The beautiful sunrise shot of mom’s crawl on the beach in Nag's Head.
Well the hurricane sure didn’t scare away our turtles as we had another! Loggerhead nest this morning (geeze you would think they’d nest on a different day). ATV rider Tim discovered his second nest this season early this morning in Nags Head, which seems to be their favorite spot to nest this summer. Her crawl was beautiful with perfect comma shapes and a wiggling pattern up the sandy beach.
As our Nesting Response Team arrived on the breezy beach it was evident that the average high tide line was above where the site was. As the team searched for eggs, they found a somewhat shallow nest, though not quite as shallow as the nest from last week. Because of the risk of regular inundation from being below the average high tide line, the nest needed to be relocated further up the beach.
The quick but cautious work of our volunteers to handle the eggs for the least amount of time possible.
The first egg found was acquired for the DNA research project while the other 95 eggs were smoothly and cautiously moved to prevent rotation. Taking turns and using all volunteers, a new nest was made containing some of the same sand from the old nest to try and replicate the motherly juices that may have spilled inside while she was laying the eggs.
Careful settlement of each egg within the recreated nest so that rotation is not changed and placement within the nest is the same.
After staking off the area, speaking with intrigued visitors and some locals, the nest site was marked and is now ready for late August when our Nest Sitting Team will begin taking their long awaited shifts. With the beautiful weather we’re having, hopefully we’ll start getting some nests further North so that other ATV riders can have a chance to find them!