NEST #7's INVENTORY

 CCU Turtle Club members joined us for the inventory of nest #7 this morning.  Before getting to nest 7 we found a dead hatchling on the beach.  The result of one of the many dangers these hatchlings face as they make their way to the Sargassum sea weed some 40 miles off our coast.    

Here Karen explains what we will be doing.

Three of the Turtle Club members put on their gloves before opening up the nest as Karen Fuss, of CCU, and Sean Miller, of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, looks on.

A smaller than usual egg is found.  Barb Demusz explains to the students that Leatherback Turtles will often lay small eggs, called spacer eggs when laying their nests.  This is unusual for our Loggerhead Turtle nests.

Looking on as the eggs are counted are Linda, Steve D., Paulette, Sean Miller of SCDNR, and Karen Fuss of CCU.

As the turtle club members pull out the eggs, Barb D. and Jingle sort and count the hatched and unhatched eggs. 

One barely alive hatchling is pulled from the nest.   He made it to the waters edge, but  for as long as we watched him, he was never able to make it beyond the surf.

Barb and Jingle give us the final count:  93 hatched, 20 unhatched + 1 for the DNR study for a total of 114 eggs.  One live hatchling.