Colin washes away loggerheads

A storm surge spurred by Colin sent water toward the St. George Island State Park boardwalk and wiped out scores of endangered loggerhead turtle nests filled with eggs. The St. George Volunteer Turtlers report on their Facebook page that nearly all of the 58 nests they've been monitoring on the island had been washed away – possibly destroying thousands of turtle eggs.

A park ranger said she didn’t see any of the nests get washed away but did see the water surging under the boardwalk – which is separated from the ocean by about 20 yards of beach.

“We have high waves with lots of white caps,” said Kathryn King, a St. George ranger. Monday was not a day to be at the beach, she said. “We got our red flags up, there’s no swimming today.”

Sea turtle nesting season underway

The surge also took out nests farther east at Alligator Point.

“I watched two nests get washed away. One was formed yesterday. Just laid the eggs yesterday,” said Bill Wargo, director of the Alligator Point Sea Turtle Patrol.

Wargo said the surge was strong enough to wash a loggerhead onto the highway. A family of six from Cincinnati helped him try to rescue the nearly 3-foot long turtle. It had been battered by the rocks lining the shore and did not survive.

Loggerheads generally nest between April and September. Female turtles return to their nesting beach every two years and can build up to 14 nests containing as many as 100 eggs, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The FWC counted 608 nests last year along the Franklin coast.

Gulf Specimen raising funds for new, better turtle tanks

Reporter James Call can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on Twitter @CallTallahassee.