Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has scheduled an inventory of Nest 3 on Sunday, July 30 at 7:30 am. Nest 3 is located about 200 yards south of boardwalk 2 which is the nearest beach access.
On Monday, July 31, the patrol has scheduled an inventory of nest 2 at 7:30 am. Nest 2 is located about 100 yards north of the vehicle access road at Camp St. Christopher. Boardwalk 9 is the nearest beach access.
Click here to see a map showing the location of the boardwalks.
The timing of this inventory may be modified without notice in the event of inclement weather.
Turtle hatchlings typically emerge from the nest during the night to avoid exposure to daytime predators such as seagulls. This is called a boil because it really does look like a boiling event when the baby turtles emerge all at once from the nest which is a hole in the sand.
About three days after the boil, the Turtle Patrol team performs an inventory. They count the empty shells as well as the eggs that have not hatched for a report to DNR. Sometimes, some of the hatchlings are still at the bottom of the nest and haven’t made it out yet. The inventory team helps these hatchlings down to the water’s edge where they can gather strength for their journey across the ocean. We can’t always promise there will be hatchlings to see, but when there are, it is very exciting!
We expect to continue to perform inventories until all nests are removed from the beach which typically occurs in mid-September.
-Submitted by Jane Magioncalda for SI Turtle Patrol