Diamondback terrapins: Weighing between just 4 to 5 grams when they arrived at the Aquarium in August, these baby diamondback terrapins were tiny! Many of their shells—or carapaces—were only a little bigger than the size of a quarter! A part of our Terrapins in the Classroom program, the hatchlings headed off to classrooms across Maryland in September. Through this program, students will care for and study the turtles before releasing them to their natural habitat in the Chesapeake Bay at the end of the school year.
Pufflings: Three new Atlantic puffin chicks hatched in our Sea Cliffs exhibit this July! The first newcomer, nicknamed Ravioli, hatched to parents Vigo and Staypuft on July 8. Two days later, puffin parents Victor and Vixen welcomed puffin chick Vega. The trio was complete with the hatching of Princess and Jasper’s second chick, nicknamed Sage, on July 24.
Turquoise tanagers: Two new feathered additions joined the residents of Upland Tropical Rain Forest earlier this year: turquoise tanager chicks! Hatching from eggs the size of a large grape, the birds will grow to be about 6 inches long. One chick hatched in late July, and the other in early August. Turquoise tanagers are highly social birds, and up to four or five individuals will help to feed nestlings.
Stay tuned for more roundups of this year’s most important moments!