NESTING SURVEY UPDATE By Becky Aud
NESTING SURVEY UPDATE
By Becky Aud
We are well into July and the nesting survey teams have been in action for several months now. So far this year on our 2-mile stretch of beach, there have been 155 loggerhead sea turtle nests. Of those nests, 39 have been marked. In addition to the loggerhead nests, there have been 2 green sea turtle nests that have also been marked.
Of the marked nests, 15 have already hatched. On average, per nest, 115 eggs have hatched and 6 have not hatched. This is proving to be a good hatching year. However, there have been a lot of hatchling disorientations. Hatchling disorientation means that the little turtles that make their way out of the nest don’t crawl towards the water. They crawl towards the dune instead. Most hatchling disorientations are caused by lighting issues.
With this said, let’s remember that Brevard County has a “lights out” policy in effect from May 1stthrough October 31st. This means no lights on the beach at night May through October. Let’s help the hatchlings get started going in the right direction!
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| A hatched loggerhead nest with hatchling tracks. |
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| A loggerhead hatchling resting on top of the nest before heading out to the water. |
