Space Coast Festival Field Trip Rept

Space Coast Festival Field Trip Report

By Dee Fairbanks

At the Space Coast festival, I, along with a few other participants, attended the Ancient Mariners field trip, lead by Jason Frederick, Bessie Grivas Frederick, and Duane Defreese. This was an all day field trip that, in addition to birding, also gave us the opportunity to visit the Marine Science Center and the Ponce Inlet lighthouse.

Our first stop was birding at Ponce Inlet, on the North Jetty. Sightings included the usual suspects of skimmers, sanderlings, tern species including caspian and royal, osprey, rudy turnstone, laughing gull, double crested cormorant, and pelicans. Somewhat less expectedly, we saw many egrets including snowy, cattle, great, and even a reddish egret playing in the surf.

Our second stop on this trip was the Marine Science Center. First, our guide took us on a tour of the museum part of the center where we learned about whales, manatees, and many other sea critters. There were fish tanks that contained coral and many native species, and as I was looking at the fish in the tank, I couldn’t help but wonder, with friends like these, who needs anemones? There were also displays that demonstrate our local marine habitat, including a look at mangrove swamps. While in the museum, we had the opportunity to see how Duane uses computers and electronic devices to track sea turtle migration and breeding. Using this technology, they have gained valuable insights into how and where the sea turtles travel and feed.

The other part of the Marine Science Center that we were privileged to be able to tour is a rehabilitation hospital that specializes in turtle rescue. We learned much about the causes and cures of illnesses in sea turtles. For example, many turtles are brought in for stomach obstructions, some-times as a result of natural causes, but sadly all too often as the result of human thoughtlessness; sea turtles are known to mistake discarded plastic grocery bags for jelly fish, which can cause obstructions and death. Another frequent injury for land turtles and tortoises is damage from being hit by cars. In the past, rehabbers simply epoxied the turtle shells back together and the animal was released back into the wild. This was found to be ineffective as the animals frequently developed abscesses and infections at the site of the wound. Preferred treatment now is to use topical antibiotics at the wound site; eventually the shell will reform and the animal can be released back into the wild. This treatment takes much longer, but is far more effective and better in the long run for the animal. The rehab center also has huge tanks where sea turtles stay for as long as they are ill. Once they are deemed healthy, they are tagged and returned to the site from which they were originally rescued.

Our final stop at the marine science center was to see “Large Marge,” a gopher tortoise who was saved from a construction site where her shell was punctured by a large metal rod. Marge is believed to be about 100 years old, but there is no definitive way to age tortoises, as Stacy Perfetto, one of the turtle rehabbers, explained to us.

After a relaxing lunch on the water, we were off to our final stop, Ponce Inlet light house. Our guide presented us with a fascinating tour describing not only the history of the light house, but also the mechanics of lighthouses in general. To top off the trip, a few of us decided to climb the 208 steps to the top of the light house. As I courted a coronary, I kept myself going with visions of spectacular views of birds and the ocean. When I finally emerged onto the walkway at the top of the lighthouse, what was the first sight with which I was greeted? An idiot in an SUV tearing up the beach. The thought occurred to me that if people like that could attend a field trip like the one I was on, perhaps they would learn to think about all of the lovely turtles and critters before (or rather, instead of!) committing such thoughtless acts.