Best Nest Ever

Before we talk turtle I just want to show you some other fun discoveries always happening at BHI.

A Yellow Corn Snake right at our walkway... delightful.

Finding tons of hermit crabs all along the beach.

Ok, now we get to the action! Well, soon... We kept checking our nest during the day and sitting with it at night. I was so excited and happy because the hatch date was creeping closer and closer. My family figured out that sitting out on the beach at night wasn't as boring as we thought! There are no city lights to block the view, so there are thousands of stars across the black night sky.

We spotted:

• The milky way
• A perfect view of the constellation Scorpius 
• The big dipper
• A satellite move across the horizon three nights in a row
• Dozens of shooting stars

So there were other things to do than have a staring contest with our nest, but we still kept eyeing it every 30 seconds. There also was a nest one beach access from ours with a family with two kids monitoring it who were so much fun. We met up with them almost every night to play flashlight tag or hide and seek. (There was not much to hide around. You could hide behind sandpile #1 or sandpile #2.)

As the days went by, I started to get nervous and kept hoping and wishing on those shooting stars that we would see our nest boil. Day 56. Day 57. Day 58. Yes, we all thought Day 58 was going to be like all the others... We were really, mega, wrong.

I was making a mini sand castle and decided to glance at our nest for the twenty-sixth time that evening. I got up from the blanket, wobbled over to the cage then stopped. Mouth open, I gasped and called my my mom saying,

 "Mom, I... the nest... I need the... Gimme a flashlight!"

I couldn't even spit out the word "depression." Because in the middle of our nest there was a big, sunken, hole. We fumbled and switched on a flashlight and had to turn it right back off.

The depression after boil.

There were hatchlings already coming up to the runway!

The nest was swamped. There were so many coming out at the same time that all you saw was a black blob in the cage. As they crawled along through the holes of the cage, some were even caught riding the others shells (lazy cheaters!). Soon enough, there were tons of adorable black Loggerheads scampering down the sandy runway.

We all then took our places. Me, the turtle counter and helper of any stragglers that got turned around. My mom, the white light holder in the water. And my brother, the major turtle helper of any that needed help. He also searched for any that went the wrong way or got stuck in the seaweed.

So as they crawled past the runway, they just kept going. All of them straight to the white light and ocean. They looked so happy, and it appeared all of them made it to the water safely. There was one turtle that got stuck in the depression pit. My brother shined his red light right beside the depression and it gave the turtle new hope. He pushed himself out and followed the red light to the white one I was now holding.

I backed up a little closer to the water, then my mom came up. And at that moment, I forgot to keep backing up. But never fear! That unstoppable hatchling just crawled right over my toe and into the water! We gathered together then walked up and down the beach checking for any stray turtles. Thankfully, there were none so we went back up to our blanket and jumped up and down and whooped and celebrated. Because our nest was an amazing full boil nest that we actually got to see.

Three days later our nest excavation came, and I actually got to dig out the nest! We pulled out 126 hatched eggs from the night of the boil. And we found four baby stragglers that were still hanging out in the nest, so we got to release them into the water.

One of our turtles at the excavation.

Bye-bye turtles!

So really this blog is done! The nest actually hatched many days ago but we have been kind of busy getting fully unpacked and settled in at home. But I do think I will write in this blog again someday.

Hopefully with a blue intern shirt!

We Are Getting Closer

We are on our second week on the island, and our estimated nest hatch date is creeping closer! We have now built our runway, and we are beginning to sit with our nest several hours in the evening... or longer! However, if there is depression in the sand, then I'll stay there all night. (Okay, until midnight.)

Really there is nothing else to say about our nest, but there are others to talk about.

Building the runway!

Our beautiful nest and runway is complete... for now.

There was another nest close to ours that was a slow boil. That means that instead of 50-120 turtles coming out all at once, they kind of trickled out. The first night, seven turtles hatched, but the volunteer for that nest had to leave the island the next day. The volunteer coordinator, Jaymie Reneker, asked for another volunteer to sit with the nest the next night in case any others came out. We quickly said, "Yes!"

Boy, I'm glad we did!

Depression in the sand (can be a sign of hatching) and turtle tracks.

We had just began keeping watch on the second night, when all of a sudden, a Dad who had stopped by with his family said that he saw the sand move. All the eyes of the crowd switched their gaze to the nest. The man was right! After a few minutes, the speck that I thought was a rock shifted.

Then a few more seconds went by, and another "rock" came up out of the sand - a head and a flipper! After a minute or two, there was a gorgeous baby turtle creeping out of the wire nest with... Wait! There was another one right behind it!!! My brother, mom, and I grabbed our flashlights and headed down to the end of the runway.

Yay!!! They have started to crawl.

And off they go!

They stayed together all the way to the tide.

My brother was the white light holder at the waves, a person who takes a white light flashlight and holds it above the water to guide the hatchlings to the ocean. We only had a few moments with these turtles. Then they were swimming happily off into the night.

After the sun fully set, we still had to stay in case more came out. So we did.

For 30 minutes...

An hour...

Made sand castle at 2 hours...

Ate popcorn and chocolate at about 2 hours, 45 minutes... (Let's have fun with this right?)

Still no turtles.

As a storm came closer, people began to leave, but of course we stayed. Then SMACK! I felt something like a light gum ball hit my shoulder. Yes, the size of a gum ball. Then SPLOOSH! About fifty more came down on top of us causing us and the public to run almost in circles (not on the runway or nest though).

So I yelled, "Get under the blanket! Get under the blanket!!!"

As we hid out under our blanket "rain shield," we suddenly heard someone say, "Woah! Here they come!"

I quickly changed what I was saying to, "Get out of the blanket! Get out of the blanket!!!"

As we pulled the blanket off, I saw five more turtles coming up out of the sand. Five at a time! (How will we handle a 100+ turtle hatch?) Anyway, we got them to the ocean and then waited a little more, then went home. I don't remember how long the rain lasted, probably not more then five minutes.

After that, we stayed another night, but I won't go into details. Just know that five more hatched but thankfully our dear "mentor" Miss Amy, a Turtle Conservancy intern, was there to lend a hand. (Whew! She was a big help to us.)

To wrap this blogpost up, I will show you some other things that we have also seen this week.

A super tiny sharks tooth my brother found.

A ray resting in the shallows.

A huge buck deer out our window, literally seconds after I published my last blogpost.

The most beautiful sunset (notice the palm trees and passing golf carts).

Squirmy Little Hatchlings!

I am back at BHI! This time, not just meetings and vacation but serious, very serious turtle hatchings and excavations. So far, I've helped with a Loggerhead nest excavation last night and a Green sea turtle excavation this morning.

I am checking MY nest daily and getting exited for when it will hatch! Thankfully nothing has happened to it, and I'm hoping it will stay that way (unless that happening is a turtle boil!!!).

Right now, I am about to burst with happiness about the Green sea turtle excavation this morning. A total of 146 eggs hatched, and the volunteers pulled out two survivor hatchlings that didn't pop out of the surface the night of the boil. They were stronger then the ones at the Loggerhead excavation (two hatchlings also) and made it to the water quickly.

      Some of my finger, can barely see the turtle, but this is one of the Greens meeting the water!

At the Loggerhead excavation, we were observers. We saw how the nest monitors did it and also helped the turtles have some space from the crowds. The mother of the Loggerheads was a turtle named Sharkbite! I think you can tell why. She has a half moon shark bite on her shell. She can swim, walk and do anything just like other sea turtles though. She has been nesting on BHI since 2002 and has laid four nest this year!

Baby Loggerhead... such a tiny thing to be in the sea!

We agreed to be at the beach by 8:00 a.m. the next morning to do the Green excavation, but it was worth it! This time we were handed gloves, and we shared turtle facts with the public.

Then surprise! We were handed unhatched and hatched turtle eggs to show to the public. We walked around showing them and I figured out those eggs are not feathers... more like bouncy balls. So as my brother and I met up at the middle, we gave them to Jaymie (the volunteer coordinator) and started sharing facts again.

They had already found one turtle in the nest at the very beginning of the excavation, then suddenly found another. As the hatchlings were shown around, it seemed like they were the next two big Hollywood stars. Everyone was aaawwwing and cameras were clicking everywhere. (No flash though. The little babies have been down in dark sand so they are very sensitive to white light.)

Me actually holding a Green hatchling.  :D

Then... the moment came...

I was able to hold one of these creatures. Having never seen this type of turtle in real life, I was about to jump up and down like I had just won a million dollars. I held its shell and learned that you have to not worry about holding them too tight, because those things can wiggle like a worm!

It was the most amazing experience I've ever had.

As I took it around, I was so scared I was going to drop it and then accidentally step on it. But as I handed it to my brother, I knew I didn't hurt it. I realized how hard it felt to set it free, but it's what we have to do.

So we went down to the water, and let them crawl! It's been an exiting 14 hours. All that Green turtle fun this morning, and it's only 9:45 a.m.

The joys of Bald Head Island!

Calling all nest monitors!

I'm now back from another exciting adventure to BHI. My family traveled to the island to have our first turtle nest monitor meeting at the conservancy. I met the other volunteer families and got my "instruction papers" of how to take care of our nest (didn't know which one I was going to get yet) and how to handle the hatchlings.

Sign: "CAUTION. Don't swim or fish in this pond... Gator may be present."
Indeed!

And yes! I did get my beautiful gator picture. I actually saw another gator on my first day on the island, but knowing me, I did not have my camera! Later on, this one was at this pond hanging out for the entire day... even the fifth time we drove past.

Biking over a snake was quite an adventure last time, but the adventures do not end! This time I had a terrible stomach bug. Yes, I spent some vacation time in bed.

My brother got a new stuffed animal bunny and I got a new BHI sweatshirt, then it was off to climb the Old Baldy lighthouse! After climbing up all 108 steps, five landings, and a ships ladder, we were at the top of Old Baldy with such a sight. I could see all the way to Southport!

The most beautiful view of the marsh with the chapel in the foreground.

Us and the huge, amazing harbor.

So besides the meeting we did pretty much anything we wanted!

Eating more ice cream at our much loved Sandpiper Ice Cream and Coffee.

Biking without hitting any more snakes.

Trying out my new roller blades.

Spending hours at the beach and pool, boogie boarding, sand castle designing, and much more!

And then finally... I was assigned my special one and only... Turtle's Nest!!! I can't wait to go back and help it hatch. Until next time, Bald Head Island!

Species of Turtles on BHI

There are two main sea turtles that nest on Bald Head Island. The Loggerhead and the Green. I will be leaving tomorrow for another week at BHI and my first meeting with the volunteers. But I can take a minute to tell you a little about each amazing turtle that nests on BHI.

The Loggerhead Sea Turtle

The Loggerhead sea turtle is one of the two main turtles that nest at BHI. It's found in the warm waters off the coast of the U.S. It eats anything it can find around the ocean floor and can grow to be three feet long. It got its name from its large block-like head (up to 10-inches wide). And another thing is that it is one of the endangered species of sea turtles!

The Green Sea Turtle

The other sea turtle that nests on BHI is the Green sea turtle. It's mostly found on the east coast of Florida. It can be up to 4-feet long and more than 500 pounds! What I find most interesting about this turtle is that it did not get its name for being green (it's not) but because it has green body fat. Now that's a funny way to name a turtle. Sadly, this one is endangered also.

So now you know the main facts of the friends of BHI. One more thing is that the turtles are almost about to nest! Mama turtles have been spotted and Oak Island (close to BHI)  had a false alarm nesting... I can't wait till I get a nest of my own!

First Visit Of The Year!

I just got back from BHI for the first time of the year! I had so much fun fishing, biking, and eating ice cream at SandPiper Coffee & Ice Cream. This was the week where I went over to the BHI Conservancy to meet the volunteer coordinator, Jaymie Reneker.

With her I learned about which species of turtles come to nest at the island. The ones that nest are Loggerheads and Green Sea turtles... but once in 2010 a Leatherback slipped onto shore and laid her eggs. We're waiting for the hatchlings to grow up and come lay eggs of their own.

To fill in the rest of the week, I did some things around the island like catch a Pompano fish.

And accidentally ran over a snake (I think a Black Racer) with a bike I could not really control!

Another thing we love to do is go on what we call "night rides." It's basically going out on the unlit roads of the island in the golf carts trying to spot deer, foxes, raccoons, and the occasional rabbits. We went to the turtle pond every day but we saw no alligator this time! Now I am determined to see one. Hopefully I will have my camera on me if I do.

So what a trip! And now I can't wait for the next. See you soon Bald Head Island.