Alan was in the final stretch of his ATV Duck run when he came across the distinctive comma-shaped crawl of a loggerhead waggling its way up toward the dune in Southern Shores. At the end of the crawl was a beautiful nest site.
Nesting Response team members arrived one-by-one. Jackie, Doug, Marilyn, KC, and Lia got started taking measurements and evaluating the nest site. It appeared as though she likely changed directions in the middle of the nesting area but the team still managed to figure out her path and started digging.
Lia started the first hole and Jackie started next to her. Then Doug began and Jackie screamed. Out of joy? Did she find the eggs? Not quite… out of Jackie’s hole popped up a ghost crab! Doug came to the rescue, scooping it out and the team continued.
In the hole Lia started, Jackie dug a little deeper and on the edge, this time she found not a crab, but the eggs. Lia removed the top egg for the DNA study. The team then covered the site back up and set up the posts around the area.
Intern Lia collects the DNA sample.