Happy Little Cottages By The Sea

Cottage Charm, Coastal Calm

Sea Turtles

1001 Ways To Get Tybee-ized: TURTLE TROT!

Mermaid Cottages loves our sea turtles! Our own coffee – Mermaid Morning Bliss, which is available in all our homes and for sale at Sea Side Sisters – was created to support the Sea Turtle Project in Georgia. All profits go towards these projects. Tybee Island Sea Turtle ProjectWe are avid supporters other ways, such as through the Tybee Island Marine Science Center and the annual Tybee Turtle Trot 5K, held each spring to kick off Sea Turtle Season and proudly attended by many mermaids and mermen.

Several Mermaids are also part of the 6AM Turtle patrol from May 1st — Sept 1st where we walk the beach looking for newly laid turtle nests. Last summer Head Mermaid Diane found 2 turtle nests during her 6AM patrol! Lights out for Sea Turtles is also very important, and we have made sure our two beachfront cottages – Doyles on the Beach and Crabby Jo’s – have sea turtle-friendly lights and that our guests know what to do to for the homes to be sea turtle-friendly. For more info on Georgia sea turtles visit the Tybee Island Marine Science Center and The Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

 

Come on down to the Marine Science Center and celebrate as we release not 1, but 4 rescued sea turtles!

 

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BEACH SWEEP!

BEACH SWEEP!
Come join us Sunday, February 13 from 3-5 p.m. to walk and clean the south end of Tybee Beach!
It’s time to start preparing for our 2011 Sea Turtle Nesting Season and we want the lovely lady sea turtles to have the most beautiful beach to choose their nesting sites!
Meet us at our newest Mermaid Cottage on the beach, Doyles At The Beach, at #2 18th Lane.
There’s plenty of parking, but as always, the best way to enjoy Tybee Island is to walk or ride a bike.
Bring your own trash bags and bring lots of family and friends!

The less trash there is on the beach the less trash there will be in the beautiful waters off Tybee and this means less chance the sea turtles, dolphins and Right Whales will think the harmful trash is something for them to eat.

 

Ya’ll Comin?
BEACH SWEEP!

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Sea Turtle Update!

Nest #9 hatched last Friday night! There were 9 volunteers on hand to see all the babies emerge and make their way safely to the water!
Tammy, with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project, excavated Tuesday and learned more about the nest. There were one hundred and five eggs that hatched successfully out of one hundred and seventeen. She also found seven live babies still in the nest and released them near the water. So, all told, there were 97 little success stories born last week!

There are only two nests left to keep an eye on for the 2010 season! We are so grateful for the hard work of everyone involved with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project. Make sure to visit their Facebook page and see the amazing videos of the Nest 9 babies they have posted! Truly beautiful footage! To learn more about sea turtles in our area, you can also visit the Tybee Island Marine Science Center website. Or better yet, plan a trip! We can’t wait to see what the rest of the turtle season will bring!

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We Love Our Sea Turtles!

We are a little over half way through our sea turtle nesting season here on the island. The season runs from May 1st through October 31st, and this year we’ve seen a lot of activity! In fact the state of Georgia has had a record high number of nests! Here on Tybee, we have had ten confirmed nests, three of which have already hatched. The most recent hatch was Nest #4 this past Sunday morning. Thankfully, nearly all of the hatchlings made it safely to the water. Only two were lost to the ghost crabs on the beach.
Headed for the ocean!  (Fan pic by Amy Gray Capelloon added to the Tybee Sea turtle Project Facebook page)

Volunteers and workers with The Tybee Marine Science Center and the Tybee Sea Turtle Project get up with the sun each morning to sweep the beach for signs of new nests, or nests that may have hatched. An early morning turtle crawl is a beautiful sight!

Just one sight on a morning beach patrol! (Tybee Sea Turtle Project photo)

Our yearly visitors are just one more reason to love Tybee Island! If you are interested in learning more about sea turtles and seeing more pictures of these amazing creatures, please visit the Tybee Marine Science Center and Tybee Sea Turtle Project websites!

Precious baby sea turtle! (Tybee Sea Turtle Project photo)

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