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Nest #40 on IOP Inventoried
Last Nest of Year
October 3, 2020
Today was the day of the last inventory of our season with Nest #40 which had been found on August 10 by Kristen Ayers and Cathy Harris at Ocean Club Villas in Wild Dunes and relocated to the 21st Avenue path. There were only 92 eggs which is normal for a final clutch at the end of the season. They incubated for 51 days before coming out on Wednesday just before dawn. At the inventory there were 84 empty egg shells, 7 undeveloped eggs and 5 live hatchlings left in the nest. Hatch Success was 91.3%.
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Nest #31 & 37 on IOP Inventoried
September 18, 2020
The only hatchling today came out and didn't move. We cupped him in our hands,trying to give him a warm place to "perk" him up and get his engine running.
We never saw any signs of turtles coming out of Nest #31 which was laid on July 9 and discovered by Kerry Scott with her children Sydney and Caden and Kelly Cobb and Dana Blasky near 28th Avenue. It was relocated to 23nd Avenue and contained 147 eggs. Even with daily checks with rain and wind sometimes the signs are washed or blown away not giving us any clues. We feared that roots had invaded the nest. But today’s inventory after 70 days of incubation revealed 87 empty eggshells, 55 undeveloped eggs and one dead hatchling. Including some eggs that were removed because of root invasion on August 31 and one egg destroyed by a ghost crab on July 10 plus our DNA sample egg, the Hatch Success was 59.1%. This was a pleasant surprise when we were expecting much worse.
Nest #37 was laid on July 24 near the Wild Dunes Property Owners Beach House and discovered by Debbie Kurtz with her daughter Amanda and Louise Martin. The 95 eggs were relocated to a spot near 22nd Avenue and incubated for 54 days before producing hatchlings. We found 88 empty shells, 6 undeveloped eggs and one live hatchling left in the nest. Hatch Success was 92.6%
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Nest #38 on IOP Inventoried
September 17, 2020
Nest #38 on the Isle of Palms was found by Aubrey Schmidt, Peggy Klimecki and Trisha Hoff on July 27. The loggerhead had crawled all the way over the high primary dune at the 25th Avenue Path which is a berm bulldozed up after the last hurricane erosion damage several years ago. She laid her eggs near the flat ground on the landward side of it near a swimming pool under construction. We moved the 74 eggs back over to the ocean side so the hatchlings would have a chance in finding the right way which they did after 49 days of incubation. Eleven hatchlings came out during the day and were helped to the ocean. The inventory today showed 65 empty shells, 8 undeveloped eggs and no hatchlings live or dead. Hatch Success was 87.8%.
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Last Inventory on Sullivan's Island
September 17, 2020
It’s been an up and down year for Sullivan’s Island loggerhead nests. Between the tide and coyotes, there have been mixed results. Putting screens on the nests was necessary and seemed to protect them, letting the hatchlings come up through the holes to get to the ocean in the middle of the night. The final one, Nest #8, was found on July 25 by Dave and Mae Peterseim with Paula Brady and Neil Hunt. It was moved higher away from the tide line where it was laid between Stations 17 and 18. It incubated for 51 days. Inventory today showed that 9 eggs failed to develop out of 108 laid with 2 dead and 5 live hatchlings still in the nest to be released. Hatch Success was 91.6%.
We have had such wonderful work done by volunteers on Sullivan’s this season and want to thank all of them for their dedication and hard work in spite of the fact that the Covid-10 pandemic made 2020 the first year that inventories were closed to onlookers. We are all looking forward to and hoping for a normal season in 2021.
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Season is almost over
Three Nests Inventoried
September 13, 2020
Nest #35 was found at 7th Avenue on July 16 by Ed Peyser and Annie and Dan Vola. It contained 75 eggs and incubated for 52 days after being moved to 22nd Avenue. Inventory showed that only 4 eggs failed to develop and only one dead hatchling was left in the nest three days after the boil. Hatch Success was 93.3%.
Nest #36 produced turtles three days ago and was inventoried this morning. It was found near the 8A Access Path on July 17 by Joanne Robinson, Alice Williams and Eileen Dulany and relocated to 22nd Avenue. There were 114 eggs laid that incubated for 54 days. Today there were 63 empty shells, 50 undeveloped eggs, 2 dead hatchlings and 2 live hatchlings. Hatch Success was 55.2%. We are not sure why so many did not develop since there was no tidal wash over or ground water rising into the egg chamber. Sometimes this just happens.
Nest #5 at Station 25, on Sullivan's Island, failed to hatch. This nest was found by Cyndy Ewing on July 5 with the female loggerhead still crawling on the beach after laying her eggs. It was not moved so we did not know how many eggs were laid at the time. It was not overwashed by the tide when Hurricane Isaias came, but a little water might have risen into the bottom of the egg chamber. At the inventory we saw that there were 116 eggs laid and the very bottom ones were turning black which may have been caused by water. But the ones above it were still white or slightly discolored from age and none seemed to contain any developed embryos, only yolk and albumen. Every year we and other nesting projects seem to have a few nests like this that do not develop (Nests 8 and 31 on the IOP are the same way). Perhaps there is some other reason that is unknown. And perhaps when our genetics samples are read and reported, we can see if this turtle may have laid those other nests that had this problem as well since they were not flooded.
Not many hatchlings found during inventories.....but some beautiful sunrises!
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Three Nests Inventoried
September 6, 2020
Nest #29 which was found at Ocean Club Villas on July 7 by Cindy Bergstrom, Patti Horton and Paige Owens. The turtle laid 85 eggs that incubated for 55 days after being relocated to 23rd Avenue. There were 74 empty eggshells and 10 undeveloped eggs with no live or dead hatchlings left in the nest. Hatch and Emergence Success was 87%.
Nest #33 was found 4 days later on July 11 near 13 Beachwood East. The turtle was seen crawling on the beach near Barbara Bernstein’s house. She reported it to us and helped keep people away from the turtle while she laid her eggs. Stan Schwab and April Nesbitt patrolled in the morning when the 84 eggs were being moved to 23rd Avenue where they incubated for 51 days before producing hatchlings. There were only 5 eggs that did not develop and no hatchlings dead or alive left in the nest. Hatch and Emergence Success was a very good 92.8%.
Nest #34 was found by Lauri Ashmore and Wendy Thiel on July 12 near 24th Avenue. It was left to incubate where it was laid and produced hatchlings 52 days later. Today we found 69 empty hatched egg shells and 37 undeveloped eggs and one dead hatchlings with no live ones left in the nest. It had been washed over by the tide at least two times, once during Hurricane Isaias and again on August 15. Since most of the undeveloped eggs were at the bottom of the clutch, it could also be that ground water got into the egg chamber and drowned the deepest eggs early in development because there was no development of the embryos. Hatch Success was 64.4% and Emergence Success was 63.5%
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Nest #32 Nest Inventoried
August 31, 2020
Nest #32 was inventoried today. It was found on July 9 by Deborah Johnson and Linda Conrad near 15 Beachwood East in Wild Dunes. There were 119 eggs that incubated for 50 days. The inventory showed 80 empty eggshells, 38 undeveloped eggs and one live hatchling left in the nest. Hatch Success was 67.2%.
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Three Nests Inventoried
August 29, 2020
NEST # 6 at Station 16 produced hatchlings 3 days ago after 49 days of incubation and was inventoried this morning. This nest was found by Jenn Gragg and Diane Brumley on July 6 near the path at 16 and was not relocated. It did not get washed over by the tide. There were 90 empty eggshells and 13 undeveloped eggs. But there were also 21 dead hatchlings still in the nest which was very wet. We suspect that they hatched out but before they could emerge from the nest, a drenching rain came and flooded it causing them to drown. We have heard that this can happen. The Hatch Success was a respectable 86.5%, but because so many of those died in the nest, Emergence Success was only 66.3%
NEST #28 was found on July 4 by Laurie and Ty Willson near 21st Avenue and 86 eggs were moved higher on the beach because they were laid below the spring tide line. These eggs incubated for 53 days and hatchling tracks were found on the beach on Wednesday morning. Only four eggs did not develop in addition to the one used for genetics sampling. That means hatch success was 94.1%.
NEST #30 was laid on July 8 and found near 57th Avenue by Aelecia Rideout, Linda Thompson and Bev Miller. There were 129 eggs relocated to 23rd Avenue that incubated for 49 days until Wednesday morning. This one did not do so well for unknown reasons. There were 64 undeveloped eggs, 2 dead hatchlings and 1 live hatchling that was released. Hatch Success here was only 48.8%
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SI Nest Inventoried
August 25, 2020
The nest near the lighthouse at Station 18 on Sullivan’s Island was found on July 3 by Kristin Zeaser-Sydow and Karen Britton. It was laid low on the beach and moved higher at that same location to avoid the tide. The timing was right and the same barnacle mark on her plastron made us think this might be the same loggerhead who laid Richard Hanf’s Nest #2 at Station 25 and False Crawl # 6 at Station 16. These 117 eggs incubated for 50 days. The inventory showed that 14 of them failed to develop and only one live hatchling was left in the nest. Hatch Success was 87.1% when we take into account that one egg was taken for genetics sampling. We still don’t have any results back from the DNA research study but hope to hear something before long to help identify our nesting females.
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Three Nests Inventoried on IOP
August 22, 2020
Nest #22 which was found by Miriam Hurt, Linda Snider and Laurie Willson on June 27 at 27th Avenue, was dug into by coyotes on August 12 and 65 eggs were destroyed. A screen was place on it for the rest of incubation which saved the remaining eggs. A few tracks were seen on August 16 and the inventory was done today. The number of eggs laid was 135. There were 11 undeveloped eggs and 58 empty shells. No hatchlings, dead or alive, were left in the nest. Because of the coyote damage Hatch Success was only 42.9%.
Nest #24 was laid on June 28 at the north end of Beach Club Villas in Wild Dunes and was found by Paige Hauff and Diane Troy. It contained 85 eggs and was relocated to 31st Avenue where it incubated for 52 days. The inventory showed 83 empty shells, one undeveloped egg and one live hatchling. Hatch Success was a great 97.6%.
Nest #25 was found by Rebecca Kaminsky, Sue White and Janis James-Rubin at Dunecrest Lane in Wild Dunes on June 29. The nest contained 147 eggs and was relocated to 31st Avenue for 51 days of incubation. There were 139 empty shells, 7 undeveloped eggs and 12 live hatchlings left in the nest. Hatch Success was 94.5%.
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We were hoping to show you a comparison of a green hatchling and one of our loggerhead hatchlings. When we inventoried our green nest, yesterday, there were not stragglers to photograph. This photo was taken at the SC Aquarium several years ago. What an amazing difference between the green on top and the loggerhead.
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Green Nest Inventoried on IOP
August 21, 2020
In spite of the rain this morning, we were able to get an inventory of Nest #21 laid by a large green sea turtle, not a loggerhead, on June 24 which was found at Ocean Club Villas by Doug and Gina McQuilken. The turtles emerged from the sand 55 days later which was earlier than expected. Out of 101 eggs laid, one was cut open by the sharp shells in the sand from the renourishment project when it was laid and only 4 more failed to develop. We were hoping to see a green hatchling left in the nest, but they were all gone. There were no dead or live hatchlings in the very healthy and successful nest. Hatch and Emergence Success were a wonderful 95%.
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Three Inventories on IOP
August 19, 2020
With rain clouds threatening, we inventoried Nest 23, 26 and 27 near 31st Avenue on the Isle of Palms today. Here are the results:
Nest #23 was found on June 28 near 45th Avenue by Terri Stafford, Lori Nelson, Penny Portman and Rene Rivlin. There were 122 eggs in the nest that were relocated just south of 31st Avenue. After 48 days of incubation, it hatched and we found 19 undeveloped eggs and 5 live hatchlings left in the nest. Hatch Success was 83.6%
Nest #26 was found on June 30th in Wild Dunes at Port O’Call by Cindy Bergstrom and Paige Owens and 124 eggs were relocated to 31st Avenue. This nest has the lowest incubation time so far at only 47 days and we were surprised to see tracks on Sunday morning. Hatch success was 82.6% with 21 undeveloped eggs and 10 live hatchlings left in the nest.
Nest #27 was found on the same day as #26 by Leslee Gordon, Andrea St. Amand, Penny Lanigan and Kimberly Hood near the 30A Access Path. It was moved higher onto a dune closer to 31st and contained 121 eggs. It produced hatchlings also after 47 days, just like its twin #26. These nests are an example of what happened when the weather turned hot at the beginning of July shortening incubation times. We found 3 undeveloped eggs and 14 live hatchlings in the nest. Hatch Success was 96.6%
One little guy had a rocky start while the others hussled to the water.
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Two Inventories on IOP
August 16, 2020
Nest #17 was found on June 17 by Linda Thompson, Bev Miller and Aelecia Rideout near 56th Avenue in Wild Dunes. It contained 105 eggs that incubated for 57 days near 21st Avenue. We found 5 undeveloped eggs and no hatchlings dead or alive. Hatch Success was 92.3%
Nest #19 was found on June 21 by Diane Troy and Paige Hauff near the Seascape and Port O’Call Condos in Wild Dunes. There were 100 eggs in it and incubation took 53 days. For some reason this nest did not develop well even though it was not washed over or damaged in any way. There was one live hatchling that was released and one live pipped hatchling that was returned to the nest to finish its’ incubation. So when we include the egg taken for genetics sampling, the Hatch Success was 30.3%
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Six Inventories on IOP and Sullivan's Island
August 14, 2020
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Nest #13 was found by Natalie Allard and her family, Ryan, Malin and Adlai at Summer Dunes Lane on June 11. It contained 111 eggs that were relocated to just north of the 23rd Ave path. After incubating for 63 days it finally produced hatchlings. The inventory showed us that 20 eggs failed to develop. One of the eggs had some very colorful magenta spots on it. This happens when there is bacterial growth on an undeveloped egg. There were one dead hatchling and no live ones left in the nest. Hatch Success was 81%.
Nest #15 was discovered on June 13 near Grand Pavilion in Wild Dunes by Stan Schwab and April Nesbitt. It was a large nest of 149 eggs that incubated for 55 days after being relocated to 23rd Avenue. This may have been the same turtle who laid Nest #6, another large clutch at the same place exactly 2 weeks before. No genetics results have come back yet. Inventory results were 8 undeveloped eggs, one live and one dead hatchling for a Hatch Success of 93.9%
Nest #16 was laid on June 16 near Shipwatch also in Wild Dunes and found by Cindy Bergstrom, Patti Horton and Paige Owens. There were 120 eggs that incubated for 55 days near 21st Avenue. At the inventory there were 5 undeveloped eggs and one dead hatchling. Hatch Success was 95%.
Nest #18 was found by Susan Riley Chagrin and Jennifer Martin at 29th Avenue. It incubated there and hatched after 53 days. We counted 66 empty shells and 8 undeveloped eggs. This means that 75 eggs were laid. One dead and one live hatchling were still in the nest. Hatch Success was 88%.
Nest #20 was found by Jane Sorensen, Sue Harris and Madelaine Hairrell on June 22. This was the nest that was laid at the volleyball court post at the foot of a steep dune near 10th Avenue at the Windjammer. There were 125 eggs that were relocated to a dune near 21st Avenue and produced hatchlings after 50 days, earlier than most of our nests. In the nest we found 18 undeveloped eggs and 6 live hatchlings that were released. Hatch Success was 83.2%
Nest #2 on Sullivan’s Island was found on June 19 by Richard and Elizabeth Hanf at Sta 25. It was low near the tide line and was moved up onto a dune there. There were 145 eggs. It incubated for 52 days. Today we did the inventory and found 2 undeveloped eggs and 11 live healthy hatchlings that were released into the ocean. Hatch Success was 97.9% - a good healthy nest.
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Two Inventories and Some Coyote & Crab Action for IOP
August 11, 2020
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Nest #14 was laid low on the beach at the 36A Path and discovered by Sue Hogan and Carol Jaworski on June 12. The eggs were moved up onto a dune at that same location. The turtle laid 137 eggs that incubated for 57 days before hatchlings came out. Today the inventory revealed that 99 of them were successful, 37 eggs did not develop and 18 live hatchlings were still in the nest. Hatch Success was 72.2%.
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NEST # 8
Nest #8 has was laid 71 days ago and had still failed to produce any hatchlings. It was found by Sue White, Rebecca Kaminsky and Janis James-Rubin on June 1 near 55th Avenue and relocated to 23rd Avenue. The DNR allows us to inventory after 70 days if this happens but we have to wait that long. Just as expected we found that the 108 eggs that were put there were all undeveloped, collapsed and nonviable. It was not disturbed, washed over by tide, attacked by fire ants or invaded by roots so the cause for this is unknown. Sometimes a nest will do this for no known reason which is a disappointment. Hatch Success was 0%.
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And although Nest #18 at 29th Avenue was not damaged by coyotes, they did dig inside the triangle but did not find the egg chamber. So this does not count as predation by coyotes, but it was a close call. A live and a dead hatchling were found on the sand and reported by Michelle Ziegler on her final scheduled walk of the 2020 season. We repaired the hole where ghost crabs were investigating and put a self-releasing screen over the nest to keep the hatchlings safe until they come out. While we were out there to deal with the damaged nest, the wrack was cleared away.
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Surprise....Nest #40 for IOP
August 10, 2020
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Just when we thought there would be no more eggs laid, a loggerhead crawled up near Ocean Club Villas and nested. Cathy Harris and Kristen Ayers found Nest #40 on the very last Monday patrol of the season. Quite a surprise since the last time a new nest was found in August was in 2014. This year has been so strange in many ways. The turtle laid 92 eggs which were relocated to a dune just south of 21st Avenue. That area seems to be outside of the regular nightly patrol of the family of coyotes who live at 23rd Avenue. It will not hatch until sometime in October making for a very long season.
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Three More Inventories
August 7, 2020
Nest #1 just north of the Sand Dunes Club was inventoried at first light. It was discovered by Jan Booth on June 11 and contained 122 eggs. There were showers all around but the beach was clear for the inventory. This is the nest that had hatchlings attacked by a red tailed hawk as they emerged from the sand at midday on Tuesday. When that happened we noticed a few “blond” hatchlings that were not albinos but were more beige in color than the regular loggerhead hatchling coloration. We found 38 undeveloped eggs, one live and one dead hatchling at the inventory. Hatch Success was 68% even though it was well above the tide line and had not been over washed during incubation.
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Nest #12 was found at Beach Club Villas in Wild Dunes by Kristen Ayers, Carolyn Eshelman and Cathy Harris on June 8 and relocated to 23rd Avenue. It contained 120 eggs. They incubated for 57 days and came out of the nest on Tuesday. We found 28 undeveloped eggs with at least a half dozen eggs encased in roots and 5 live hatchlings for a Hatch Success of 75.8%
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The last of the 3 nests at 43rd Avenue was inventoried this morning. It was found near 54th Avenue by Mary and Dennis Frazier and Deborah Johnson on June 4 and relocated to 43rd Avenue that day. There were 105 eggs laid. The inventory revealed that 18 eggs failed to develop. There were one live and one dead hatchlings left in the nest. Hatch Success was 81.9% and Emergence Success was 80%.August 7, 2020
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Nest #6 Inventoried on Isle of Palms
August 5, 2020
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Nest #6 was found on May 30 by Stan Schwab and April Nesbitt near Grand Pavilion in Wild Dunes and moved to 23rd Avenue. It was a very large clutch of 153 eggs. There were 29 unhatched eggs and 10 live hatchlings left in the nest which incubated for 64 days. Hatch Success was 80.3%.
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Two inventories on Isle of Palms
August 3, 2020
Just before the rain from the outer bands of Tropical Storm Isaias we inventoried two nests at 43rd Avenue. It was good to send them on their way in the ocean where their chances of survival are probably better than the chance of getting drowned under the surface of the sand if it floods.
Nest #9 was found by Sue Googer, Linda Bettelli, Jane Powers and Barbara Allen on June 4 at that location and moved higher on the beach. It contained 144 eggs that incubated for 59 days. Today we found 12 unhatched eggs, 9 dead hatchlings and 9 live hatchlings which were released across the very large tide pool to crawl to the ocean. Hatch Success was 90.9%.
Nest #11 was found by Maryalice Morro, Diane Mullins and Sue Widhalm on June 5 at Beach Club Villas in Wild Dunes. There were 134 eggs at 43rd Ave that incubated for 56 days. For some reason 34 eggs failed to develop and 39 hatchlings were found dead in the nest. There were 11 hatchlings still alive to release. Hatch Success was only 73.8%.
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Small Surprise..After the Wild Nest
Two inventories on Isle of Palms
August 3, 2020
After relocating our Wild Nest, we checked the nests at 43rd Ave. These nests have been dribbling hatchlings for several days. Sure enough there was one set of tracks coming from the nest and heading directly to the ocean. The challenge for the little guy, besides loads of people on the beach, was a gully he had to swim through before even getting close to the ocean. He was a champ and moved directly through it and kept on heading to the water. There was a wedding photo shoot he was going to join when we decided to give him a lift.One of the young members of the wedding party decided to join us.
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Surprise...Wild Nest in Wild Dunes
August 1, 2020
We got a call from someone at the Wild Dunes Property Owners Beach House that over 100 turtle eggs were floating in the water. The Harrison family from Asheville NC had gotten them out and buried them in the sand in the dunes nearby. When a nest is missed or undetected, it is called a Wild Nest in our database. The surf was very rough and amazingly close to the building and the tide had eroded the normal high tide line where so many of our loggerheads laid nests this season. This is a good indication of what would have happened if we had not moved all of those nests laid there this season to safer parts of the island.
We checked with SCDNR and they instructed us to rebury those eggs in a safe spot, so we took them to 5th Avenue where Nest #38 is located. This nest was laid about a week ago and from the appearance of the eggs, they might be about a week old. Their color and firmness are clues to the degree of development. We relocated them and marked them with a single nest sign instead of a triangle. This is what we have done in the past with eggs laid at the SC Aquarium by turtles in care there. We will give them about 70 days and then check to see if there was any development but are not optimistic that they are viable after what they have been through. At least we got a genetics sample from a broken one which is good information.
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Nest #7 on IOP Inventoried
August 1, 2020
We knew Nest #7 did well before the inventory because of the number of hatchling tracks 3 days ago. It was discovered by Aubrey Schmidt, Jane Solomon, Trisha Hoff and Peggy Klimecki near the 5A Access Path on Ocean Blvd on June 1 and incubated for 58 days. It was laid near the high tide line and was moved higher on a dune near that same spot. Even though one of the triangle sticks were attacked by termites and had to be thrown away, the nest was very healthy with only 4 undeveloped eggs and one live hatchling left in the nest. Hatch Success was 95.6% and Emergence Success was 94.7% according to Seaturtle.org.
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Nest #3 & #4 on IOP Inventoried
July 31, 2020
Inventory of Nest #3: This nest was found on May 23 by Stan Schwab and April Nesbitt at the Property Owners Beach house in Wild Dunes. The 109 eggs were relocated to a spot just south of the 51st Avenue Path. It incubated for 66 days. We found 97 empty eggshells, 11 undeveloped eggs and 3 live hatchlings. Hatch Success was 88.9%.
Inventory of Nest #4: Nest #4 was found on May 25 near the Boardwalk Inn in the Grand Pavilion area of Wild Dunes by Sue White, Janis James-Rubin and Rebecca Kaminsky. It was also taken to 51st Avenue to incubate. There were 125 eggs in this one and it incubated for 64 days. Left in the nest were 115 empty shells, 9 undeveloped eggs and 3 live hatchlings. Hatch Success was 92%.
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Coyotes !!!!
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The Isle of Palms coyotes seem to have discovered our turtle nests. So far they have only damaged our nest markers. The Turtle Team has decided to be proactive and has installed protective screening to protect the nests. Fingers crossed. It seems like whole families of coyotes have been running over our nests. Note the tracks of different sizes in the pictures.
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Nest #5 on IOP Inventoried
July 27, 2020
Nest #5 was found by Paige Owens, Cindy Bergstrom and Patti Horton at Shipwatch in Wild Dunes on May 26 and relocated to a spot at Ocean Point. There were 135 eggs that incubated for 59 days and was inventoried this morning. As you are probably aware, DNR rules prohibit us from letting anyone but the very few people performing the inventory to be there which is very disappointing. Even many of us who are authorized under the permit are not allowed to go since we have to alternate. The results were: 122 empty eggshells, 12 unhatched eggs and 11 live hatchlings remaining in the nest which were released into the ocean. Hatch Success on this one was 90.3%
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Nest #38 for Isle of Palms
July 27, 2020
A late surprise nest #38 was found this morning by Peggy Klimecki, Trish Hoff and Aubrey Schmidt. A small loggerhead (18-19” tracks) crawled up onto the high primary dune that was bulldozed after the last hurricane in 2018 and then slid down the steep cliff behind it onto the area where the bestselling author Kathy Reichs is building a front beach house at the 5th Avenue Access Path. Normally when our turtles crawl down the back of this dune, they don’t nest but crawl back up and return to the ocean. At first we thought this had happened, but on closer inspection we noticed a disturbed area about 10 feet from where she came down and this was not far from the swimming pool under construction there which is exactly where the hatchlings would have gone when they hatched. The sand in the egg chamber was more dense and stuck to the eggs unlike beach sand making us think that it was perhaps from the construction site. It must have been her final clutch for the season because there were only 74 eggs and these were moved to the ocean side of the same dune for the safe travel of the hatchlings to the water in mid September.
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Nest #8 for Sullivan's Island
July 25, 2020
Just when we thought our turtles were finishing up their nesting for the season Dave and Mae Peterseim found tracks near the Station 18 path. Paula Brady and Neil Hunt soon joined them after walking up from the Fort. The body pit was very indistinct and the field signs blurred because the thrown sand was so dry and powdery, but the difference in the length of the incoming and outgoing tracks on the outgoing tide was very great. This was our clue that she had spent a long time up on the beach in one spot. The 108 eggs for Nest #8 were found right away in the only spot that was logical. Since they were below the spring tide line and this nest will be out there through hurricane season, we relocated them to a higher dune a few doors SW of Station 18 to incubate.
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Nest #37 for Isle of Palms
July 24, 2020
We think our well-traveled turtle who did false crawls along Dunecrest Lane in Wild Dunes yesterday returned last night and came ashore SIX times between Port O Call and the Property Owners' Beach House. This section was being covered by Debbie Kurtz and her daughter Amanda as well as Louise Martin. Maryalice Morro was patrolling the north end of Wild Dunes. Nest #37 was laid right at the junction of these two sections. Maryalice was busy and we appreciate her finding all of these tracks. There were five false crawls starting with one at Port O Call, two at Summer House, two at Shipwatch and FINALLY a nest at the Property Owners' Beach House. They all went barely above the high tide line, including the sixth and final crawl where she laid 95 eggs. As she kept moving south the tide was receding so the tracks became longer with the south most and final tracks being the longest where the eggs were. All measured 23-24 inches between rear flipper claws. She can finally rest because her job is done!
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By the time all 6 crawls were documented and the eggs relocated to a much safer location at 22nd Avenue, rental umbrellas had been stuck in the ground at the spot where the eggs had been removed. That is one of the reasons why we have to be out there to save these nests before they are destroyed.
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Nest Inventory for Nest #1
(and a bunch of false crawls)
July 23, 2020
Nest #1 was found by Ellen Gower and Jodie Taylor Morgan on May 19th at 614 Ocean Blvd. It contained 147 eggs (minus our sample egg) and incubated for 62 days after being moved higher up on the beach from the tide line at a spot near 616 Ocean Blvd. We were concerned because there was never any evidence of a big “boil” of hatchlings coming out after they started emerging from the sand before dark the night of July 19th . We have not received any genetics information on this or any of our turtles at this time. After three more mornings of seeing only a few tracks, it was inventoried today and there was good news and bad news. The good news is that all but 10 of the eggs were successful in hatching (92.5%) but the bad news was that 24 of them were trapped underground in very hard sand from the constant rain earlier in the incubation time. The surface sand was very dry and powdery but not down deep in the nest. These trapped hatchlings appeared healthy and vigorous and without an inventory, they would probably have died without making it to the ocean. Emergence success from the nest was 74.8% but how great that they were helped out by caring hands in time to survive.
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Once again we want to say that we are sorry that DNR restrictions are causing only a very few authorized people under our nesting permit at the inventories and always feel that this is their reward for all the months of rising early and covering the beach and finding tracks under sometimes less than ideal conditions. But we hope that this description and the pictures will help make up for this year which is certainly not the normal season.
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Meanwhile up in Wild Dunes
Even though we have not had a new nest on either island for 6 days, apparently two loggerheads made 3 false crawls this morning in Wild Dunes. Deborah Johnson and Linda Conrad reported a set of tracks at Seagrove Condos near the hotel and two more sets of tracks at #5 and #6 Dunecrest Lane. The Seagrove tracks were smaller but the two at Dunecrest Lane matched in size and were likely the same turtle. The ones at #6, the brown Asian house, amazingly went all the way up to the sand fence - over 100 yards - before turning around and going back to the ocean. She must have been very tired and we are perplexed at why she did not lay a nest after that long trek. Nest numbers in SC have dropped off dramatically in the last week on Seaturtle.org, so it's not just our turtles who are apparently running out of eggs.
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Nest Inventory for Nest #2
July 19, 2020
The second nest of the season laid on May 21 near the 2A path was inventoried this morning. We were disappointed to see that someone had apparently stolen the sign overnight. This nest was not relocated and we discovered that there were 100 eggs laid. Out of these 87 had hatched and gotten out of the nest. Then there were 12 unhatched plus the one used for genetics sampling. There were no live or dead hatchlings left in the nest and Hatch and Emergence Success were 87%.
It is indeed sad that during this pandemic season SCDNR has ruled that only 2 people (those who are performing the inventory) are allowed to be at inventories with a possible exception for one more to stand back on the beach and help with controlling possible dogs which can be off lease if necessary. We feel that our volunteers who have done so much to make our program successful should be there, but rules are rules and we don't want to jeopardize our permit during this very unusual season.
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Also Nest #36 for IOP
July 17, 2020
During the night a loggerhead laid eggs near the 8A path and the tracks were reported by Joanne Robinson, Alice Williams and Eileen Dulany. People were on the beach in this very busy section near the Windjammer and police reported this turtle to us around 11 pm and calls were coming in until 2 am. But we always wait until dawn to investigate unless there is a problem with the public bothering the turtle. The 114 eggs were laid in the wrack line where they would have been flooded repeatedly. So the nest was taken to 22nd Avenue and put on a dune with proper elevation to incubate until September.
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Surprise ! Nest #2 Hatches
Also Nest #35 for IOP
July 16, 2020
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This morning Ed Peyser and Annie & Dan Vola had an exciting walk at the south end of the Isle of Palms. First Ed discovered tracks at 7th Avenue. At first look, this appeared to be a false crawl, but on closer inspection eggs were found. Another small clutch of 75 eggs which were on the flat beach not far above the high tide line. These were moved to a safer spot between 22nd and 23rd Avenues to incubate. This is Nest #35.
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When Annie and Dan checked Nest #2 at 208 Ocean Blvd at the 2A Access path, they saw dozens of hatchling tracks and an emergence crater within the triangle. Unfortunately at least 12 hatchlings had gone down behind the dune instead of following the majority down onto the beach and into the water. People, including Denny Vroomann with his two spaniels Charlie and Sadie, along with Kerrie Reichs with her two children, Hazel and Declan, helped us find and rescue the missing hatchlings.
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What do these people have in common?
They helped rescue loggerhead hatchlings that made it all the way to Ocean Blvd.
They then accompanied them to the ocean's edge and made sure they were safe.
Turtles were found in the front yards of the houses next to the 2A path and one was picked up a block away. That little guy was crawling down the middle of the road in front of 302 Ocean Blvd. They were found in post holes that were dug, ready for a new fence that was being constructed and along the edge of Ocean Blvd.
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We filed a Disorientation Report with Seaturtle.org and SCDNR, but it was not light disorientation that caused this. It was instead the downward slope of the artificial dune behind the nest. Hatchlings instinctively go downhill and to a light source to try to find the ocean, and this must have confused them. We believe they “boiled” out of the nest just before sunrise because the ones found were still very lively and vigorous. If the sky was getting light in the east, it probably helped guide them the right way. But a few were even crawling around on Ocean Blvd! We put black lawn edging around the nest to make sure any stragglers do not do the same thing in the next few nights. Wish we had done this sooner, but this was an unexpected and early event. We hope all were found and released.
What do these little guys have in common. After an unusual adventure, wandering around Ocean Blvd, they were delivered safely to the ocean.
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Nest #7 for Sullivan's
July 16, 2020
Deirdre McMurtry and Jan Booth were covering the southwest end of Sullivan’s Island today when Deirdre found tracks near Station 16. It was a small nest of 66 eggs, undoubtedly this turtle’s last nest of the season. Because it was laid down below the spring tide line, the nest was relocated to a spot just south of the Station 28 ½ path for incubation.
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Nest #34 for Isle of Palms
July 12, 2020
Nest #34 was found today by Lauri Ashmore near 24th Avenue. It was her first nest discovered as she patrolled along with Wendy Thiel who covered the north part of this section of beach. It was a very hot and humid morning but a beautiful sunrise photographed by Lauri. This nest was determined to be high enough on the beach to be left where it was laid near 24th Avenue, so it was marked there. The egg taken for the DNA sample had a double yolk which is quite unusual. Congratulations, Lauri!
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Nest #33 for Isle of Palms
July 11, 2020
A little after 10 pm Barbara Bernstein who lives at 13 Beachwood East reported a loggerhead crawling on the beach near her house. Barbara was making sure people were not turning on flashlights and were keeping a distance from the turtle. This is important and very much appreciated. Barb Gobien responded and monitored the turtle’s progress, measuring and scanning her as she returned to the water after laying her eggs. In the morning Stan Schwab and April Nesbitt patrolled and Stan reported the tracks. There were 84 eggs for a small late season clutch. These eggs were relocated to a safe spot south of the 23rd Avenue path.
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