I saw Sea Turtles Hatch

[Skinn30A]

When is the next hatch scheduled? I've just moved to the area and am very interested in volunteering and I'd like to got out and meet the team. I also have some very good friends coming into to town this weekend and it would make their 4yr old's year to watch something like this. They get in this Friday the 18th and will stay until next Saturday the 26th.

I've studied the Turtle Watch Website and it looks like nests 23-30 may go in that time frame. What the nest referenced above #28?

Best,

Skinn30a

 

[ASH]

The nest at Stallworth was nest #25. Contact Sharon Maxwell who heads up the South Walton Turtle Watch group about volunteer opportunities. She can be reached at 850-685-6281.

The reason the turtles are kept until after dark is to best mimic their natural routine as turtle nests nearly always hatch after dark as well as to best camoflage the turtle in the hopes of them getting far enough from shore by daylight as to not be so visible to the many predators they must bypass to survive.

Thanks for asking questions. This is how we all learn.

 

[Just Curious]

The reason the turtles are kept until after dark is to best mimic their natural routine as turtle nests nearly always hatch after dark as well as to best camoflage the turtle in the hopes of them getting far enough from shore by daylight as to not be so visible to the many predators they must bypass to survive.

Thanks for asking questions. This is how we all learn.[/quote]


Ash, thanks, but now I have more questions.

If the hatchlings are in the wild(no human contact), and they hatch during daylight hours would they wait until dark, or would they head straight to the water, and take their chances with predators?

Another question, Has anybody ever looked into a "turtle farm" to help re-populate the turtles we have coming to our beaches?

 

[ASH]

Good questions

The turtles would head for the water as long as it was the strongest light source as far as I know. They wouldn't likely know what they were crawling into as far as near shore predators. I'd venture to say they'd be fishfood within 20 feet of entering the water at 7AM. That's a great time to be surf fishing because there are so many in close feeding....if they got past the seagulls and ghost crabs.

As far as a turtle farm, that would be the last act to attempt to save the species and is happening in other parts of the world. Apparently those calling the shots haven't decided that we need to intervene to that point yet with the local populations. You question is actually quite common among people stopping walkers to ask questions. Many believe this is what we do when we find a nest.

 

[NotDeadYet]

It's unusual for a nest to hatch in the daylight. The trigger for emergence seems to be the cooler temperatures that come after sunset. The usual pattern is for the hatchlings to spend as long as several days digging their way up to the top, in short bursts of activity. The scratch around a bit, some sand falls down into the nest, which raises up the floor, then they rest, and so on. This brings them closer and closer to the surface and ordinarily they will rest there until it cools, and then they all leave at once. I think we might be seeing more stragglers and unusual hatching patterns this year because of all the rain and the cooler temperatures. If a nest does hatch during the day it is often in a rainstorm - the cooling tricks them into thinking it is time to leave. Also, the sand is wetter and heavier from all the rain, so the dig out probably is harder for them.

 

[incredible1]

Thats cool ! Should like the remote hatch for Henderson Park Inn, http://hendersonpark.30atelevision.com/turtlecam - next full moon anticipated hatch time.