Pictured here, is a Loggerhead (caretta caretta) Sea Turtle nest that our Alabama "Share the Beach" team has discovered.
By placing a metal grate over the nest we hope to keep large predators from digging up the eggs. In this area of the Gulf Coast, land bound predators include the coyote, the fox, the dog and people. Apparently, the four footed creatures cannot read the "DO NOT DISTURB U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973" sign which threatens a penalty of up to $100,000 and 1 year of imprisonment.
Once we stake and tape off our nest area we have nothing to do but watch and wait for 55 to 65 days. The mother Sea Turtle literally drops her eggs in a hole she has dug with a flipper, camoflauges the nest by flipping sand every which way and returns to the sea with nary a second glance. This leaves *us* to watch and protect. Had we not developed this beach with homes, condos and all sorts of bright lights to lure the hatchlings away from the sea, there would be no need for *us*.
The sink hole that you see in the photo above tells us that a hatching is "imminent"! Take the word "imminent" as meaning minutes, hours or days. As the sea turtle hatchlings make their way out of their shells and move around a foot or more beneathe the sand, a depression forms. Tonight, perhaps under the bright moon, we may see these particular hatchlings safely to the sea.
