Sunbury kangaroo count founder Robert Irvine has swapped Victoria’s winter and migrated north to help monitor the sea turtle population.
Mr Irvine travelled to Bare Sand Island off the coast of Darwin in early July to volunteer with conservation and research not-for-profit AusTurtle.
Mr Irvine said he spent about a week there camping and found the experience interesting and satisfying.
“The project has been running for about 20 years … [and] it’s the second time I’ve done it so I knew what to expect,” he said.
Mr Irvine said the count would happen at night, but the exact time would vary with the tide.
“You go out at high tide at night, as the turtles prefer to crawl the shortest distance to avoid predators,” he said.
“As the turtles come up you record if it has a titanium tag which means it’s been tagged before, and if there isn’t a tag a qualified professional will tag it.
“You measure the length and width of the shell … which is put into a database to monitor them.
“The next day you come up at sunset and you look for precious eggs hatching [which] will climb out and try to get back to the sea.
“Mostly they’re eaten by night herons, which is a bird, and crabs and if they are lucky enough to get to the sea they can be eaten by sharks as well.
“What is truly amazing is the hatchling, if it survives, it comes back to the exact same spot 30 years later to lay eggs.”
Zoe Moffatt
