Hatchlings Emerge

You don't often get to see pictures of hatchlings digging their way out of the nest, but our friend Margie sent us these great photos, along with a description of the event. Be sure to click on the pictures to enlarge them, then scroll around, as the hatchlings are still covered with sand and hard to pick out.

Margie describes it thusly: "A daylight emergence in South Cocoa Beach. Fascinating to watch them erupt from the nest and run for the ocean. The birds grabbed a couple, but it was interesting to see that most of them freed themselves from ghost crabs that caught them. One even got away after being dragged down into a ghost crab burrow and crawled back out."



(Photos courtesy of Margie Mitchell)