Daytime Turtle

A female loggerhead came up and nested before sunset this week.  She finished up nesting just as the sun set. Turtles typically nest after dark. However, on occasion they have been spotted during the day.

You can see in the pictures that she nested extremely close to the water. Turtle specialists relocated the nest higher up the beach the following morning. For an unknown reason loggerheads have been nesting closer to the water than usual. Turtle specialists have been busier than normal relocating this nests to safer areas of the beach. Typically they do not like to move the nests, because the hatch success of the nest decreases when the eggs are moved. However, it is better to have a lower hatch success than have the nest washed away by the next big storm or hurricane.