Nests 20, 21, and 22

We have Nests 20, 21 and 22! Zone 3 walkers Jane Magioncalda, Joe Ficarra and Sandy MacCoss were the first (and second) callers. They first had a crawl just north of Boardwalk 6 where the mama turtle ran right into the trash can. Bill Greubel and Amanda Shilko responded and found Nest 21 with the 139 eggs which were moved away from the trash can.

Their next call was with a crawl at Boardwalk 3. The Doanes responded and found Nest 20. The 118 eggs were moved further back on the dune.

J-Anna Smith, Anna Wechter and Annaliese Dorante were the lucky Zone 4 walkers. They reported a crawl where the mama went over the dune, made a turn, came back up the dune, turned and went back directly over her in crawl. Judy Morr and Leslie Gore responded, and Bill Greubel came to assist and found Nest 22. The was able to be left in situ.

Nest 19

We have Nest 19! Zone 3 walkers Karen Preston, Lynne Madison, and Pixie Hider called with a crawl and small body pit halfway between Boardwalk 2 and 3. Sandy MacCoss and Jane Magioncalda responded and found the shallow nest. It was moved back further on the dune.

Nest 18

We now have Nest 18! JoAnne Lewis and Gail Koornick had to walk all the way to the Dolphin Box on Zone 4 to find a crawl which went up into the dunes. Mike Vinson and Joshua Shilko probed the area and found 124 eggs which were relocated near the #4 sign.

Nests 15, 16, and 17

June began with more busy fun on the beach this morning with 3 crawls leading to Nests 15, 16 and 17.

The first call came in before 6AM from a beach goer, Barbara Long, out early to enjoy the sunrise. She found turtle tracks, appropriately called and while talking with the dispatcher saw the Zone 3 walkers Bill and Linda Nelson, Tory Kindley, Ginger Seabrook and Patt Tamasy in the distance. When the turtle patrol members arrived they discovered the large mama was still laying her eggs just North of Board Walk 3. Judy Morr and Lesley Gore found 140 eggs for Nest 16 which were relocated to a safer area.

Check out this clip of mama heading back to the water captured by Judy Morr and some awesome pictures captured by Bill Nelson:

Meanwhile another call came in from Vicky and Bob Becker and Marnie Ellis on Zone 2 reporting a crawl just South of Boardwalk 6. Jane Magioncalda and Sandy MacCoss probed to find 133 eggs in Nest 15, which was relocated further back from the original site.

During all of this excitement Zone 4 walkers also called in a crawl past the bird protection area near the Dolphin Watch Box. Mike Vinson probed to find 120 eggs in Nest 17, which Zone 4 walkers Lynda Zegers, Lori Porwoll, Francie Segal, Pam Salvestrini, Ruby Jenkins and Mary Van Deusen helped relocate near Zone 4 sign #1.

Note: the turtle images shown here were taken during authorized conservation activities by licensed individuals. If you encounter a nesting sea turtle on the beach, please keep your distance, attempt to stay out of the turtle’s field of view, and use only red lights at night.

Nests 13 & 14

It was a happy, busy morning on the beach. Cool weather brought a mama into Zone 3 just north of Boardwalk 2 around 10:15PM. A concerned beachgoer noticed the mama had come ashore and called Turtle Patrol as there were still two groups with bonfires going nearby. Turtle Patrol responded and educated the remaining bonfire attendees who were very respectful and extinguished their fire. The mama was able to nest successfully while Turtle Patrol gathered data for submission to the DNR.

Walkers Mike Vinson, Rob Jerome, Gary Holtz, Bonnie Bohme and Catherine Scully along with Gary's son Patrick called in the crawl in the morning. Bill Nelson responded and the 142 eggs from Nest 13 were moved further back on the beach.

Kim Neath, Melissa Andrews, Sarah Dewey and Julie Minch were ready to call in on Zone 4 with "no activity" when they spotted a promising crawl all the way at the end of the spit. This mama was REALLY good at hiding her eggs. Both the Doanes and Bill Greubel spent considerable time searching for the nest. Ultimately, Bill found Nest 14 with 97 eggs which were relocated closer to Boardwalk 1.

Note: the image below was taken during authorized conservation activities by licensed individuals. If you encounter a nesting sea turtle on the beach, please keep your distance, attempt to stay out of the turtle’s field of view, and use only red lights.