Rare reptile sighting

  

Last weekend, Jane kindly let us know that she had encountered a dead sea turtle on Salmon Creek Beach.  From the photo it appeared to be a Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta), and this identification was confirmed by staff at the California Academy of Sciences.  Sea turtles are rare this far north, so it was valuable to document the occurrence of this species in Bodega Bay.

Many thanks to Jane for the photos and to Moe at Cal Academy for the confirmation.

P.S. For more information about Loggerhead Turtles, check out this helpful web page put together by NOAA.

P.P.S.  Although sea turtle sightings in this area are rare, if you come across one you can report it to The Marine Mammal Center.