Thursday, July 22, 2010

They're Here!

After waiting ALL night Tuesday night, the cute little critters decided Wednesday would be the perfect night to make their appearance.
 They didn't waste any time. When I got to the nest at 8pm it hadn't changed at all since Tuesday. I even doubted if it was going to happen. We couldn't hear a thing on the microphone because of the wind and Linda was checking the nest every 30 minutes or so.
The crowd of people passing by started to grow and all of a sudden I hear Linda quietly call my name. I
 look over and there is a tiny depression. I had just set all of my camera equipment up and put all of the sand and moisture barriers on it (bags and sacks and rain gear). So I start taking all the bags off and I look over and the hole is already bigger.
A hand full of them emerged before I could even call Michael and get the rest of the gear set up. ...and the crowd was growing. I filmed the first little guy that emerged walk all the way to the ocean.
Just as I was finally getting the rest of the gear ready to go the big show started! They call it a boil for a reason! All the tiny sea turtles started crawling over each other and just pouring out of the nest! It was amazing. then as they followed the moon to the water they would spread out. It was a challenge to manage a crowd of people and tons of baby turtles walking in the dark to the water, but every single one of them made it. It was an experience of a lifetime! Thanks to everyone that helped me along the way. More pictures and video on the way! Be sure to watch WMBF News at 6 on Sunday for the full story. CONGRATULATIONS NORTH MYRTLE BEACH SEA TURTLE PATROL! 

No comments:

Post a Comment