St. George Island’s first sea turtle nest of 2007 was an exciting event, and unusual in more ways than one! Sea turtles typically nest under dark skies, and the common turtle for the St. George Island area is the Loggerhead turtle. On the morning of Tuesday, May 15, while conducting her morning nesting survey, Volunteer Turtler Nancy Brush came upon the unusual phenomenon of a nesting Leatherback turtle. The shell of this “smallish” Leatherback measured 43 inches across and 61 inches long. She left tracks over eight feet wide, and a nesting site nearly 20 feet across. Marine turtle permit holder Bruce Drye speculates that she is a young turtle, and that she may return to the island beach again soon, as female Leatherbacks nest an average of seven times each season, in average intervals of nine days.
Leatherback leaving nest, St. George Island, May 15, 2007.Photo courtesy of Bruce Drye
Leatherback covering nest, St. George Island, May 15, 2007. Photo courtesy of Bruce Drye
The following photographs of the May 15th nesting courtesy of Nancy Brush
