The end of July and the beginning of August are an exciting and busy time for the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol (SITP). There are hatchlings on the move, nests that need to be maintained, Momma turtles are still laying nests and the weather is unpredictable to say the least. Mike Vinson, Gary Holtz, Jared Crain, J-Anna Smith and Marnie Ellis dug at least six feet of sand off Nest 12 to make a proper runway for the wee turtles when they hatch. Nest 12 was laid on May 29 so this is an astonishing amount of build-up in less than two months. SITP will need to continue to remove excess sand from this and other nests. Some nests may need to have sand added due to erosion. Maintaining some of these nests is like brushing your teeth while eating Oreos.
We only have 31 viable nests this season but we are holding onto hope for a few more. Just to give a little historical background, in 2024 we had two more nests after July 20, in 2023 we had four more nests and many of us remember the astonishing Halloween Eve inventory of 2021 when we had a nest that was laid on August 27!
By the time you read this, we will most likely have had inventories on Nests 1, 4, 5-7, 11 and 14, and probably others. The first inventory of this season was for Nest 4 on July 13. Inventories are a wonderful way to learn more about Loggerhead and other Sea Turtles, talk to members of the Turtle Patrol and you may even have the good fortune of seeing live hatchlings making their way to the ocean for their new adventure. Nest 7 had a large crowd that was rewarded with seeing not one, not two, but three hatchlings being escorted to the water. Thanks to Rick Heilman for the great pictures of the inventory.
Click here to watch a video of Nest 7.
When the tide is too high for our morning walkers to make it to the point at Camp Saint Christopher, we will send out an experienced crew to look at that section of beach later in the day. Sometimes it seems like a thankless task but on July 7 it paid off with Nest 27. Tony and Lesley Gore found the nest on the high tide line 50 yards north of the dead trees and moved 59 eggs by themselves.
July 13 was a busy day! Marnie Ellis, Jared Crain and Bob Enzerra found a perfect X-shaped crawl south of Boardwalk 2. It was necessary to move 123 eggs in Nest 28 to higher ground. On the same day Jen Gibson and Wendy Holschuh had even more fun. They found tracks from the intrepid early hatchlings called scouts coming from Nest 7 and one little hatchling was still heading down to the ocean. Jen and Wendy escorted the little one to the water to ensure its safety. That excitement wasn’t enough though; they also found a promising crawl near the triangle shaped house which became Nest 29. Due to concerns about the settling of sand in the new rocky areas between Boardwalks 6 and 7, 63 eggs were relocated north of Boardwalk 6.
On July 15, Ed Heskamp and Kathleen Airhart found a partially coyote predated nest 100 yards south of the vehicle entrance. Fortunately, 65 viable eggs were relocated and became Nest 30.
Just north of Boardwalk 6 on July 16, Marnie Ellis, Milum Livesay and Karen Reavis found a very short inbound crawl with a very long outbound crawl indicating the Momma was there for a loooong time. Nest 31 had 95 eggs that were relocated 100 yards north of Boardwalk 6 above the high tide line.
As usual, we thank everyone that has helped to keep the beach clean and free of holes and obstructions. This makes the beach a safer and more pleasant place for all the creatures on the beach including the humans. Feel free to come up and talk to those nutty folks in the brightly colored turtle patrol shirts. We love to answer questions, hear your stories and meet your well-behaved dogs. Please remember to keep lights out on the beachfront after 10:00 pm – turtles dig the dark!
Submitted by Anne Snelgrove for Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol
(Image Credit: Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol)