Posts Tagged ‘Lieutenant Island’

Peek Inside the Egg Chamber

Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008

Like a clenched fist deep inside a carefully carved terrapin nest lies the egg chamber where the female has deposited her clutch 75 days earlier. When the clock chimes “emergence,” hatchlings squirm and wiggle their way free of their siblings to begin their dash for survival.  Today at noon the alarm rang for Nest 280 on the high dune of Turtle Point on Lieutenant Island.  Count noses, count eyes, count limbs as hatchlings get ready to sprint for freedom.

Hatchling Bunched Tightly in Egg Chamber

The Hatchling Also Rises

Wednesday, August 27th, 2008

A diamondback terrapin hatchling emerges from its Turtle Point nest and begins its scramble into the safety of the Lieutenant Island nursery marsh.

Lone Hatchling Slowly Emerges & Heads to Safety