{"id":11741,"date":"2012-09-02T21:33:41","date_gmt":"2012-09-03T02:33:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=11741"},"modified":"2012-09-02T21:33:41","modified_gmt":"2012-09-03T02:33:41","slug":"rescued-terrapin-hatchlings-released-at-marion-barrier-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/?p=11741","title":{"rendered":"Rescued Terrapin Hatchlings Released at Marion Barrier Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Twenty Terrapin Hatchlings Released at Marion Barrier Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Sorting Day today.\u00c2\u00a0 No, not the Sorting Day\u00c2\u00a0described in Harry Potter about Hogwarts.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, this Sorting Day takes place at the much more magical castle of the Turtle Journal Laboratory.\u00c2\u00a0 Here,\u00c2\u00a0setting\u00c2\u00a0aside spells and potions, the team examines rescued hatchlings to determine\u00c2\u00a0which ones\u00c2\u00a0are sufficiently ready to be returned to the wild at their natal nesting sites.<\/p>\n

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Twenty Terrapin Hatchlings In Hand<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

This morning twenty (20) beautiful diamondback terrapin hatchlings passed that test.\u00c2\u00a0 Sue Wieber Nourse holds them for a group photograph to celebrate their selection for release.\u00c2\u00a0 Click on the picture above for a closeup and note the\u00c2\u00a0inexhaustible series of unique designs.\u00c2\u00a0 Each so beautifully alike; each so beautifully distinct.\u00c2\u00a0 Note also the genetic anomaly\u00c2\u00a0of the center right baby with a fifth vetebral split vertically into two scutes.\u00c2\u00a0 They all clearly pass muster as wizards in waiting.<\/p>\n

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Rescued Hatchlings Return to Natal Barrier Beach<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

With a whisk of a wand, Sue’s turtle-filled hands are mystically transported from Turtle Journal headquarters to the Marion barrier beach that held the hatchlings’\u00c2\u00a0natal nests.\u00c2\u00a0 The babies appear quite alert as they magically sense home.\u00c2\u00a0 One hatchling seems to stare up at the Sippican Lands Trust Wildlife Refuge sign, asking in turtle tongue, of which only a\u00c2\u00a0privileged few Slytherin wizards are familiar, “Why would they post a picture of a scary predator?\u00c2\u00a0 Are they trying to\u00c2\u00a0warn us?\u00c2\u00a0 Don’t they know we’re already a threatened species?”<\/p>\n

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Terrapin Hatchlings Scramble into Safety of Salt Marsh<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

Released at the site of their natal nests, the babies cluster in a coven to decide what to do.\u00c2\u00a0 One of the\u00c2\u00a0wiser hatchlings suggests, “Look, guys. We can huddle out here\u00c2\u00a0in the open all day to discuss and plan what’s next, or we can run like hell for the salt marsh before we’re eaten.”<\/p>\n

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Last Hatchling Disappears into Nursery Salt Marsh<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

As we watch, hatchling after hatchling\u00c2\u00a0passes through the curtain at the edge of the salt marsh grass and poof.\u00c2\u00a0 It disappears as though\u00c2\u00a0protected\u00c2\u00a0by an invisibility cloak.\u00c2\u00a0 And so these miniature turtle wizards in wating will remain magically hidden for the first two to three years of their lives.\u00c2\u00a0 Maybe not Hogwarts, but it all seems a bit mysterical to the Turtle Journal team.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Twenty Terrapin Hatchlings Released at Marion Barrier Beach Sorting Day today.\u00c2\u00a0 No, not the Sorting Day\u00c2\u00a0described in Harry Potter about Hogwarts.\u00c2\u00a0 Instead, this Sorting Day takes place at the much more magical castle of the Turtle Journal Laboratory.\u00c2\u00a0 Here,\u00c2\u00a0setting\u00c2\u00a0aside spells and potions, the team examines rescued hatchlings to determine\u00c2\u00a0which ones\u00c2\u00a0are sufficiently ready to be returned […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[23],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11741"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11787,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11741\/revisions\/11787"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11741"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11741"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turtlejournal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11741"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}