Eggs laid and confirmed = 5964
Hatchlings launched = 4084

Our original total of 60 nest sites was adjusted to 55 to account for five false crawls that had been marked and numbered as nest sites.

Those sites had strong indications that nesting had occurred, but the presence of eggs was never confirmed. Once their hatching times were long past without any signs of hatching or confirmation of eggs, their status was changed from probable nest to false crawl.

False crawl "nests" were: #18, 35, 40, 48, and 49.

Of the remaining 55 nests, one (#22) could not be located because its nest markers were moved when the east end of the beach became a movie set.

Eight others were adversely affected by the beach erosion and extremely high tides associated with Hurricanes Dennis and Floyd. Two of the 8 definitely hatched before Floyd arrived, but their sites were lost before inventories could be done.

Four others of the 8 were "due" to hatch and may have, but again, their sites were lost before inventories could be done. The other 2 nests were lost before they were due.

Storm victims were: #36 and #41 (hatched, no inventory); #29, 44, 46, 47 (maybe hatched, no inventory); #56 and #58 (lost).

Our last and very late nest (#60, laid September 5th), produced no live hatchlings.

We have good data on 45 nests to report and analyze for the 1999 season. That's 7 more nests than 1998 and 13 more than 1997.

Despite the disappointments, it's been a good year.

For nest site details, including photos, see Tracks & Nests.