He dug, he found a turtle, now it has his name

SANDBRIDGE

On the last day of summer vacation, it seemed a good idea to 12-year-old Eric Blachar-ski of Long Island, N.Y., to dig in the sand one more time. So he did.

His mother, Dawn, who was sitting on the beach Friday thinking about lunch, heard him exclaim, "I have a sea turtle!" And he did.

A fellow vacationer, Janice Parise, who had seen lots of promotional items from the Virginia Aquarium around the beach house, thought she should call for advice. So she did.

In short order, the stranding team arrived to check on the 2-inch-long baby, and a truckload of biologists from Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge came to protect it with a cage and a bunch of poles and stakes and wires and flags, and to line up volunteers to sit with the nest at night until all the babies hatch so they could be steered away from the distractingly bright lights of houses and into the sea, and to promise that Eric would be called to come watch if the babies hatch before he has to leave, and then they whisked the baby loggerhead turtle back to the stranding center for a refreshing drink of water and a hearty meal.

And although the hundred or so baby turtles that might hatch from the nest will be forever anonymous, it seemed to the rescuers a good idea to name the surprise baby after the 12-year-old who found it. So they did.

Diane Tennant, (757) 446-2478, diane.tennant@pilotonline.com