Nest #12 False Crawl #14

False crawl 14-Segment B walkers came on a crawl early in the morning. This turtle came up the beach, climbed to the top of a dune, 

keep going down the back side of the dune, got caught in the thick grass and other vegetation

before climbing back up, circled around top of dune and squeezed between a narrow dune fence to go back down dune to beach.

She took the scenic path down the beach to the water.  Sanitation trucks paralleled her outgoing tracks, making it difficult to see,

 but Paulette was able to follow the track up from the ocean.

We probed around the top of the dunes but there really was no place for her to nest. Her track was very narrow, a small turtle.   False Crawl 14

At the same time, Segment D walkers came upon a nice long crawl.  

Rob probed the body pit and quickly found the egg chamber.  

Edith and Arlene were ecstatic when the eggs were found. 96 eggs.

The nest was in the center of the wide, heavily used beach so the eggs were relocated back to the dunes. Linda and Paulette moved the eggs out of the original nest.

Two eggs were stuck together, but easily separated.

New hole up closer to the dunes.

Paulette showed Arlene how to carefully put the eggs in the new hole.

NMB Beach Services brought in supplies for the nest and the girls were anxious to see the eggs and help with the nest.

Job well done...Wednesday's volunteers!

Thanks to all who helped with this nest.  Thank you to the tourists who were very interested in what we were doing.   Thank you Cindy for  many of these pictures.

Busy morning after night sitting the first nest due to emerge.