It has been a couple of weeks of glorious sunrises, camaraderie, joy in hatchlings making their way to the sea, multiple false crawls, hope, coyotes, Nests 33 through 36, intense heat, and astonishing storms. Still, through all of this, our passion for helping the sea turtles remains undimmed. We have high hopes of more nests in August, and statistically, it is quite likely. Thanks again to all the people who have shared their stories, introduced us to their dogs, informed us about things they have seen, helped knock down sand castles, filled in holes, and picked up trash.
On July 23, Nest 33 was found by walkers Marnie Ellis, Sandy Snead, Milum Livesay, and Karen Reavis in the wrack about five houses north of the Club. 122 eggs were relocated north of Boardwalk 6. It was necessary to move the nest so far because of the sinkholes forming in the area between the Club and Boardwalk 6. Please be careful in this area.
Sometimes, due to weather, tides, or beach conditions, our walkers might see a crawl, but the nest is not found, or a nest can hatch or boil, and the evidence is obscured. July 24 brought Nest 34 and a mystery when Sandy MacCoss and Susan McDonald found what appeared to be a predated nest with 108 egg shells along with coyote prints and digging in front of the triangle house. The shells appeared to be from a hatched nest rather than broken from predation, so we believe this nest boiled (hatched) recently, but the signs were hidden; then a very high tide exposed the eggshells and attracted coyotes. A potentially viable crawl had been found in this area on May 30 by Nancy Shenton, Judy Morr, Kim Sparks, and Carolyn Adam. After lengthy attempts, no eggs were found.
Some of you may remember the nest from last year that was predated by coyotes, and only one egg survived, which we named Lonesome George. This year we have Lonesome Georgette and Nest 35. On July 25, walkers Jen Gibson, Melanie Jerome, and Anne Snelgrove reported a nice-looking body pit in front of the cross by the lifeguard stand. After numerous failed attempts to find the nest at that location, Melanie looked further down the wrack and noticed broken egg shells and a hole. Out of the 66 eggs, there was a single survivor that we have named Lonesome Georgette. This single egg was relocated and given the full treatment of a sign and protective screening. We will speak words of encouragement to this singular egg every day because you never know what will help.
On July 29, Debbie Fink found a crawl five houses north of the Club. Nest 36 had 91 eggs that were moved north of Boardwalk 6 to place it above the high tide line and avoid the unstable sand in the area around the Club. Coyote prints were seen in the area, but not at the actual nest.
Nests 1, 2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, and 18 have hatched and been inventoried between July 21 and August 3.
While we are joyful in our early morning and late afternoon efforts and find it to be very rewarding, not all the news in our little piece of paradise is happy. Unfortunately, a dead Kemp’s ridley sea turtle was found on our beach. The Kemp’s ridley turtle is the rarest and most endangered species and the smallest of sea turtles. This is the second sea turtle death due to a boat strike on our beach this summer. If you find a sick, injured, or dead sea turtle, contact the SCDNR stranding hotline at (800) 922-5431 or bit.ly/turtlesighting.
In other more encouraging news, you may remember Rose, a juvenile Green sea turtle, was stranded on our beach on May 21 and rushed to the SC Aquarium Sea Turtle Care Center with extensive medical issues. The SC Aquarium recently posted an update about this turtle’s recovery on Instagram. The video can be accessed here: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DMYcdccPkqs/. Additional information about Rose can be found here: https://scaquarium.org/rose.
Thanks again to everyone who supports the Turtles and gives us encouragement every day. Your efforts do not go unnoticed.
-Submitted by Anne Snelgrove for Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol
(Image Credit: Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol)