Nest #1 Inventory

Thank goodness the rain held off so that we were able to inventory nest #1 this morning.  Dave, Truman and Steve D. uncover the nest.

Flossie, Jingle, and Jenna, a new walker this year, dig up the nest.

What a surprise when they came upon live hatchlings deep down.  At first Barb and Steve D. thought that we would have to close the nest up, but after looking at the hatchlings, they decided that it was best to release them on the beach. 

Barb D. checking the hatchlings to make sure the egg sacks had been absorbed.  The hatchlings need to absorb this egg yoke to give them enough energy to make it to the Sargassum, which is approximately 40 miles off our coast.

We gave the six hatchlings plenty of room.  One little one shot right for the breakers, the others got their bearings and headed off to the breakers at an angle off to the right, but all making it safely.

Mean while, Barb D., Flossie and Paulette finish the inventory, counting any egg shells that were at least 50% and counting any unhatched eggs.  The nest was a huge success, 101 hatched eggs, 4 unhatched eggs.  No dead hatchlings in the nest.  But we do know that one hatchling did not make it to the ocean as one of Flossie and Bill's grandsons, Will, found a dead one on the beach.

The shells, unhatched eggs and dead hatchling are put back into the nest and the nest is closed up.     Our first and very successful and exciting inventory of the season completed.

Nest #1 Emerged!

Today was Day 64 for Nest #1 near Marker 4 and we were beginning to wonder if we missed the emergence back during those very windy days a while back.  But today we got to see exactly what we were hoping to see:  classic signs of an emergence.

Standing behind the cage - tracks going toward the signpost

Click on the photo to see more details of the tracks

Lots of tracks!

Chris brought her friend Georgia for a visit this morning and we were glad to have something to show her.

When we checked the nest again on our way back down the beach, we were able to see one lone hatchling still trying to make its way to the surface.  But it was getting pretty warm by then; maybe he/she will wait until the sun goes down tonight.

One hatchling still trying to make its way out

And the gate:  Hopefully a fix that will last more than a few days this time.  Steve and Pat worked on it this morning.

Before

Pat with tools

Barb and Steve

Lots to See This Morning on Waties

Nest #1 is now 64 days and remains quiet with no visible changes. 

Nest #3 - the vegetation is growing inside the caged area. 

Nest #7 missed being washed over by last nights high tide by approx. 4'.

The tide line on the upper, or eastern, end of the island reached the dunes.

Is this a Black Skimmer egg?  It was spotted in the last night's high tide wrack line by our new walker, Maddy.

 the egg can be seen in the lower half of the picture.

Sea Pork with a sea fan attached

We also found a lot of sunglasses, goggles, a few toys and an interesting looking skull with a fin like piece of bone at the top, two very large holes which looked like eye sockets and a long flat nose bone which flared out at the tip.

side view

Didn't get a picture of it, but we also saw shark fins beach side of the breakers.

More pictures from No New Nests...

Foraging in the marsh

How many do you see

On the way out

No Crawls, NO Change in Nests. But...

The moon setting over Cherry Grove

The sun rising over Waties



First dolphin sighting

Kathleen, Flossie, and Lou returning through the mist

Egret enjoying the beach

Osprey in the trees on the causeway

Nest #1 & #8

As we walked on the beach we checked on nest # 8 and was surprised to see two large crab holes near the center.  Even the stick noting where the nest is, is gone.                                                    

 Nest #1, which is due anytime, is quiet.  There are no crab holes, no ants, and no predator tracks and it is as flat as can be.  No sign of activity in the nest.

When we woke this morning, it was raining, but there was no thunder or lightning.  TheWeather Doppler showed the rain was moving out. So we brought our rain gear, but did not have to use it.  It turned out that it was good the sun was not out, as it was very humid on the beach this morning.

And One More!

Who laid that egg - Big Bird?

Nest #8 this morning - could it be the same turtle that nested on July 19?  This is 11 days later and it is possible it was her.  The crawl was just below Marker 6 on the high tide line.  That canine was there too, just starting to dig into the nest.

Nice and neat - in and out

What is that critter??

She should have gone just a little further up the beach

Chelsey had help moving the eggs from visiting granddaughters, Mia and Hannah.  

That's a deep hole!

105 eggs to go

Sometimes it hard to see the "V" which points to the way the turtle came from, but with this crawl it was easy to see.

Alternating tracks indicating a loggerhead

The new location is just above the entrance; easy to check on in mid to late September when it emerges.

Nest #8

Mia and Hannah

Steve, Chelsey, Barb, Paulette, Diane and Merrill in the foreground