In honor of World Sea Turtle Day, let’s check in with Rookery Bay’s Sea Turtle interns Megan and Kerri for an update on Rookery Bay’s nesting season! It’s been more than a month since the season began. So far, 88 nests have been discovered on Cape Romano, 20 on Sea Oat Island and 68 in the Ten Thousand Islands.
Intern Megan shares a Sea Turtle News Update about the interns excitement of finding nests, encountering other cool wildlife and thankfulness for the help of volunteers –
It’s hard to believe Kerri and I have been working together for over a month now patrolling the Cape Romano complex, we’ve learned so much in just a few weeks! I remember how nervous I was when I first learned how to drive the boat and never imagined I’d be driving Ranger on my own. Kerri and I are also becoming more confident in locating the turtle eggs in nests. We joke that the turtle moms know when we’re patrolling alone and give us a harder time when Greg isn’t around to help. We do our best with the more difficult nests and work together to do our ‘turtle CSI’ (as Greg says) to know where to dig for the egg chamber. It’s always so satisfying finding the eggs!
I’m glad to have Kerri on the boat with me because she has the best eye for animals in the water. We’ve seen so many sharks, rays, manatees, dolphins, and even a few turtles! I was so excited to have seen my first roseate spoonbill a few weeks ago. Lastly, it’s been such a pleasure getting to know and working with the Rookery Bay Sea Turtle Program volunteers! We’re so thankful for their help and enthusiasm! We’re having a blast and looking forward to the rest of our season at Rookery Bay!
Rookery Bay Research Reserve
Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve stretches across 110,000 acres of pristine mangrove forest, uplands and protected waters. We are committed to preservation through research, education, and land protection.
