Snapshots from R&R: A tender moment in nature….turtle hatchlings on Amelia Island, Florida

We had an extraordinary experience on the beach in Amelia Island, Florida. Through the work of the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch group, we were on site during an excavation of  a turtle nest whose hatchlings had already gone to sea…..to see if there were any little turtles left behind.
It was a truly tender moment….turtles discovered both alive and those that didn’t make it. Then, an emotional (for me) release to the sea.

At the marked turtle nest spot.

There's the little turtle flapping his flippers trying to get to the water. Go little guy, go!

The hole where the initial set of turtle hatchlings left from. We were there for the post-hatch dig, to see if there were any surviving hatchling who needed help getting to sea.

These are the egg shells left behind from hatchlings who had already left the nest.

This guy was not quite ready to leave the egg....a "live pit" as they called him. He'll be going back to the lab to see if he can mature enough to be released.

They found four live turtles in the nest on Amelia Island! It was a really extraordinary experience.

The volunteer walked us closer to the water, where she was to release the turtle hatchlings.

She drew a line where we were supposed to stand behind....to give the little turtles plenty of room to get to sea. If any were females, they needed to touch their bellies to the Amelia Island sand to set it to their memory and return in 25 years to lay their eggs.

There's the little turtle flapping his flippers trying to get to the water. Go little guy, go!