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Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Where Sea Turtles Come to Cry

Vero Beach -- a charming town on Florida's Atlantic coast.  We have visited Vero pretty often over the past twenty years, ever since my in-laws bought a condo there.  We often used to go down on spring break, until the first child went to college and the kids' spring breaks no longer coincided.  When we started visiting in late May and early June, we learned that this time of year is turtle nesting season.

Early one morning several years ago, my daughter and I were walking along the beach looking for shells or whatever we could find.  Suddenly a woman who lived in one of the houses on the beach popped out from behind a row of sea grape and asked if we were looking for turtle tracks. We didn't have any idea what turtle tracks looked like.  She kindly showed us some tracks and a nest.  The tracks look a lot like tire tracks from an ATV, so we had possibly seen the tracks before and thought they were just tracks from the shore patrol.

She also told us that the female turtle cries as she lays her eggs.  (The turtles don't really "cry" of course, but their eyes do water in order to remove excess salt.)  After talking to the turtle lady, I was hooked.  I love to look for turtle tracks, especially early in the morning before the turtle patrol has come along to drive on the tracks and flag the nests.

Last week was a particularly good one for turtle nesting. Some mornings we spotted as many as six sets of fresh tracks. Florida's east coast is a popular spot for loggerhead turtles to nest although leatherbacks and green turtles also nest there. The female loggerhead turtle nests on average every two to three years, beginning around age 30.  She will nest an average of four, but as many as seven, times during a single season, laying 60-120 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs in each nest. Amazingly, the turtles return to the same beach where they hatched.  

They usually nest at night, so I have never seen the turtles themselves, but we may have seen one surfacing this year a little way off shore.  A brownish shape appeared a few times one day when we were in the waves.  (Need I say, it freaked me out?  I am nervous about living creatures in the ocean. Especially since someone was bitten by a shark in the exact same stretch of beach earlier in May this year!) 

The eggs hatch after about sixty days, and the tiny two-inch hatchlings make a nighttime run to the ocean.  Only one in a thousand of the endangered hatchlings live to maturity, so the females who crawl up on Vero Beach's sandy shore are real survivors.
A fresh nest and a flagged nest several days old.

29 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Doggone iPad. Sorry I accidently deleted! Thanks for the interesting info on sea turtles. We often see nests on the SC coast too.

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  3. fascinating. there's a beach in DR called turtle beach because of its famous turtles, and that particular kind is an endemic species. sea turtles are unbelievable creatures!

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  4. I always learn something new when I read your blog! I had no idea the statistic on survival to maturity!

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  5. Great post, I've never seen sea turtles nest before.

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  6. Neat post, I saw this once in a movie, really cool!

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  7. So interesting! I've never seen the nests or tracks before!

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  8. that is so cool! thanks for the turtle lesson. It would be something if you got pictures of the babies on their run to the ocean.
    Debbi
    -yankeeburrowcreations

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  9. I've read and heard about these sea turtles, but never actually seen them. Didn't know about the "crying" part. This is quite interesting. You have the greatest adventures.

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  10. What a great post! I love it when I learn something new, especially when it comes to wildlife. I wish I could see that for myself. So interesting.

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  11. That's amazing!!! I remember seeing this in a beac in Mexico, but I'm not sure if the turtles were the same, I just remember they were humongous!

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  12. I loved reading about the sea turtles. I have only been to the Pacific Coast beaches and I'm not sure they make an appearance there.

    Thanks for your comment on my Garden Friends post. I love Lambs Ears but usually cut the tall flower spikes off as they just get raggedy looking. I miss all my little baby critters from my Texas garden. The desert has other critters that are not as friendly!

    xoxo Bunny Jean

    ps. I don't know if you share at any blog parties but you are certainly welcome to share at mine :) Your post are very interesting.

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  13. love the photos, who puts up the posts around the nest?

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  14. Amazing story! I live 2-hours away from Vero Beach...I'll certainly try to visit more often and keep in mind this story! :) Thanks for sharing doll! xoxo

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  15. It would be exciting to be a part of this. I'm with you on the sea creatures though. I love the seaside and the sea. From the shore.

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  16. LOVE sea turtles. Turtles do this in fresh water, too. Our previous house was on a river, and each year a Mama Turtle (same one) would come to our neighbor's yard and lay her eggs. We'd all keep track of the time, and keep kids & dogs & cats away -- and the whole little neighborhood would turn out to watch the births and the little fellas as they made their way to the riverbank.

    Some needed a little guidance; we didn't want any NOT getting into the water, as there were too many predators around for that.

    My kids thought everyone had turtles, swans, herons, and fish in their backyards. I miss it!
    Cass

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  17. How fascinating! Thanks for the great photos and information.

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  18. Wow...that's pretty amazing! What a cool thing to spot in person. I've only ever seen this on TV:(

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  19. That title sounds so sad! I enjoyed this post - I've never seen sea turtles, but my mum went to watch them nesting in Cyprus. The baby ones were so cute! (I saw photos) I don't blame you for being nervous about things in the sea. I am, and all we have here is seaweed and a few jelly fish! I'm not sure you'd get me in the sea in Florida!

    Faye

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  20. Lovely photos and such a wonderful story! Sea turtles are so fascinating!

    I'm the same way. I love the beach, but I have a hard time going into the water because I cannot see what is swimming around me.

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  21. mother nature sure is amazing. Richard from My Old Historic House.

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  22. I always love hearing about the turtles at the beach. Amazing the tracks they make. Love that they ae so protected.

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  23. What fun to learn more about the turtles. I'd love to see all the babies scrambling for the ocean :)

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  24. How interesting! I bet I've seen the tracks too without knowing what I was seeing. My son lives not so very far from Vero. Port St. Lucie. I'll have to drag myself out to a beach early some morning when we're visiting.

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  25. Totally cool! - I think that I would have been "creeped out" if I had seen those tracks in the sand - it's amazing that turtles left those marks.
    Wonderful post (as usual).
    Angie

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  26. Wow. So interesting. But that gets me thinking of all the plastic we throw out at sea even unwittingly. For example, did you know that the particles of let's say acrylic yarn sweater get straight to the ocean with the water from our washing machines? Then they get swallowed by sea turtles, fish and birds...

    Also, June 8th is World Oceans Day!

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  27. Very interesting....I had no idea about the mama sea turtles and the crying!

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  28. I love turtles. Aren't they the most beautiful creatures. A few years ago I was up on the Great Barrier reef having a day of snorkeling and the ultimate highlight was seeing a giant turtle swim by me - a magic moment to be sure. And to survive to that size they have to be so lucky - about 99% don't make it. xx

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  29. I loved reading your post and seeing your photos. It must be just amazing to see the tracks and think of the turtles out there during the night. They are such wonderful creatures. Thanks, Maggie xx

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