By ROBIN LORD
STAFF WRITER
WELLFLEET - What appear to be rolling stones in lowland and marshy areas of Cape Cod Bay may actually be newly hatched terrapin turtles, saltwater reptiles that live year-round in marshes.

A heat wave has speeded up the hatching process for terrapin turtles along Cape Cod Bay in Wellfleet. Wildlife experts say the turtles, which measure about 1-inch and weigh a quarter-ounce, are in jeopardy of being trampled by summer crowds.

The extended heat spell this summer has speeded up the hatching time of terrapin eggs, which are laid in upland areas such as dunes, gardens, and even driveways.

Usually the first terrapin babies - which measure about 1 inch and weigh about a quarter-ounce - emerge from their eggs after Labor Day, giving them a fighting chance of making it unscathed to the marsh without being trampled by summer crowds.

But, the first hatchlings showed up last Sunday, eight days earlier than last year and 19 days earlier than in 2000, according to Cape Cod terrapin expert Don Lewis of Wellfleet.

Lewis has been catching, counting and coddling the sea turtles ever since he knocked on the door of the Massachusetts Audubon Society's Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary, after retiring seven years ago, and asked how he could help.

With about 10 days left in the official summer season, the turtles will have more people and vehicles than usual to dodge on their way from nests to the marsh.

Lewis starts out daily from his Wellfleet home to monitor the terrapin world. During the winter, he watches for sick or injured animals. In the spring and early summer, he watches where females make their nests. This time of year, he's alert for hatching eggs and baby terrapins bolting toward the marsh.

Lewis said he and his nearly 100 volunteers are not so much looking to stop the inevitable harshness of nature - eggs and babies are tasty dinners for many predators - but rather to "put a thumb on the scale.

"We're trying to compensate for the negative impact we humans are having because of our development in their marsh," he said.

	Ways to help Keep your eyes open - and down - when moving in areas around salt marshes If you spot a baby terrapin, pick it up and carry it to the edge of the marsh Never take a terrapin home . They are wild animals with special needs For help or to get questions answered, call the terrapin hotline - 508-349-0954

Building more and more houses by the marshes along Cape Cod Bay, forces terrapins to make their nests in more densely populated conditions. As a result, the nests become more vulnerable.

"It's like opening a deli for predators," Lewis said.

Wellfleet is the diamondback terrapin's absolute northernmost range, which stretches south along the Atlantic coast and into the Gulf of Mexico to southwest Texas. On Cape Cod, they can be found in various marshes along the bay, as well as in smaller numbers on the ocean side in Pleasant Bay.

Normally it takes 75 days of incubation for the eggs to hatch on the Outer Cape. But the hot temperatures this summer lured the first hatchlings out in just 59 days.

Lewis estimates that, if left to nature, only one in 250 hatched turtles matures to adulthood, where they are formidable animals, with rock-hard shells and massive legs with dagger-like nails.

Lewis and company give the baby turtles a fighting chance by placing chicken wire enclosures over nests and tending to turtles after they hatch. Since many babies are snatched up before they make it to the marsh, picking up a hatchling and carrying it to the water's edge can help, he said.

"If I can save 24 hatchlings, there might be three more adults in the population," he said.

This year's drought added to problems since moisture-seeking flies pounced on newly hatching eggs to lay their own eggs and the maggots preyed on the little turtles. Lewis was able to save the turtles he found afflicted with the insects.

So why go all this trouble?

"Terrapins are the canaries of the salt marsh. They're large and have long lifespans," Lewis said. "They make a perfect model or bellwether for the marsh."

The accessible babies also serve as perfect "ambassadors" for a salt marsh, he said.

"There's a bonding that takes place with an animal like a turtle. If I can get someone to hold a turtle in their hands, it bonds them with the turtle - and with nature."