Turtle Nesting Season Is Here!

It is turtle nesting season on the East Coast of Florida, and here in Stuart and the rest of the Treasure Coast, there are signs of those loggerhead turtles everywhere. The areas where those turtles have laid their eggs on the beach are roped off in a triangular shape, as seen at the bottom of the steps in the photograph on the left, to protect them and make sure as many hatch as possible. I just assumed volunteers did this work, but it turns out that it is done by a company called Ecological Associates, run by Carly Batts and Joe Scarola. They are responsible for monitoring beaches in Volusia, Indian River, St. Lucie, Martin (where Stuart is located), and Palm Beach Counties, with offices in Jensen Beach, Florida. Very impressive indeed.

Every year the Florida Oceanographic Society, located on Hutchinson Island, just across the street from Stuart Beach, holds nighttime sea turtle walks, which I am very tempted to sign up for. Those walks take place in June and July, and the event begins at 8:45 in the evening. While guests attend a mandatory educational program at the Coastal Center, "beach scouts" look for a nesting turtle. Depending on when a turtle is found and how long it nests, the sea turtle walk can last past midnight. The cost is $35, which seems reasonable enough for a night's adventure, but the search for a turtle ends at 11:30, and there are no refunds if a nesting turtle is not located. And no photographs allowed, which might be a deal breaker.

An alternative to the nighttime sea turtle walk is the Hatchling Release, sponsored by the Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. Back in the early 1980s, when I was still married to my then wife Lisa, we happened by chance on a similar event that took place on Stuart Beach. It was free to the public, and I took a number of photographs, including the one on the left. Back then, the organization dedicated to protecting and rehabbing loggerhead turtles was located in the basement of the House of Refuge Museum, located a mile or so away. I assume that was why the event occurred at Stuart Beach. Eventually, the Loggerhead Marinelife Center, a state-of-the-art facility, was built, and the turtles at the House of Refuge were moved to their new home.

In any case, the Hatching Release takes place in Juno Beach on various evenings during the months of July and August, beginning at 8:00 P.M. The cost is $40 for adults, $40 for children, and $40 for seniors. Very few discounts for seniors in this land of seniors, I'm afraid. On the bright side, it doesn't say no photographs on their website, which is good, but on the downside, Juno Beach is 30 miles away. And you are paying $40 to stand on a public beach and watch hatchlings run to the sea, which back in the good old days was free. And yes, that does indeed make me sound like an old curmudgeon. Which I am sometimes afraid I am turning into.