Early yesterday morning, Ramla l-Ħamra in Gozo officially welcomed turtle nest number three of the 2025 season – and this one came with a special show.

Captured on the night between 17th and 18th June, a thermal camera recorded the remarkable moment when turtle mama Johanna entered Phase 5 of the nesting process: covering up her freshly laid eggs. The footage, shared by the Wildlife Rescue Team, offers a rare and touching look into the critical final stages before the turtle’s return to the sea.

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Laying a nest is anything but simple: it’s a six-phase operation that begins with the mother turtle emerging from the sea and ends with her slipping quietly back into the waves. Here's a breakdown of the nesting phases:

1. Crawling ashore: The turtle chooses a suitable nesting site on the beach.
2. Digging a body pit: She shuffles the surface until she reaches moist sand.
3. Creating the egg chamber: Using her rear flippers, she digs a chamber deep enough for the eggs.
4. Depositing the eggs: Around 80–120 eggs are carefully laid into the nest.
5. Covering and camouflaging the nest: As seen in the video, the turtle skilfully covers the nest using both her front and rear flippers.
6. Returning to the sea: Her job done, she begins the slow journey back to the ocean.

Turtle Johanna had initially come ashore the night before but made a ‘false crawl’ without laying. Volunteers monitored the beach overnight, and at around 2 AM, she returned and successfully laid her eggs.

The nest is now being protected by local authorities and volunteers, and the public is reminded to keep a safe distance and respect all conservation efforts in place.

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