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Thursday, June 22, 2006

Turtle watches ever popular

By KELLY CUCULIANSKY | STAFF WRITER

NEW SMYRNA BEACH — There wasn’t a turtle flipper in sight for about 20 people this week who filed back into their cars after about a three-hour wait.

News-Journal/KELLY CUCULIANSKY Thomas Richmond, 16, and his friend Jessica Ebersole, 15, keep busy at the Canaveral National Seashore's Visitors Center Tuesday night, June 20. The two waited for over three hours to spot a turtle laying eggs, but there were no sightings.

So far, out of 14 sea turtle watches at Canaveral National Seashore, there have been five no-show nights, including Tuesday. But there are plenty of eggs in the 1,052 nests that have been counted on the park’s beaches.

Tuesday wasn’t a waste for 15-year-old Jessica Ebersole, who has tried turtle watching five times without results. With dates still open for July, she plans on scheduling a sixth reservation soon.

“Even if you don’t see a turtle, you still learn a lot of stuff,” the Chuluota resident said.

Visitors are expected to be at the park by 7:30 p.m. for a lecture, instructions and documentary videos until a turtle is spotted. The watch for a turtle could last until 11 p.m.

“And trust me, we have gotten a turtle (sighting) at 10:59,” said park guide Christin Pool.

There’s about 75 percent chance of spotting a loggerhead turtle creating a nest. For those lucky enough to see a sea turtle on the night of their reservation, the turtle’s ping-pong ball-sized eggs will be done plopping onto the sandy nest within about 10 minutes from the moment she lays her first egg.

Three types of sea turtles come to the area beaches, but visitors to the park are only allowed to observe the threatened loggerhead sea turtle, because the green and leatherback sea turtles are endangered species, Pool said.

Loggerhead turtles, which average about 350 pounds, lay a majority of the eggs in the 4,000 nests that are expected at the park this year. The latest count includes 1,028 loggerhead nests, 22 green sea turtle nests, one leatherback nest and one Kemp’s ridley nest — a sea turtle that typically nests off the east central coast of Mexico and only the second documented nest in the park’s history.

Once a turtle is spotted, visitors pile into their vehicles and follow a guide to the parking lot closest to the turtle. From the moment visitors trek on the sand through the darkness, it takes about 45 minutes to an hour for the loggerhead sea turtle to dig the nest, lay the eggs and drag its body back into the water.

Visitors, however, won’t be allowed to see her until she’s laid at least one egg, because once she starts, she won’t stop until she is done, with an average of about 100 eggs, Pool said. Visitors at the beach are asked to speak in low voices out of respect for the turtle and must shut off car lights as soon as they approach they park.

“When she’s finally done and she’s heading back to the ocean, I’ll shine my light on her,” Pool said.

Fran Richmond, Chuluota, who has seen a sea turtle once out of seven turtle watches, said she would be making another appointment for herself and her children.

The one time she spotted a turtle, the creature appeared under a full moon, she said, and later with two waves splashing onto shore, she disappeared into the surf, “like she was never there.”

To schedule a reservation for the Canaveral National Seashore turtle watch, call (386) 428-3384, ext. 18. July dates still are available and the program is open to all, ages 8 and older.

HICI Special Report — Sea Turtles Need Help: Can you Dig it?

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