Lori Wilson Park

Very nice park.
Pathway to the Atlantic Ocean.
Life guard house at Lori Wilson Park.   A favorite spot!
A nice walk through a wooded costal area. Bring sunscreen and bug spray during the summer months.
I walked through Lori Wilson Park to arrive on Cocoa Beach before dawn to get some photos of sunrise over the Atlantic.

I set up my tripod and awaited the sun to break above a bank of clouds, when I caught a tiny movement out of the corner of my eye.

I have no idea the catalyst for this serendipitous encounter, but for the first time in my decades of turtle fanaticism, I saw a sea turtle in the wild! Not just any sea turtle, but a tiny hatchling making its way across the beach from its sandy nest to its new home in the vastness of the ocean.

We shared a few brief moments until he was fully enveloped in the waves and the water.

My previous planned attempts at sea turtle sightings have always been near misses, today's scenario of pure happenstance was a true joy and an experience to remember.

I'm no herpetologist, but I believe he was a loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta).


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