Chance encounter...of the turtle kind.
Jul 12, 2016 07:04:37 #
Sea turtles have nested in record numbers along Florida's Atlantic Coast over the past several years, and this is in no small measure due to efforts to protect nests, eliminate lights shining on beaches, and to use turtle-excluding technology in fishing nets. The lack of hurricanes which destroys many nests has been good news as well. It is very rare to see the nesting activity because these turtles generally nest in the middle of the night. But if nature calls, apparently it is hard to resist. Yesterday evening my wife and I went for a walk on the nearby beach and were shocked and pleasantly surprised to see a loggerhead laying her eggs! I did have my cell phone with me, so we were able to catch the activity. This is the beach adjacent to Patrick Air Force Base, which is wonderfully underutilized and great for the turtles because there are no hotels, condos, etc. The beach here is covered with turtle tracks, indicating another good year for these creatures!
In the first photo you can see her throwing up sand as she is digging the hole for her eggs.
In the first photo you can see her throwing up sand as she is digging the hole for her eggs.
Fresh turtle tracks - and a turtle!
Once she starts laying, you can quietly walk up behind her to observe.
Round trip
Back to the sea!
Jul 12, 2016 07:11:09 #
Nikocarol
Loc: NM & FL
Fantastic moment caught here...Beautiful! I am curious as to how long with whole thing lasted?
Jul 12, 2016 07:16:44 #
Jul 12, 2016 07:19:30 #
Jul 12, 2016 07:22:27 #
We encountered her shortly after she had started digging and it was another 30 minutes before she was done. Not a fast process! She definitely is not designed to move around on land! The poor thing seemed exhausted by the time she headed back in to the ocean.
Jul 12, 2016 07:22:58 #
Jul 12, 2016 07:37:50 #
Steve -- What a wonderful experience, those type of encounters normally occur once or twice in a lifetime, I was privileged to see the entire mating ritual of a pair of Canadian Geese, which sounds peaceful but in actuality there was a lot of wing slapping, biting, chasing, hardly what you would call romantic by our standards. 8-10 others stood around honking and flapping their wings; it had the semblance a gang-rape. Still again it was wonderful to be able to witness the process and it was something I'll never forget.
Jul 12, 2016 07:39:06 #
Very nice series Steve. I like that you showed us the environment as well as the close-ups.
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Jul 12, 2016 07:50:33 #
sb wrote:
Sea turtles have nested in record numbers along Fl... (show quote)
Nice series- thanks for posting. What's amazing to me that once those hatchlings reach adult hood and after swimming for 1,000,s of miles, they will return to that same beach to lay their eggs. Nobody has the slightest idea how they do it.
Jul 12, 2016 08:16:32 #
ottopj
Loc: Annapolis, MD USA
Thanks for the story. I was on a walk at a local park one day when I saw a turtle break out of its egg and head for the water. Stayed another hour and watched a couple more. What a treat.
Jul 12, 2016 08:17:18 #
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Jul 12, 2016 18:25:53 #
catfish252 wrote:
Steve -- What a wonderful experience, those type o... (show quote)
Yes - it is a special blessing of sorts to be a witness to such wonders!
Jul 12, 2016 18:27:43 #
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