I have a nest!

My nest. My name on a nest. It still seems surreal that as I walked the beach today, there it was. A crawl in, a crawl out, and a little lump of sand right at the apex of the two. About 100 feet south I found a false crawl--a pretty cool one because you could see the flipper marks in the wet sand. I was so excited. As an early-morning walker approached, I pointed it out "It's a turtle crawl." He said, "Then you have another up there." I hurried up the beach, expecting another false crawl, but there -- in the middle of the in and out tracks -- was a mound of sand that told me I had a nest. Because loggerhead turtles crawl with an alternating gait, the comma-shaped tracks told me it was a loggerhead nest, which are the most common turtles to nest on Anna Maria Island.
I called the coordinators of my section. "What now," Emily said, since I had just called with the false crawl. "I think I have a nest in front of Martinique North." She could see me from the window of her condo. I had to finish my walk down the beach before I would be able to inspect the nest. She and Pete headed out to the false crawl as I finished my walk.
With nothing else to report, I quickly headed back to the nest. Pete took GPS readings, then we recorded the physical address. Next, I helped Emily measure from the nest site to the dunes, and from the nest to the hide tide mark. All our readings will be added to the Florida Fish and Wildlife database, which is used to track the health of turtles and for decisions, such as development and beach renourishment, that would affect the turtles. Then we had to verify there were eggs in the nest. Emily was excited because she has just started verifying nests. She carefully dug directly above the center of the two tracks.

After digging to hard sand, she started scooping sand to the left. There they were. "You're a momma!" Tears filled my eyes. I don't know why. I just knew I was witnessing something amazing. Ever since last July, when I was fortunate enough to see a turtle nesting--in total darkness for more than an hour--I came to respect the work it takes for a 300 lb. reptile to haul herself up the sand, dig a hole, and try her best to ensure her species continues. And with our help, they just might make it.














After we verified the eggs, Pete brought out the stakes to record the section (4) and nest (#2), the date the eggs were laid (6/12), and the estimated hatch date (8/6), a "V" indicating the nest was verified, and the name of the walker-- ME!
As we were staking the nest, Suzi, AMITW director, came zooming up the beach on her ATV. We were all smiles, as we talked about first nests and amazing people who can locate the eggs with one hand and one try.


Pete staked the nest for protection, and we covered the eggs with sand. Our work was done.










There have been few times in my life I can remember and say "my life will never be the same." Today, I know this is one.