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Last
August I visited Turtle Beach Lodge with several
friends. One night we were taking a walk on the
beach after dinner. The stars were out and the
breeze was cool. Suddenly I heard a sound I
recognized to be the flippers of a sea turtle as
she dug her nest in the sand. I stopped and
waited to hear it again. Using flashlights with
a red covering, to keep from distracting the
turtle with white light, we followed the sound
to find the turtle. It was an Atlantic Green
Turtle, and she was very large. Her shell was
about 50", and we guessed her weight at about
250-300 lbs.
We
sat quietly for over an hour, using our red
filtered flash lights only occasionally to check
her progress. I had learned from turtle guides
in the past that it is important to limit
whispering and movement when observing the
nesting of sea turtles. If they are disturbed by
white light, noise, or movement they will sense
danger and return to the sea without nesting |
