Miz t. - The Weather Witch: The Turtle Nest/Hurricane Theory

[trof]

Credentials:
Miz t. is 100% Cajun on both sides.
Mama from near Lake Charles, LA, daddy from NOLA.
Her maiden name is so French you'd have a hard time pronouncing it.
I call her my 'Cajun Voo-Doo Witchy Woman'.


Her mom was a Witchy Woman Weather Forecaster.
She could tell you 24 hours ahead of time if it was gonna rain.
She 'read' clouds and winds.
I never knew her to be wrong.

We have a friend who's a 'turtle nest walker'.
Belongs to a group who walk our beaches during turtle nesting season (now) every morning looking for nests. When they find one, they put 'caution' tape around it so folks won't disturb it.

Miz t. always asks her "How high are they nesting?"
Her theory: Turtles somehow 'know' if it's gonna be a bad hurricane season and lay eggs farther up in the dunes. If they're layin' "low", it'll be an easy season.
So far, this has proved to be true.
Wonder how the turtles 'know'?

So far...this year...they're layin' low on the Alabama Gulf Coast.
YAY!

[Flaxbee]

1. Interesting!

It's easy to understand how animals can tell to move to higher ground if there's an enormous earthquake and will be a tsunami - that's from a specific event where they can make a judgement.

But for long-term weather forecasting? I have no idea I'm sure they're right, though.

Wonder where the turtles are nesting in South Carolina ... high or low?

[Angry Dragon]

4. Everything in the world is connected

Animals are just listening to the rest of the world instead of trying to change everything around them like humans. It is a sense that humans have lost over the years. We have stopped listening to the world around us.

[trof]

5. I like your response.

I think you're right.

[Angry Dragon]

8. Thank you

[trof]

6. You probably have 'turtle walkers' too. Ask around.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

2. My dear trof!

This info is very cool indeed...

I really respect folks who can do these things.

Hope those turtles are right!

[Kali]

3. I have a cousin who claims the height of ant hills predicts good summer rains

but I think he is just looking at different species of ants. Or he has been wrong a lot.

[petronius]

7. It would be pretty cool if the walkers collected GPS coordinates for the nests

over a series of years (do they?), which could be examined for trends.

It seems that there would be a survival benefit to nests being as low on the beach as possible, where the hatchlings can avoid birds on their sprint to the water, so you'd think they'd only go as high as they need to. And I guess there could be variables they'd respond that might correlate with upcoming storminess - sea surface temperatures over their range, or beach steepness, or something.

Pretty neat observation - and if I recall correctly the outlook this year is for an average season, right?