Waties Island Sea Turtles

Beach Sweep on Saturday, October 29

2011-10-31T13:59:00.000-07:00

A cold, windy start to the day -- but the afternoon cleared up and the sun came out. Nineteen volunteers gathered at the cottage to tackle the cleanup project. We had some first time volunteers from CCU and we were glad to have them join us.

Mary, the photographer from Inlet Point Plantation, was kind enough to take a picture of the group and more of the volunteers in action. Thanks, Mary! (click on any photo to see it larger)

Waties Island Beach Sweep Volunteers

Steve and Debbie filling their bags

Paulette and Diane with one of the 4 tires

There was an amazing amount of stuff we collected - we estimated the weight to be in the neighborhood of 1000 pounds.

- 40 bags of miscellaneous trash - plastic bags, balloons, cans, bottles, food wrappers, clothing, shoes, sunglasses, fishing line, ropes, cigarette lighters, light bulbs, toys and other unidentifiable items
- 4 tires (one was a HUGE tire)
- 2 crab traps
- several oversize plastic bottles and buckets

Bryan took photos of the HUGE tire project at the upper end of the island -

Chance, Brady and Brandy working on that tire

Digging...

and more digging...

Finally got it out

And last, but not least, the trip to the Solid Waste Authority to get rid of all that stuff --

Steve with the haul

Feels good to get it done! Thanks, all, and see you in the spring,

Barb and Steve

End of the Season Photos

2011-10-16T08:57:00.000-07:00

Tracks at P2 today! But not hatchling tracks; deer tracks. No sign of any turtle type activity at the site so we will call it a false crawl.

Tracks at P2 nest site

But deer tracks, not turtle tracks

There were two otters in the marsh this morning chasing schools of small fish around. First time we've ever seen otters there. Exciting!

Just a little head above the water

But an otter for sure

And another beautiful sunrise too -

So our official monitoring season comes to a close with the removal of the last sign.

P2 comes down

Farewell...

This has been a great season made possible by all you wonderful volunteers. Hope to see you all back again next season,

Barb and Steve

More Turtles on Their Way Overnight

2011-09-12T11:11:00.000-07:00

The Monday walkers found that Nest 17 (the one right next to the entrance) emerged overnight. There were lots and lots of hatchling tracks heading for the water. One little turtle made a wrong turn and ended up behind the dunes somehow. The walkers followed the tracks and found the turtle. This one didn't make it, but it sure looks like lots of others did.

Check back on Friday for the inventory results!

Barb

Digging Up The Nests

2011-09-05T12:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday was cool and sunny on the beach and we set out to conduct two inventories, Nest 9 and the newest emergence, Nest 19. We had the exact location of the nest for #9 and it was our best outcome yet: 125 hatched egg shells and only 5 unhatched eggs. Including the shell taken initially for the DNA project makes a total of 131 eggs laid and a 95.4% hatch success ratio. Amanda's mom was on hand to help out along with Diane and Paulette.

Janet, Paulette and Diane

125 hatched and only 5 unhatched

In the meantime, Dave, Judy, Amanda, Valerie, Dave and Steve were looking for the egg chamber for Nest 19. This one was very tough to find - it was fairly close to the sign showing the general vicinity of where we thought the nest might be (more good luck than good management), but even so we dug for almost two hours without finding it.

Judy, Dave and Amanda start the hunt

Where is it??

So Monday morning, we asked Chris (she was on hand the morning the tracks were found) to help locate the nest. And a very good thing too; she was able to zero in on the location after only a little bit of digging. She dug in by hand and found a live hatchling right at the top of the nest. Guest walker Betty did the escort duties this morning.

Trying to keep it somewhat shaded

Only two didn't make it - we used one for the DNA sample

Paulette, Betty, Bob, Chris, Dave and Barb

Again, a very good outcome with 80 hatched shells, 6 unhatched, 1 live hatchling and two dead ones.

Persistence paid off in locating this nest - thanks to everyone who helped out!

Barb

"Possible Nest" 1 Emergence!!!!!!!!

2011-09-01T09:42:00.000-07:00

What a difference a couple of days make!
It was a beautiful, crisp morning!

Hole is about five feet to the right of the marker

Many many tracks! Valerie you were right!!!! It's a nest!

These tracks lead all the way down to the water.
We must have just missed the boil!

Surprise! Keela found this little one turned over on its back.
She righted him and he took off!

And away he goes! Well...it took a few more minutes :)

Submitted by Chris

Monday,August 29 First day back from storm

2011-09-01T09:23:00.000-07:00

Erosion of the dunes about midway to jetty

Kim showing the scale of erosion.
If any one knows how to rotate pictures on this blog, please shoot me an email!

Submitted by Chris

Nest 12 Emergence Thursday,August 25

2011-09-01T09:15:00.000-07:00

We counted 31 tracks

dead center of the reed!

Hurricane marker

They went every which way!

Sky the day before the storm

submitted by Chris- sorry for delay!

More News from the Island

2011-08-25T09:59:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we did two inventories, Nest 8 and Nest 11. The outcome from Nest 8 was disappointing; 109 unhatched eggs and only 27 hatched. We also found 5 dead hatchlings in the nest and they had been in there a while. There were also lots and lots of roots in this nest.

Roots growing right through the egg

We've gotten some initial DNA results on the mother who laid this nest on June 18; she laid her first nest on North Myrtle Beach (their Nest 3) at 11th Avenue S. She laid 139 eggs on NMB and 137 on Waties.

Then on to Nest #11: Slightly better outcome here - 36 hatched egg shells, 22 unhatched and only 2 dead hatchlings.

Reburying the nest contents

Karen sorting the egg shells

We also have DNA results on this nest too.

This mother laid her first nest on NMB on 5/13, their first nest of the season with 109 eggs.
Then she laid her second nest on Waties on 5/29, our Nest #1, with 100 eggs.
Her third nest was again on Waties on 6/11, our Nest #4, with 96 eggs.
This nest represents her fourth of the season, our Nest #11, with 58 eggs.

She may have laid more nests during the season and future DNA results will give us the answers.

Barb and Steve

Preparing for Hurricane Irene

2011-08-24T10:10:00.000-07:00

It was a bit of work this morning and a very big thanks to Steve Huggins, Valerie and Dave Way and Karen Fuss who came out to help clear the island of signs and nesting materials. All the cages and signs have been stored in the shed.

Steve placing a new marker in front of the nest site

In the place of the original signs, you will now see a small wooden post, sprayed with fluorescent yellow paint and marked with the nest number. Well behind the dunes are two additional markers which should help us relocate the nest if the wooden stake is washed away in the high tides and storm surge. They won't be quite as easy to see from a distance like the orange nest signs, but safer and will create less marine debris.

The new nest markers

And on the middle of the beach this morning was a skull - looks like an adult fox skull. Quite a set of teeth on this critter! Sometimes I miss those foxes; they may have helped to keep the ghost crabs from taking over the beaches.

It is looking more likely that we will only get the edges of Hurricane Irene now, but she's a big storm and we'll probably see some effects on our beaches. Hope any damage is minimal.

Barb and Steve

Nest #10 Inventory Results

2011-08-22T11:16:00.000-07:00

This morning Chris, Nancy and I headed out to the beach to dig up Nest 10. We sort of wondered what we'd find after those big thunderstorms last night, but it was a beautiful morning on the beach.

Nancy and Chris starting to dig

One happy little turtle - bet she was glad we found her

Turtle gets some help
getting to the water

This was a very lively turtle

That turtle needed our help getting out this morning

71 hatched, 19 unhatched

The nest had 101 eggs counting the one we took initially for the DNA study.

Nest #12 looks like it will be the next one to go: see the ghost crab hole in the center...

Nest 12 could be next

and see the hatchling in the dunes?

This turtle was only a short distance from Nest 12

A big crab!

and see the culprit?

Chances are very good that this nest will emerge in the next day or so.

Barb

Sunday Update - New Emergence

2011-08-21T06:51:00.000-07:00

The mosquitos and no-seeums were wicked this morning - not much breeze to keep them at bay. Thanks to Dianne for remembering to bring some bug spray. Saved the day.

Nest #11 emerged overnight with lots of tracks inside and outside the cage. This is day 59 for this nest which is about average. We'll be doing the inventory on Wednesday morning.

Nest 11 emerged overnight

Lots of tracks

Turtle tracks and ghost crabs too

Update on Nest #12 (which is only 50 days today) - we found two empty eggshells on the surface and a large ghost crab hole. The crab hole is now filled in, but keep checking this one closely; this may be our next nest to hatch.

Busy ghost crabs...

Nest 12 egg shell on the surface

Nest 7, 8 and 9 - who knows? No activity at Nest 7 at the jetty, Nest 8 has a small piece of egg shell on the surface, but no turtle tracks anywhere. Nest 9, no reports of tracks either.

These birds are keeping an eye on Dr. Harding's research experiments

Barb and Steve

Inventory Results and New Emergence Today

2011-08-19T08:43:00.000-07:00

Emerged at 61 days

The inventory of Nest #6 was conducted this morning with Arlene, Linda, Valerie, Dave, Nancy and Karen Fuss helping out. This nest had a total of 98 eggs - 91 hatched, 5 were unhatched, 1 was used for the DNA study and a ghost crab (those pesky crabs!) got one at the end of July.

Nancy, Arlene and Linda sorting the contents of the nest

Recording the results

Burying the shells back in the nest cavity

But check this out! Nest #10 emerged last night -

Nest 10 emerged last night

We're be doing the inventory on Monday morning and everyone is welcome to participate. Meet at the shed at 7 a.m. - see you there!

Barb and Steve

p.s. - Check out Valerie's morning fog photo - Beautiful!

Tuesday, August 16

2011-08-17T18:29:00.000-07:00

Another day in Paradise

Here comes the sun, little darlin'.

Mixed feelings about ghost crabs.....

Love the colors.

See our friend the shark?

One shark--dorsal fin and tail

Again-love the colors.

Kingfisher
Posted by Bill and Flossie Chapman

Inventory Results from Nest 5

2011-08-17T08:46:00.000-07:00

This morning, Dave, Valerie, Seth and Amanda joined Steve and me to conduct an inventory on Nest 5 (incorrectly listed as Nest 6 initially). The nest had been overwashed at least six times during high tides in June and July and never really exhibited the mass emergence that most nests do. The ghost crabs were also particularly troublesome at this nest.

Sunday morning several hatchling tracks were noted, so after waiting the required three days, we dug up the nest.

Seth and Amanda starting to dig

Barb recording the outcome

32 hatched eggs; 36 unhatched

The nest had 32 hatched eggs and 36 unhatched. No hatchlings, live or dead, were found in the nest. One egg was taken initially for the DNA research project and a second egg was taken by a ghost crab in early July. This gives us a total of 70 total eggs, somewhat smaller than an average clutch of 100 to 120.

Thank you, Valerie, for taking these pictures. More inventories coming up soon!

Barb

Nest 6 emergence 8-16-2011

2011-08-16T07:10:00.000-07:00

New Video of Nest #4 Inventory

2011-08-15T12:41:00.000-07:00

Everybody just loves a baby sea turtle!

Thanks for sharing your videos, Sarah. They are great!

Barb and Steve

Thank you to everyone!

2011-08-12T18:01:00.000-07:00

Our 2 weeks visiting "MomMom and PopPop" were even more special because of our wonderful experiences with the Waties Island "turtle crew"!!! My three boys were so excited to come to SC and help MomMom and PopPop with their turtle job because they heard so much about it prior to our visit. I LOVE that they came away with such fabulous memories and gained wonderful knowledge about turtles! A sincere heartfelt thank you to all the wonderful people involved in this program!!! WE WILL BE BACK NEXT YEAR!!! :~)

Inventory of Nest 4

2011-08-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Steve giving out instructions before we begin

The imprint of the cage

Linda, Flossie, and Sarah begin digging

Trying to determine if they are following a ghost crab hole or the egg chamber. We have been duped a few times with previous nests!

Val making a determination about which way to dig next.

a live hatchling

And we are off! It was overcast this morning, so the babies took off to the water!

Second live hatchling. This little one was disoriented for a time. Kept walking up and down the beach parallel to water line before finally making his way to the surf.

First taste of the sea!

Barb returns turtle skull to beach. We are not allowed to keep it.

Sarah takes pictures of skull to use for a science lesson later with her boys.

Respectfully submitted by Chris

Pictures from Mario and Kathleen

2011-08-11T17:04:00.000-07:00

It's A Record! Nest 18!

2011-08-11T09:23:00.000-07:00

It began as a beautiful dawn.

We found the carcass of a huge skate. Hopefully this will give the ghost crabs something to do for a few days!

Here's nest 18! It's a wild nest, only found as Keela was retrieving the beach ball as 'beach treasure'. When she picked the ball up out of the hole she noticed all the broken eggshells.

We were not sure if it was a nest that hatched or one vandalized by ghost crab.

Ashley found a baby stingray still alive, but washed up onto dry land. She saves it!!!!

Notice the tears towards the back. Ashley is also holding a whelk shell in her right hand; it is not part of the stingray!

This is Nest 3 inventory. We had a photographer from Coastal Carolina with us for the article Karen is writing for the college's magazine.

The Chapman grandchildren glove up for the egg toss back into the nest.

Barbara, back from vacation, recording inventory details.

The egg toss!

Nest 18! You didn't know we are marking nests with beach balls now? Steve is tired of making those cages! :) Nest 18 determined to be a 'wild nest'.

There were so many broken shells that Karen, Steve, and Barb decided to do an inventory of Nest 18. The Chapman's daughter helps Jingle and Ashley dig out the shells.

Dead baby.
Ashley, who is holding it, said the shell was really soft.

Respectfully submitted by Chris

Nest #4 Emerged Last Night

2011-08-09T09:35:00.000-07:00

The Tuesday walkers were rewarded this morning with lots and lots of little hatchling track coming out of Nest #4. A nest inventory is scheduled for Friday morning with all volunteers invited to join in. Valerie suggests that you may want bug spray; she says the flies are BAD!

Nest 1 Inventory

2011-08-08T12:22:00.000-07:00

Everyone gloving up getting ready to dig!

Keep digging!

Keela waiting for direction to keep digging. See all our shadows around the hole!

First live turtle to emerge

And here's sibling

We had to keep shade on the hatchlings. They kept walking towards the sun!

Keela and Valerie count up the inventory. 100 eggs, 91 hatched, 4 dead hatchlings, 6 live hatchlings!

Weird looking egg much smaller than rest. Debbie said on NMB they are called 'spacer' eggs.

The crew: Keela, Jingle, Mary, Cameron, Carson, Grandma Nancy, Chris, and Debbie

Amazing how much sand accumulated on top of this nest despite all the efforts!

This turtle stuff just gets better & better! A ride in Valerie's truck!

"Scooter" takes to the high seas

Respectfully submitted by Chris

Nest #3 partial emergence and turtle skull August 7, 2011

2011-08-07T08:37:00.000-07:00

Sea Turtle skull found between Marker 3 and 4

Found 6-7 baby tracks leading from Nest #3

Emergence hole plus possible ghost crab hole above it.

                                           One set of baby tracks appeared to end at ghost crab
                                           hole about 15 feet below cage.

False Crawl and Inventory 8/6/2011

2011-08-06T11:15:00.000-07:00

False Crawl?

The tracks-36"

The mound

Karen probing

Where are those eggs? False crawl....

Inventory Nest #2

Jake, Will, Ryan hold eggs

Where are the baby turtles?

Inventorying

The inventory

Val and Sarah explaining the difference in the development of two small hatchlings

Will with one of the undeveloped hatchlings.

Throwing the eggs back in the hole!
Bill & Flossie Chapman

Ants

2011-07-21T07:42:00.000-07:00

Not much happening today other than a hole on nest 11 that was inhabited by lots of ants coming to and from the nest. The ants seemed to have made the hole, perhaps there is a whole colony living in the nest site. As always a wonderful morning with the crabs and pelicans and seagulls. :)

S E V E N T E E N !!

2011-07-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

The old cabin is still standing

Now, let's go for the record - the 17th nest of the season was found this morning on the lower end of the island, just below the entrance. This is the highest number of nests we've had since 2007 when our total was 17. She laid her nest way up on the dune - this one won't get washed over in these high tides.

Nancy probing for the egg chamber

It's down there somewhere

A pretty crawl, about 32" wide.

And there they are

Lots of broken vegetation around the nest chamber - she'd been digging around up there.

Eggshell for the DNA testing

Bob and Nancy in front of "Nancy's Nest"

Signed and caged - #17

The "family photo" for today:

Bob, Sandy, Nancy, Donna, Sherry and Chris

Then, on to the next chore - the stranding up by Marker 3. This loggerhead was pretty big - not an adult according to DNR - but no lightweight either. But check her left front flipper; it is much smaller than the normal one on the right. It didn't look damaged that we could see. Maybe something happened early in the growth cycle to stunt it.

Small left flipper

Ghost crabs and other flying insects already on the job.

Not as many barnacles on this turtle as some we've seen.

Being moved up onto the dunes

Many thanks for all the helping hands this morning - I really appreciated it. Especially Bob, who keeps us ladies moving in the right direction. Thanks, Barb

Nest #16

2011-07-16T16:12:00.000-07:00

Nest 16 on Friday morning --

Want to add something about Nest 1 changes???

Friday Morning Update on Nest 7

2011-07-08T10:51:00.000-07:00

Valerie and her fellow walkers checked on Nest 7 up at the jetty again this morning - this was the nest that may have been dug into by a dog yesterday - but today it appears that only a ghost crab has been there.

And a big one too. They didn't see the crab, although it could have been down in the sand. So for now, the volunteers filled in the crab tunnel. Let's keep an eye on this one and see if the crab shows up again.

Startling Discovery _ Nest #7 VANDALIZED

2011-07-07T12:19:00.000-07:00

Nest #7 (at the end of the island) was vandalized, a six inch hole dug into the ground. The cage itself had been pushed up several inches in the front, the back unearthed as well.

We think it was most likely a dog due to these tracks.

This is the hole when we found the nest.

A view of the hole without the cage, which we had to remove and re-position over the hole.

Christine and I filling in the hole and digging a new trench to replace the cage in.

another view of the unearthed cage and hole.

and another view of the tracks. Fortunately there was no signs that the dog had made it to the egg chamber so all turtles are most likely unharmed.

I apologize for the disorganization of this blog but I was having troubles with moving the photos. ~Jingle

Update on Nest 14

2011-07-05T07:04:00.000-07:00

We certainly have a healthy population of ghost crabs out on Waties and there must be a bit of competition for food BUT

they need to leave our nests alone!

The volunteers found this morning that some feasting had been going on. After the called us to report the problem, they got rid of the crab: They removed the cage, dug down into the crab hole (they saw it in there so knew they had to get it out), and once they could see it's claw in the hole, Valerie used a new technique for removal. She found a stick and put it into the hole. When the crab grabbed onto the stick, she pulled it out. Took a couple of tries, but it worked! Then they filled the holes back in and replaced the cage. We just have to hope that crab will move on to other food sources.

Good job everyone!

Barb

And Number 14 This Morning!

2011-07-04T10:42:00.000-07:00

Directly in front of Nest #4 between Marker 4 and 5 was today's nest, #14 of the year. This mother must have come up early last evening - we noticed that her incoming track was covered by ATV tire tracks. But check the outgoing track; it isn't covered. She must have been on the beach when those vehicles drove by her.

This one wasn't too hard to find, although it was a little deeper than we expected. The sand is soft and maybe she had to dig her chamber a little deeper so it wouldn't collapse on itself.

Chris holding the egg for the research project

This is the third nest of the season for this Monday group and they are just loving it!

Thanks Sherry, Sandy, Donna, Bob, Chris and Kim - keep 'em coming...

The Family Photo!

Nest #11 up at the upper end has had a ghost crab problem, but today the crab actually got an egg out of the nest and it was on the surface. That was enough: We removed the cage, packed the hole tightly with sand and chased this big guy back into the dunes. Hope he stays there.

And, last, but not least, a puzzle: Way down on the lower reach was another crawl. Where the sand was wet, we could see the two tracks, one much longer than the other. But at the wrack line, the tracks were totally blown over - absolutely no sign of them at all. It could have been a nest, but no way to tell. We did a little probing, but weren't able to find anything. So we're calling this one a "possible nest" and will need to check it closely when it is near time for emergence. You will see a question mark on the post (?) along with today's date.

Nest #1 was also full of sand again - at least a foot had accumulated overnight. Mother Nature is doing exactly what she wants with the sand and we just have to try to stay a little bit ahead of her.

Removing more sand from Nest #1

Thank you Valerie for all these great photos! Barb

Lucky Thirteen Today

2011-07-03T07:22:00.000-07:00

A busy, busy morning with not one, but THREE crawls, all above Marker 9.

First crawl - 27" wide

Second crawl - 27" wide

One crawl at the jetty where she must have run into rocks under the sand...

Then a second crawl a short way down the beach - we probed but found only soft dry sand under the surface.

Third crawl - 26/27" wide also

Then the third crawl just a short way down the beach. She had been on the beach a long time too (the outgoing crawl was really long).

It's there somewhere!

But where??

There it is!

It was down there fairly deep too.

Dave, Steve, Valerie and Diane at Nest #13

So now we number thirteen nests and more to come.

But not only did we have sea turtle activity, but it was wildlife day: we saw lots of deer this morning, both on the mainland as well as on the island. Pelicans, shore birds galore, and --

And a beautiful diamondback terrapin! She was out on the middle of the beach, so we moved her back to the dunes. But that's not where she wanted to be; when we finished our work at the top of the island, there she was making a long trek toward the water. Guess she knows what she's doing.

Nest #11 Today!!

2011-06-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

Today's nest discovery brought the grand total to 11 on Waites, as well as the finding of our seventh false crawl! Its an amazing privelege to be able to see God's plan glorified through these amazing sea turtles. :)

Turtles weren't all that we saw....the undeniably angelic looking pelicans as well as the not so angelic Portuguese man of war jellyfish made it into the blog.

Probing and digging for the well hidden sea turtle nesting pit.

Eureaka!

A group shot in front of our beloved new nest.

The newly revised map of nests!

10th Nest 6-21-2011

2011-06-21T12:36:00.000-07:00

The Waties Island Turtle

Chelsey and Lacey with "the Egg"

Washed and ready for DNA sample

28", just a youngster

The Tuesday walkers, Shirley, Sandy, Chelsey, Bob, Lacey and Rita

Number Nine, Number Nine...

2011-06-20T07:25:00.000-07:00

Wasn't there a Beatle song with lyrics like that?? Well, the Monday team had to really work for today's nest: Two false crawls to investigate along with the nest itself.

False crawl #4 was just above the entrance where the turtle crawled to the top of the dune before turning around and literally sliding back down (skid marks on the dune). Then she made her way back to the ocean. Track width measured 36", a pretty big momma.

The second crawl looked very promising with what appeared to be a nesting pit. Crawl lengths were equal, but she could have nested before the high tide came in around 11 p.m. We looked and looked, but weren't able to locate any eggs. Same track width as the first false crawl too. FC #5

A rose for FC #5

Will the third crawl be the one?

Then on to the third crawl of the morning. This one looked like the real thing: the crawl lengths were very different indicating she had been on the beach for a while. This track width was 36" too; if it was the same turtle, she had to be tired.

Donna and Sherry are checking out a soft spot. Sure enough, the eggs were there.

Nest #9 of the season --

The Monday team of Bob, Kim, Donna and Sherry
(missing Sandy and Chris today!)

Great job everyone!

Barb

Update from Yesterday and Today

2011-06-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

We are now 8 for the season!! Yesterday morning, there was a crawl at the jetty - as far away from the entrance as you can get. It looked like she actually tried to nest up on the hillside, but there are lots of rocks just under the sand there. So she came back down and Nest 7 was laid just above the wrack line.

A long crawl up the beach

It's a loggerhead - see the alternating flipper marks?

The Friday crew working Nest 7

Arlene and Paulette uncovering the eggs

This morning, Patrick, Arlene, Jackie, Amanda, Ashley and Seth set off with Steve for another stroll on the beach. But... right above Marker 5, there were the telltale tracks crossing the beach. While Steve went for supplies and a cage, the others continued up the island to check for more crawls and monitor the other nests.

Perfect location up on the dune

Sure enough, it was a nest - Nest #8. The tracks looked pretty big, but measured just 31", fairly average for a loggerhead.

This one was 31" wide

Seth, Amanda, Ashley, Steve, Patrick, Jackie and Arlene

Patrick's first nest ever and might be Jackie's first too.

This year, we've had ghost crabs at several nests and yesterday's nest at the jetty was no exception. New crab trap is now in place and we'll see if we can catch this one.

Nest 7 with Fripp Island ghost crab trap in place

Different style crab trap installed on Nest 2

Statistics from 2007, our best year so far, show our 8th nest on June 19 - that means that we're a day ahead of the 2007 season. But only time will tell what the end of season results for this year will show. Still, it's looking good! Thank you all for volunteering!!

Don't forget to check out the Waties Island Turtle Watch Facebook site that Ashley is maintaining:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Waties-Island-Turtle-Watch/182846128434586

Barb and Steve

Nest #6

2011-06-16T11:16:00.000-07:00

Thursday was another great morning! Chris and Bruce discovered the crawl on the lower end of the beach and Keela and Jingle, who walked all last season without finding anything, were rewarded with their first nest on Waties.

Today's find brings the total number of nests on Waties to six and it's only June 16. This newest addition is only a few feet from Nest #3. We could see that she had been on the beach for a while, even though some of the tracks had started to wash away with the incoming tide.

Jingle's first crawl

Bruce, Jingle and Chris locating the egg chamber

Karen Fuss pointed out an interesting coincidence: in 2007, the year we had 17 nests, the sixth nest of the season was found on June 16, same as our Nest #6 today. We can only hope for as busy a season as 2007. That year, the last nest was discovered on July 27, so we have at least 6 to 7 more weeks of prime nesting days left.

Here's the one for the DNA study

Into the vial it goes

A big thank you to Chris, Keela, Jingle and Bruce for a job well done!

Barb and Steve

Ghost Crab!!

2011-06-15T10:16:00.000-07:00

There was a large ghost crab hole in Nest #5 this morning. This is the most recent nest up by Marker 8. We know crabs have to eat too, but not turtle eggs, thank you. Hopefully it will get trapped in the bleach bottle tomorrow morning and it can be moved to a new location.

Before and after (you can click on the photos to see more detail).

Barb and Steve

Another nest today!

2011-06-12T14:38:00.000-07:00

Late Sunday afternoon, our fifth nest of the season was found up in front of Marker 8. There was a group of visitors picnicking there only a few feet from the crawl. Several of them helped us find the eggs.

The crawl before the incoming tide erased the tracks

These visitors (sorry we didn't get their names) were being very careful when they were digging.

Steve is pointing where to dig

And there it is!

The tide was coming in quickly and there wasn't much beach to drive on, so we quickly caged the nest, put up the signs and headed back home for a cool shower. Didn't even have a chance to get a photo of the cage and sign - maybe tomorrow.

Barb and Steve

Fourth Nest of the 2011 Season

2011-06-11T10:10:00.000-07:00

But, first, ghost crabs galore on Nest #2 -

We are trying a new type of trap, a large plastic jug with a handle buried flush with the sand on the route the crab seems to take. We're hoping it will fall in and not be able to get out again so we can move it far far away.

This new nest was only about 20 feet from Nest 2 (the one with the ghost crabs). A short crawl up to the dune line and a perfect nesting site.

A little probing and some digging and there are the eggs

We welcome 3 new people to their 1st nest, Seth, Ashley and Amanda.

A 3 inch visitor was returned to the ocean

Steve and Barb

Waties and NMB volunteers June 9

2011-06-10T13:38:00.000-07:00

North Myrtle Beach volunteers look across at Waties Island volunteer, Bruce and friend, in the distance.

Bill & Flossie Chapman

Nest #3 June 7, 2011

2011-06-07T08:12:00.000-07:00

Bruce at his third crawl but first nest

Flossie's first nest!

Digging for that first egg

The chosen egg!

Teacher Steve showing Paige how to carry the egg to the ocean.

Bill setting up the cage with Julia and Steve's help.

The first turtle nest for all. Shirley, our NMB visitor, is delighted!

Submitted by Bill & Flossie Chapman

NEST #2-WOOHOO!

2011-06-06T15:20:00.000-07:00

Just past Mile Marker 4 we spotted a set of tracks and a nest. We looked for the other tracks and saw nothing. Upon closer inspection, we realized that Ms. Turtle went out the same way she came in... can turtles have Type A personalities?

We all took a turn at probing- it was a couple of our first times so what could have been a menial job turned out to be quite exciting....the anticipation was powerful! Valerie said that there had to be eggs because of all the ghost crab holes in the mound. She said that's a dead give away; the crabs just love the turtle eggs!!!

We dug and dug-the sand was so packed we didn't think we were going to find anything, but Barb probed again and said, "Keep going!"

Barbara took one egg out for the DNA testing. Did you know that the yolk is tossed? Only the shell and egg white go into a large test tube. The yolk has DNA from both parents, but the test is only interested in tracking how many nests the female will lay.
Did you know that we wear gloves while we dig so that if an egg breaks we don't contract salmonella?

We measured the width of the turtle's track, which was difficult since we had incoming over outgoing. We then measured the length from the middle of the nest to the primary sign and the length from the middle of the nest to the secondary sign. This is in case there is an unusual high tide that washes away the nest cage and primary marker.

Did I say this was my first nest and I was excited?
Chris

pictures by Valerie Way

A CRAWL OF A DIFFERENT SORT!

2011-05-31T13:25:00.000-07:00

While walking and enjoying the sunrise, Chelsea spotted the alligator.

At first we were not sure whether it was alive or not.

Upon closer inspection, we could see that he/she was breathing and the eyes were open.

The alligator was about 3 ft. in length and as you can see, let us get quite close to it. I was ready to jump in a flash if need be.

Later we came upon what appeared from a distance to be a stranded very young turtle. When we got closer we discovered it was a Diamond Back.

Bill found this dead female Blue Crab.

First Nest of the Season!!

2011-05-29T06:33:00.000-07:00

Finally, after three false crawls, our first nest of the season on Waties. You'll see it down on the lower end of the island below Marker 1. There was lots of vehicle traffic on the beach from yesterday, but luckily this turtle came up after they were gone.

Nest #1 on lower end of the beach

Turtle crawl over the ATV tracks

ATV tracks on the beach overnight.

Testing the sand before probing

There they are

Paulette and Kat looking for eggs

Happy volunteers Dave, Steve, Barb, Kat and Paulette.
Photographer Valerie behind the lens.

The eggshell for DNA analysis

The most essential item of the morning!

Those no-see-ums today were fierce! I mean they were BAD... And this spray was sitting at home on the shelf.

Keep checking the site; more photos may be posted later today.

Barb and Steve

Live Loggerhead Found on Waties Today

2011-05-26T14:10:00.000-07:00

About 10 a.m. this morning, Debbie and Bobby Scott, sea turtle volunteers on NMB and Waties, were out fishing in Hog Inlet when they spotted a stranded loggerhead turtle up on the shore of Waties Island. Initially they thought it was dead - very ill turtles can sometimes appear dead - but then realized that it was still alive. It had been on the shore a while and was dry, so they got it down to the edge of the water to keep it cool. Great job, guys!

We arrived with the kiddie pool to collect the turtle. After speaking with SC DNR, it was decided to get it to the Sea Turtle Hospital as quickly as possible.

We covered the turtle with damp towels to keep it cool and drove to Georgetown where we were met by Lisa Scarano (a former CCU student and Waties Island volunteer) who is working for SC DNR this summer.

The yellow thing is a "turtle lifter" - it is easier on the turtle to be lifted with this than by picking it up by the carapace. Lisa got the turtle settled in the crate and put ice in the corners to keep it cool for the ride to the hospital.

The next 24 to 48 hours will be important for this turtle. Lisa will be checking with the hospital and let us know if the turtle gets a name and makes it to the blog site for the Hospital.

Thanks, Lisa!

Barb and Steve

First Stranding of the Season

2011-05-23T13:51:00.000-07:00

It's been a quiet stranding season for us on Waties which is the good news. The bad news is that we did have our first stranded turtle this morning. It was a small green turtle found floating in the surf. No injuries that we could see, but it had the usual load of barnacles and "critters" on it. You can see the serrated lower jaw that this turtle would use to feed on sea grasses and seaweed.

The other discovery of the day was a short U-shaped false crawl at Marker 3. The turtle didn't even make it to the high tide line but returned to the ocean. Maybe she will return tonight.

Barb

The cycle of Life and Death

2011-05-22T20:04:00.000-07:00

As an eerie fog crept over the beach, the sun slowly rose to start the day.

The short side walkers rejoiced at new life, with scattered ..bird eggs..or at least we are pretty sure they are bird eggs.

The long side walkers, we not so lucky. Near the end of the walk, it was a valley of death. First a fish, next to a ghost crab hole. Then we stumbled across a dead rodent and a dead dog.

When we regrouped, we found another bird egg (if you guys want to see it live, check out the grasses right in front if marker 3, we moved on to there).

We also looked closer at one of the Portuguese man of war (there were several on the beach) and found this little guy to still be alive. In fear of being stung, we left it to its untimely demise.

(Sorry if the entry was to grim for some of you.)
Kat

False Crawl #2

2011-05-12T06:56:00.000-07:00

We were hoping for a nest this morning, but no such luck: a false crawl again. Almost missed this one with the wind blowing a lot of the ingoing tracks away. These photos are of the outgoing track.

The crawl was at the western most end of the island very near Hog Inlet. If this turtle goes any further west, she will lay a nest on North Myrtle. Hope the Friday walkers will hit the jackpot and find a real nest. Good luck!

First Crawl of the Season

2011-05-10T13:15:00.001-07:00

The Tuesday team of Valerie, Dave, Bruce and Rita reported the first crawl of the 2011 season this morning. This crawl was on the western (lower) end of the island, about 100 feet below Marker #1. It certainly looks like a loggerhead turtle - track width was 3' 2" with alternating flipper strokes.

To see more detail, click on the photos.

The probing

After evaluating the crawl and doing some probing, it was declared a false crawl. The turtle wasn't on the beach long and there was no evidence of a nest site. She did however make her way along the dunes apparently looking for the "perfect" spot. Not finding it, she may return again tonight.

Rita and Bruce celebrating

Is it here???

Checking the track width

A fair sized turtle; we'll keep a lookout
for turtle with similar track widths

This is the earliest crawl we have documented on Waties since we started surveys six years ago. South Carolina currently has 17 nests and North Carolina has 1 so far this season. We're off to a very good start!

Thanks to Valerie for sharing her photos.

Barb and Steve

Thursday Beachcombing

2011-05-05T07:32:00.000-07:00

It was COLD this morning, but at least it was sunny and dry. The water was warmer than the air. This poor live spider crab was just out of the water and probably not very happy about it. We put it back in to keep warm.

We also saw two dead loons on the beach. Loons often winter here in South Carolina. These two could have been on their way north.

Our new volunteer, Christine, found a baby leopard SHARK on the beach too (this one was born in China). And the usual beach "stuff" - fish hook, underwear, a towel, fishing line, a nice olive shell, sea pork and whelk egg cases. This moon jelly has a spider crab caught up in it too (click on the photos to see more detail).

Training Day Pics April 26 2011

2011-05-01T13:43:00.000-07:00

Yea! I did it!............ Bill C

Trying

2011-05-01T12:51:00.001-07:00

To post some pics.

First Day of the Season

2011-05-01T07:50:00.000-07:00

Sunday, May 1, was the first official day of monitoring for sea turtle nests on Waties Island. Beautiful morning, sunrise over the sea oats and lots of jellyfish on the beach.

A large Portuguese Man o' War siphonophore

The tentacles on this one were about 20' long

Some Info From Wikipedia about Man o' War:

"The Portuguese Man o' War (Physalia physalis), also known as the Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war, or bluebottle, is a jelly-like marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae. The name "man-of-war" is borrowed from the man-of-war, a 16th century English armed sailing ship.

Despite its outward appearance, the Man o' War is not a true jellyfish but a siphonophore, which differ from jellyfish in that they are not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism made up of many minute individuals called zooids. Each of these zooids is highly-specialized and, although structurally similar to other solitary animals, are attached to each other and physiologically integrated to the extent that they are incapable of independent survival.

The Man o' War is found in warm water seas floating on the surface of open ocean, its air bladder keeping it afloat and acting as a sail while the rest of the organism hangs below the surface. It has no means of self-propulsion and is entirely dependent on winds, currents, and tides. It is most common in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, but can drift outside of this range on warm currents such as the Atlantic Gulf Stream."

There were lots of other animals too:

Cannonball jelly

And a puffer fish too

And BALLOONS! Seemed like hundreds of balloon strings and balloons this morning. A great morning for a walk on the beach.

Barb and Steve

Beach Cleanup

2011-04-16T13:42:00.000-07:00

Despite the threat of rain this morning, 24 volunteers gathered to do a beach cleanup on Waties Island. We did get a little windblown, but the beach was still a lovely place to walk. A very big thanks to all the people who came out this morning!