Tis the season for turtle hatchlings! Every year the Silver Sand's expansive beach is home to several turtle nests through out the nesting season (May-ish till November-ish). The Department of Environment has procedures in place to ensure these little baby turtles have every chance of making it in the big blue sea. Once the eggs in the nest hatch, usually at night, the turtles scurry to the ocean and are taken away with the tide. Some of the babies get confused with which direction to go in and are found the next day on the property, and some never make it out of the nest. The DOE will come and dig up the nest and help the little ones that were a bit slow out of their shells. These little confused turtles will spend the next day in a bucket resting in a quiet dark place, waiting for the next night to be released by a friendly human turtle sitter. These 11 turtles pictured below all safely made it into the water.
Please note, most of the photos are in black and white because the babies are sensitive to the bright white light or flashlights. They are meant to hatch at night under the cover of darkness to avoid being picked off by birds and other predators. When releasing them, a red light is used so they can be monitored as they scurry into the water and don't go wandering off the wrong way. The red light will protect the turtle's night vision and cut down on their confusion ensuring they get to where they are supposed to go.
Good luck baby turtles!
Photos by: Heather Holt Photography
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