As Easter ushers in a season of renewal and April shines a spotlight on Earth Month, the natural world on Cousin Island Special Reserve beautifully reflects these themes.
Despite the challenges wildlife faces, the island is buzzing with new life, from Hawksbill turtle hatchlings dashing to the sea, to seabird chicks emerging from eggs and new coral fragments cementing hope on the reef.
This turtle nesting season has seen its share of triumphs and losses. Climate change is reshaping the nesting beaches, creating challenges for nesting females coming ashore. They have to navigate steep sand cliffs, washed in rocks on nesting beaches, and fallen trees.
Hawksbill turtle hatchlings heading to the ocean
But these ancient sea turtles continue on their journey back to shore as they have done for decades.
“The season has stretched out a lot longer than expected, and we still have turtles nesting,” says Chris Tagg, the island’s conservation officer. He had expected the return of what was thought to be the last Hawksbill turtle of the season, but to his surprise, two others have followed!
Sadly, unable to find a suitable nesting spot, some of the turtles have laid their eggs too close to the high tide line or in areas prone to flooding this season, keeping the turtle team busy with translocations, with the nests marked for excavation once the hatchlings have emerged.
“We have probably had more translocations this season than we have had in the last four season,” Tagg explains.
In an excavation carried out this week, however, the team was thrilled to discover an impressive 97.76% success rate at a translocated nest.
“We translocated 134 eggs and 131 hatched,” says Tagg, adding that this was a bright spot in a season where many nests were lost to flooding or dug up by overlapping turtles struggling to find space in one nesting beach.
The excavations have become a part of the island’s eco-tourism experience, giving visitors a chance to see conservation efforts in action and appreciate the effort that goes into giving turtles a fighting chance.
Up in the trees and nestled at the base of the trees, seabird chicks are also emerging. From January to April, breeding success monitoring is carried out for the White tern (Gygis alba), and the White-tailed tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus). Staff and volunteers split the island amongst them, and search for nests, eggs, and chicks at various stages.
“The White terns are famous for laying their eggs on bare branches without a nest. We have cute little chicks perched on the branches until they fledge. One little chick, perched gracefully on the spathe of a coconut palm looks as if it’s lounging in a hammock and has delighted those strolling by,” Chris says. The White-tailed tropicbirds typically nest on the ground, at the base of trees and also in rock ledges and crevices. Their fluffy chicks are scattered across the forest floor. They resemble tiny puffballs with beaks.
Meanwhile, beneath the waves, another kind of renewal is taking place. The coral restoration team is busy outplanting coral fragments from the underwater nurseries to the reef in a race to beat the South East Monsoon winds, which limit all underwater activity.