Welcome Hatchlings!

By Sherrie Williams, MTP 067
Nesting Survey Permit Holder

David, a Cocoa Beach resident, was taking a walk on the beach in late April. He saw a turtle on the beach, which was unusual, since this was during the day. He called the STPS Emergency Hotline to alert someone who could help the turtle as he was concerned it might be in distress.

STPS Stranding volunteer Carrie Hinojosa responded to the location that David gave and found the turtle had left. Cindy Stinson, the Stranding & Salvage Permit Holder, forwarded the call to me since it might be a daytime nesting event.

My husband Dave and I headed to the beach to investigate while conversing on the phone with Carrie. When we arrived and looked at the tracks and surrounding area, we determined enough signs were there to report as a Kemp’s Ridley nest event (see page 8 of the STPS Summer 2024 Turtle Talk Newsletter). The Kemp’s Ridley is defined as a rare species for our survey area. We immediately notified Florida Fish and Wildlife Marine Turtle division and followed the protocol set for rare species.

On June 18th, the Tuesday nest survey team observed the nest as part of their standard survey. To their surprise, they found hatchlings sitting in the nest area ready to make their journey to the sea and start their new chapter in life. The team watched and took lots of pictures and could not believe their good luck to witness this event. Watch a video of the hatchlings emerging from the nest on the STPS Facebook page: First Nest Emergence of the Season.

On Friday morning the 21st, we conducted a nest evaluation complying with our permitted activity. During this, we found three more hatchlings that were able to make it out to sea. It was a very successful nest. 

Thank you to everyone involved. Our concerned citizens, the hotline monitors, the Stranding team, and Nesting Survey team worked seamlessly to be able to document and help these sea turtles. Thank you Terri Watkins and Cindy Lang for the great pictures.

 All activity was conducted under MTP -067 permit.