
Happy G-3 Turtle Day, Flag Day and US Army Birthday
Gulf State Park gets their third nest of the season on June 14th. Leave it to veteran turtlers Hap n Hanna Habisreitinger to find the tracks on this memorable day, and 7 year veteran Frank Whitman to find the eggs for his first time. Boy our team sure is dedicated!
Momma turtle was in a hurry to lay, nesting inches from the high water. A wave washed into the nest as we were taking our depth to the bottom of the clutch reading and soaked team leader Denise Spafford. After an exhausting search for the 109 eggs, the nest was relocated to higher ground. We could tell it was a great relief for momma because she strolled the beach for almost 1,000 feet after she left the nest. Maybe it was her first visit back and she wanted to see what the place looked like. The rest of the team members present were: Brandi and Cade Whitman, Sandra Vines, Susanna Lax, SuzAnne Pendley, Maureen Ashmore, Bob Parris, Kelly Reetz, co-team leaders Fran and Neal Shults, and team leader Joe Spafford. We also had special help from East Beach team members Debbie and Greg Bourgeois. To all, thanks for the quick response and help on this nest. We could not have done it without you. Keep up the turtle dancing, and don’t forget it is all about helping the turtles!
Denise and Joe Spafford