llgrn1987@aol.com
In a message dated 12/10/00 12:34:03 PM SA Eastern Standard Time, danetherton@… writes: The ones here in NY inhabit Jamaca Bay but the ones that come up from my property come from a small protected marsh land at the end of my street (approximatly 5 houses away). The water is from the open bay and I seriously doubt that the salinity varies very much. Nesting females come right up onto our property to nest because over recient years the area that was once their nesting ground has been developed (we are working to prevent further development because of this). When the nesting females come out of the marsh and walk into our yard it is almost guaranteed that the babies will never ever make it to the water. I do what I can and have my neighbors trained to be on diamondback watch during nesting season. Another big problem is that once they walk away from the water they get lost and dehydrated. You can actually spot the same one walking around the street for days. Again I do what I can for them but I often don’t catch them all and they end up being hit by cars. Last summer I was woken up by my neighbors one Sunday morning. The street was dotted with them. They were under cars and in peoples gardens. I had never seen this happen. When you bring them back to the marsh they just leave the marsh looking for sandy soil to nest in again so if you find them gravid they will most likely just walk right back into the street. I tried putting some of the more stubborn ones in a pen to nest but they just became stressed. A vet gave one female oxcitocin and we got 4 eggs (two of which hatched and will be released in the spring). Lori