Happy Earth Day!

Baby mutant ninja turtle :o)

Happy Earth Day! I was looking forward to attending Turtlefest 2012 in Juno Beach but we got a torrent of bad weather starting on Friday evening that caused it to be cancelled. :o(

Turtle season has begun on the Florida coast and we saw a turtle nest today on the beach that was roped off. You can't really tell it's a nest other than a volunteer has taken the time to rope off a large square of sand. April is the first month of the season and eggs take two months to incubate so the earliest we'll see little guys running for the sea is June. So even though Turtlefest got cancelled I'm dedicating my Earth Day post to the turtles. 

Sea Turtle facts courtesy of the Loggerhead Marinelife Center:

Leatherback

• World Conservation Union (IUCN) status - Critically Endangered
• Largest and deepest diving of the sea turtles
• Named for smooth, rubbery shell
• Feeds on jellyfish
• Weighs 700-1500 pounds and measures 4 to 8 feet in length
• Nests in Florida from March through July

Loggerhead

• World Conservation Union (IUCN) status - Endangered
• Most common sea turtle in Florida
• Named for its large head
• Feeds on crabs, mollusks, encrusting animals attached to reefs and rocks
• Weighs 200 to 350 pounds and measures about 3 feet in length
• Nests in Florida from April through September

Green

• World Conservation Union (IUCN) status - Endangered
• Named for greenish color of body fat
• Feeds on seagrass and seaweed
• Adult females weigh 300 pounds and are 3-4 feet in length
• Nests in Florida from May through September

Hawksbill

• World Conservation Union (IUCN) status - Critically Endangered
• Has a beautiful shell, which is used for jewelry causing this turtle to be listed internationally as critically endangered
• Feeds on sponges
• Occasional nests are found  in Palm Beach County each year

Kemp’s Ridley

• World Conservation Union (IUCN) status - Critically Endangered
• Smallest of the sea turtles
• Nesting is mainly restricted to a 20-mile stretch of beach in western Gulf of Mexico
• Nesting often occurs in large aggregations during the daylight
• Feeds on blue crabs, clams, mussels, fish and jellyfish
• Adult weighs 85-100 pounds and measures 24-30 inches in length