Turtle Tracks
Jun 29, 2015 06:57:45 #
This time of year along the Atlantic Coast of Central Florida is sea turtle nesting time. These 200 -300# giants haul themselves out of the ocean and up on the beach above the high tide line to lay their eggs. These past few nights - calm seas, a little bit of light from the 3/4 moon, and a night-time high tide makes it very busy on the beach.
If I was any kind of photographer I would sit on the beach for hours at night with infrared equipment waiting.... so that I could present you with amazing turtle photos. Sorry. Far too lazy these days. We have done that when the kids were young and it was a fascinating experience - once the mother turtle starts laying her eggs nothing will stop her, and you can approach with a red flashlight and observe.
In 100 -150 days the young turtles will erupt from the sand, usually in the middle of the night, and rush to the ocean (hopefully before being eaten by birds). We encountered this one time when walking on the beach at sunrise.
But for today...I present only evidence of this activity...
If I was any kind of photographer I would sit on the beach for hours at night with infrared equipment waiting.... so that I could present you with amazing turtle photos. Sorry. Far too lazy these days. We have done that when the kids were young and it was a fascinating experience - once the mother turtle starts laying her eggs nothing will stop her, and you can approach with a red flashlight and observe.
In 100 -150 days the young turtles will erupt from the sand, usually in the middle of the night, and rush to the ocean (hopefully before being eaten by birds). We encountered this one time when walking on the beach at sunrise.
But for today...I present only evidence of this activity...
Roundtrip:
Jun 29, 2015 07:12:32 #
WOW! Thank you for sharing your experience with us. We saw similar trails in the sand when we were recently in the Galapagos - except that the trails were made by iguanas. Still it was something to see.
Jun 29, 2015 09:59:06 #
Jun 29, 2015 12:40:31 #
Very interesting, Steve. Thanks.
Probably better for the turtles if they are left alone while nesting.
Mike
Probably better for the turtles if they are left alone while nesting.
Mike
Jun 29, 2015 12:43:17 #
Jun 30, 2015 06:46:32 #
Blenheim Orange wrote:
Very interesting, Steve. Thanks.
Probably better for the turtles if they are left alone while nesting.
Mike
Probably better for the turtles if they are left alone while nesting.
Mike
:thumbup: Just seeing the tracks makes me happy that they are still coming!
Jun 30, 2015 06:51:50 #
Interesting photos, and yes, glad to see they're still coming. Life goes on!
Jun 30, 2015 07:57:06 #
Very interesting info and the pictures are a good subtiute your reluctance to venture out at night :lol: :lol: :lol: ---good stuff Steve,
Geoff
Geoff
sb wrote:
This time of year along the Atlantic Coast of Cent... (show quote)
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