A turtle adventure

a post from Beatrice

Early on Sunday morning, before we left Emerald Isle, my mom saw people gathering on the beach.

“Look! I think they found turtles!” she said.

I want to go there! I thought. I was already dressed, because I just do that first thing (then I read a book). I grabbed my shoes. Harriet kept on her nightgown.

We ran down to the beach. We saw a big pit, and then we saw people digging. They were wearing matching T-shirts that said “Indian Beach Turtle Patrol” on the backs. They were also wearing green gloves.

They were digging and scooping in the sand, trying to find sea turtle eggs. Two people were digging on the left and right side. By now, there was a crowd of people, standing back and watching. Kids and moms, mostly. The Turtle Patrol people were digging in a special pattern, pretty deep. But also carefully. They told us that were looking for a place where the sand was looser, not where it was packed down. That would be a sign of eggs. There might not be any eggs at all, they told us. The mom might have decided that she didn’t want to lay them there. Maybe she got scared.

“How did you know a turtle was here?” my mom asked.

“Because of the tracks,” they said, pointing.

Then we saw two wide-spaced tracks, running from the beach to the nest site. I noticed that on each side of the track, there was a semicircle. It looked like it had been made by a turtle’s flipper. Turtle flippers are curved, so they make a scoop when they put their flippers into the sand.

My mom was worried they wouldn’t find eggs, and Harriet was running into the ocean. But I knew they would find some.

We heard a cheer, and then we saw the eggs. They looked like golf balls, except smooth. They are white and perfectly round. The Turtle Patrol counted them, and broke an egg and stuffed the shell into a test tube. I asked them why they did that. They said they would test the shell’s DNA to find out what kind of turtles they were, and what kind of turtle their mom is.

Then they covered the nest back up with sand, and made a small fence with bright pink tape and a sign warning people to let the turtles be. The sign says “DO NOT DISTURB—North Carolina Sea Turtle Nest Protection Program. It is illegal to harass, molest, or otherwise harm sea turtle eggs, hatchlings, and adults.”

The turtles will hatch in 55-60 days. We think the mom may have come out of the water because it was a full, or near-full moon, and she could see. The full moon that is closest to the time when they are supposed to hatch is August 22—the sturgeon moon. I think we should go back and see the hatchlings!

In the meantime, here is a cool video of people watching turtle hatchlings make their way to the ocean.

A cool thing about turtles is that the females return to the same beach where they were born to lay their eggs. Sea turtles are really tough because they can can walk as soon as they hatch, and they know just where to go: the ocean! Green sea turtles, which are what the Turtle Patrol think these turtles are, are endangered.

One important thing you can do for turtles is turn off your lights! They depend on moonlight to know how to get to the ocean. Porch lights and streetlights can confuse them.

Also, if you see a nest or a turtle, don’t bother it! It knows what to do. If it’s in trouble, call your local sea turtle patrol.

Have you ever seen sea tutle eggs or hatchlings? What was it like?