BABY, BABY, BABY!
Last night looks to have been a very busy night for at least 83 hatchlings that crawled out of their nest here on Key Colony Beach and headed out to sea. Most of them followed their natural instincts on a very dark night with just a crescent moon, and went the right way. Eleven of them, for one reason or another, headed off to the pool at The Residences, where our manager discovered them this morning. One lively little hiker was actually found getting ready to cross Ocean Drive. The nest was next door at Monte Cristo, about 4 beaches down from us. It had been discovered and reported to Save-A-Turtle on July 4th, and marked off with flags. The hatching was to have occurred exactly 53 days later, on Aug 27, so you see our guys and gals arrived a few days early. This morning after his discovery, Steve called Ed Borysiewicz, or City Inspector and head Turtle Count person on Key Colony, and lucky for me, I was riding my bike by, and got in on the whole thing. The nest was inspected and hatched eggs counted, 83. Eleven disoriented will be held until this evening when they will be given a second chance to find their way at exactly the same spot. The eggs that didn't hatch were also counted 33, and then buried back in the nest. All of this is carefully recorded and reported back to Save-A-Turtle. We hope that the little tikes that made it will return here to the same beach in a few years to lay their eggs, that's how it's supposed to happen.

It would have been nice if Mama Turtle would have come back for the evening to show the babies where to go, but she was out to sea after laying the eggs 53 days ago, and more interested in her own survival. And from the looks of the beach this morning and all those tracks, there must have been quite a bit of confusion on which way to go, and it sure looked like a lot more than 83 hatchlings were marching around.

I know were I'll be at dark tonight, when the 11 wanderers are given their send off... down at the beach!