Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue founder Steve Ahern, in foreground, and other volunteers check out turtle nesting boxes at the Sea Isle library last fall. (Photo courtesy of Steve and Susan Ahern)
By Maddy Vitale
Steve and Susan Ahern, the founders of the Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue, had a daunting task Saturday morning.
They had to dismantle two, very large turtle nesting boxes located outside the library.
Luckily, they had the help of their son, Michael, and a cadre of Environmental Commission members and other volunteers.
The work was difficult. It took about five hours. But the result was priceless.
Diamondback terrapins lay eight to 12 eggs at a time and they come out an average of three times during a nesting season from June 1 to July 15. So, the Aherns created nesting habitats for the precious turtles to try to save them from cars along Sea Isle Boulevard and other areas of the community, as well as predators.
The Aherns set out Saturday to not only dismantle the boxes for the season, but to see if the eggs in the containers hatched and if there were hatchlings present.
They found both.
“This year was much more rewarding because we actually found 50 live turtles,” Steve Ahern said. “We got to unearth them and get them ready to go back to the marsh. We also found around 50 different nests and evidence of about 223 eggs, in addition to the turtles we found.”
He said some turtles hatch and venture out. Others prefer to stay in the nesting boxes until about April or May, which is why the volunteers relocated the turtles to the marsh.
“During that time there are so many storms and flooding,” Ahern noted. “They are probably safest when they hunker down at the edge of the marsh. They should be safer there.”
Turtle nesting boxes behind the Sea Isle Library provide a safe place for terrapins to lay their eggs.
