Busy time on the beach.

posted: July 31, 2016, 2:53 PM

The babies are HATCHING!!!! And not wasting any time! Nest 9 hatched on DAY 50!!! The hot weather is speeding up the incubation time. Turtle Patrol is busy, there were at least 47 members on the beach between 7/25 and today! Look for the "red shirts" on the beach in the early evening.

We could still have more mothers and nests laid on the beach--it's not too late for nesting mothers! We need 9 more nests to match last year. It has been 5 days since a mother turtle has laid eggs on our beach. If we go two weeks with out a new nest we do consider the nesting season over.

What is a "closing"? Some beaches call it "evacuation". On the 3rd day after the initial "boil", turtle patrol members dig down into the nest to see if there are any more live babies that may be trapped. The egg shells are counted. We also look for and rebury any viable unhatched eggs. This is usually a good opportunity for visitors to see baby turtles.

These photos are of the closing of nest #7 on 7/31/16--total of 115 babies to the ocean. This lone turtle was found at close out. Copy and paste this Facebook Link to see this turtle walking to the ocean. https://www.facebook.com/cheryle.syracuse/posts/10209550648779084?notif_t=like¬if_id=1470075226620309

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