A Turtle Boil and a Social Event
No folks this is not turtle soup for a group of people but an amazing experience of watching a turtle nest come alive as a mess (that’s a lot!) of baby sea turtles begin their journey by climbing their way out of their nest as they head to the ocean.
Amazingly, in a boil, the turtles try to escape the nest all at once and it looks like they are boiling out of the beach sand before they scamper towards the ocean.
It was a couple of years ago when my daughter and I were walking along the beach near Captain Charlie’s on Bald Head Island when we came across two turtle nests very near one another that were being monitored by nest monitors.
From my understanding, a nest monitor is someone that adopts a nest a few days before the expected hatching. I think of a nest monitor as something like a mid-wife assisting the baby turtles by protecting the nest and assisting them during the early minutes of their lives by directing them down the beach to the surf line and their escape to the ocean.
The first thing we noticed was an area of smooth sand about five feet wide marked out from the nest to the surf line which was edged in black plastic garden edging; it looked like a runway.
Next, the monitors had comfortable beach chairs and other supplies such as flashlights with red lenses as they prepared to spend the evening watching the nest. One nest monitor had a stethoscope that they used to listen to the nest to determine if they heard any turtles digging their way out of the nest.
I mentioned a flashlight with a red lens because the baby turtles are very sensitive to light and will head in the direction of a white light instead of going to the water. Apparently sea turtles can’t see the red light.
What are the ingredients of watching a hatching? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is patience followed by a beach chair and more patience and perhaps a flashlight and a snack and more patience.
As the evening progressed more and more people gathered around the two nests. Both nests were expected to hatch within the next few days. Before long it seemed like there were 15 to 20 people of all ages sitting around chatting about everything and anything. There were people from across the country and Europe vacationing on this small island in North Carolina about to experience a wonderful event. There were children playing on the beach, baby’s sleeping in beach blankets and adults sitting around socialization.
Then a sign, a baby turtle stuck its nose out of the sand in one of the nests. Excitement filled the air; everyone waited. A half hour passed and then another hour but nothing happened. Was it a false alarm? Maybe one turtle would escape tonight if the one showing his nose got up enough strength to dig himself out of the sand. People came and went, the Milky Way blazed across the sky and the sound of the surf lulled the children to sleep. What a beautiful night. Finally, the turtle moved and out he came; a little sluggish at first with his battle out of the nest. A little bewildered, the turtle instinctively began moving his little flippers pushing and pulling himself to the water weaving back and forth down the runway as he went.
About the size of a half dollar everyone lining the runway was chatting excitedly about this little creature and its desire and focus to reach the surf. It was like watching a ball game and everyone is pulling for the home team. After traveling a few feet there was a sense of excitement as another turtle struggled out of the sand followed by another. In a few moments the nest came alive as little flippers, noses and bodies fought their way from the nest to the runway. Soon there were 20 then 50 little turtles pulling themselves along the runway. Some headed inland but were redirected to the water. The race was on and soon the runway was filled with little turtles. Finally reaching the surf line the turtles washed out and washed back in and tumbling along the surf they finally fought their way through the rough water and out to sea.
Emotionally invested in the miracle we just witnessed and with the nest empty and all the turtles in the water we headed back to the house. Saying good-by to the people we met now friends we shared a common denominator with them after witnessing one of nature’s miracles.
So, in conclusion the gifts that we received that night were wonderful in that we made new friends and shared in a sense of amazement as we all watched in awe as the little sea turtles made it to the water. Excavating the nest a few days later the interns charged with that found over a hundred turtles eggs had hatched from that nest.
The other nest hatched three nights later.
No folks this is not turtle soup for a group of people but an amazing experience of watching a turtle nest come alive as a mess (that’s a lot!) of baby sea turtles begin their journey by climbing their way out of their nest as they head to the ocean.
Amazingly, in a boil, the turtles try to escape the nest all at once and it looks like they are boiling out of the beach sand before they scamper towards the ocean.
It was a couple of years ago when my daughter and I were walking along the beach near Captain Charlie’s on Bald Head Island when we came across two turtle nests very near one another that were being monitored by nest monitors.
From my understanding, a nest monitor is someone that adopts a nest a few days before the expected hatching. I think of a nest monitor as something like a mid-wife assisting the baby turtles by protecting the nest and assisting them during the early minutes of their lives by directing them down the beach to the surf line and their escape to the ocean.
The first thing we noticed was an area of smooth sand about five feet wide marked out from the nest to the surf line which was edged in black plastic garden edging; it looked like a runway.
Next, the monitors had comfortable beach chairs and other supplies such as flashlights with red lenses as they prepared to spend the evening watching the nest. One nest monitor had a stethoscope that they used to listen to the nest to determine if they heard any turtles digging their way out of the nest.
I mentioned a flashlight with a red lens because the baby turtles are very sensitive to light and will head in the direction of a white light instead of going to the water. Apparently sea turtles can’t see the red light.
What are the ingredients of watching a hatching? Well, the first thing that comes to mind is patience followed by a beach chair and more patience and perhaps a flashlight and a snack and more patience.
As the evening progressed more and more people gathered around the two nests. Both nests were expected to hatch within the next few days. Before long it seemed like there were 15 to 20 people of all ages sitting around chatting about everything and anything. There were people from across the country and Europe vacationing on this small island in North Carolina about to experience a wonderful event. There were children playing on the beach, baby’s sleeping in beach blankets and adults sitting around socialization.
Then a sign, a baby turtle stuck its nose out of the sand in one of the nests. Excitement filled the air; everyone waited. A half hour passed and then another hour but nothing happened. Was it a false alarm? Maybe one turtle would escape tonight if the one showing his nose got up enough strength to dig himself out of the sand. People came and went, the Milky Way blazed across the sky and the sound of the surf lulled the children to sleep. What a beautiful night. Finally, the turtle moved and out he came; a little sluggish at first with his battle out of the nest. A little bewildered, the turtle instinctively began moving his little flippers pushing and pulling himself to the water weaving back and forth down the runway as he went.
About the size of a half dollar everyone lining the runway was chatting excitedly about this little creature and its desire and focus to reach the surf. It was like watching a ball game and everyone is pulling for the home team. After traveling a few feet there was a sense of excitement as another turtle struggled out of the sand followed by another. In a few moments the nest came alive as little flippers, noses and bodies fought their way from the nest to the runway. Soon there were 20 then 50 little turtles pulling themselves along the runway. Some headed inland but were redirected to the water. The race was on and soon the runway was filled with little turtles. Finally reaching the surf line the turtles washed out and washed back in and tumbling along the surf they finally fought their way through the rough water and out to sea.
Emotionally invested in the miracle we just witnessed and with the nest empty and all the turtles in the water we headed back to the house. Saying good-by to the people we met now friends we shared a common denominator with them after witnessing one of nature’s miracles.
So, in conclusion the gifts that we received that night were wonderful in that we made new friends and shared in a sense of amazement as we all watched in awe as the little sea turtles made it to the water. Excavating the nest a few days later the interns charged with that found over a hundred turtles eggs had hatched from that nest.
The other nest hatched three nights later.
Making its way to the ocean.