Inventory Nest #1, Sunday July 10
Nest #1 started to emerge on July 5, 53 days from the time it was laid
Inventory was conducted on Sunday, July 11
Crowds gathering to watch
Rob, Marla and Betty digging into egg cavity.
Surprise!! Sand is hard packed. After removing the top layer, hatchlings start to stream out!
We tried to cover the nest back up and stop the inventory, but these little guys tasted freedom and had other plans. The decision was made to gather them up into a bucket for safe keeping, finish the inventory and release the turtles further down the beach to crawl to the ocean.
39 hatchlings released onto the sand. It was almost dark, not many birds around.
Notice the wet tracks in the sand. These little guys were anxious to be on their way, all appeared very strong crawl and quickly were in the water
Thank you Marla. She not only filmed the major boils, but spent a whole night watching the nest.
Thanks to all who contributed these pictures. Many I snagged off FaceBook. Thanks to all of the NMB Volunteers who came to watch the inventory but were soon pressed into crowd control. You did a great job guarding these little hatchlings. Thanks to the spectators who respected us, let us do our job and let these little guys go freely into the ocean to start their journey.
Thanks to John and Betty who encountered the Mother as came came ashore to nest.
Nest #1 Inventory Results
110 Eggs laid on May 13, 2011
94 hatched (empty) shells
15 unhatched shells
9 eggs died in early developement
6 eggs died in late developement
1 egg was taken on May 13 for the DNA study
39 hatchlings were freed on excavation of nest
This nest first emerged on July 5 (1 lone hatchling) on day 53. 85.45% Hatchling Success Rate
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