we saw some baby sea turtles released tonight!

remember a few weeks ago, when we had the great and rare fortune to witness a mama loggerhead sea turtle emerge from the ocean to come lay her eggs in her birth spot?  Well, tonight we had the good fortune to witness some babies (they hatched four days ago) released back into the ocean.   This was on Tybee Island, where the turtle team had kept close watch on them (the second nest to hatch of the season), and they opened this release up to the public.  

First we watched them dig, check, and count the eggs:

 

then they put the turtles into their own buckets.  Out of about 75 eggs, there were only 4 or 5 turtles:

it was high tide.  They have certain conditions they have to meet when they release the eggs.  The public was required to stay back on the dry stand, and all the turtle volunteers staggered apart, responsible for watch and release.  
 
 
They then placed the turtles onto the sand, close to shore, and let them go.  NOBODY (except the volunteers if necessary) was allowed in the water.  And I could soon see why!  The waves kept pushing these poor babies back onto shore!  It was a lot of work, but almost all of the little turtles finally made it into the ocean...except one....which meant one volunteer had to walk out, in her street clothes, waste-deep, to ensure the last turtle made it in:)  It was a beautiful experience to witness these little babies...to see their little flippers moving.....to see how hard they had to work to get into the ocean, their home...and knowing that possibly one or more of these turtles are female, and may someday come back to that VERY spot to lay her eggs.  What a gift!

And, in case that wasn't enough, we were gifted a show, about 50 feet right in front of us, of five dolphins, fishing and swimming.  




What a perfect night!