Richard Graulich/Palm Beach Post
JUNO BEACH — Strong winds and waves the past few days are exposing turtle nests by washing away sand and tossing back hatchlings struggling to crawl to the ocean.
And weather through the weekend isn't looking any better as a tropical storm passes close to Florida.
"If these winds and waves keep up, it could get worse," said Kelly Martin, a biologist at Loggerhead Marinelife Center in Juno Beach. The center rescues turtles and counts turtle nests between MacArthur Park and the Jupiter Inlet.
About 40 nests, each containing about 100 eggs, have been exposed in north county beaches this week. The eggs, which were damaged and could not be hatched, were found by beach goers and Marinelife employees.
South county officials have had to move twice as many nests as usual because the dry weather caused female turtles to dig their nests too close to the high-tide line, said Kirt Rusenko, marine conservationist at Boca Raton's Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Moving nests saves the eggs from being washed away, Rusenko said.
But others say unearthing and moving the eggs is just as dangerous.
"It's better to let nature take its course," said Dan Bates, head of the county's environmental enhancement and restoration division. The county is responsible for turtle nests in the central part of Palm Beach County.
The good news is that nesting numbers are up for loggerheads and green turtles. Nesting numbers are about the same as previous years for leatherbacks, Bates said.
"So far, it's been a good year," he said.
Anyone who finds a damaged sea turtle egg should leave it on the sand and report the location to authorities. Hatchlings can be brought to Marinelife, Gumbo Limbo or other beach officials.
Each year, close to 8,000 hatchlings - about the size of a silver dollar - are dropped off by beachgoers at Gumbo Limbo, on A1A just north of Palmetto Park Road. About 85 percent are let go by Gumbo Limbo officials on the beach that same night, using darkness to help the hatchlings avoid fish and birds.
The remaining hatchlings are kept for a week or so to regain their health. They are then taken out to the weed line and released, Rusenko said.
More than 90 percent of the county's turtle nesting happens north of the Lake Worth Inlet in Palm Beach. The type of beach sand, the distance of the continental shelf from shore and the wave actions are among the reasons, Bates said.
But Rusenko blames too much beachfront lighting and crowded beaches for the smaller numbers in south county.
"The dunes are higher in north county. The lower dunes here let in lighting to the beach at night. That scares the nesting turtles away," Rusenko said.
An egg from a loggerhead turtle nest south of the Juno Beach Pier Thursday afternoon, July 22. Several nests have been unearthed by recent erosion across Palm Beach County.
Eggs from a loggerhead turtle nest are exposed to the elements south of the Juno Beach Pier Thursday afternoon, July 22, 2010. Several nests have been unearthed by recent erosion across Palm Beach County.
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