan Beach |
Student Camp, Dalyan Beach |
next day and Diana's the day after, so this was a combined birthday party. There was a cake and a musician with a lute appeared, playing traditional Turkish music. Afterwards we went to the restaurant and sat on cushions on the floor, Arab style, for dinner. It was the girls' turn to go to the beach.
Sun 5th: Spent the morning resting, sitting by the waterfront. Sedat showed us the statistics collected in the previous year's turtle study. Owing to a 'problem' with the permit allowing us to work on the beach, it seems we must work alternate nights for the remainder of the |
| project. Went to the beach in the evening with Ali, Ant and Daryl. Ali, Ant and I took the Eastern end of the beach and saw a turtle after about 50 yards walking. She was just closing the nest. Ali measured her, Ant filled in the survey form and I held the torch. When she set off down the beach we counted her shell plates. We then located the exact nest site and put a wire mesh cage over the nest to prevent fox predation. We continued to walk until about 2:30, but saw no more turtle activity. Slept in a tent, then went with Ali, Ant, Daryl and a Turkish girl to the beach on the other side of the river. There had been one |
Student Camp, Dalyan Beach |
Earthwatch group on Dalyan Beach: Diana, Daryl, Juliet, Ali (Hacettepe University), Victoria. |
false crawl during the night. I steered the boat back to camp. Had a short swim before returning to the pension by boat.
Mon 6th: After breakfast we went by minibus to Saklikent, a spectacular gorge with fast flowing water, over which were walkways and platforms on which we had lunch. Went on to Patara beach, where another team from Ankara University are surveying the turtles. They patrol 20km of beach and average less than one turtle per night. Swam in the sea, where there was a strong current. Returned to Fethiye for dinner by the harbour. Got back to Dalyan about 11pm, feeling very tired. Sedat |
| Yerli took a bus from Fethiye to Ankara and we will not see him until our last day.
Tue 7th: Walked into the village to buy a T-shirt, guide book, raki and postcards. Swam in the river and sunbathed on the terrace. In the afternoon we went by boat to the beach, as tourists. It was very crowded. Ant and I walked along to the end, crossed the river and snorkelled on the far side by the rocks. The water was very turbulent and I was glad of the loan of one of Ant's fins. There were a few brightly coloured parrot fish etc and small shoals of dull grey fish. Returned to the |
Measuring nest depth |
|
1 |
2 |
3 |
|
