Monday, April 30, 2018

Another kind of spring planting


     With the arrival of May in our area of Florida, people by the beach are required to limit their outside light bulbs to red ones, and volunteers hit the sand at dawn. The turtles are coming.
          In May the sea turtles arrive to begin laying their eggs. The red light bulbs are necessary because they have a different wave length than ordinary bright white ones, which can distract the moms-to-be and later disorient their babies who should be working their way back to the ocean, not surging toward someone’s car port or swimming pool.
          The “egg volunteers” hit the beaches early in the morning, before the sun worshippers can unknowingly slam their beach chair
on top of a nest created the night before. Volunteers walk a mile-long section, often in pairs, scouting for new nests. Once they find one, they stake yellow tape around the area, and in some cases even place screens or cages over it to protect the eggs from armadillos, raccoons, or coyotes.
          We may now be back in Massachusetts, but yesterday as My Guy and I were hanging curtains, I wasn’t so sure of that. 

         
 Outside the window, I saw an unfamiliar object in our back yard.
          A friend said she’d had turtles come and lay eggs in the mulch next to her house, and after they hatched had gone outside with a bucket, to gather up the hatched babies in a bucket in order to transport them to a nearby swamp.
          Maybe I’d better check the garage for a bucket of my own. 

11 comments:

  1. That's a lot of responsibility! Good luck.

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  2. I would be so excited to see that. Do you join the turtle patrols while in Florida?

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    1. Wouldn't that be interesting? It's a big commitment, though. You have to be willing to be out there no matter what the weather, at least one day a week. I think they also gather information on the turtles.

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  3. It seems the work is worth the result, truly. And turtle eggs/babies seem to be at the bottom of the food chain the way turkey eggs and fledglings are here...and how wonderful, that someone 'up here' takes the time to do that.
    Im part of the unofficial 'help the turtle across the road" club, and while the turtles don't always appreciate the favor, that's their problem. =)

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    1. Good for you! And baby turtles -- how cute!

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  4. A turtle that far from the beach? Is there any way you can get him home?

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    1. It'll have to nearby Cedar Swamp for this Massachusetts turtle!

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  5. my red ear slider comes out of her pond every spring and roams around the yard until she finds a place and digs a hole to lay eggs. she only lays two or three because she isn't fertile. when we had a male she would lay large clutches but we never had any babies, at least not that I ever saw.

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    1. Guess I'll have to weed carefully this year.

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  6. Cool! It's always great to see some wildlife!

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Thanks for stopping by and I'd love to hear what you think.