This was nest #13 and false crawl #6. I got a call from EMS saying that a many who lived there was very upset, and he did call me later, as people were taking flash pictures and shinning flash lights onto a sea turtle as she tried to come ashore. She turned and went back toward the Gulf and then really needed to nest so she turned back toward the dunes to only again encounter the flashes and flashlights and go back into the water. Oh, what the people could have watched if they had only stayed back and not shone there lights on her. Oh my don’t they listen. The real amazing fact to this story is that the false crawl and the nest were two DIFFERENT sea turtles. We had no other nest today so I do hope the false crawl sea turtle did not abort her eggs into the Gulf.
NEST 13 UPDATE!!
Nest # 13 has hatched and been dug. There were 72 hatchlings out of nest, 31 with no obvious and 15 that had been depredated by a dog or coyote so survival is 61%
Nest #12 was found 6/17/09 by Charlie a Loggerhead at Sunset Beach his second of the day, he now has found 4 nests. This nest was below the rack line and moved up by Charlie, Val and Joe. Val had a very busy morning with 3 nests and 1 false crawl. Go turtles go.
UPDATE!!
96 escaped from nest
6 no obvious
94% success
False Crawl #5 was found today by Wayne in front of Barbara Jackson House where there are geotubes which were to be removed. The tubes are only 4 inches under the sand and her flippers dug down to there and then then false crawled. Loggerhead
Nest #11 was found by Wayne 6/17/09 and moved by Wayne, Val, and Tobias, below rack line again west of Pompano Street in Inlet Beach, loggerhead
UPDATE!!
66 escaped
25 alive in nest and released
100% success
Charlie the lucky stiff found another nest #10 Loggerhead at Sunrise beach, below low rack line so it was moved, 6/17/09 Alys Beach Area.
UPDATE!!
46 alive and released
4 live piped27 no obvious
65 % success
Loggerhead found by Bev front of Costa Del Sole 6/17/09, poor Mommy came in up a 3 foot escarpment, through the gazebo with no top up another embankment of 5 feet and almost onto a deck were there must have been people and she turned around and came back to the water. When will Walton County do something about all the stuff left on the beach at night. Where else can a sea turtle nest?
Nest #9 was also found 6/14/09 a loggerhead, left in place in front of Adagio in Blue Mountain Beach by Mike…Ok now it in my areas turn, come on in Momma Sea Turtles.
UPDATE!!
Nest #9 hatched in 66 days
52 escaped
1 alive and released
23 no obvious
76 total eggs
70 % success
Nest #8 was found by Julie and Lee Wilcox by the Pelican Circle walkover in Seacrest a loggerhead, left in place. You’ll notice in one photo, there is a splash of quite a bit of water with a little June grass and there was a shrimp like creature there as well….still alive! Could have come off the turtle or maybe the folks who watched her nest threw water on her thinking she needed it so far away from her home!
UPDATE!!
93 hatched and were released
1 alive in nest
29 no obvious
123 total eggs
76% success
Nest #7 was found 6/14/09 by Anthony a loggerhead it was below high tide line and moved. This nest is by the last house in Stallworth Preserve. Note in this picture of #7 that it looks as if someone watched her nest and then put seaweed around the nest so we would not miss it. This is how your flags should be placed when you find a nest. One at the incoming track, one at the outgoing track and around the nest. Way to go Anthony.
UPDATE!
Nest #7 has hatched and been dug It hatched in 55 days
70 escaped from the nest
6 were found alive in the nest
1 was found dead in the nest
2 had no obvious
3 were dead embryos
Survival percentage was 94%
This is a picture of false crawl #2 she sure wanted to nest, false crawl #3 was about 200 yards east and was an in and out.