Perdido Key and Eduoard

Eduoard continued his track west, but not without taking more of our dunes.



He also left a boat ashore on Perdido Key.



Check out this nest -- it's even closer to the edge than yesterday, and it's due to hatch in about two days. How precarious is that first 'step' for the little guys? I think I may have to take them to another stretch of beach to introduce them to the Gulf of Mexico.



We're fortunate to have so many sea oats to help hold the dunes, and the island, together, even in the face of the battering waves. Their delicate seedheads belie the strength of their underground root system.



There was one more loggerhead hatchling from PK6021 this morning.



Unfortunately, it looked like a ghost crab had attacked it. I'm not sure how he'll do in the Gulf.



See the neat anomaly on his vertebral scutes? I keep calling this hatchling a him, but I don't know if it's male or female.



S/he seems to be swimming in a heart of bubbles. It will take that to help this little loggerhead survive amidst all the obstacles ahead.



It was still a beautiful morning on the Key, but then, isn't it always gorgeous in paradise?



The egrets seem to agree...



What a wonderful life!

Tropical Storm Edouard

First, the good news... See nest number 44 (or is it 45 -- I meant to count this afternoon). I am so overdue on a nesting update for all the staff and volunteers! We have so many hatching at the moment that none of us have a spare minute, but we'll get it accomplished by Wednesday at the latest.



With TS Edouard spinning just offshore, making way for the Texas/Louisiana border, I had to relocate this lovely 103 egg nest to a dune just north east of the original site.



The storm will have little impact here, other than erosion and wave action. The seas are already pretty impressive.



The dunes are rapidly disappearing near Pensacola Pass.



The bad thing about this dune moving is that there's a nest on top that's expected to hatch by the end of the week.



That's a ten foot drop for the little babies!



I think it's quite likely I'll move this nest tomorrow morning and allow it to finish incubating in a cooler. With June 2nd nests already hatching, I imagine there are plenty of hatchlings in this nest, they're just not quite ready to emerge.



A cooler isn't the ideal environment, but it will protect them from the force of the storms increased wave action. They'll be safe from ghost crabs there as well. I just hope the dune holds until tomorrow morning -- I won't get out there until at least 3am.