By MADDY VITALE
Turtle time in Sea Isle is approaching as the start of the nesting season is less than a month away.
What that means to motorists is to steer clear of the tiny terrapins. And for those who see a turtle in danger or distress, move the turtle to safety, but keep her going in the direction she was going. She is heading out of the marsh to look for sandy soil to lay her eggs.
The Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue organization, which is headed by couple Steve and Susan Ahern, is gearing up for a busy turtle nesting season.
Nesting season for the diamondback terrapin will begin around the last week in May and last until around the third week in July.
But some residents, such as Linda Braker, got an early look at the terrapins with not one, but two sightings in recent weeks.
On April 19, Braker said she “found a turtle on the beach at the tideline somewhere in a high 70s block.”
“We released (the terrapin) near the new kayak launch on 60th Street just by the water’s edge and watched as it made its way into the water,” Braker noted on Wednesday. “It is the second turtle we found in less than two weeks on the beach.”
Steve Ahern said that he has seen and heard of terrapins coming out over the last couple of weeks.
“The hatchlings that hibernated are moving toward the marsh,” Ahern noted.
Ahern urged anyone who finds a terrapin to put it in the “dry rack.”
The dry rack is directly in front of the marsh where the phragmites have died and fallen. “It’s not at every street,” Ahern pointed out. “Some examples are at 36, 63, 71, 72, 74, 75 and 81st Streets.”
Diamondback terrapins can live for 30 to 40 years, but with roadwork, construction, shore traffic, and deaths related to the fishing industry, longevity is always a concern. The terrapins are not been listed as threatened or endangered in New Jersey, but they are listed as decreasing.
Only one egg in a thousand grows up to be an adult turtle, Ahern said.
To help turtles have a greater chance at survival, the Aherns, along with dedicated volunteers including family members, built two nesting boxes a few years ago next to the Sea Isle library.
Nesting boxes give turtles an alternative place to lay their eggs. They are not in harm’s way near roads and there is a gate designed to keep out predators.
The boxes are maintained by the Aherns and volunteers. One is constructed behind the library near the marsh and the other on Central Avenue.
Helping turtles in a community effort. Fundraisers by the city’s Environmental Commission, including T-shirt sales, help offset the cost of materials for the nesting boxes.
On Wednesday, screens, piping and mounds of sand showed some preparations toward refurbished turtle boxes for the 2021 nesting season.
The boxes were filled with mounds of deep sand and fencing, designed to provide turtles and their eggs with warmth, protection and shelter.
“We got the boxes ready to build for the season last Saturday,” Ahern explained.
The Aherns and their volunteers will build the boxes next month, while practicing social distancing and other COVID-19 health and safety protocols.
For more information call the Aherns Sea Isle Terrapin Rescue organization at (609) 263-7358.
