LAST NEST STANDING

The last nest left standing after hurricane "Sandy" passed by us during the last 3 days was probably going to have to be declared and listed as "washed out", even though the stakes and some orange tape were left standing after the storm.  As you can see from the other photos included in this posting, there was virtually no protective beach left as of the end of October, since the wave action and winds from the storm have washed up to, and in some cases, breached the dune line.  I count the "dune line" as where the sea grasses have established themselves and provided some resistance to full wash-outs of the sand on that dune line.  It was sad to travel some distance north and some distance south to see and realize that any sea turtle nests that were still viable up to a few days ago, were no longer viable. The one pictured in this posting, my designation of "TC1819", was guesstimated to hatch on October 3 (45-60 days for a Loggerhead nest), so it probably did not even survive until then, let alone almost a month later and after a severe storm washed water over it for extended amounts of time.  As such, the title of this posting may be somewhat misleading in that, even though the physical stakes and ribbon were still in place, that nest and probably all of the nests on this coast, were now, effectively, gone. 

This is not the kind of ending to the sea turtle nesting and hatching that we would like to see, but Mother Nature does things in her own way.  Based on my calculations and charts, I suspect that there were only about 30 sea turtle nests that actually hatched on our section of beach this season.  Using my same data and charts, I'm making an "educated" guess that there may have been as many as another 30 nests that were either storm damaged, washed out, or otherwise didn't hatch.  You can see an example of that in a previous posting where our granddaughter is pictured with some unhatched and dead eggs that an employee from EAI had dug up once the nest was long overdue for hatching.

So.... it's a rather sad good-bye to the sea turtle nesting season of 2012, but with the knowledge and hope that this process will go on.  I'm looking forward to another season starting in the spring and hope that you will join me in this blog at that time.  Admitedly, this process will go on long after all of us are no longer "viable", I strongly suspect, but this brief encounter and experience with these wonderful beings from the sea is always rewarding in itself for showing me time and again how precious this life form, and any life form in this world, is.  It's always great satisfaction for me and, I hope for those of you who took an interest in this blog, to be able to "step back" and find a greater appreciation for life in general (and for ours specifically!) as we experience one of the many "wonders of the world".  Isn't it great to be alive and have such opportunities?  Enjoy your life, and all life, because there is a bigger connection there than we sometimes realize.