SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) - Georgia recorded nearly 2,800 loggerhead sea turtle nests with more than 250,000 eggs this spring and summer, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
Volunteers and staffer identified and monitored 2,777 loggerhead nests and seven nests of unknown species on Georgia’s barrier islands from Little Tybee to Cumberland, senior biologist Mark Dodd told the Savannah Morning News.
That’s the third-best year in recent records - below the record 3,950 nests recorded last year - but in line with the recovery goal of 2,800 nests per year.
“Overall, the trend is still increasing at almost 4% a year, which is really good,” Dodd said.
Volunteers and staffers count the hundred or so eggs in each nest, either when relocating the nests to higher ground or when examining the leathery shells left once turtles hatch. The total egg count this year was 279,104, mostly from loggerheads but also from at least eight green turtle nests.
Few nests were lost to tropical storms or extremely high tides making the hatching and emergence numbers good, Dodd said.
The first nest was discovered on Cumberland Island in late April and the last on Wassaw Island in late August. Nest continue to hatch, though that’s slowing.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.