Turtles!

Tonight we had the privilege of watching the sea turtle hatchlings emerge from their nest and scurry down to the ocean. It was so neat!

The kids spent a lot of time this afternoon/evening talking to one of the turtle volunteers. She was so patient and answered all kinds of questions from all the kids (and adults). They listened to more waterfall sounds of the sand shifting as the turtles hatched under the sand, and we knew it would be soon. Reluctantly we came in for a late dinner around 9. While we were eating, one of the volunteers called to let us know they were seeing movement in the nest.

We hurried back down and got there in time for the kids to see the first couple turtles poke their heads through the sand, then several others followed. I was standing a little further down, so I first saw them when they paused on top of the nest. After a minute or so, the scout headed out and then they all started scurrying down the path and into the trench the volunteers had dug to help guide the hatchlings to the water. They were so little (2 could easily fit in the palm of your hand) and their little flipper feet kept moving the whole time. They were easily distracted by any light, including cell phones, so we weren't allowed to have any flashlights on or take any pictures. The volunteers had red lights they used that allowed us to see the cute little turtles hustle down the trench. When they headed the wrong direction, one of the volunteers turned them around and set them back on track. It was amazing how quickly they moved. Once they got down to the water they fought to get out past the waves. Even in the dark we could see their little bodies floating back and forth with the waves.

It was such a neat experience. The kids loved it. Danielle gave several of them names as they hurried by. Tyler kept exclaiming about how precious they were. We felt so lucky to be a part of this.

There were 110 eggs in this particular nest. I didn't hear a final count as to how many hatched tonight. The volunteers knew how many eggs there were because they had to move the eggs from the original nest location. The female laid her eggs too close to the water, so the volunteers moved them back further where they would be safe. Loggerhead seaturtle eggs hatch in 55-75 days. (These were laid 55 days ago.) A female turtle doesn't usually lay eggs until she's at least 25 years old. They can lay eggs 2 or 3 times a nesting season (which is May - August, I think).

The volunteers return to excavate the nest 3 days after the first turtle emerges. We were told they usually find live turtles when they excavate the nest and were encouraged to return then to get decent pictures in the daylight. Since it's just a few houses down from where we're staying, hopefully we'll be able to catch them excavating the nest. I'd like to get a picture of all the little flipper tracks in the sand, too.

Here is a picture of the barrier and the nest before it hatched. That's one of the volunteer's towels and it was removed before the babies came out. There is also a slightly out of focus picture of the top of the nest. You can see where the sand had started to sink. (Tyler took both these pictures earlier this evening.) It will be difficult to top this vacation memory!!