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Post by greatcoastal on Aug 7, 2017 7:15:15 GMT -5
My daughter and I went walking on the beach last night to watch the mother turtles come out and nest. Last night was a clear full moon. We went out last month during a full moon and witnessed 4 turtles laying their eggs. Our location is the second largest area in the world (largest in the USA) for loggerheads and Green turtles. Last year was a record year).
It started out a bit disappointing. We found fresh tracks around 9:30 pm. so we had just missed one. We returned from our walk around 11:00 pm . We found 6 hispanic people watching a mother come out of the ocean. it was too late . By the time we got near them we discovered what they where doing. They where taking pics. with their cell phones and put their hands all over her! .Their where no tracks anywhere, she never made it onto the beach. They scared the H____ out of her!
We proceeded down the beach another 50 yards or so when we walked up on 4 young men standing by the ocean. They where keeping their distance and watching one of the largest Loggerheads we have ever seen coming up on the beach. My daughter and I watched the other 6 people, and made sure they didn't get near it. It could have been the same female turtle.
The turtle made it all the way up into the dunes. Surprisingly she did what's known as a "false crawl". She started to dig her hole for only a few minutes, then started to crawl all the way back to the ocean. Makes me think it was the same turtle, and she was really spooked from what they did to her.
As "mamma" turtle was about half way down the beach getting closer to the water, my daughter said to one of the men, "look out, there's a Ghost crab, right at your foot!"
Well it turned out to be a baby sea turtle! We all turned around and looked further up towards the dunes and here they came. They where all around our feet. We had to be extra careful not to step on them! We got to see about 100 babies dashing frantically for the water in the full moon light! They where so tiny! About the size of an oreo cookie with fins!
This was a first for all of us. Especially for me. 14 years I've visited the beach and have seen many mother turtles at night, and only found empty nests with broken eggs in the morning. Many other people had told us they have seen the babies in the morning in the daylight. (so much for the theory of needing the moonlight to find the ocean)
What a cool experience! We also met some nice ,polite, friendly young men. They where all in there early 20's. They said they have seen turtles in the water when they go fishing but have never seen one up on land, and had never seen babies before!
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Post by WindSister on Aug 7, 2017 8:20:58 GMT -5
My daughter and I went walking on the beach last night to watch the mother turtles come out and nest. Last night was a clear full moon. We went out last month during a full moon and witnessed 4 turtles laying their eggs. Our location is the second largest area in the world (largest in the USA) for loggerheads and Green turtles. Last year was a record year). It started out a bit disappointing. We found fresh tracks around 9:30 pm. so we had just missed one. We returned from our walk around 11:00 pm . We found 6 hispanic people watching a mother come out of the ocean. it was too late . By the time we got near them we discovered what they where doing. They where taking pics. with their cell phones and put their hands all over her! .Their where no tracks anywhere, she never made it onto the beach. They scared the H____ out of her! We proceeded down the beach another 50 yards or so when we walked up on 4 young men standing by the ocean. They where keeping their distance and watching one of the largest Loggerheads we have ever seen coming up on the beach. My daughter and I watched the other 6 people, and made sure they didn't get near it. It could have been the same female turtle. The turtle made it all the way up into the dunes. Surprisingly she did what's known as a "false crawl". She started to dig her hole for only a few minutes, then started to crawl all the way back to the ocean. Makes me think it was the same turtle, and she was really spooked from what they did to her. As "mamma" turtle was about half way down the beach getting closer to the water, my daughter said to one of the men, "look out, there's a Ghost crab, right at your foot!" Well it turned out to be a baby sea turtle! We all turned around and looked further up towards the dunes and here they came. They where all around our feet. We had to be extra careful not to step on them! We got to see about 100 babies dashing frantically for the water in the full moon light! They where so tiny! About the size of an oreo cookie with fins! This was a first for all of us. Especially for me. 14 years I've visited the beach and have seen many mother turtles at night, and only found empty nests with broken eggs in the morning. Many other people had told us they have seen the babies in the morning in the daylight. (so much for the theory of needing the moonlight to find the ocean) What a cool experience! We also met some nice ,polite, friendly young men. They where all in there early 20's. They said they have seen turtles in the water when they go fishing but have never seen one up on land, and had never seen babies before! Love it. So awesome you got to enjoy that with your daughter. Thanks for sharing!  |
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Post by greatcoastal on Aug 7, 2017 9:31:20 GMT -5
It was so much better having her with me! Something we will always remember! I plan on going back today during daylight with my daughter and look for that nest.
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Post by Caris on Aug 7, 2017 16:09:06 GMT -5
What a wonderful story, and experience for you. I would love to see that.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 7, 2017 19:35:54 GMT -5
Only about 1 of every 1000 sea turtles hatched survives to adulthood. Survival rates vary greatly, depending on interventions, but almost all babies become food.
You truly did see an amazing thing. Well done, Dad!
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Post by Caris on Aug 8, 2017 16:56:17 GMT -5
Only about 1 of every 1000 sea turtles hatched survives to adulthood. Survival rates vary greatly, depending on interventions, but almost all babies become food. You truly did see an amazing thing. Well done, Dad! It's sad to think all those babies don't make it. |
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Post by Deleted on Aug 8, 2017 19:52:01 GMT -5
Even those very low survival rates are sufficient to sustain staggeringly large populations of turtles, provided that humans don't decimate the adults. With colonialism, the populations faded to mere vestiges. At the other end of the spectrum is the reduction of hatchings through mass egg collection.
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Post by becca on Aug 8, 2017 21:03:03 GMT -5
What a magical night to share with your daughter!
Where I live, there are a group of people who actively look for nests and then rope them off once it is a confirmed nest. Then when it is time, volunteers will "nest sit" until the baby sea turtles hatch.
I haven't seen hatchlings in years. I guess I should get to the beach more!
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Post by greatcoastal on Aug 8, 2017 23:29:33 GMT -5
What a wonderful story, and experience for you. I would love to see that. I'm sure we would LOVE your company! You would make it twice as fun, and a memorable experience! |
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Post by greatcoastal on Aug 8, 2017 23:43:34 GMT -5
What a magical night to share with your daughter! Where I live, there are a group of people who actively look for nests and then rope them off once it is a confirmed nest. Then when it is time, volunteers will "nest sit" until the baby sea turtles hatch. I haven't seen hatchlings in years. I guess I should get to the beach more! The Archie Carr memorial park is just a few miles south of us. The county we live in has 70 miles of beach. It's considered the largest nesting site in the USA. Nothing gets roped off. People from the Sea Turtle Preservation Society, and the life Guards, come down the beach every morning in an ATV and do a count. You can see the tracks and get an idea how new or old the nests are. I'm guessing there's so many of them (like every 50 yards or so) that it's not necessary. Nature takes care of it. The moon is gorgeous tonight. So large and bright. I watched it rise over the river tonight. Part of living on an island. Then to see it perfectly framed by all the oak trees on our street. (As I've said before, I look forward to intimately sharing such things with someone, again) Why don't you (dear friend) go out before school starts in the next day or two with your lovely daughters and have a magical night for your self? YOU DESERVE IT!! |
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Post by greatcoastal on Jun 6, 2020 9:08:53 GMT -5
Last night I took my woman out to show her some Sea turttles nesting at our local beach, we were not dissapointed! June and July are the peak times of the season. Plus it was a full moon,shadowed by the clouds from tropical storm Cristabol. The first one we saw was a Loggerhead. We where on the beach just a few minutes when a couple came walking towards us and told us about it. Minutes later another man came and told us " down the beach ,in front of the hotel is a HUGE turtle, I think it's a Leatherback?" I would not have believed it, since they rarely make it this far north, and only 20 to 50 , nest along the entire East coast here in our county. Just 2 weeks ago another Leatherback came out at 6:20am about a mile south of us. The police came to protect her and pictures where posted in the paper. This may have been the same turtle? And there she was!! WOW! What a sight to see a turtle that huge! ( the largest in the world!) Her tracks are 8 ft. wide! There was also 8 college students standing many yards away, down on the beach. I came up to them and asked them if they wanted to join us, and witness such a rare event? They were stoked! We all had a great time! A very nice group of people. I acted like their own personal tour guide,and told them all that I have read about the turtles! www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2020/05/21/massive-800-pound-sea-turtle-nests-downtown-indialantic-during-daylight/5236717002/ |
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Post by worksforme2 on Jun 6, 2020 13:40:58 GMT -5
Pretty good karma greatcoastal. We have some large turtles in NC, but nothing with a 8' wide track. If you see one of our large turtles better keep some distance, it's called a "snapping turtle" for good reason.
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Post by Handy on Jun 6, 2020 21:33:53 GMT -5
Nice turtle stories.
Thank you for posting them.
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