The Saddest Nest

I am ecstatic! Two nests in two weeks is just too much! I was even more excited when my section coordinator Emily said they had nests Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of last week, then nothing until my walk this morning. But this nest would change from euphoria to fear very quickly. The strange thing was there wasn't an out track. At first I thought, "Oh, no! She didn't make it out!" As I followed the path, I was hopeful, remembering an earlier story of a false crawl on the north end of the island. We had a turtle earlier this year wander up and down the beach for no apparent reason before returning to the water. However, thankfully, my turtle eventually made it back. Also, thankfully, she was successful...

So why "the saddest nest"? This mom made the usual turn back to the water, but because of our ignorance, she had to drag her 200-300 lb. body at least 100 yd. more than she had to. If an island resident had taken the time to remove his tarp, and if an island business owner would turn out his light -- or at least use a turtle-friendly (red) bulb -- this federally protected species wouldn't have had to work so hard to do what comes naturally. Click the picture below for an idea of how hard this beautiful creature had to work just to make it back to the sea.

A cool sight was in the exit track of the nest. Sometimes, as the turtle leaves the nest, her cloaca (the egg-laying parts) hasn't contracted back into her body cavity, and you can see an imprint on the sand.

SO COOL!

Of course, happiness prevails when you see those little eggs. Also, the unusual track lured several island visitors, including a very nice family from Oklahoma who stayed to the very last measurement and staking of the nest. If nothing else, the ignorance of others gave Emily, Pete, and I a chance to educate a few more reptile-loving people.