Morgan Otter Saves the Sea Turtles

by Thompson, Tara V. ; Andersen, Candace;

  When she is done, she looks around at the others’ masks. Robbie’s mask is a cougar with its tan and white fur. Claire’s is an osprey that she decorated with black feathers in a stripe across its face with a black beak and speckled forehead. Ruby’s mask is an owl with big, beige circles around the eyes, a yellow beak, and a dark brown, streaked head.

  As she looks at Robbie and Ruby’s masks, she thinks about how much she is going to miss them. She gives Robbie her mask and tells him, “I know how much you like bobcats too, so you can have my mask.”

  Claire apparently feels the same way because she hands her mask over to Ruby, “Here, I want you to have my mask.”

  Robbie and Ruby give Morgan and Claire hugs and then insist on exchanging masks. They all try on their new masks as John announces to the group that they are going on one last hike on the nature trail.

  They talk and laugh as they walk the trail, getting to see all of the animals one more time. Robbie tells hilarious jokes about animals, while Claire tells bad knock-knock jokes (the only kind of jokes she knows). Ruby reminds them of funny stories from the week at camp, and Morgan makes up stories about the secret lives of each animal. According to Morgan, the alligator is a secret underwater spy in one habitat, whereas, in another habitat, the fox is in love with the owl.

  Finally, the whole camp gets together for a cookout. While the Loggerheads had been out on their trail walk, some of the counselors had been preparing a huge lunch, with all kinds of Lowcountry food on a huge buffet table. Morgan and her friends rush to get a plate to fill up. At the table, there are sausages, collard greens, barbecue, mac and cheese, sweet potatoes, and corn bread. There is also a pile of food at one end. Morgan asks Ruby, “Why did they pile up the food down there?”

  Ruby answers, “It’s Lowcountry Boil! It’s one of my favorites. They cook shrimp and potatoes and corn and sausage all together. Then when it’s done, they drain it, dump it on the table, and you get to grab a bunch of it. Try it, you’ll love it!”

  Morgan likes everything in Lowcountry Boil, so she gets a couple of huge spoonfuls for her plate (there isn’t much room left by that point). Everything is so good! Then, when everyone is finished, they all line up to get an ice cream cone.

  Once they are all done with ice cream, Asha and John remind the group about their sand candles. Each camper has to find his or her bucket and dig the candle out of the sand. Morgan finds her bucket and digs out her star-shaped candle. She hopes her mother will like it, even if it is lumpy. Once she has it out, she brushes off most of the sand from the bottom and sides of the candle. Some of the sand sticks to the wax of the candle. Morgan can also see part of the shells that she put in the hole before they poured the wax peeking out of the sides of the candle. The top of the candle is the only part without any sand on it. Morgan likes the green color because it reminds her of the sea grass on the beach dunes.

  Suddenly, it is time for the end of camp. Morgan sees her parents waiting for her, so she gives Robbie and Ruby hugs, and they all exchange phone numbers. She and Claire walk over to her parents to wait for Claire’s mom. Morgan introduces Claire to her parents. Once Claire’s mom gets to camp, the adults get together to decide which night would be best each week to join the sea turtle group. That done, they exchange phone numbers, and Morgan and Claire hug, excited about getting to see each other again the following week.

  Chapter Eight

  When Morgan and her parents get to the meeting spot the next Friday night for their first sea turtle group adventure, they find Claire and her mom waiting there for them. Morgan hasn’t seen Claire for a couple of days since they hung out for the afternoon at Claire’s house. She got to meet Claire’s brother, Joe, who is three years older. He didn’t want to help protect the baby sea turtles, which is why Claire came with just her mom. Morgan and Claire greet each other eagerly.

  “I can’t wait to see the baby sea turtles!” Morgan says to her excitedly.

  “I know!” Claire responds. “I wonder how many we will get to see?”

  “Maybe a hundred?” Morgan guesses. The two families walk over to the sign where they are supposed to meet with the guide. Since this is their first time with the group, they have to go through orientation. After that, they will join the rest of the group, searching the beach for baby sea turtles coming out of their nests. Also by the sign are two women who look like bronzed, brunette sisters and a man with a faded, red baseball cap and skin the color of driftwood.

  The group is welcomed by the man, who turns out to be the guide. His name is Charlie, and he works with the Marine Conservation on one of the islands.

  After thanking them for joining the group, he tells them about sea turtles and why this work is so important. Since Morgan and Claire had learned about sea turtles at camp and Morgan had read her book on sea turtles, they already know most of the information that he gives them. Morgan pays close attention to what she doesn’t already know. Charlie tells them that the sea turtles they are likely to see are loggerheads and leatherbacks, which are both endangered. The sea turtle females dig holes that are sixteen to twenty inches wide to lay their soft-shelled eggs before refilling the holes with sand to protect the eggs. That still doesn’t stop some of the eggs from being dug up and eaten by crabs, but it does protect the eggs from most predators. Since it can take decades for sea turtles to grow up, the more eggs that hatch and make it to the ocean, the better the chance that they will survive as a species.

  Charlie tells them, “Tonight, we will be looking for the babies hatching from their nests. Eggs in one nest tend to hatch together, which makes it easier for us to spot them. If you spot hatchlings, make sure to call for me right away and step back to keep out of the way of the turtles. Your job is to protect them from predators like seabirds, raccoons, and crabs. It is also important that we fill in any holes that you find. The hatchlings often won’t make it to the ocean if they fall into a hole because they will use up all their energy trying to get themselves out of that hole.”

  This is why Morgan is so excited to join the group. She can’t wait to protect the babies from the predators and dangerous holes in the sand. That is what will make her a sea turtle superhero, saving the innocent hatchlings from the mean birds and crabs.

  Charlie continues, “Please do not pick them up. You could accidentally hurt them. But you can take pictures of them and with them, as long as you do not use flash. We cannot use flash photography for the same reason that you will each be supplied with a red-filtered flashlight. The baby sea turtles use the light from the moon reflecting off of the water to find their way to the ocean. If they see a bright light other than the moon, they will never be able to find the water.”

  Morgan did not know that bright lights could keep the babies from the water. For a minute, Morgan imagines using a bright flashlight to make a baby sea turtle follow her along the beach. She thinks that would be fun, almost like she was the mama sea turtle. But then, she realizes that it might never find the ocean and could die, which makes her really sad. She promises herself that she will make sure that all of the babies go towards the water, and that she won’t do anything that could distract them.

  Charlie asks if they have any questions, and no one has any. He hands out flashlights with transparent, red plastic that the light shines through. While the group gets their special flashlights, more members of the group join them. As she looks around, Morgan realizes that she and Claire are the youngest people there. There are a couple of teenagers, but most in the group are adults.

  Once everyone is there, Charlie reminds everyone one last time to let him (or the other guide, Josie) know immediately if they see groups of hatchlings trying to make it to the water. He will need to record the event. He also reminds the group to not use flash photography, or even cell phones if they can help it, because the light can trick the babies. He then splits the group into two smaller groups, so that one group goes with Josie in one directio
n and the other group goes with him in the other direction.

  Morgan and Claire’s group go with Charlie. They walk down the wooden walkway towards the beach from the parking lot, talking amongst themselves. Morgan and Claire are really excited. They have never been to the beach at night. And the first time they go, it’s on a superhero adventure!

  Once they get to the end of the walkway, Charlie has everyone turn on their red flashlights because the sun has been setting while the group was heading out to the beach. It takes a few minutes for Morgan’s eyes to get adjusted as the light changes. The lights from the buildings and the parking lot behind them glow brightly. In the direction of the ocean, there are still a few bright colors on the horizon with the three-quarter moon shining.

  Morgan’s group heads to the right, while the other group goes off to the left. They fan out vertically from the ocean in order to make sure they don’t miss any of the hatchlings. Since they are new to the group, Morgan, Claire, and their families are about halfway up the beach, sandwiched between other members who have been there before. The more experienced group members, including Charlie, walk up along the dunes, where they can check the marked nests for any activity. Then the group starts walking slowly, swinging their flashlights side-to-side so they don’t miss anything. They all talk softly as they walk, not wanting to disturb any of the animals on the beach. Every so often, someone will stop to quickly fill in a hole.

  Without the sounds of people playing on the beach, the sounds of the waves are loud, almost overwhelming the animal noises. Sometimes, Morgan can hear animals scurrying along the beach dunes. She never sees the animals on the ground, but occasionally, she can see birds as they fly over.

  After it gets completely dark, Morgan notices that that the red light from the flashlights is hard to get used to because things that are close up are easy to see, while things far away are only softly lit by the moon. Morgan thinks that the red light is actually pretty creepy. And it makes her nervous to not be able to see very far. But she knows that the red light helps the group see where they are going without risking the baby sea turtles, so she tries not to think about what she can’t see.

  The group walks for a long time before coming to a stop. They haven’t seen any hatchlings yet, but they hope they will on the way back now that it’s even darker than when they set out from the parking lot. They sure have filled in a lot of holes, though! Morgan drinks from the water bottle her mum offers her. She didn’t realize how thirsty she would get looking for baby sea turtles!

  While they are stopped, Charlie comes over to show Morgan and Claire something that can only be seen at night. “Look at this,” Charlie says as he brushes the sand by the water. A blue glow shows up on the sand suddenly.

  “What is that?” Morgan asks.

  Charlie responds, “It is bioluminescence. Tiny little ocean animals will sometimes glow like this. Why don’t you try? Run your hand across the sand.” Morgan and Claire do what he says, and they are excited to see a blue glow where their hands had just been.

  “It looks like fireflies!” Claire says.

  “It is a very similar chemical reaction to what fireflies also produce,” Charlie answers.

  Morgan and Claire try it again and again, amazed with the blue glow each time. After few minutes, it is time to start walking again, and the group heads back the other direction.

  About halfway back to the parking lot, Morgan hears something just before it hits her on the top of her head. Morgan screams and drops to the ground. She hears Claire shriek too. Her parents check on her, but they can’t help but to laugh. Apparently, a bird flew too close and clipped Morgan on the top of her head! Her dad saw it as it happened but couldn’t stop the bird from hitting her.

  Morgan gets up off the ground and brushes the sand off her clothes and hands. At first, she is really embarrassed because everyone is laughing. Then she pictures how it must have looked, and she starts laughing too.

  Even though they don’t find any baby sea turtles that night, they have a funny story to tell the other group, who didn’t have any luck with hatchlings or funny stories. Charlie and Josie thank the group for coming.

  Morgan and Claire’s parents ask them what they thought of their first night with the sea turtle group. Claire replies, “I had fun, even though it was kind of scary in the dark. Especially when the bird attacked Morgan.”

  Morgan says, “I wish we had seen some of the babies, but they warned us we might not. Hopefully, we will see them next week! Maybe we will see twice as many to make up for tonight.”

  “So y’all still want to come back?” Claire’s mom asks.

  “Yes!” Morgan and Claire exclaim.

  Chapter Nine

  The next week, Morgan and her dad meet up with Claire and her dad. Morgan’s mother had to work, and Claire’s parents are taking turns going on the walks with Claire. Since they have already been through orientation, they don’t have to get there quite as early. Morgan and Claire are really excited, even though they had been disappointed the previous week to not see any hatchlings. They hope that they will get to see some this week.

  They find the rest of the group waiting at the sign. Morgan thinks there might be a couple of new adults there, but there are no more kids than last week. That’s OK because it just means that Morgan gets to spend more time hanging out with Claire, who is quickly becoming her new best friend. They have had two playdates since last Friday and are planning another one for the following week.

  Just like before, the group is split in two, and Morgan, Claire, and their dads go with Charlie’s group off to the right of the walkway. They stay in the middle of the group, making sure to pay close attention to the beach around them. Once again, Charlie and the experienced group members walk close to the dunes, checking on nests as they go by.

  This week it is a little easier for Morgan and Claire to adjust to the changing light after the sunset, although they agree that the red flashlights still make everything look creepy. They keep their eyes peeled for anything moving on the sand in front of them. Once or twice Morgan thinks she sees something, but it turns out to be a small crab or bird running away from her. As they walk, Morgan and Claire start to think that they will never get to see baby sea turtles hatch and crawl to the ocean. The two find a couple of deep holes that someone had dug earlier in the day to make sand castles. They fill in the holes with their dads before moving on with the rest of the group.

  When the group stops to drink water and head back the other direction, Morgan realizes how disappointed she is. She really wants to see hatchlings tonight, but it looks like tonight is going to be just like last week. She signed up to be a sea turtle superhero, not walk to the beach in the dark! Still, she tries to keep her hopes up by telling herself that they still have to walk all the way back to their starting point. Maybe they will get to see some babies on the way back.

  As they walk back, Morgan and Claire talk about what they want to do on their playdate. They are trying to decide between playing in Morgan’s tree house and going to the movies, when Charlie stops the group. “One of the nests has started hatching!”

  Everyone rushes over to Charlie, being careful not to get too close to the nest. They don’t want to accidentally step on one of the sea turtles, after all! Morgan and Claire squat down across from Charlie and look where he is pointing. The hatchlings have just started to come to the surface. Because the eggs are buried in the sand, the babies have to push their way through it. When Morgan and Claire get there, the babies have opened up a small hole in the sand, so they can see several hatchlings struggling to get onto the beach. Morgan’s dad takes pictures over Morgan’s shoulder (no flash, of course).

  One baby sea turtle makes it to the top as Morgan and Claire get into position, and it immediately starts heading towards the ocean. Several of the group members jump out of the way and start to line up to follow the babies on their way to the water i
n order to protect them from predators.

  Morgan and Claire stay by the nest to watch the babies emerge. There are dozens and dozens of them. They are all crammed into the small hole, each waving its flippers about, trying to make it to the top of the hole. One by one, each of the baby sea turtles climbs out and immediately starts flapping its flippers to get to the ocean. Morgan giggles as one of the babies seems to leap-frog over one of its siblings.

  For several minutes, Morgan and Claire stare in awe of the hatchlings boiling out of the hole. When Charlie calls for people to join the line to protect the babies as they make their way to the water, Morgan remembers that this is the most important part of them being there.

  “Come on,” Morgan tells Claire. “If we’re going to be sea turtle superheroes, we have to protect the babies from the other animals.”

  They run to join the line with their dads. They keep a sharp eye out for predators looking to eat the babies. Most of the birds and other animals stay away from the sea turtles on the beach because Morgan and the other protectors are there. Morgan can hear some of the birds calling to each other overhead, though, so she knows that without the group, the sea turtles would be in danger.

  Meanwhile, the dozens of hatchlings make their way steadily from the nest down to the ocean. Even though they seem to stutter sometimes in their push to the water, they never stop for long. Morgan and Claire clap softly and cheer them on towards the ocean. They try not to be too loud, but they want to encourage the sea turtles to make it all the way to the water.

  Morgan watches as the first hatchlings make it to the water. They still crawl through the water-logged sand for a few minutes until the next wave comes to take them away. Then they are gone. This cycle repeats again and again until just a couple of sea turtles are left trying to make it down to the water.