The attached photos were taken at or near Creek Watch by various folk over the weekend.
Submitted by Ryan Cook
Category: Nature
North Beach Update
Seabrooker Patricia Schaefer provided the following comments and photos of the beach yesterday:
The new inlet and berm seem to have made it through the winds, tides, and rain without too much damage. Of course there is some erosion but the berm is still standing and the birds are loving it! I promise, we gave them their space!
Reminder – SINHG Evening Program Thursday 10/8 – 7PM
On Thursday, October 8th, the Seabrook Natural History Group will present Dr. Brian Balmer discussing North Atlantic Dolphin Populations. In 2013, Dr. Balmer assumed his current position as a Scientist with the Oceans and Human Health Branch of the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to this move, Brian spent 12 years with the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, moving up from Intern to Staff Scientist. He graduated from Virginia Tech with Bachelors of Science majors in wildlife science and biology. Brian’s graduate research at the University of North Carolina focused on identifying the population structure of bottlenose dolphins in two regions that have been impacted by different types of stressors; St. Joseph Bay, FL and the southern coast of Georgia.
Refreshments – 7:00 PM Program – 7:30 PM Location – Lake House All Seabrook Island residents and guests are welcome. There is a $5 donation for non SINHG members. Information about future programs and SINHG membership can be found at the SINHG web site, sinhg.org.
Submitted by Gary Fansler
R.I.P. Two Spot
We lost a good friend on Seabrook Island this week . The piebald deer we called “Two Spot” died, most likely from natural causes. His photograph is displayed in the Lake house lobby. Some residents thought that he may have drowned because of the heavy rains and very high tides we experienced this weekend. However, deer are excellent swimmers and he may have just died a natural death. White tailed deer may live 10 or more years in the wild but most live only 3 to 5 years. “Two Spot” was 4 1/2 years old. Attached are photos of “Two Spot” taken over the past 4 years, the latter of which was taken just last week. Three additional piebald deer currently call Seabrook Island home.
Article and photos submitted by Charley Moore
Piebald Buck
Ann Billeter sent in the following:
“Sadly several walkers on Marsh Hen at the marsh noted the piebald buck apparently dead of drowning. Don’t know how many piebald bucks we had, but this one had 6 points.”
Thank you for the update.
Submitted by Tidelines Editors
Turtle News – Thank You to the Inventory Team
I want to thank all of the members of the Inventory Team for their participation this season!
We had a record breaking year – 75 Nests!! We had our challenges which always include something new! This year included the cut taking place, again trying to find suitable places for relocations which were many, lots of rain and high tides and our new one – HUMANS! With our very LARGE nursery this year, it was a hot spot for tourists to hang out at night and the lights from rental homes beckoning our nursery hatchlings to pay them a visit! Thanks for all your efforts in helping us deal with all of the above!
Beautsie will soon be sharing the total statistics for this year. I would like to share some statistics I keep for the Inventory Team.
This season we spent 35 days performing inventories starting on July 8 and ending on September 27. We performed 27 public inventories with an average of 23 team members participating at each one. Thank you so much! This is an outstanding level of participation increasing from 17 per inventory last season! 20 of the 75 nests were inventoried privately as a result of circumstances including rain and high tides, wild nests, collapsed dunes, etc. The team personally assisted 277 hatchlings to the water this year. This definitely demonstrates how important our work is. We saved a lot of babies!
We had mostly beautiful days on the beach except for – a few days were rainy, some threatening thunderstorms, some driving rain, and our favorites – black biting flies, biting no-see-ums, biting ants, and other biting bugs in general! Why must they all bite? We need more ‘love bugs’ who just land on us, mate and leave!
I want to send a special thanks to our Junior Patrol Team which includes, Hannah Seabrook, Cailey and Gavin Duguid and Sarah Quinn! It is so much fun to work with them and I am inspired by their commitment and dedication. They are our future! Next season will be Hannah’s last season as a Junior Patrol member. She will be 16 in September of 2016 and will become a licensed permit holder in 2017!! Hannah has been working with the patrol since the age of 7!
Unfortunately, we did not know that on September 14 Nest 65 would be our last public inventory and the final two hatchlings we would see this season! These two were adorable and put on a great show for the spectators!
See you all next season!
Submitted by Terry Fansler
Turtle News – Record Season Ends
The 2015 turtle season came to an end on Sunday. Turtlemaster Beautsie Zahrn decided to check on the last remaining nest because of the unusually high tides. It turned out the nest had already hatched so Beautsie , with the help of Judy and Dean Morr, inventoried nest # 69 and the record breaking season came to an end.
The 2015 season brought us an all-time Seabrook Island record 75 nests and we helped 6,095 hatchlings begin their amazing journey. This could not have happened without the hard work and dedication of the nearly 150 Turtle Patrol volunteers.
Nest #69 was found by Monica Adams, Anne Snelgrove and Melanie Jerome.
Bill and Eileen Middleton found the eggs. It was in situ.
Eggs in the nest – 60
Shells – 25
Unhatched eggs – 35
Dead hatchlings – 0
Live hatchlings – 0
Total live – 25
Hatch & emergence success – 40.9%
We will clean the trucks and equipment on October 10th at 1:00 PM in the Fansler’s driveway at 2618 Seabrook Island Rd. All Turtle Patrol members are invited to pitch in.
The end of year party is scheduled for October 22nd at the Lake House. Please hold the date and await further announcements.
Submitted by Gary Fansler
SINHG Visits Sewee Center for Red Wolves
Neither heat nor rain nor gloom of day nor clouds of bugs kept us from the swift completion of our rounds at Awendaw’s Sewee Center for Red Wolves last Thursday, September 17. These beasts are magnificent and although they reminded me disconcertingly of our son’s 100lb German Shepherds, our irrepressible guide, Wolfman Bob, assured us that these pups were indeed the cat’s meow. Our trip began with a short film about the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and a tour of the center led by Education Coordinator, Emily Scott. Wolfman Bob then introduced us to two of his charges, Tiffany and Celeste, who are part of the red wolf recovery program here at Sewee. Bob is their sole keeper, and as a lifelong devotee of the red wolf, his enthusiasm, knowledge and passion for these animals is delightfully infectious. A good time was had by all. I look forward to next season when SINHG will return to the Cape Romain area for a trip to Bull Island.
Submitted by Carol Bane
Full Harvest Moon Bonfire on Sunday, September 27
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Sunset – 7:10 pm
Moonrise – 7:02 pm ~ Full Harvest Moon ~ Supermoon with Lunar Eclipse (10:11 pm EDT – 11:23 pm) We had another good crowd for our August Full Moon bonfire. Let’s do it again while the fire will primarily be for atmosphere (and possibly grilling marshmallows). Since turtle nesting season is over, the bonfire may continue after 10:00pm.Come on down for a time of visiting and enjoying the beauty of Seabrook Island at night. We’ll gather just north of Boardwalk 1.To keep things simple, each person brings what they want: food, drinks, chairs and a stick of firewood for a big bonfire. Nothing will be provided but a beautiful beach, a bonfire and, hopefully, a full moon.
The super moon with a Lunar Eclipse is the first in 32 years and it will be 18 years until we have another. The super moon, or a perigee full moon, means that the moon will seem 14 percent bigger, 30 percent brighter and fuller than usual. It happens because the moon will be at its closest point in its orbit around the Earth. Add to that a full lunar eclipse and we could have quite a show. Unfortunately, it will also mean higher than normal tides with a 6.99 foot high tide expected. Spaceweather.com indicates a “flyby” of the Hubble Telescope will be “visible” at 7:31pm. Given the full moon and proximity to sunset, it’s visibility is questionable. Put these dates for the Full Moon Bonfires on your calendar: Tuesday, October 27, 2015 (Costumes will be optional for this month)
Wednesday, November 25, 2015 – We’ll start the Thanksgiving weekend with a gathering time on the beach. Friday, December 25, 2015 – We’ll need to celebrate on another date to be determined. There’s always plenty of room on the beach for everyone, so invite a friend or bring your house guests.
How the Full Moon got its name (per Farmers Almanac) Full Corn Moon or Full Harvest Moon – September This full moon’s name is attributed to Native Americans because it marked when corn was supposed to be harvested. Most often, the September full moon is actually the Harvest Moon, which is the full Moon that occurs closest to the autumn equinox. In two years out of three, the Harvest Moon comes in September, but in some years it occurs in October. At the peak of harvest, farmers can work late into the night by the light of this Moon. Usually the full Moon rises an average of 50 minutes later each night, but for the few nights around the Harvest Moon, the Moon seems to rise at nearly the same time each night: just 25 to 30 minutes later across the U.S., and only 10 to 20 minutes later for much of Canada and Europe. Corn, pumpkins, squash, beans, and wild rice the chief Indian staples are now ready for gathering. I found another web site (http://newsclipper.hubpages.com/hub/The-Moon-Facts-Trivia-and-Folklore) This site also says the Cherokee Indians called it the Nut Moon and the English Medieval name was Barley Moon. Submitted by Judy Morr
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SINHG Kicks Off Fall 2015 Evening Programs
The Seabrook Island Natural History Group kicked off their Fall 2015 Evening Programs
on Thursday with a presentation by Virginia Beach on the history of the South Carolina rice lands. She portrayed a landscape that stretched all the way from the Pee Dee River to the Savannah. It was a story full of interesting and memorable characters, and unlikely allies. They included English Lords, Proprietors, southern plantation owners and slaves, northern industrialists, powerful U.S. Senators, daring scientists, media magnates, Trappist monks, and Wall Street financiers.
The next program will be presented on Thursday, October 8th,and will feature Dr.Brian 
Balmer, discussing “North Atlantic Dolphin Populations”. In 2013, Dr. Balmer assumed his current position as a scientist with the Oceans and Human Health Branch of the Hollings Marine Laboratory in Charleston. Brian spent 12 years with the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program, moving up from intern to staff scientist. He graduated from Virginia Tech with a Bachelors of Science (B.S.) majoring in Wildlife Science and Biology. Brian’s graduate research at the University of North Carolina focused on identifying the population structure of bottlenose dolphins in two regions that have been impacted by different types of stressors: St. Joseph Bay, Florida and the southern coast of Georgia.
Refreshments – 7:00 PM Program – 7:30 PM Location – Lake House
All Seabrook Island residents and guests are welcome. There is a $5 donation for non SINHG members. Information about future programs and SINHG membership can be found at the SINHG web site, sinhg.org.
Submitted by: Gary Fansler
Environmental Committee Minutes for September 2
This is an abridged version of the Environmental Committee minutes of the recent September 2 meeting. Complete minutes can be found on the SIPOA website in the property owners’ section.
The Beach Patrol gave out the most dog off leash warnings the month of June. The majority of dog owners were responsive and cooperative.
The committee addressed the issue of bird protection on the restricted North Beach area near the old inlet/new berm.
SINHG is going to hand out a questionnaire to determine if there is interest in a birding group at their next program meeting.
Deer Survey Taskforce
The annual Seabrook Island deer survey will be conducted September 14-16 and November 10-12.
Turtle Patrol
Lori Porwoll reported there were a record 75 nests this year, beating the of record of 74 last summer. More wild nests were discovered as well. There are 10 nests left as of this date.
Bluebird Report
Seventy five Bluebird boxes were monitored this year. Volunteers observed 76 nests with 259 hatchlings.
Lake House Wildflower Project
The Greenery has submitted several proposals for the project which is currently being itemized.
Submitted by Jane Marvin
Turtle News – Beach/Inventory Report
We have 3 nests left on the beach. Nests 64 on zone 3, Nest # 68 on zone 2 and nest # 69 on zone 1.
The walkers of zone 4 are finished for the season. Thank you for your hard work and dedication.
All other zones need to check their remaining nests. Zone 3- nest # 54
Zone 2 – Nest # 68, Zone 1 -nest # 69. It is vital that we know when these nests hatch.
Inventories on Monday September 14th
Inventory of nest # 56 on zone 2 found by Terry Fansler, Chris Czander, Gloria Reynolds, Ginger & Hannah Seabrook and Sara Quinn was sad. The in situ nest had :
Eggs in the nest – 109
Shells – 0
Unhatched eggs – 109
Dead hatchlings – 0
Live hatchlings – 0
Total live – 0
Hatch and emergence success – 0
Wash overs – 4
Nest # 65 was found by Kathy Maher and Kathy Rigtrup on zone 4. Jen Gibson found the eggs. It hatched in 55 days.
Eggs in the nest – 81
Shells – 72
Unhatched eggs – 9
Dead hatchlings – 0
Live hatchlings – 2 – YES
Total live- 72
Hatch success – 87.8%
Emergence success – 85.3%
Wash overs – 2
Nest # 66 was found by Joe Ficarra, Jane Magioncalda and Rick and Nancy Wair. Jen Gibson found the eggs. It hatched in 54 days.
Eggs in the nest – 107
Shells – 57
Unhatched eggs – 50
Dead hatchlings – 0
Live hatchlings – 0
Total live – 57
Hatch success & emergence success – 52.7%
Wash overs -2
Submitted by Beautsie Zahrn