A false crawl was reported on July 23, almost at the SW end of the "Briarcliffe" Beach, near the Lands End Condo Complex.
Next day, another crawl was called in by Cindy and Larry. Just a few feet further South of the false crawl. Mid-way up in the dunes. Same turtle back to nest?
Rob probes and....
Success...this time the egg cavity is found and the eggs are uncovered.
NMB Nest #19!!!!
Mid-September..first cold front is coming through. Nest is showing signs of activity.
Lots of ghost crabs are on this beach..big ones, big holes!
Early on September 17, temp has fallen to the 6o's, beach is empty, the hatchlings emerge sometime between 1AM and 6AM. All ran straight to the ocean.
Tuesday, September 20, nest is dug up and contents inventoried.
Natural nest, deep hole dug by the mother.
25 unhatched eggs were found in the nest.
Four eggs died after the turtles started to develop in the egg.
Shell has formed...what a beautiful color! This nest was washed over from the high tides of Hurricane Irene. Did this cause the hatchling to die?
Fully formed hatchling surrounding the yolk sac.
This one died just as the small turtle started to form. Look at the size in relationship to the yolk.
Thank you Miles for your help. Long walk back to our cars, Rob and Mike needed the help with the cage and poles.
Thanks to Cindy, Larry, Judy, Laura, Pat and all the others from Briarcliffe who watched over this nest.
Thank you Cindy and Larry for your pictures.
Inventory Results of NMB Nest #19
Nest laid on July 24, left In Situ
Nest emerged on Sept. 17, Day 55
108 eggs in nest
1 egg take for DNA Study
82 hatched eggs
25 unhatched, of which 21 died in early development, 4 eggs died late development
No live or dead hatchlings found in nest
76.6% hatchling success rate
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