The Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has scheduled the inventory of nest 6 for Tuesday morning, July 22 at 7:00 am. Nest 6 is located about 2 houses south of the large yellow house between boardwalks 6 and 7 which are the nearest beach access points.
The Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has scheduled the inventory of nest 11 for Tuesday evening, July 22 at 6:30 pm. Nest 11 is located just south of boardwalk 1 which is the nearest beach access.
Click here to see a map showing the location of the boardwalks.
Scheduled inventories and cancellations or postponements can be accessed here.
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!
-Submitted by Jane Magioncalda for SI Turtle Patrol
(Image credit: Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol)