Brent texts a photo of a classic false crawl.
5:58 AM – ATV rider Brent sends a text photo of a crawl in Nags Head. “Looks like a textbook false crawl, no mound. I’ll keep driving.”
Rae and Jerry go to complete the data sheet and Brent drives on.
6:21 AM – Brent texts again. “I think she found a spot half a mile south! Just north of the access.”
The Nesting Response Team is activated and sent to the new site.
6:34 AM – Another text from Brent. “Crawl just south of the access.”
Oops, KC must have misunderstood and sent the responders north of the access so the Team is called again and redirected to head just south of the access. They take all the measurements and determine it to be another false crawl.
7:01 AM – Brent calls. “Um… is anyone coming to the crawl just north of the access? I’m pretty sure this is the one. This is the nest.”
Turns out that when the team was re-directed, that was the third crawl Brent found in a one mile stretch of beach! So Brent found one nest sandwiched in by two false crawls. The Nesting Response Team was running all over trying to keep up with him!
Nest #20 sitting just above the tide line.
Both the false crawls went up the beach well past the high tide line but when it came to the actual nest, she had laid it so close the tide line that while the team searched for eggs, a rogue wave nearly washed over the site. The nest would need to be relocated.
Nesting responders work quickly to relocate the nest before another wave approaches.
The Nesting Response Team worked quickly to get the eggs from the original nest site and replicated it further up the beach in a safer location.