Advice From a Sea Turtle
Swim with the current
Be a good navigator
Stay calm under pressure
Be well traveled
Age gracefully
Spend time on the beach
-Ilan Shamir
The Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol added 7 new nests this week, bringing the total for the season to 44. Check out this video of the mama making her way back to the water after laying Nest #39!
Sunday June 20 – Nests 38
One mama turtle celebrated Father’s Day by laying Nest 38 on Seabrook Island. The crawl was found near peg #1 on Zone 4 by walkers Jen Paterson, her daughter Gracie, Diane and John Woychick with their daughters, Heather and Sarah, and grandsons, James and Coleman. This big group woke up early to walk and certainly were rewarded. Valerie and Mark Doane probed and helped relocate 111 eggs.
Monday June 21 – Nests 39
What a storm last night! One mama turtle waited for the weather to clear to come in to lay her nest. Zone 1 walkers Joleen Ardaiolo, Bev Stribling and Lisa McDonald called with the exciting news that a mama was still on the beach laying her eggs at the end of the Pelican Watch villas. Judy Morr went out to assist in crowd control and measure the mama as she returned to the water. Bill and Linda Nelson responded and found Nest 39 which was left in situ.
Tuesday June 22 – Nests 40
High winds obscured much of the turtle activity that occurred overnight, but Zone 1 walkers Christine Dudzik and Tom Lamb found tracks south of the Camp St. Christopher boat shed. Judy Morr and Lesley Gore arrived to probe and found 121 eggs. Nest 40 was relocated north of the boat shed.
Thursday June 24 – Nests 41, 42, 43, and 44
Karen Preston, Lynne Madison and Pixie Hider called with a crawl on Zone 3 just north of Boardwalk 6. Sandy MacCoss and Wendy Holschuh responded and found the shallow nest. The windblown sand tried to disguise the nest, but the mama turtle helped the process by leaving a broken shell on the top of the nest. The 126 eggs were moved further back on the dune as Nest 41.
The Zone 3 walkers called with a promising crawl 100 yards south of Boardwalk 4. Judy Morr and Leslie Gore responded. Nest 42 was found, and the 111 eggs were moved further back on the dune.
Zone 2 walkers JoAnne Lewis, Kathy Noel, and Nancy Chomel called with three crawls between Boardwalk 7 and the yellow house. Mike Vinson responded to all. The first crawl at the first house past the club was a false crawl into the rocks. The next one north of that resulted in Nest 43, which was able to be left in situ in the dunes. Zone 2’s third and final crawl resulted in Nest 44 with 98 eggs which were moved further back on the dune.
For more information about turtles and the Turtle Patrol, go to siturtlepatrol.com
-Submitted by Joshua Shilko
(Image credits: Turtle Patrol)