Alabama's Share the Beach Program
A Grass-Roots Volunteer Program Helps Struggling Sea Turtles
Sep 14, 2009
In Alabama the sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 to October 31. Early in the season females are laying their eggs (Greens and Loggerheads lay at night, Kemp’s Ridleys during the day), late in the season hatchlings are emerging, with overlap occurring mid-season.
Share the Beach Turtle Patrols
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge on the Alabama coastline is patrolled daily by Share the Beach volunteers, who search for new nests each morning by looking for the tell-tale tracks of a female turtle who emerged from the ocean to come ashore and lay her eggs. Nests are identified, tagged, and monitored throughout the season. Once it is nearing time for a particular nest of young to hatch, it is monitored throughout the day until the actual emergence occurs, when volunteers help the babies make it to the water safely.
A Sea Turtle Boil
Volunteers are equipped with stethoscopes, which they place on the surface of the sand above the nest and listen for a “waterfall”, the sound of sand replacing the hole the baby was in as it crawls near the surface. As the waterfall becomes more steady and louder, the turtles are getting closer to emergence. Usually one tiny black head will appear, the turtle known as the “scout”. This turtle may stay here for minutes to hours, before its siblings decide to emerge. This is called a “boil”, as numerous baby turtles all begin to rise to the surface at once. It is quite a site!
A Sea Turtle’s Journey from Nest to Ocean
Volunteers by now have dug a trench in the sand, making the way to the water clear to the baby turtles, and have spread black tarp on either side of the trench for several yards to get them headed in the right direction. Often lights from nearby condos and businesses are illuminating the sky behind the nest, encouraging the young to travel in the wrong direction. A baby turtle may try to turn back towards the nest numerous times along its journey to the ocean, and volunteers are there to gently turn them back towards the water and coerce them in the right direction. Their presence also wards of potential predators of the babies, which aren’t few in number. It may take hours for all of the turtles to leave the nest and make it to the water. It has been estimated that 17,390 hatchlings have entered the waters of the Gulf of Mexico from 2003 – 2008 with the help of the Share the Beach Program.
How to Help Protect Sea Turtles
- Dispose of all garbage. When it ends up in the ocean, turtles and other wildlife may ingest it. Plastic sacks look remarkably like jellyfish, a favorite food of sea turtles.
- Do not release helium balloons, as these often end up in waterways, which may look yummy to wildlife like turtles.
- Turn off all beachfront lights at night.
- Close blinds and curtains in beachfront rooms at night to minimize indoor light escaping outside.
- Do not leave beach chairs, umbrellas, coolers, etc. on the beach at night, as they can be obstacles to both nesting and hatchling turtles.
- Watch for turtles when boating and avoid them. Watch for seagrass beds and avoid them for well, as they provide valuable habitat for turtles.
- Avoid building campfires on the beach, as these can attract hatchlings who may not only become disoriented by them but may crawl into the fire.
- Avoid using flashlights and flash photography at night, as this may deter females from coming ashore to lay their eggs.
- Do not approach a nesting female, as disturbance may cause her to return to the ocean without laying her eggs.
- Never molest a sea turtle nest if you find one; if it is unmarked, report it.
- If you see a nest or sea turtle, please call the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: 1-866-SEA-TURTLE.
Involvement with Share the Beach
If you live near an Alabama Beach, volunteer to patrol a segment of it. Call 251-653-NEST. If not, you can adopt a nest or hatchling, and receive a very nice adoption certificate along with information on sea turtles and educational materials.
For more information on Alabama’s sea turtles and threats they face, visit Sea Turtles of the U.S. Gulf Coastal Waters.
Reference:
Alabama Sea Turtles (website)
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