Storm Weather, Erosion and the Last Nest

It still was not a good day to go count piping plovers in the park, but it was a fine time to check our last loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nest near Park East.



When I was there yesterday, there was roughly 20 feet between the nest sign and the surf. This morning, the egg chamber itself was only six or seven feet from the water!



There was a lot of sand piled on the nest again as well. The sign in the middle is about 4 feet tall!




This poor nest has been through so much, with wind, waves and rain from Faye, Gustav and Ike, and now the weather this week.



It's been chilly and damp as well. All we can do is hope that some of the tiny turtle embryos are strong enough to weather the storms. That should make them great candidates for survival in the wild ocean as well.



It wasn't a good day to drive on the sand either. With so much of it shifting and washed by the waves, it's easy to sink!



Even on a stormy day, Pensacola Beach is simply stunning!

Gustav at Perdido Key

Gustav definitely left a mark on the National Seashore, though we are about 200 miles west of where the eye came ashore.



Some of our nests were just wind eroded or washed.



One was completely missing... Though the sand is still there, pushed under the adjacent boardwalk and up on the Perdido Key road.



We're hoping the eggs are still down there, and that at least some are viable. They can survive a little washing, but standing water can drown the eggs, developing embryos and hatchlings in the nest. It's just a fact of nature, but it's hard to take when they're endangered species babies dying in the flood... Each one is so important!



Remember the early June nest on this gorgeous dune? The dune is almost non-existent now. How sad!