A Bucket List Bucket of Sea Turtles

 

 It is no secret that one of my main goals is to see a sea turtle.  I have mentioned it several times on my blog. Seeing one has been written down on my bucket list for years.  I've gone to a known nesting area in the hopes of seeing an adult making a nest or a hatchling coming out of it. I even wrote about it a couple of days ago.

   Well, today I got to cross seeing a sea turtle off of my bucket list. I got to see baby Diamondback Terrapins that were only hours old. The Terrapin females come up on land in June and lay their eggs. If one of the volunteers sees their nest they put a wire cage around it. If they don't, the nest will almost assuredly be predated by coyotes. In 60-75 days the hatchlings emerge. The volunteers monitor the nests every day. When turtles have hatched they collect them and release them in the leaf litter in the woods. From there, the babies are on their own. They will hide in the woods for up to two years and then live an aquatic life. They live in brackish water in protected bays throughout their life.

   Luckily, I arrived just as they were finishing up checking the eggs. An extremely kind woman named Caroline told me a ton of info on them. They had collected 14 turtles from the nests and were about to release them. Caroline was kind enough to let me photograph and hold these precious little babies before releasing them. She let me take as long as I wanted to get good photos and hold them. I didn't want to infringe on either her time or the beginning of these turtles lives, but she did not worry about it. If the Terrapins make it to adulthood, they can live for 40 years, so I guess being photographed for ten minutes isn't a big deal.

   However, for me, it was amazing. I was in awe of their cuteness and just being around them the whole time. It was an honor to be there and witness the beginning of life of such a special animal. I may try to go back and watch them once more if time allows. If I can't make it, I will never forget the feeling of holding a baby Diamondback Terrapin.

Please scroll down to see more photos. I'm sure you will know which one is the epitome of cuteness

Yawning. I have 7-8 pics of it from start of yawn till the end of
yawn. Being born is exhausting!

Caroline releasing the babies in the woods.
Godspeed Little Ones