Julie took some wonderful pictures and a short video at the Turtle release Monday night on Bonita Beach. The Naples Daily News was there as well and published this great page one article on the release of the babies as well as the status of the turtle season so far this year. We can’t thank the Naples Daily News enough for all the coverage they’ve provided the turtle tracking cause this year, but we’ll try. THANKS NAPLES DAILY NEWS!
The baby turtles released on Monday night were from the last nest in the zones we cover on Bonita Beach so our work is done for the year, but the work for Turtle Time continues through the end of the turtle season (October 31st) and beyond.
Are those baby turtles cute or what?
One of the two loggerhead turtles released on Monday Night
Turtle number Two
It was a really beautiful night Monday with a fabulous sunset.
Another spectacular Bonita Beach sunset
A crowd gathered around the baby turtles as we get closer to the release
We had a lot of fun this turtle season and we hope you’ve enjoyed following the season along with us. Once the turtle season officially ends on October 31st we’ll post a wrap up story with the final stats for the year. As always – thanks for reading.
Well, we’re down to only one nest remaining on Bonita Beach now. Nest number 35, in front of the Zone 10 parking area is still hanging in there as we move beyond the 60 day incubation period. That particular nest has been washed over a few times during the past 60 days so a hatching of the nest is uncertain. We’re keeping our fingers crossed that the last nest of the season will successfully hatch this week.
The stake marking the final nest of the year
It could be that these turtles are waiting for a cooler evening to hatch. According to weather reports that cooler evening could be this Friday. I am kidding about the turtles but those of us living in Southwest Florida are looking forward to that cooler weather and the accompanying lower humidity.
It’s been a great turtle tracking season and we’ll post a wrap-up story once the final statistics for the Bonita Beach turtle tracking season are posted at the Turtle Time website.
Thanks for reading and get those blankets ready! We may finally be able to open the doors and windows of our homes and let some fresh cool air in this weekend.
This is the first time in four years of turtle tracking that our turtle season has extended into October, but I don’t expect it to last much longer. It was great to be able to make the turtle walk this morning, the first morning we’ve seen under 70 degrees since May. It was a real change of pace to be out walking the beach without the normal summer heat and humidity.
In actual turtle news there was one more nest that hatched over the past week leaving only two remaining on Bonita Beach. One of the two nests should be hatching any day now and the final nest should hatch within the next week.
One of the remaining nests has had issues with sand crabs so a sand crab trap was added to the nest by the Turtle Time folks.
Sand Crab Trap
It was so nice this morning that we had to take some time and just stare out into the gulf and appreciate the beauty of the area. Of course – we weren’t the only ones standing around and staring at the gulf this morning.
A lineup of birds enjoying the first sub 70 degree morning since May
Soon after both the birds and Julie and I were surprised when a very small airplane went buzzing overhead. It came by so quickly that Julie nearly missed getting a picture. Fortunately she was able to whip out and focus her camera before it was out of site.
A great way to start your day
If anyone knows what kind of plane that is please leave a comment and let us know.
After the plane was gone the birds went back to their morning feeding and Julie and I headed out for our breakfast as well.
Picture a perfect Southwest Florida late summer evening, with a slight breeze coming in off the gulf and just the right number of clouds for a beautiful sunset. Then throw in a nice mix of old and new friends and you have a wonderful evening for a baby turtle release on Bonita Beach. That’s the evening we had Friday with the successful release of the two baby turtles that were unable to escape their nest the previous night.
Local turtle enthusiasts gathering for a baby turtle release
A crowd of turtle enthusiasts ranging in age from 3 months to 70 + began gathering to see the baby turtles around 6:30 on Friday night. The stars of the evening were delivered by Lynne Crews, of Turtle Time Inc. around 6:45 and people quickly gathered around the small blue bucket to see the two baby loggerhead turtles.
Two young ladies resisting the urge to reach into the bucket
Lynne spent the next hour showing off the turtles and answering the many questions that were asked as people gathered to see the babies. As the sun began to set Kim Smith, who owns Bonita based Blue Turtle Graphics, took this wonderful picture of Lynne holding one of the turtles with the sun setting in the background.
Baby Loggerhead Turtle - Photo by Kim Smith
As darkness began to fall we gathered near the shoreline and the little turtles were released. If it had been a race it would have been no contest as one hit the sand running and was in the gulf within about 60 seconds. The small waves knocked it back only once before it sped back towards the gulf and was gone. The slower of the two turtles appeared to have one flipper that wasn’t as strong as the other so it’s trek to the gulf was a bit more deliberate. Once it hit the water it quickly adapted to the new environment and disappeared.
As the two baby turtles began their new lives by starting their 24 hour swim into the gulf those of us who came to see them off said our goodbyes and headed away from the beach, just minutes before the rains began.
Thanks to everyone who came to the release and for those of you who couldn’t come I hope these pictures can do justice to the wonderful evening we all had. Thanks as well to the Bonita Banner for posting the online article on the release Friday afternoon. There were several people there who would not have known about the release if not for that article.
We were greeted with some wonderful news on the beach this morning when we saw the Launch Pad Nest had hatched overnight. Last night’s rain made the tracks difficult to see but as you can see from the picture below the indentation where the nest had been was obvious.
This indentation means the nest has hatched
Because the launch pad approach guided the turtle through the obstacles on the beach we believe that all but two of the turtles made it into the gulf last night. The two that didn’t were trapped in the nest and were unable to start their new lives at the same time as their siblings. Those two turtles will be released tonight around 6:30 – 6:45 at Beach Access 10. For more information on the release please check this Bonita Banner article.
With the hatching of the launch pad nest we are down to three remaining nests, two of which should hatch in the next seven to ten days. The final nest should hatch around the middle of October which means the Bonita Beach turtle season has only two or three more weeks to go.
The next two nests scheduled to hatch have had the light shielding black plastic applied which is always a sure sign that hatching is imminent. One of those nests is the “walkway” nest that was laid in the middle of the beach access walkway between the beach and the Seascape Condominiums.
The "walkway" nest is scheduled to hatch in the next week
We’re looking forward to heading back to the beach tonight for the release of the two hatchlings and will post Julie’s photos of the release over the weekend. We hope to see some of you there tonight. If you’re not sure where beach access 10 is located it is just past the Mediterra Beach Club on Hickory Blvd. Here is a link to a Google map.
about the turtles but those of us living in Southwest Florida are looking forward to that cooler weather and the accompanying lower humidity.
