Daylight Loggerhead nesting observed

By Jayne C. Nasrallah
July 8, 2016 11:00 a.m.

On the morning of Wednesday, August 3, three very fortunate individuals were treated to the rare and magnificent sight of watching a loggerhead turtle lay her eggs on the beach at Fort Clinch State Park in broad daylight. The morning was overcast and the surf was rolling as Alicia Bishop and Jayne Nasrallah, Sea Turtle Patrollers for the park rounded the point at the pier.

We were beckoned by a man walking the beach and informed that a turtle was nesting right around the bend. We immediately spotted the turtle already in her body pit facing the dunes. She was being respectfully watched by Rob Gray, a Fernandina Beach High School sophomore who was clearly in awe of what he was seeing. As we parked our vehicle and approached Rob, he told us he had already named the turtle, Shelley. Perfect. Shelley had completed digging her egg chamber and was beginning the raising of her rear flippers that signals the release of eggs into the chamber. Each of us stood amazed, knowing we were having a once in a life time experience.

Alicia, an avid, amateur photographer caught this view of the turtle and her observers from the dunes. The process of laying the eggs took about 45 minutes. Shelley seemed to rest between contractions and none of us was eager for this spectacular event to come to an end. We all commented on how rosy red Shelley’s soft rear under tissue was. Even her rear flippers were bubble gum pink. When she had finished laying her eggs, Shelley began the process of filling in the egg chamber. She gently moved sand into the egg chamber with her rear flippers and patted it down.

The patting motion greatly resembled the motion of a human mother burping her baby, firm but loving. It was then that we observed something quite unexpected, Shelley’s formerly pink under tissue had mysteriously turned a bright pastel yellow. The transformation was remarkable. Was it due to the change of blood flow after laying, we wondered? Shelley also stealthily crept forward as she covered her nest.

Even Alicia and Jayne, knowing we would need to mark the nest for further study, found it difficult to know where she had begun. Having obscured the nest’s location, Shelley took further action by spraying sand with her front flippers. Now she was ready to return to her ocean home. She turned to her left and lumbered to the water. We gave her plenty of space to choose her path but she never seemed to notice us. Little did she know she had provided such an unforgettable experience to the three people fortunate enough to spend this early morning hour with her.

Editor’s Note: Jayne C. Nasrallah moved here from Winston Salem, North Carolina with her husband three years ago. They moved here because they wanted to immerse themselves in the history and nature of this island. Jayne’s three part-time jobs feed her passions as she serves as Collections Manager at the Amelia Island Museum of History, Secretary Specialist at Fort Clinch State Park and Administrative Assistant at her church. She has volunteered with the Sea Turtle Patrol at Fort Clinch for the last three years.