Nest 28 hatched during the night at just 53 days.
Inventory results for nest 23: 123 shells, 21 unhatched, 4 dead hatchlings and 4 live hatchlings. Since it was a relocated nest we know that the nest prior to the storm was not nearly as deep as the team had to dig to get to the bottom.
It is a guessing game and using our best judgement. We have nests that are just barely covered now and some that have sand added by the storm. If we expose the eggs, predators will invade. We did drive the stakes down into the ground to try to keep them in place.
Will they hatch or are they bad? Nest 23 hatched at 55 days and nest 28 hatched at 53 days. Nests 15 and 16 are at 69 days. My guess would be that 15, 16 and 17 were just coming out of the shell and probably drowned. I know the embryos in nest 18 were alive the day the foxes dug into the nest but don’t know how many eggs were left and how many the crabs have gotten since.
I think we definitely need to green at 50 days. For those nests that are “areas”, just do the best you can. We have pictures of most if you want them. We need to make sure we are checking them periodically in the evenings after they are greened, checking all around the location.
Thank you for all you do.
