Jenn and I have been volunteering with the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project for the past four years. Initially, I was the only one interested. I wanted to see baby turtles hatch! I truly believed once I saw this event, I would check it off my bucket list and that would be the end. The first year and the first nest was an adventure! After the first few nights of sitting at a nest, I invited Jenn to join me. As a side note, there is something restorative to your soul sitting at night on a beach, listening to waves, making friends, or reconnecting with old ones, waiting for baby turtles to hatch.
Then it happened, BABY TURTLES!
Our first season there were record numbers of nests and we saw many babies off to ‘Big Blue’. We were bitten by the sea turtle bug, like many of our beach living counterparts. We have had the joy of experiencing many wonderful, and a few heartbreaking, moments while volunteering with the Sea Turtle Project.
This year, 2017, after a couple of years as a backup on patrol, we gained a regular spot on the morning patrol team. Morning patrol takes a four wheel drive Bobcat onto the beach each morning to look for nest that have been laid overnight.
On this day, we were filling in for some friends who were out of town. It was a Sunday morning, we were both grumpy to be up early. We were anticipating a long and busy day. We drove from home to the beach in silence. Got in the Bobcat with our coffee in silence, and that is how we rode down the beach. When suddenly, we spotted with I thought was a trash bag on the beach.
As we drove closer, we realized it was a momma turtle laying her nest!
We were so excited! I could hardly make the call to report our findings! I was so excited, I almost forgot to take pictures – Almost!
We were able to watch her finish with the nest and return to the ocean.
After a discussion with the North Carolina Wildlife folks, it was determined that the nest was too close to the tide line, and the project was authorized to more the nest. The following are photos of the moving process.
It was a great day to be on patrol! As you can see by our happy happy faces!
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