Here They Come!

This week it happened. We had our first little hatchlings bursting from the sand. Some have said their tracks look like a mad spider's web. Hopefully, I can bring you pictures of the spewing chaos soon. Although none of the hatched nests are in my section, we have five clutches of eggs that hatched on Anna Maria Island this week.

Since we can't capture this miracle without disorienting the hatchlings, I found this National Geographic video from their recently aired Sea Turtle Odyssey that shows how a sea turtle's journey begins.



As we begin to track this year's nests, we are seeing a trend in shorter incubation periods. The later the nests are laid, the faster they are hatching. We're not yet sure what this means, but hotter nests yield a greater number of female turtles. The sex of a turtle is determined by the temperature in the nest. I tell students "cool dudes and hot chicks" to help them remember cool nests (and areas of the nest) create male turtles, while hotter nests and nesting areas produce female turtles.

Next week, all walkers will begin to check the nests for signs of hatching: indentations in the sand and ghost crab holes near the nests. If we see signs of movement in and around the nest, we will mark it with a blue ribbon to alert fellow walkers to check the nest closely each day.

Caught in the Act!

This week an AMI Turtle Watcher had a thrill. She saw a little momma heading back to the water after her hard work. When Turtle Watch Director Suzi Fox sent the picture to Marc, she was right when she said, "This will make your wife squeal!!!!!"

I'm embarrassed to say -- it did.

When I was about the age of my students, every summer my mom would let me keep a box turtle in a shoebox from last year's school shoes. I usually found a specimen in an empty lot two doors down, opposite "the preacher's house," or what Methodists call the parsonage. I would feed him or her (I never knew) iceberg lettuce for two weeks before letting it go back to its mysterious life. I still remember how excited I was when I was quiet enough for long enough for the scared little turtle to open its shell just long enough for me to see his (or her) little legs and head. I even remember trying to pry its shell open but stopping because I was so afraid of injuring my new friend.

Now living in Florida, I have the privilege to help these amazing creatures. What's even more exciting is I have come to realize that because turtles must reach the age of 35 before they reproduce, the young turtles nesting this year on Anna Maria Island were hatching and crawling onto the sand for the first time just as I was begging my mom for my first shoebox.

Happy Independence Day, Mate!

As we watched "Mate" released into Sarasota Bay, I couldn't help but think "FREEDOM!" Mate is a juvenile green turtle that was hit by a boat in Longboat Key Pass. He spent 3 1/2 months at MOTE Marine in Sarasota, recovering from a skull fracture. This little guy was barely more than a foot long, but he was more than eager to gain his independence into the big wide world. I couldn't help but cry more tears of joy as his flippers began smacking his shell when he saw the water. I said a little prayer that he (or she) would grow to be a HUGE turtle, enjoying many more years of freedom in the vast ocean. Here's my amateur video of the release:



For a great story and pictures, visit The Bradenton Herald.com.