Our first 2018 Nest

The Sunday team got lucky on this rainy Sunday morning.  This was not a text book crawl or nest, we had to work hard on finding the body pit, nest, and her eggs. 

We first saw the exit crawl, and from the tracks, we just missed the momma turtle going back into the ocean.  Her tracks were still raised in the sand as the tide was heading out.  It took us some looking to find her incoming tracks, there was some distance between the incoming and exiting crawls.  She had slid down on the backside of the dunes, dug her nest and laid her eggs.  Many thanks to Paulette and Sharon in being persistent in finally finding the eggs. 

After laying her eggs, she crawled allover the place on the backside of the dunes.  There were many paths she took, and many places you can see she turned herself around trying to find a way over the dunes, and back to the ocean, not an easy task for her. 

We relocated her nest to the front side of the dunes, where she should of laid them, and moved 114 eggs.  The new nest is about 25 feet from original nest.

Many thanks to Paulette, Sharon, Karen and Leslie

 Her incoming crawl -note the tide line, she came in on high tide.

 

She left at low tide, and we think we just missed her.  She had been wondering on the backside of the dunes for awhile.

She tried going up the hard way, did not make it

The body pit on the backside of the dune

F

Digging out the eggs

Original Nest, 116 eggs removed

New relocated Nest

 
 Sharon displays an egg,shaped more like a chicken than sea turtle

Success, Leslie, Sharon, Karen, photo byPaulette