Aug. 23., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

We now are convinced that ‘Heit’ is ‘home’. We show you a close-up of where she has been for about the last week. Here some information about Los Roques Archipelago National Park The Los Roques Archipelago is the largest coral reef formation in Venezuela with a total area of 1500 square km. It is formed by two barrier coral reefs: The oriental reef (24 km) and the southern barrier reef (30 km), 42 keys, 300 sand banks and other small reef formations that form a natural pool area of shallow turquoise waters. Thanks to the quality of its waters Los Roques has one of the highest biodiversity of the Atlantic. Its coral reefs, mangroves areas, extensive areas of sea grasses, numerous migratory bird species are some of the reasons why it is considered one of the most privileged and best kept places in the world. Los Roques received the status of National Park in August 1972. It is surrounded by the Caribbean Sea, close to La Orchila and Las Aves archipelagos in the northern part of Venezuela (North 11.42’/12.04’ and West 66.30’/67.02’). The organization in charge of managing Los Roques National Park is the Fundacion Cientifica Los Roques (FCLR), a non- profit organization. Since 1976, this organization, as part of the conservation efforts, has developed a program for the protection of their sea turtle populations. STCB has contacted FCLR to alert them about ‘Heit’ and to start building a working relationship between our two organizations. In our next release we will provide more information about the turtles of Los Roques and sharing highlights of their work with you. Of course we will also let you know about ‘Heit’!

Aug. 20., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

‘Heit’ is likely in a place she knows very well. Today’s information shows that she hardly moves al all. We will wait a few days, and see if she is making a move. As soon as she does we will resume our updates.

Aug. 19., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

Today we received only one signal we could use. According to this, ‘Heit’ is now only about 7 km from the spot she was yesterday. We should remember that when the turtles are finished nesting, they will be stopping along the way to feed. So, maybe one of these days...

Aug. 18., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

Today we received two signals an they showed very little movement. ‘Heit’ is resting? Today’s tidbit: There are approximately 1800 permanent inhabitants of Los Roques,. And there are between 50 000 and 60 000 visitors annually to the archipelago.

Aug. 17., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

Yesterday we did not receive any signals we could use. ‘Heit’ moved in the last 48 hours approximately 45 km. First East to West and than West to East? As of today she swam about 400 km , since leaving Bonaire, but is only 200 km from Bonaire. She may have found some thing what she likes near Los Roques. These Islands are located about 168 km North of La Guaira, harbor to Caracas.

Aug. 15., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

Our female hawksbill ‘Heit’ moved today about 25 km east. She is in the area of Los Roques. We are still wondering where she will go next. This truly is a new track for us. She now is approximately 185 km from Klein Bonaire. ‘Heit’ is a female hawksbill, weighs about 72 kilos and measures 83.8 cm.

Aug. 14., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit'

Our turtle ‘Heit’ is on a track we have not tracked any turtle earlier. She is now close to Islas Los Roques. ‘Heit’ was tagged in 2004 near Klein Bonaire. Yesterday ‘Heit’ swam 65 km and today only about 16 km. She now is approximately 160 km from Klein Bonaire.

Aug. 11., 2006: Female Hawksbill 'Heit' is on the move!

It looks like ‘Heit’ finally is on the move. For four days she has been moving in a south easterly direction. The signals are not very strong, but we feel confident that the tracks are correct. At this moment she moved approximately 120 km away from Klein Bonaire.

Aug. 5., 2006: 'Heit'

‘Heit’, our female hawksbill turtle, is still with us and swimming around Klein Bonaire. ‘Heit’ was first fitted with her transmitter back on 13 July. At that time it was thought that she would lay at least one more nest and possibly more. Hawksbill’s nest at intervals of approximately 14 days and it is quite likely she will be with us for a while longer.

Jul. 15., 2006: Satellite Tracking of Turtles from Bonaire starts with Release of Adult Female Hawksbill

^ STCB’s Funchi Egbreghts and BNMP Manager Ramon de Leon release ‘Heit’ at Ebo’s Special at Klein Bonaire

To adequately protect sea turtles in all their habitats, we must learn more about their migratory patterns, their behavior at sea, and where their marine habitats are located. This is where the technology of satellite telemetry becomes useful and important in protecting sea turtles. Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire (STCB) plans to place up to two transmitters on turtles in 2006. On July 13, the first of these transmitters was attached on a large adult female hawksbill turtle. This animal was found resting on the reef in the area of Ebo’s Special close to the nesting beach at Klein Bonaire, caught by STCB staff and lifted on board the research boat “Nancy Too” for transmitter attachment. Assisting the STCB staff and other volunteers was Ramon de Leon, Manager of the Bonaire National Marine Park (BNMP).

The female hawksbill has a shell length of 83.8 cm and weighs 72 kg. This turtle was originally tagged on Klein Bonaire in 2004. Female sea turtles do not reproduce every year; they usually take between two to four years to return to nest. The turtle remained calm throughout the transmitter application procedures. After fitting the transmitter, the turtle was released back at where she had been found.

Tracking of this female hawksbill is made possible by a full sponsorship provided by Ria & Janet Heitkönig of Bonaire. The sponsors named the turtle ‘Heit’ after their father. (See the accompanying story provided by Ria & Janet below.) ‘Heit’ is expected tol remain near Klein Bonaire as it is thought she will possibly lay one or two more nests before departing for her feeding grounds.

Satellite tracking works through signals sent out by the transmitter, which is switched on whenever the turtle comes to the surface to breathe. These transmissions are then collected by Argos system receivers onboard weather satellites that circle the globe, yielding location data for each turtle that are e-mailed daily to STCB. Turtle locations are mapped frequently and available on our website located at www.bonaireturtles.org.

Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire exists to ensure the protection and recovery of Bonaire's sea turtle populations throughout their range. Founded in 1992, STCB is a Bonaire-based, non-governmental and non-profit organization, part of the Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network.

In Honour of Heit

In honour of our late father, Jules Heitkönig, known on Bonaire as Heit, we decided to sponsor a sea turtle.

Heit made a living by selling souvenirs in the fifties and onward. Since he was a goldsmith, he designed jewellery, for instance golden flamingos on pieces of the shell of the Caret (Hawksbill turtle) in rings, pendants, earrings etc. In 1955, he was approached by the Government to design special Caret jewellery to be given to Queen Juliana during her visit and later on also for the Dutch princesses different designs.

Heit was one of the first nature protectors on Bonaire, since he did not want people to catch very young and little turtles and he was the first one to stop the Caret business, when the turtles became scarce. He once created a natural environment for the Kawama eggs (Loggerhead turtle) in our garden. A large sand heap from where a wooden duckboard led to a water basin. One night there was great consternation; the turtles hatched and instead of heading to the basin, they strolled through the yard and tried to make it to the sea. The whole event was filmed and we hope to see that movie some day. Heit kept four of these Loggerhead hatchlings and when they grew big enough, he joined them with his pet Green turtles and Hawksbill turtles, which swam in another larger basin. Among these Loggerheads was Heit’s beloved turtle Max, which he trained and used to take for a swim. Max, weighing around 75 kg, was transported in the back of the car to different locations. He swam freely with our father and always came back. Once he warned my father for the presence of a shark. Max came to take shelter close to him and kept watching up. When Heit looked in that direction he discovered a huge shark circling around. Heit also used to tell, that Max saved his life when during a swim, he got his heart attack, the turtle bringing him ashore.

Heit usually bought fish from the local children to feed the turtles and he let them watch and enjoy the beautiful animals, which daily gobbled down a lot of fish. Many grown-ups on Bonaire still have nice memories of the turtles in our garden and even nowadays mention it!

In the early fifties there was an article on our father and his turtles in LIFE Magazine. Because he was a real turtle lover, we decided to adopt a turtle, and to name it after him: Heit.

Let’s hope, that Heit makes a nice, long journey in the Caribbean Sea!”

Jeannette and Ria Heitkönig
Bonaire, Netherlands Antilles

Mar. 21., 2006: Turtle Tracking Study 2005

As in 2004, four adult turtles were satellite-tracked from Bonaire in 2005. Two female hawksbills, ‘Jenni’ and ‘Mariposita’, a male hawksbill, ‘Albert’, and a female loggerhead, ‘Happy’, were fitted with transmitters. The objectives of this study are to identify the locations where turtles breeding at Bonaire live outside the nesting season, and to learn the routes that these animals take to reach their potentially distant foraging grounds. Increasing our understanding of the movements of “our” animals helps identify priorities for conservation actions benefiting sea turtles.

Transmitters used in this study are model ST-20 made by Telonics (Mesa Arizona, U.S.A.), with a saltwater on-off switch so that the transmitter turns on only when the turtle is at the surface, and duty-cycled to extend battery life. Attachment to the carapace is with fiberglass tape covered with resin. Turtle tracking works through signals sent out by the transmitter, which is switched on whenever the turtle comes to the surface to breathe. These transmissions are then collected by Argos system receivers onboard weather satellites that circle the globe, yielding location data for each turtle that are e-mailed daily to us. Turtle location data are then plotted on digital maps and sent out whenever deemed newsworthy.

‘Albert’ was the first turtle fitted with a transmitter in 2005 and was named in honor of one of the founding members of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire, Albert de Soet. ‘Albert’ was caught off Ebo’s Reef, Klein Bonaire on June 9 and brought aboard our boat, Nancy Too. ‘Albert’ was tag and measured (83.1 cm SCL) and his weight was estimated at 94 kg. After approximately 2 hours, he was released back into the water where he had been taken, wearing his transmitter. He did not leave Bonaire until November 7 and based on our experience with ‘Tom’ last year, there was concern that his signal would be lost before he made it back to his home foraging grounds. ‘Albert’s westerly journey took him 20 days and he swam some 1530 km to get to his home on an unmanned bank approximately 260 km off the coast of Honduras and over 1420 km from Bonaire. His location is in the same general area as that of three of the turtles we tracked in 2004. Amazingly, the two other hawksbills we tracked this year also ended up on the same unnamed bank! ‘Albert’s transmitter was sponsored by the cruise ship Freewinds.

‘Happy’ was the second turtle fitted with a transmitter, but the first we tracked. This adult female loggerhead was caught near the Southwest Corner dive site off Klein Bonaire in approximately 15 meters of water on the evening of June 24 and brought aboard our boat for transmitter placement. Within two hours the turtle was released near the point of capture. ‘Happy’ measured 99 cm SCL and weighed an estimated 130 kg. Five days later, on June 29, ‘Happy’ headed due north across the Caribbean toward the Dominican Republic and then turned east toward Puerto Rico. ‘Happy’ ended her migration in the Vieques Passage between Puerto Rico and the island of Vieques. Until this time it was thought that Puerto Rico did not have a resident population of loggerheads. It took ‘Happy’ 20 days to travel home having first entered the Vieques Passage on July 18. To reach her destination she swam over 1100 km and she ended up approximately 735 km from Klein Bonaire. ‘Happy’ was sponsored by the Rotterdam Zoo.

The third turtle to be fitted with a transmitter during 2005 was a large female hawksbill turtle nesting at No Name Beach on Klein Bonaire. Based on the pattern of hawksbill turtle nesting activity observed on Klein Bonaire during the prior few weeks, STCB staff predicted the possible return of a hawksbill turtle to the beach on Wednesday or Thursday night, October 12 or 13. A field team consisting of Fernando Simal (Manager, Washington-Slagbaai National Park, STINAPA), Patricia Gorrin (film crew), Gielmon “Funchi" Egbreghts and Mabel Nava (STCB), set out each night to monitor No Name Beach. On Thursday at around 9:15 pm, ‘Jenni’ was discovered on the beach digging a nest. As soon as she began laying eggs she was measured (93.6 cm SCL) and tagged on her front flippers. An hour later, after she finished her nesting activity, the approximately 130 kg turtle was intercepted by the team on her way towards the sea and a transmitter applied to the top of her carapace. At 12:30 am, ‘Jenni’ was released and she quickly departed into the calm waters off Klein Bonaire. On October 20, less than one week after being fitted with her transmitter, ‘Jenni’ departed Bonaire in a northwesterly direction, eventually swimming west en route to her home. ‘Jenni’s path was quite circuitous and she stayed at several different sites for extended periods during her migration. Her journey took 47 days and she traveled well over 2000 km. She shares her home foraging area with ‘Albert’ and while we can’t say that we literally saw their paths cross, their satellite-plotted paths did intersect. ‘Jenni’s transmitter was sponsored by Michael and Jenni Stanfield.

^ Figure 5. Mariposita and STCB staff “Funchi”

The fourth turtle to be tracked was the last known breeding turtle of the season, a female hawksbill turtle nesting on Klein Bonaire. Working into the early hours of Thursday, October 27, a team of STCB staff members and volunteers released ‘Mariposita’ at 2:45 am, after affixing a satellite transmitter to her carapace. The turtle came ashore at No Name Beach, Klein Bonaire at approximately 9:15 pm the previous evening to lay a nest. ‘Mariposita’ is the smallest adult female we have observed nesting on Bonaire and we think she is quite young. She measured only 80 cm (SCL) and her weight was estimated to be only 60 kg. Typically it takes anywhere from 15 to 30 years for a hawksbill to reach maturity. Students from the local high school, SGB, submitted names for this turtle as part of the year-long sea turtle conservation education campaign initiated by the Dutch Caribbean Nature Alliance (DCNA) and conducted by STINAPA and STCB. The winning name was submitted by freshman Angelina Maria Julia Rodriguez. ‘Mariposita’ is Spanish for ‘Little Butterfly, an absolutely perfect name for this tiny hawksbill. ‘Mariposita’ arrived at her home feeding grounds around Christmas Day, traveling some 44 days. In that period of time she covered almost 1600 km and was 1450 km from Bonaire. ‘Mariposita’s transmitter was sponsored by the Rotterdam Zoo.

If the proximity of ‘Albert’ and ‘Jenni’ to one another was not evidence enough, the fact that ‘Mariposita’s last recorded position was within 60 km of them certainly underscores the importance of the western Caribbean to Bonaire’s breeding population. Three of our 2004 turtles also ended up in the same general area. One of the major goals of our 2006-2010 Strategic Plan is to work with the Range States (nations that share management responsibility for Bonaire’s sea turtles) to help protect “our” turtles.

Back in 2003, we tracked a female hawksbill named ‘Schillie’ back to Mona Island off Puerto Rico. This year, ‘Schillie’ was recaptured and her transmitter removed by Robert van Dam, the former STCB Project Director, while he was working on another project off Mona Island. Subsequently, ‘Tom,’ the male hawksbill whose signal we lost in 2004, was recaptured right here off Klein Bonaire by STCB staff. His transmitter was also removed. In our 2004 Progress Report it was noted that males may return to Bonaire each year to mate and that appears to be confirmed with the recapture of ‘Tom’. Tests of the two transmitters indicated that the batteries were still functioning but on both units the antenna was missing. Both transmitters will be shipped back to the manufacturer for refurbishing and be used in the 2006 tracking project.

^ Figure 6. Tracks outbound from Bonaire for the four turtles tracked during 2005.

The turtle tracking study continued to attract lots of public attention to our turtles, with lots of press coverage both on Bonaire and elsewhere. Whenever turtles were moving, tracking updates were produced and sent via our new E-Newsletter to the press and whoever else expressed interest. As a result, several sponsors have already been identified for our 2006 tracking project.

'Mariposita’, our Little Butterfly, is still in the same general area and in all likelihood at her home foraging grounds. She first arrived at her current location back on Christmas Day, traveling some 44 days to reach it. In that period of time she covered almost 1600 km and is now 1450 km from Bonaire. Amazingly, ‘Mariposita’ is within 60 km of the last recorded positions for 'Jenni’ and ‘Albert’, two of the three other sea turtles we tracked during the 2005 nesting season. We lost 'Albert’s transmitter signal on January 3rd. Unless ‘Mariposita’ starts moving again this concludes our Satellite Tracking Updates for 2005, but we will continue to send out newsletters when appropriate. Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire would like to thank the sponsors of this year’s effort. They are: the Rotterdam Zoo, the cruise ship Freewinds, and Michael and Jenni Stanfield. If any of you are interested in learning more about sponsoring a sea turtle for 2006, please contact us. We would also like to thank all of you for your interest and continued support.

'Mariposita’ is in the same general area as last reported. This nautical chart will give you a better idea about the topography of the area. She is on the same shallow bank that ‘Jenni’ and ‘Albert’ share and is approximately 60 km due north of ‘Albert’s last recorded position. (We are still receiving signals from ‘Albert’.)

The quality and quantity of signals from ‘Mariposita’ have been less than optimum, and at times, the data received somewhat confusing, but it seems that ‘Mariposita’ has made her way onto the relatively shallow ledge that extents all the out from the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua. She appears to be meandering along the edge much like ‘Albert’ and ‘Jenni’ did not so long ago. She is approximately 50 km north of ‘Albert’s position, 245 km from the coast of Honduras and over 1440 km from Klein Bonaire.

Best wishes for a Happy New Year!

2005 Satellite tracking

Seasons Greetings! As we did last Christmas Day, we have prepared an overview of the year’s satellite tracking activity showing the paths of our four sea turtles. We are also sending along a map of 2003 and 2004 as well.

‘Mariposita’ seems to be moving west again. We have received very limited data from her for the last several days but a signal received yesterday and confirmed with a preliminary signal received early this morning, has her off the Rosalind Bank and back on the bank where ‘Jenni’ spent so much time. It is quite possible that she is home and simply spends time between the two banks - the banks are only 20 km apart. We’ll continue to track her movements and let you know.

» click on the image to enlarge (opens in a new window).

2003 and 2004 Satellite Tracking

» click on the image to enlarge (opens in a new window).

We have received a limited number of signals from ‘Mariposita’ in the last couple of days. They place her still at the Rosalind Bank. She has been there since December 5 and the Rosalind Bank is, in all likelihood, her final destination. We will keep an eye on her for a while longer and keep you posted if she moves.

What little data we are receiving from ‘Mariposita’ is not very good. Yesterday’s data has her moving west and then backtracking to the Rosalind Bank.

Every satellite transmitter attached to a sea turtle has a salt-water switch consisting of two metal contact points. When the satellite transmitter is underwater, an electric current is able to flow between the metal contact points through the water. This tells the transmitter that it is underwater so it should not send transmissions to the satellites. Every time the turtle surfaces to breathe, one or both of the metal contact points come out of the water and the electric current can no longer run between them. This tells the transmitter to start transmitting to the satellites. ARGOS receivers on the satellites get the signals and the location of the transmitter is calculated. Accuracy is determined as one of 5 different classes called location classes. Accuracy of individual locations received from the ARGOS system vary depending on the number of messages received from the transmitter, environmental conditions and the relative positions of the transmitter and satellites. See the table below for the location classes. In spite of the apparent inaccuracy of some of the location classes, with an adequate number of data points we are able to analyze them in relation to one another and make determinations regarding direction and distance. For the last several days we have been receiving only one or two signals from ‘Mariposita’ and they have been either location classes A, B or Z.

Both our female hawksbills 'Jenni' and 'Mariposita' are still at their last recorded locations.

‘Mariposita’ slowed again yesterday, traveling at a rate of approximately 65 km per day. Her path is paralleling ‘Jenni’s, but it is not clear if she will continue to the west or head for the Serranilla Bank, now just 20 km to her east. (The Serranilla Bank is home to ‘Funny’, one of the hawksbills we tracked in 2004.) ‘Mariposita’ is now over 1360 km from Klein Bonaire and only about 90 km from ‘Albert’ and ‘Jenni’.

On today’s map you will note that we have also included the positions of our 2004 sea turtles that traveled to this area: ‘Extra’, STINAPA’ and ‘Funny’. In the upper left-hand corner of the map, we have inserted an outline of the Caribbean with the section of our tracking map and Bonaire highlighted to add a sense of scale to these remarkable journeys.

‘Albert’ is not moving very much and is spending very little time at the surface. Once again we received only one signal from him.

‘Albert’ is in the same general location as yesterday. Our navigation charts show that he is actually over an un-named bank which comes to within 20 m of the surface in many places. The bottom in the area is comprised of sand and coral.

Very little data from ‘Albert’ again but it shows him moving to the west. He is now approximately 1430 km from Klein Bonaire.

Limited and confusing data from ‘Albert’ once again and once again we will have to wait before issuing another tracking map.

Once again, a very limited amount of data from ‘Albert’ but it has him in the same general location. Currently, he is 245 km off the coast of Honduras and 1430 km from Klein Bonaire.

Only two data points from ‘Albert’ for yesterday and they were not very good. We’ll wait for some better data before issuing another tracking map for him. The best guess is that he is continuing north.

‘Albert’, our male hawksbill, is now traveling to the north and is swimming over the edge of the shallow shelf that extends approximately 250 km off the coasts of Honduras and Nicaragua. He has picked up some speed and is traveling at a rate of over 65 km per day. ‘Albert’ is now about 1410 km from Klein Bonaire. As you can see from the map, this area is extremely important to the breeding population of Bonaire. The last known locations of three of the turtles we tracked in 2004, ‘Extra’, ‘STINAPA’ and ‘Funny’, as well as one from this year, ‘Jenni’, are noted on today’s tracking map.

‘Albert’ continues to move to the northwest. He has slowed to approximately 47 km per day and he is currently in water over a 1000 m deep. ‘Albert’ is now about 1350 km from Klein Bonaire.

Our male hawksbill ‘Albert’ has turned to the northwest. His speed has increased to approximately 86 km per day and he is 1310 km from Klein Bonaire.

New signals received from ‘Jenni’ place her in the same location pretty much confirming that the un-named bank to the southeast of Thunder Knoll is her home foraging area.

Our male hawksbill ‘Albert’ has turned to the southwest and decreased his speed. Yesterday he traveled at a rate of approximately 64 km for the day. ‘Albert’ is about 240 km southeast of ‘Jenni’s location and approximately 1220 km from Klein Bonaire.

For the third consecutive day, no useable data was received from ‘Jenni’. For now, we will assume that she is home. If she starts moving again, we will alert you. ‘Jenni’ swam over 1600 km in 30 days to reach her destination. Attempts to obtain additional information about her location have been unsuccessful but we will continue looking. We will keep you posted.

‘Albert’ has increased his speed once again and is now traveling at a rate of over 100 km per day. He continues to swim to the west and is now approximately 1185 km from Klein Bonaire.

Once again, no usable data was received from ‘Jenni’.

‘Albert’ has increased his speed once again, and is now traveling at a rate of 85 km per day. He is still moving west and is now approximately 1100 km from Klein Bonaire.

No signals were received from ‘Jenni’. We are still attempting to obtain information about her last recorded location.

‘Albert’ picked up some speed yesterday, moving at a rate of 80 km per day. He still moving west and is now approximately 1010 km from Klein Bonaire.

Signals from ‘Jenni’ have her in the same locale for the last several days increasing the likelihood that she is indeed home. We will make some inquires to learn more about the area. ‘Jenni’ is 1450 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Albert’ has slowed once again and his rate of travel for yesterday was about 70 km per day. He continues in a generally westerly direction and is approximately 930 km from Klein Bonaire.

Only one good data point was received from ‘Jenni’ yesterday and it places her in the same general location. It is very possible that she has arrived at her home foraging grounds. We are uncertain whether the shallow area she is traveling over is actually part of Thunder Knoll or not. If she is in fact at home, we will make inquires in Honduras and learn more about the area.

‘Albert’, our male hawksbill, swam to the northwest yesterday. He slowed slightly and is now traveling at a rate of approximately 94 km per day. He is approximately 880 km from Klein Bonaire.

No useable data was received from ‘Jenni’. Obviously she is not spending much time on the surface. Hopefully tomorrow’s data will be better.

‘Albert’ is still moving to the west. He has picked up his pace and traveled almost 100 km yesterday. He is now approximately 790 km from Klein Bonaire.

Once again the signals from ‘Jenni’ are not the best. It is difficult to tell if she is still moving to the southwest and on to the shallow shelf that extends off the coast of Honduras and Nicaragua or going to stay where she is at Thunder Knoll. She is approximately 1450 km from Klein Bonaire.

Our male hawksbill, ‘Albert’ is still heading west. Yesterday he traveled over 75 km and is now over 690 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’ has once again moved off the Rosalind Bank. She is now headed to the southwest and is approximately 280 km from the coast of Honduras. She is over 1440 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Albert’ is continuing on in a westerly direction and is now approximately 610 km from Klein Bonaire. He’s traveling at a rate of approximately 100 per day.

Only one usable data point was received for ‘Jenni’ and it places her back on the Rosalind Bank. Obviously she is not spending a lot of time at the surface and is probably foraging for food.

‘Albert’ is still swimming to the west. His rate of travel has slowed once again to approximately 80 km per day. He is now over 510 km from Klein Bonaire.

The data being received for ‘Jenni’ is not the best and is pretty confusing. Sorting through it, a best guess is that she has moved off the Rosalind Bank in a southwesterly direction. The next day or so will tell if the interpretation of the data was correct. Yesterday, ‘Jenni’ swam at a rate of approximately 48 km for the day and is currently 1410 km from Klein Bonaire.

Our male hawksbill, ‘Albert’, is continuing on toward the west. His speed has slowed slightly to approximately 93 km for the day. He is now over 435 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’s is moving slowly to the southwest over the Rosalind Bank. For the 24-period, her rate of travel was approximately 32 km and she is now over 1400 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Albert’, our male hawksbill, is swimming due west at a rate of 100 km per day. He is approximately 155 km northwest of Aruba and 350 km from Klein Bonaire.

Late Friday night, November 11, 'Mariposita', our other female hawksbill, came ashore and laid a nest at No Name Beach. She last nested on October 27. Typically hawksbills lay about 4 to 6 nests per season with an interval of 14 to 16 days in-between nests. For the last two seasons we have had nesting activity extend into December so there is a good chance that 'Marposita' will stay a while and nest again.

Our female hawksbill, ‘Jenni’, has turned toward the east and is now on the Rosalind Bank. The Rosalind Bank is a large shallow-water carbonate bank formation with no emergent reefs or cays. ‘Jenni’s traveling at a rate of approximately 48 km per day. She is now over 1390 km from Klein Bonaire.

'Jenni’ is moving to the north and is currently 20 km east of the Rosalind Bank. Yesterday her rate of travel was approximately 57 km for the day. She is now approximately 1360 km from Klein Bonaire.

It appears that ‘Jenni’ has moved off the Alice Shoal and is continuing on to the northwest. She covered less than 30 km yesterday and is now slightly over 1300 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’, our female hawksbill, has slowed appreciably and only traveled about 27 km yesterday. She appears to be meandering over the shallow waters of Alice Shoal (Bajo Alicia) and is very likely foraging for food. This is probably her first opportunity to eat since starting her journey several months ago. Alice Shoal is a completely submerged bank with no emergent reefs or islets and a least depth of approximately 6 meters over it. ‘Jenni’ is over 1280 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’, our female hawksbill, has turned to the north and is now 45 km east of the Serranilla Bank and 15 km south of Alice Shoal. ‘Jenni’ covered approximately 74 km in the preceding 24-hour period and is over 1270 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’ is approximately 455 km off the coast of Honduras. Yesterday she covered about 82 km and is over 1210 km from Klein Bonaire. Last season saw three of our female turtles return to this region of the Caribbean. Approximately 100 km to her northwest is the Serranilla Bank,‘Funny’s foraging grounds. Blanco Gordo, ‘Extra’s home, lays 320 km to the west of ‘Jenni’. ‘STINAPA’s feeding grounds, Cayos Miskito, are over 400 km to the southwest.

Today's single signal from 'Albert' places him right off Klein Bonaire. Maybe tomorrow or the day after or...

'Jenni’, our female hawksbill, is continuing to the west and is about 510 km east of Honduras. Her rate of travel is pretty steady; she covered approximately 87 km in the preceding 24-hour period. She is approximately 1140 km from Klein Bonaire. Now it starts to get really interesting. Last season we had three sea turtles return to three different locales in this region of the Caribbean. Where will she go? We will keep you posted.

Maybe, just maybe, 'Albert' is on the move! Yesterday's signals included one "semi-reliable" data point for 'Albert' and placed him off the east coast of Curacao. Hopefull today's data will confirm the fact that he has started home.

Our female hawksbill, ‘Jenni’, is still moving west and is holding a steady pace. Yesterday, she covered approximately 90 km in the preceding 24-hour period and is about 1050 km from Klein Bonaire.

Now headed to the west and possibly going to the coast of Central America, ‘Jenni’ has picked up some speed. She swam at a rate of approximately 90 km for the prior 24-hour period. She is currently 960 km from Klein Bonaire.

Our female hawksbill, ‘Jenni’, has once again turned towards the west and her pace has slowed even further. For the preceding 24-hour period she covered approximately 52 km compared with 65 km for the day before. Her current position is about 880 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’ continues swimming to the northwest but has slowed down a bit. Her rate of travel for the preceding 24-hour period was approximately 65 km. She is about 820 km from Klein Bonaire.

'Jenni’ is back to a northwest heading and is now approximately 765 km from Klein Bonaire. She is swimming at a consistent pace; her rate of travel was once again right around 88 km for the prior 24-hour period.

'Jenni' continues to move to the west. Her rate of travel is about 83 km per day and she is currently over 680 km from Klein Bonaire.

Our female hawksbill, ‘Jenni’ is now traveling almost due west. Yesterday her rate of travel was approximately 88 km for the prior 24-hour period and she is 600 km from Klein Bonaire.

'Jenni' slowed down a bit yesterday, traveling at a rate of about 80 km per day. She continues to move in the same general direction towards the northwest. She is swimming in water over 4000 meters deep but she probably goes no deeper than 5 to 8 meters while traveling through these very deep parts of the ocean. She is now over 510 km from her starting point at Klein Bonaire.

'Jenni’, our female hawksbill, is still moving to the northwest and has increased her rate of travel once again, covering approximately 105 km in the prior 24–hour period. She is currently 435 km from Klein Bonaire.

Our female hawksbill ‘Jenni’ has picked up some speed as she continues swimming to the northwest. Yesterday her travel rate was approximately 94 km for the prior 24–hour period. She is currently 64 km north of the coast of Columbia and 325 km from Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’ is now moving to the northwest. She is currently 35 km west of Aruba and over 230 km from Klein Bonaire. In the prior 24-hour period she covered approximately 31 km.

Our female hawksbill ‘Jenni’ continues on in a westerly direction and is now past Aruba. I have been incorrectly reporting her rate of travel and her distance from Bonaire in the last reports. The distance measuring tool was calibrated to miles rather than kilometers – my apologizes. ‘Jenni’ swam at a rate of approximately 68 km for the preceding 24-hours period and is now over 200 km from Klein Bonaire.

Female hawksbill ‘Jenni’ is still moving to the west and is now approximately 19 km from Aruba. Yesterday her rate of travel was around 34 km for the 24-hour period, considerably slower than the other turtles we have tracked. She is almost 90 km from her starting point at Klein Bonaire.

‘Jenni’, our female hawksbill, continues to slowly swim to the west. She is currently about 10 km north of Curacao and just over 57 km from Klein Bonaire. Yesterday she covered approximately 32 km.

Less than a week after being fitted with her transmitter, our female hawksbill ‘Jenni’ departed Bonaire and is en route to her home. Since she didn’t depart immediately after laying a nest on October 13, we had expected her to lay at least one more. But on the morning of October 20, she headed off in a northwesterly direction. ‘Jenni’ is swimming rather slowly and is about 43 km northwest of Klein Bonaire.

As you might expect, ‘Albert’ is still with us. With the 2005 mating and nesting season coming to a close, he has to be leaving soon – doesn’t he?

Our male hawksbill turtle now has a name. The sponsor of his satellite transmitter, the cruise ship Freewinds, has named him ‘Albert’, in honor of Albert de Soet, one of the founders of Sea Turtle Conservation Bonaire.

‘Albert’ is still with us here at Bonaire. If he follows the example set by our last male hawksbill, ‘Tom’, he should be departing within the next two weeks. Let’s hope he starts home even sooner..

We had received at least 2 phone calls reporting that a large turtle with an antenna-less transmitter on it’s back had been seen off Klein Bonaire. Several searches for the turtle produced no results. Some, including me, assumed that the reports were mistaken and what was actually being seen was the male hawksbill we outfitted with a transmitter in June. We continue to receive signals from this ‘yet to be named’ turtle so we know his antenna is intact. We thought that people were simply not seeing his antenna.

Last Thursday, September 1, Gielmon ‘Funchi’ Egbreghts finally tracked down the elusive, antenna-less turtle right near the Sampler dive site off Klein Bonaire. Correctly identifying the male hawksbill as ‘Tom’, Funchi carefully removed the transmitter from his carapace after taking measurements and photos. After that, the turtle was released back in the water right where he had been caught. A subsequent check of the tag numbers confirmed that it was ‘Tom’.

‘Tom’ was first captured and fitted with his transmitter back on July 14, 2004. He stayed around Klein Bonaire until October 14 and then headed in a northeasterly direction away from Bonaire. Unfortunately we lost his signal on October 28.

While the female sea turtles that mate and nest on Bonaire only make the journey once every two to four years, it is thought that our males may return every year. ‘Tom’s recapture, as part of STCB’s on-going in-water survey and tagging program, confirm that in at least ‘Tom’s case that he does return annually.

As for our ‘yet to be named’ male hawksbill, he is still off Klein Bonaire. We have our fingers crossed that he will leave for his home foraging area very soon. If not, we may have another situation like that of last year when we lost ‘Tom’s signal. Our best guess is that ‘Tom’s battery was depleted before he reached home.
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‘Tom’ prior to the transmitter being removed - 01 Sep 05 (STCB photo)