Another turtle patrol on Pensacola Beach dawned with a rosy hued sky. Surely, this was a good sign!
I'm often accused of being the park "Pollyanna", but even my critics have to see the pink there without the aid of my rose colored glasses :). The pink sky turned out to be a very good omen indeed!
Melanie beat me to the new loggerhead (Caretta caretta ) nest on Pensacola Beach. She does such a thorough job on Santa Rosa, that meets Pensacola Beach to the East, that she nabbed one on the border between the two. Great job, Melanie!
I did get there in time to help find the eggs.
We decided to move the nest, so next came the cooler full of 106 eggs. 
Even though the area was a little elevated, it was about 12 feet from last night's high tide. With Fay threatening to turn back to this coast, we couldn't just leave it and hope...
We found a nice area by the SRIA sand fence for the eggs to incubate in for the next two months.
A hundred six eggs means 212 toe-touches for me, after spending 10 minutes digging for eggs. It felt great to stand up and stretch my aching back, even though that meant having to pound in the stakes surrounding the nest!
I'm getting too old for this, aren't I?
Just so you know, Melanie -- we're expecting at least two more nests on your patrols this season. A green would be nice, and she should be back to lay another clutch!
Many thanks to my substitute photographer, Melanie. Fantastic job with that new camera of mine!
20 August 2008
A NEW Nest!!!
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Hello World!
Which way to the sea?
2 comments:
That's fantastic news about another new nest. What a great year for the island and sea turtles!
You folks are WONDERFUL! If I lived less than a 9 hour drive from there, I'd come help! Keep up the great work and keep sharing with the rest of us.....
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