Here come the Loggerheads
Rare daytime hatching draws crowd

A seconds-old hatchling begins his quest through the sand. Because it was a daytime hatching, the turtles were protected in a cooler until their release later that night, a move to protect the turtles from predators and steer them away from bright lights

Kirsten Dahlen says she's been watching turtles hatch since she was 8 years old, and a daytime hatching is a rarity.

Asmall crowd gathered Friday behind Calle Hermosa on Pensacola Beach to watch the progression as the sand boiled to reveal over 98 tiny loggerhead hatchlings coming toward the light.

National Park Service Intern Monica Cain discovered the nest on June 27, made too close to the rising tide so she had all 142 eggs relocated closer to the sand dunes.

Cain and Dahlen, a Biological Science Technician, kept close watch on the nest, waiting the 50-60 days until it was due to erupt. They hoped to ensure the hatchlings go into the gulf rather than be distracted by artificial light.Usually, the hatchlings follow moonlight into the sea, but the odds aren't good: only one in 1,000 survives to adulthood.

TOP: At the beginning of the process, the topmost hatchlings poke their noses out of the sand.

Dahlen said the latest nests were discovered this year on August 6, and there are only three on Pensacola Beach and five on Fort Pickens.

"It's not a very good year," Dahlen said. There are usually 11-15 nests per year on Pensacola Beach.

ABOVE: NPS Intern Monica Cain holds a new hatchling. LEFT: Ninety-eight hatchlings are kept in a cooler until conditions are safe for release into the Gulf. BELOW: Unhatched and hatched eggs are counted. Turtles begin bubbling out of the sand as the hatching occurs. National park service employees Kirsten Dahlen and Monica Cain scoop up the hatchlings and move them to a cooler for protection from predators until they are released into the Gulf of Mexico later that night.