Barb was our first GPS tagged turtle of 2020! Read more about the real Barb! Barb was first tagged (with flipper tag SPP088) at Sandy Point in 2012; this was her first nest as an adult turtle. She nested several times that year and was back in 2015 (with several more nests). In 2020, she first appeared on 28 April. The next time we saw her on 8 May, we gave her a GPS tag so we could follow her movements during the nesting season when she was not on the beach.
Here are her nesting loops! She nested about every 10 days or so.
Loop ONE – begins and ends at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge.
Loop TWO – begins and ends at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge.
Loop THREE – begins at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge but ends at Carambola Beach Resort on the North Shore.
Loop FOUR – begins at Carambola Beach Resort and ends at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge.
Loop FIVE – We saw Barb one last time on 27 June! We were then able to track Barb for 138 days!
Barb swam straight for Bermuda. It looks like she spent a few days a bit too close to Bermuda, and her transmitter may have been damaged there. After she left that area, she continued northward, and we expected her to enter Canadian waters where leatherbacks love to feast on jellyfish. Unfortunately, Barb’s transmitter stopped working on 12 August 2020. She likely continued north on this track to Canada. We will look forward to seeing Barb on the nesting beach in another few years. This year she gave us so much great information on where leatherbacks spend their time in between nests!
Barb’s Sponsors – Thank you all for making this happen!
Penny Mabie (major sponsor and supporter).
Friends and family of Barb Keogh through a memorial fund.
EnviroIssues Family – including Lauren Dennis, Susan Hayman, Kathryn Murdock.
Barb Sage and Barb DeBonte, Nancy Rutenbeck, Mildred Keogh, Susan Picard, Melissa Thom and the United Way of King County.
National Save the Sea Turtle Foundation
National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project is sponsored by The Ocean Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, in cooperation with US Fish and Wildlife Service at Sandy Point National Wildlife Refuge, St. Croix, US Virgin Islands.
The St. Croix Sea Turtle Project 