Rainbows and Sea Turtle Babies

The scheduled shift for monitoring the loggerhead sea turtle nest came at the end of a day of coastal storms. I left my professional photography gear in my office and headed to the beach with my iPhone and rain gear. Turns out I brought the wrong gear and left the right gear at home.

Arriving at six o’clock I found the beach glorious. A nice breeze kept biting insects pushed away from the shore and the temperature was perfect. I listened with the stethoscope to the nest of busy hatchlings and heard fifteen second sand cascades with long pauses in between. Nothing soon but probably tonight, I thought.

So another team member and I walked down to the water’s edge and watched the frenzy of fish activity in the waves and I rescued tiny baitfish as they washed on shore. The gulls developed an intense dislike for me but I can’t help it. My heart will always help the underdog. And besides…I sort of know what it feels like to be a fish out of water…at least metaphorically.

As the hour progressed toward sunset the sky suddenly went berserk with color and rainbows. There was one main rainbow, a second and then the clouds began to glow pink. Armed only with my iPhone, I cursed my decision to leave my ‘big’ camera and tripod behind. The beauty of the sky was absolutely breathtaking.

But it was the rainbows that filled my heart with delight and brought such joy that I didn’t try to contain it. I opened my arms to the sky and opened my mind and heart to the beautiful energy of rainbows. Promise. Hope. Light!

As the sky faded I had a strong feeling to check the nest. When I approached the top of it was moving. It appeared as if a baby turtle was swimming in the sand, just beneath the surface. At 7pm I texted the two people who had asked to be notified…our team leader and another couple who live nearby the nest. There was no need to listen with the stethoscope as there was enough light to see the top of the nest moving.

At 8.10pm 84 to 86 (our two counter’s totals) ‘boiled’ out of the nest and went EVERYWHERE! There was no moon due to clouds and too much light on the beach and it was a wild scramble of babies making a mad dash to light. This is the reason Share the Beach was started, those many years ago. Baby sea turtles crawl toward light and with so much coastal development many were crawling into the street, under homes and becoming lost or dead.

It was an intense hatching that kept us constantly assisting them find their way to the sea. But finally, the last one crawled into the warm, salty water and we could relax a bit.

Amid more rain this morning and thunder and depressed cats sulking because they hate thunder, I feel joy and gratitude for such an opportunity to receive so many gifts from spending time under rainbows and crawling on the sand with loggerhead hatchlings.

Visit our team’s Facebook page at Laguna Key-Share the Beach.