Early this morning I visited our beach to find the tracks and nest of a sea turtle in the sand. She was very efficient: one pathway coming from sea to nesting spot; dig a whole; deposit eggs; cover eggs with sand; crawl back to the ocean.
She located her nest as far as she could into the dune, up against sea grape plants and the 10 to 15 foot vertical wall created by beach erosion.
Our beach sector, Sector 7, did not receive new sand during the last beach replenishment cycle. (See INTERVIEW blog with Doug DeMuth.) Which means this and other nests nearby will be covered by high tides. Will the eggs survive under these wet conditions? I don't know.
Apparently, not all sea turtle nests are cordoned off and registered by those who ride the beach on buggies and do this task.
In 2023, Indian River County hosted a total of 13,032 registered sea turtle nests: 8,815 Loggerheads, 4,190 Greens, 27 Leatherbacks.
As of June 20, 2024, the Indian River County count was 3,461 total: 3,345 Loggerheads, 71 Greens, 45 Leatherbacks. Hopefully, numbers build steadily.
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