FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. \u2013 We had a really special moment on The Morning Show today. Dozens of sea turtle hatchlings in Fernandina Beach decided to make their way to the ocean as our cameras were rolling!<\/p>\n
The big moment for these little critters typically happens overnight, so it was a rare experience.<\/p>\n
About 30 loggerheads scooted down the beach toward the Atlantic Ocean — with a little help from some trained volunteers with Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch (AISTW).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is really fun to see the babies,\u201d said Kelly Marine, a volunteer who is in her first year of having an assigned route every morning on the beach. \u201cThey are very cute. It is nice to know that they made it out there.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is a perfect nest,\u201d said Sharon Randa. \u201cYou do not want to see any dead ones. Still there are sometimes not alive turtle in the egg. It still gives me goosebumps all these years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is all kind of new to me,\u201d said David Randa, who is also a volunteer. \u201cIt is always fun to find a nest, see the emerging tracks, the new ones. Now seeing the results and helping them out into the ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt helps me understand how amazing the natural habitat is,\u201d said Bill Bokram, who is the vice president of AISTW. \u201cBecause sea turtles are one of the many living things that are on this beach. I can say for all of our volunteers, the more that we learn about this, the more that we realize we don\u2019t know about creatures who live in the ocean. Sea turtles live in the ocean. They only come up on the to lay eggs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Over the last 10 years, Fernandina Beach has averaged about 200 nests by this point of the season — about halfway. Right now, though, only 122 nests have been documented. <\/p>\n
A recent beach renourishment project that finished pumping sand onto the beach from the ocean last week<\/a> could be a contributing factor.<\/p>\n