The final count is in for Georgia's best nesting season on record for rare loggerhead sea turtles. Department of Natural Resources biologist Mark Dodd says 1,646 turtle nests were counted on Georgia beaches this year. That's 102 nests more than the state had counted in August when it announced 2008 would be a record year for turtle nests. The previous record of 1,504 nests was set in 2003. Loggerhead sea turtles are federally protected as a threatened species. They lay their eggs on southern beaches from the Carolinas to Florida in the months of May through August. Eggs continue to hatch into October. (Associated Press)
