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Crab on Dalyan Beach |
pension for a shower before dinner. Daryl and I walked into the village to post my cards, look in the souvenir shops and have an ice cream. The girls were on beach patrol.
Wed 8th: After breakfast on the terrace we set off on another minibus trip. First to a beach near Dalaman airport where there were large terrapins in a river. Next to Sarigerme beach near Dalyan, where we swam in very clear water. Then on to Koycegiz, at the top end of the lake. It was very hot. Went on to Ekincik where we had cheese pancakes for lunch and went on a 'banana' towed by a speedboat. |
| Great fun, but not what we came here to do. We returned to Dalyan by boat and Daryl and I went to the beach after dinner. I went on beach patrol with Ant. At the end of our run, just opposite the camp, we found a turtle nesting. We counted 100 eggs and then measured her as she closed the nest. It was very close to the water's edge. Ant and I then rested for a while before doing another walk along, without finding anything new. We went to bed at 12:30, after only 3 hours on the beach. It was a hot night, with some moonlight, and the mosquitoes were biting fiercely, but I would have been happy to |
Baby Turtle tracks criss-cross the beach |
Adult turtle track leading to its nest |
continue. Three hours work in three days is not enough.
Thu 9th; Emerged from a rather uncomfortable tent around 7am and videoed Ali, Ant and Daryl moving part of our nest from the previous evening up the beach to a drier place. It had already been predated by foxes. They covered both nest sites with screens. We then took the boat to the small beach on the other side of the river to check for turtle activity. There was none. Then Ant was towed behind the boat for the whole length of the beach, looking for swimming turtles. We snorkelled on a 'reef' at the far end. There were not many fish, but it was an opportunity to try out my video underwater housing. Returned to camp, then to Dalyan for breakfast. Rested until lunch at 3:30. Did the washing, then rested until dinner. The girls went to the beach. |
| Fri 10th; Had a late breakfast, swam in the river, then read until lunchtime. Rested in the afternoon. Claire Whitmore, from Earthwatch, joined us for dinner, then Daryl and I went to the beach. I went out with Aykut and we took a rowing boat to the small beach, but there were no tracks. The waves were much bigger than usual, but that made walking on the wet sand easier, barefoot. We had tea and biscuits with Daryl and Berna. On our second walk we came across a turtle digging her nest. We counted the eggs, measured her, counted her plates and I held her down while Aykut tagged her. We returned to camp about 2:30, having spent a long time trying to find the nest, so as to put a screen over it.
Sat 11th: Had an early swim to free the mooring rope wrapped round our boat's rudder. Went to the small beach to check for |
Baby Turtle track |
Baby Turtle track coming to an abrupt end, meeting large bird tracks! |
tracks, but there were none. Returned to the pension for breakfast and a shower. Rested for the remainder of the day.
Sun 12th: Rested for most of the day. Bought another T-shirt. Went to the beach in the evening. Walked with Ali and Victoria. We went in the small beach in the rowing boat to check the nests due to hatch. On our second walk we found a turtle on a false crawl, measured her and counted her plates. I tagged her with number 146. Had tea and biscuits by the camp, then slept out on the beach with Ali and Victoria. In the morning we checked the tracks on the small beach. 40 hatchlings had come |
| out. One was predated by a large bird which had left its footprints in the sand. On the return journey to Dalyan we collected fish for dinner.
Mon 13th: Rested for most of the day. Went to the beach early in the evening for a fish and Raki dinner with the whole Earthwatch group. Walked the east end of the beach with Ant and Juliet but saw nothing. After tea and biscuits we took the boat to the river mouth where Ali then rowed the dinghy to the small beach to collect Daryl and Diana who had been watching a nest due to hatch out. Slept out under the stars. |
Loggerhead Turtle, Caretta caretta, with Victoria, Juliet and Ali. |
| Tue 14th: Went to the small beach to check for hatchlings. Six had come out. Videoed crabs on the main beach. Returned to Dalyan and moved out to the 'Caretta Caretta' pension. Daryl and Diana left in the evening and two members of the next group arrived. Dreadful Americans. Said goodbye to Juliet at the Jazz Club.
Wed 15th: Victoria and I went to the beach at 7am. We went with Ali to the small beach to check for hatchling tracks. A Dutch author we had met before joined us and we went snorkelling near the end of the main beach. Ali was trawled behind the boat looking for turtles. He saw two but they had gone by the time we got into the water. Returned to camp, then to Dalyan. Slept in the afternoon. Had dinner with group 2 then Victoria and I went to the beach. I walked with Oze and a Turkish |
girl. We saw a turtle come out of the water, dig a pit, then set off back to the sea. We measured her and I tagged her (no 147). On our second walk we saw another one (?) just re-entering the sea. I tried to video it but the moonlight was insufficient. Ali and Victoria saw hatchlings emerging. Slept in a tent from about 3am.
Thu 16th: Went snorkelling with the Dutch author, Victoria and Ali. We went to a cave about a mile round the coast towards Ecincik. Took some video film. Returned to camp, then Dalyan. Had a drink with group 2 then a salad lunch in the town.
Fri 17th: Returned to Dalaman airport, Istanbul, Heathrow, York and eventually, Harrogate.
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