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Padre Island National Seashore Kemps ridley turtle nest found
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The first local Kemp's ridley sea turtle nest of the year was found Monday south of Big Shell Beach on Padre Island National Seashore.
The nest of 113 eggs was found by seashore biological technician Jennifer Shelby at the 51-mile marker - 51 miles south of the end of the paved road inside the park, said Donna Shaver, a federal biologist who oversees the state's Kemp's ridley sea turtle program.
This is the fifth Kemp's ridley sea turtle nest found in the United States this year. Two were found in the Galveston area, one was found in the South Padre Island area and another was found in Boca Chica Beach in the Valley, Shaver said.
All of the eggs are harvested for incubation, and about 85 percent will hatch into baby turtles, Shaver said.
Maine ocean islands provide the only nesting sites for Atlantic puffins in the United States. Eastern Egg Rock in the midcoast region, Seal Island and Matinicus Rock at the mouth of Penobscot Bay, and Machias Seal Island and Petit Manan Island off the downeast coast provide habitat for more than 4,000 puffins each summer.