Team 1 Inventoried Nest #2 last night. They had a nice group of families attending!
- Nest #2 Inventory
- Live Hatchlings-0
- Dead Hatchlings-0
- Pipped Eggs-0
- Unhatched Eggs-37 (most were pink which indicates some water coverage)
- Egg Shells-82 Now we know there were 119 eggs in this nest!
- Nest #5 Inventory
- Live Hatchlings-0
- Dead Hatchling-0
- Pipped Eggs-0
- Unhatched Eggs-62
- Hatched Egg Shells-70
- All but 2 of the unhatched eggs were pinkish/light orange in color. 2 were bright white and filled out. We put those at the top of the nest just in case they may still hatch. We also did a development check on some of the unhatched eggs. Some were thick yolks with clear liquid. Others were various stages of formed turtles with eye pigment, detailed carapaces and full flippers (they appeared to be between 38-50 days incubation). See charts attached Embryo Development in Pictures (from the Embryo Development session with KC, Karen Clark). What does this tell us? Something stopped the development of some of the eggs the week or so after July 4th. The pinkish color of the egg shells suggests water inundation. There was a new moon high tide that week and a few nests were overwashed. There were also some heavy rainfalls.
- Nest #8 Inventory
- Live Hatchlings-0
- Dead Hatchlings-0
- Pipped Eggs-2
- Unhatched-48
- Hatched Egg Shells-55
- Nests #5 & #8 were laid on the same day in 2 very different areas of Caswell Beach. They also hatched the same night just minutes apart. All very interesting information!
No new crawls, nests or apparent races for the Gold last night. Nest #24 had a crevice with an open hole and excited visitors hoping to see some action, but they had to leave due to the storms. No flipper tracks in the runway this morning, but a nice depression. Who knows, this rain may draw them out today!
2 more inventories that were scheduled for this evening are being moved to soon this morning before the storms hit. They are both past their allotted 72 hours after emergence. More stats to follow!
Be safe out there if you check on your nests! These storms are bringing in lots of sand to our runways!
