We are well into our hatching season with nest 23 having recently hatched!
We continue checking the beach in the mornings for new nests but have not had any recently and remain at 34 nests having been marked for protection this season. On the flip side we are having nests hatch every couple of days at this point, commonly occurring overnight. Our volunteers have been trained by FWC on rescue and recovery of disoriented hatchlings. We have had a couple of nests where the hatchlings made it to the water unassisted but we have had many more nests hatch where the hatchlings have been disoriented and rescued and released that same evening by volunteers. Our volunteers then excavate the nest 3-4 days after a hatch to determine the hatch success based on the nest contents which will then be reported to FWC. We announce public excavations via our Facebook page Events section and we stream on Panama City Beach Turtle Watch Facebook or post videos/photos as a way to keep everyone updated on the results so stay tuned there for those details. We do have several nests that experienced washover and sand accretion that may have slowed or stopped development of the eggs. We will conduct private excavations of those when the time comes. In the meantime we’ll stay busy with the remaining non-washed over nests!
Everyone can do their part in by leaving the beaches clean, dark and flat. Every little bit can help and make a difference for this protected species.
