Betty and John stumbled upon a nesting loggerhead sea turtle as she was coming out of the water around 11:55PM, Thursday night. They quickly called me and much to my surprise, the turtle was coming ashore right in front of my home.
Betty, John and I watched this turtle crawl up the beach. She had to climb up a steep bank and then she crawled way up the beach, stopping almost at the dune line before digging her nest. She choose a very dark spot and quickly seemed to disappear, becoming just a big, black shadow. She was on the beach for almost 2 hours, almost motionless as she dug the nest. Occasionally, we could see sand fly in the air.
When she was finished, she turned back toward the ocean and seemed to run down the beach to the water. Once in the water, she quickly disappeared into the blackness.
The Friday walkers were notified early and most started gathering before 6AM.
The Patrol's great friend Marla Branson from WMBF news was on the beach early as well and filmed
the probing of the nest cavity, the discovery of the eggs, the egg taken for the DNA Study and the caging and marking of the nest.
We also had some early morning visitors from Ohio who saw the mother turtle going back into the ocean. They came back to see the nest and the eggs.
Great shot of Marla doing her report with the tracks in the background.
Betty with the egg taken for the DNA Study.
A great BIG, BIG thank you to John and Betty. What a night and early morning!!
Thank you to all the volunteers who were out early this morning.
Thank you Marla for supporting us!!
Linda
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