Sunday, May 14th – Nests 7 & 8
Happy Mother’s Day to the mothers in our patrol and all the turtle mothers out there. Especially the mothers who came on shore and left us 5 false crawls and 2 nests today.
On Zone 3, Valerie and Mark Doane started the day with 3 crawls. Jen and Harvey Gibson responded and found nest #7. Zone 4 walkers all went to help Jen with the nest and the move of 117 eggs to a safer location on Zone 4.
On Zone 2, Karen Sewell and Judy Benko reported two crawls. Jen and Harvey found nest #8 and moved 138 eggs to the new nest down the beach about 50 yards near nest #7.
Rick Segal then reported from Zone 1 with 3 crawls. Bill and Eileen Middleton were dispatched to check these out. Unfortunately, they were all false crawls.
It was a beautiful and productive Mother’s Day on Seabrook Island’s beaches.
Monday, May 15th – Nest #9
The morning started with a call from Veronica L’Allier and Bob Mason on Zone 2 with a crawl at the first house up beach from the club. Bill and Linda Nelson responded and found Nest #9. The nest had 142 eggs and was moved to a safer location just up the beach.
Tuesday, May 16th – Nests 10 & 11
On Zone 3, Walkers Bill and Linda Nelson called with a crawl between boardwalks 2 and 3 that became nest # 10. The nest, with 121 eggs, was found by Bill Nelson and moved by Linda Nelson and Tim Morawski to zone 4 just past the first dog sign.
Zone 4 Walkers Ruby Jenkins, Lori Porwoll, Pam Salvestrini, Mary VanDuesen & Lynda Zegers reported a crawl 50 yards past the first dog sign. Tim Morawski responded and found the nest. Nest #11 had 104 eggs and was relocated nearby to protect them from the tides.
Thursday, May 18th
All Zones reported in with no activity but Anne Snelgrove captured a picture of a beautiful sunrise.
Friday, May 19th – Nest #12
The crawl for Nest #12 was found on Zone 3 by Ruth Ann Henderer, Kathy Francis and Melanie Jerome about 40 yards south of the vehicle entrance. Bill Greubel found the nest and relocated the 136 eggs to a safer location between the dog signs on Zone 4.
Zone 4 reported life vests and gas tanks out on the
sandbar. Security was called to investigate.
Zone 2 had the bad news of the day. Nest #7 was predated by raccoons. It was estimated at least 23 eggs were lost. Bill Greubel put a second screen over the nest and Terry Fansler installed an electronic “Pest Repellant Sensor” to keep the raccoons away. The pegs on Nest #8 were also pulled part way out so Bill put those back in and added more pegs for added protection.
We’ve already reached last year’s number of nests for May. Hopefully, that’s a sign we’re going to have a big year.
-Submitted by Gary Fansler