PHOTO OF THE DAY: New to the Nest

Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Patrol was in for a surprise this morning when it came across tracks leading to the first nest of the season.

Close to 100 eggs were laid by a loggerhead sea turtle, the most common species on local beaches, on Tuesday, May 6, on Longboat Key.

Mote monitors nesting along 35 miles of local beaches from Longboat Key to Venice throughout the nesting season, which runs May 1 through Oct. 31.