Black flies, heat, and sand!

Despite the black flies, heat, and sand filled shoes, the morning was glorious with a beautiful sunrise and purpose to our steps.

We did not find any new nests today. However, several of the existing nests did hatch (boil). Interestingly, many of the baby turtle tracks seemed to circle and meander. This was likely due to the low moonlight from the new moon, which meant nature's guidance was not as bright and definite as usual.

We did perform several inventories of a few hatched nests. Post-hatching inventories are critical for several reasons, primarily because they provide essential data on the reproductive success of sea turtle populations. By evaluating the contents of the nest after the hatchlings have emerged, researchers can determine the exact hatching success rate (the percentage of eggs that successfully hatched) and emergence success rate (the percentage of hatchlings that successfully made it out of the nest).

Additionally, these inventories help identify factors that may have impacted the nest, such as predation, inundation by water, or unhatched eggs. This data is invaluable for local conservation efforts and helps inform long-term management strategies to protect these endangered species.