Loggerhead turtles ranged through the seas from the Mediterranean to the Caribbean and beyond. They are typically about 3 feet long and can weigh 250 pounds. Once they begin to reproduce, sometime in their 30s, they will migrate up to 7,500 miles to return to the beach where they were hatched and lay eggs.

Once they have reached their nesting site, they will crawl ashore at night, dig a hole and lay eggs. Typically about 100 eggs are deposited in each nest. The eggs are then covered in sand and the mother returns to the sea, leaving the nest alone and undefended.

It takes about two months for the hatchlings to emerge from the eggs and struggle free from the nest. The young turtles then make a dash for the sea. Predators will frequently gather on the beach and in the water to await the defenseless young turtles.

Because the young turtles use the moonlight reflecting off of the water to guide them, no artificial light is allowed near the nest. This includes flashlights and flash photography.

At one nesting site in Big Pine Key, Florida a HD webcam has been set up so that people around the world can watch the turtles hatch and begin their lives in the ocean. According to the Associated Press the webcam is being funded by the Keys tourism council with the approval of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The camera offers normal daytime viewing of the nest during the day and infrared viewing at night to avoid disturbing the young turtles.

The feed from the camera can be found at fla-keys.com/turtlecam