Smyrna Dunes Park

01/13/14

I stopped for a few hours at this park. It sits on the tip of a peninsula that is surrounded by water on three sides, with the ocean on the eastern side. It has a boardwalk that goes around the peninsula that provides beach access at various points.

The highlight of my visit was watching a gopher tortoise courtship. The last three photos show the courtship. It started with the male moving his head up and down and side to side. He then walked up to the female and bit her shell. After that, he pushed her back into the burrow. Although the last photo looks like the tortoises are mating, he was just pushing her. She was facing the wrong way for them to actually mate.

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Steve Winker