Officially May first is the beginning of "turtle season" when the sea turtles come ashore to make their nests and lay their eggs. This year has been disappointing to me since there is only one nest in the four miles of beach I tread each day. Here it is mid-June and only one nest to be seen.
My mind was running in overdrive. "Where are the turtles? What could cause them to not be nesting? Will the old wives' tale be true that says no turtle nests means greater hurricane threat? Have the turtles been snared in huge trawling nets?" Woe was me until I stopped one of the Turtle Patrol volunteers and asked questions. Apparently our ocean water is a bit cooler than normal for this time of year and most of the nests are north of here in the state park area where there are fewer people and no lights to distract the nesting turtles.
With that in mind, the next day I headed up the peninsula for my morning walk and lo and behold... turtle nests galore. Within the first mile I counted nine nests. Farther along and taking note of the nesting dates, I realized that there were eight new nests in one day! What a sight it must have been that night along the shore! (Turtles nest at night guided by the moon and the hatchlings break forth also at night some 2 to 3 months later.)
The Turtle Patrol marks each nest with tape (neon pink for May, blue for June, etc.) and notes the date and nest-count number. I was thrilled to see the large nest outlined in May pink and right beside it coming a month later, the smaller nest marked by June's blue.
My faith in turtle power was renewed, my fear of a bad hurricane season diminished, and I enjoyed a wonderful walk along the beach exploring an integral part of the life cycle of one of the sea's most magnificent creatures. Life is good!
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