Eiffel Tower sand castle

Turtle nesting season begins today! I normally enjoy seeing beautiful beach art but it can be disastrous for a female turtle in nesting season. On our island summer nights from May through October, female loggerhead turtles (and occasionally green turtles, leatherbacks and Kemps Ridley turtles) lay their eggs on the same beach where they were hatched decades earlier. Obstructions like sand castles, beach chairs, coolers or even deep sand pits can distract or injure the mother turtle or her babies after they hatch. Did you know that lights on the beach after dark can disorient adult and baby turtles? Yes, they go towards the light instead of heading to the water so they might end up in the street or parking lot. So we wont be doing any night shelling until fall. Not a bad price to pay for keeping baby turtles safe, huh?

lisa turtle tracker

A few years ago, I was a turtle tracker with my friend Lisa. This is a photo of our first turtle track we found that lead to a nest. A few months later that same season, we rescued a baby turtle after he dropped into a deep sand pit on his way to the water.

Sea Turtle note card

I love SEA TURTLES so much, I even painted one for my  Write From The Beach sea life notecard fun fact pack.

Live Octopus eggs hatching close

Speaking of hatching eggs….. Remember the day I got the video of the Octopus Eggs Hatching? We’re in the news! This story by Anne Mitchell made it into the Island Sun newspaper this week!

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Island Sun Octopus Story

and continued…..

Octopus Island news continue

Thank you Island Sun and Anne for such a nice article. It really was an amazing day.