It’s been a busy week or so for Tybee! The last few days of May, volunteers Earnest, Pat, and Ann with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project found three sea turtle crawls! One has even been marked as a possible nest!
So far this year, Tybee Island now has four nests. Tybee has never had this many nests in May before, so hopefully this is a good sign that we will have a record sea turtle nesting season!
Find more beautiful pictures on the Tybee Sea Turtle Project Facebook Page!
Just yesterday morning, Mermaid Cottages’ own Jan and Bobby Meyer had a hand in the discovery of two crawls! There was even a report from a jogger that he had sighted a loggerhead leaving the ocean for the sand during his evening run, so the good people with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project are hoping to discover another nest soon!
To keep up with the island’s latest sea turtle news, make sure to stay tuned to our blog, and head over to follow the official Tybee Sea Turtle Project Facebook Page!
There’s wonderful news on the Tybee Island sea turtle front today! Our very own Jan and Bobby Meyer (on their very first patrol!) and the hard working people with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project discovered a new nest last Thursday morning! …
Just one of Tybee's turtle crawls from past years. Isn't it beautiful?!
If you know anything about Mermaid Cottages, you know we love our sea turtles! Well, May 1st marked the beginning of the 2012 season, and we’ve been waiting to hear the news of the turtles’ arrival. Well, today we heard just that!
Tybee‘s first nest of the season was found Tuesday morning! It was located at 11th Street, just over the rack line. Eighty-six eggs were relocated (87 total, one was taken for the genetic study) to a higher spot in the dunes for their safety. The nest is marked off just south of the 11th Street crossover. Tybee Island is now tied with St. Simmons in nest numbers!
Woohoo! Sea turtle season is off and running! We are so thankful for the hard working staff and volunteers with the Tybee Island Sea Turtle Project. They are the important link between us and the beautiful creatures we long to protect. Thanks for all the dedication everyone, and keep up the great work!
The sun is peeking over the ocean, dolphins are jumping, and the salty sea breeze is on its way through. Oh, what a beautiful morning for Mermaid Morning Bliss Coffee! You heard that correctly…coffee from The Mermaids! We are so excited about it because sales of our Mermaid Morning Bliss Coffee help support the Tybee Sea Turtles program!
Mermaid Cottages has recreated our own line of custom coffee with the help of Phillip at the wonderful PERC Coffee Roasters right up the road in beautiful Historic Downtown Savannah, GA. We’ve got a brand new blend and a brand new look to go along with it! Each coffee blend is hand-roasted in small batches to ensure you get the very best coffee experience. Phillip’s passion for making the best coffee possible certainly shows in every delicious cup! Our Mermaid Morning Bliss, available exclusively in our cottages or at Seaside Sisters, is available to order by the pound. Our Coffee makes a great souvenir or take-home gift, but best of all, sales help support the Tybee Sea Turtles programs!
Tybee Island’s Sea Turtle season runs from May 1st thru Oct 31st. During this time Loggerhead sea turtlescome to our beaches to lay their eggs; 60 days later they hatch and the babies race to the sea. Mermaid Cottages has always been a proud supporter of the NESTS program and the Tybee Island Marine Science Center Sea Turtle Project. We are so proud to say Mermaid Morning Bliss helps our efforts!
We provide each cottage with our Mermaid Morning Bliss Coffee for you to enjoy during your stay, but you can also take our unique taste of Tybee home with you! Email us at diane@mermaidcottages.com to order by the pound, or make sure you stop by Seaside Sisters while you are visiting for everything Mermaid Cottages, including our delicious Mermaid Morning Bliss! And, for more information about Tybee Sea Turtles or to find out how you can be involved, click here to visit the website or call (912) 786-5917 for more information. Thank you for helping us support our sea turtles!
Turtle Crawl, photo thanks to the Tybee Sea Turtle Project Facebook Page
It’s May! You know what that means…Sea Turtle Season! That’s right, May first was the first official day of the 2012 sea turtle season! Mermaid Cottages loves our sea turtles! We always have several Mermaids and Mermen that are part of the 6 a.m. Turtle Patrol from May 1st through September 1st, where we walk the beaches of Tybee looking for signs of newly laid nests. We are definitely looking forward to the 2012 season and all it will bring!
photo by Amy Capello from the Tybee Sea Turtle Project
Spotting nests or crawls means sea turtles have arrived, so making sure you know about turtle-friendly habits is a must. Lights Out for the Sea Turtles is a very important part that! We must all do our parts to make sure baby sea turtles have the best conditions possible when they hatch so they can make it safely to the waiting waves. We’ve made sure our two beach front cottages- Doyle’s on the Beach and Crabby Jo’s– have sea turtle friendly lighting and that our guests know what to do to make their stay turtle friendly as well! What can you do to make Tybee safe for sea turtles? Well, here are just a few healthy habits to adopt:
Don’t litter! Clean up behind yourself or pick up debris in the sand. Turtles can get entangled, or worse, mistake the garbage for food.
Turn off lights visible from the beach. Sea turtle hatchlings use light and reflections from the moon to find their way to the water at night. Artificial lighting can confuse them and cause them to head inland instead of out to sea. All those artificial lights may scare females away from nesting on the beach, too. So please remember to turn off those lights!
Be Aware of Sea Turtle Nesting Areas. Nest will be marked, once found, and need to be respected. We know, baby sea turtles are precious, but it’s against the law to disturb nesting or hatchling turtles. Make sure to give nesting areas plenty of space, and do not disturb females as they emerge from the ocean to nest.
If you are walking the beach an notice a crawl, unmarked nest, or a sea turtle, make sure to contact (in this order): Tammy, Sea Turtle Project Coordinator – 912.484.3416, Tybee Island Marine Science Center – 912.786.5917, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources – 800.241.4113. We want to make sure every nest and every hatchling has the very best chance of making it!
photo by Layla and Kevin Palmer of TheLetteredCottage.net
Here at Mermaid Cottage, we love sea turtles so much even have our very own brand of coffee! It’s created just for us and supports the Sea Turtle Project in Georgia. Mermaid Morning Bliss is available in each cottage to enjoy during your stay and is also for sale at our favorite place to shop, Seaside Sisters here on Tybee! All profits go towards these projects. We are also avid supporters through the Tybee Island Marine Science Center and the annualTybee Turtle Trot 5K race held each spring to kick off Sea Turtle Season!
As you can probably tell, sea turtles are near and dear to our hearts. We love our sea creatures, oceans, and guests and we couldn’t be more proud that we try our very best to take care of all three! Make sure you keep up with all the happenings on the Tybee Sea Turtle Project Facebook Page and right here on our blog. We can’t wait to see what this season brings! Viva la sea turtles!
