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Join this family help save baby sea turtles as they hatch along the coast of Anna Maria Island, Florida, then make their way to the sea.

My previous coverage of Anna Maria Island revealed a myriad of subtropical family fun to be explored during the off season. A family destination truly worthy of a visit is one where there is always something new to discover, and just when I think I have covered everything, nature reminds me to pay more attention.

During our return visit, with a professional background in the natural and biological sciences, I found myself paying special attention to the fenced off endangered sea turtle nest directly in front of our oceanfront apartment balcony at the height of the August hatching season.

Understanding the Sea Turtles Dilemma

We frequently read local paper coverage of unfortunate artificial light-induced hatchling migrations away from the ocean and have seen nests marked off in the sand before. We knew about how the mother sea turtles return to their place of birth to lay eggs, and how they must hatch in the total absence of artificial light to navigate to the ocean... but never during the day so as to avoid being sea gull food.

At Anna Maria, we learned that these already endangered species would be a lot worse off if it weren't for an army of diligent volunteers assuring that the eggs hatch properly. These midwives and "midhusbands" of the surf also return to count all the hatched eggs, rescue any stragglers and report all the results to the governing regulatory agency which gives the permits to the volunteers – touching these cute and magnificent creatures is otherwise illegal.

The latest account of a light-induced misdirection of hatchlings to their vehicular death made our room-front nature preserve that much more valuable and prompted a little research with the local visitor's bureau and the volunteer office of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, Inc. (941/778-5638) nearby.

Being a Nest Monitor

At this non-profit, we learned even more about sea turtles and were inducted into their organization as temporary Nest Monitors. We even had a chance to view a planned release at another beach -- hatchlings held in a bucket after being found by lifeguards. Accustomed to such experiences only on TV nature shows, seeing this event for real was something we would never forget.

Armed with their deputized mission of nest monitoring, my children, Drew (10) and Susan (8), diligently checked the nest for signs of activity every night. Two nights before we left, we observed surface sand movement in the afternoon.