Sea Turtle Hatching - Gulf Shores Alabama

August 9,2022

After a wonderful family session at the Beach Club Resort and Spa, I noticed a gathering around a marked off turtle nest. This nest had been on a hatch watch for a couple days and a tiny hole just appeared. The baby turtles just hatched!

Volunteers surrounded the nest and roped off the pathway to the beach. The beach was swept to smooth out the footprints from beach traffic. I have lived in the Baldwin County area all my life and had never witnessed a sea turtle hatching so I had to stay until the end. We were told this was a loggerhead sea turtle nest. I wish I could have used my studio flash for these pictures to get better detail but that would have interfered with their navigation to the water. If you are ever blessed with the experience of observing one of these, please remember to turn off flashlights, and dim or put your phone in red-light mode.

7:44 pm. The wire grate was placed to help prevent predators from getting to the eggs. The turtles have hatched at this point. Volunteers said they are probably eating the remaining egg yolk and are making their way to the top.

7:50 pm. Volunteers start to rope off and sweep the pathway to the beach. The moon in the background will be the turtles guide to the water.

7:52 pm. The hole continues to get bigger as the sand collapses into the nest.

8:00 pm. A volunteer plays Yea Alabama to encourage the turtles to climb to the surface.

8:17 pm. Red light is used to illuminate the nest. White light from phones will distract and disorient the turtles. A wall of observers is blocking the light from the Beach Club. At this point observers are asked to either get their phones into red light mode or turn them off.

8:44 pm. The baby loggerhead turtles break the surface and make their way to the beach.

8:44 pm.

8:44 pm.

8:44 pm.

8:45 pm.

8:45 pm.

8:46 pm. Volunteers turn off the red lights and now the turtles are guided by moonlight. The volunteers watch for stragglers that may be going inland or get too close to observers. They will either gently build barriers to force them back on the path or be ready to pick them up and place them in buckets to be carried to the water. Tonight the moon was so bright stragglers just needed gentle barriers in the way to re-direct them.

8:47 pm