I had emailed the Wednesday Volunteers Tuesday evening asking them to cross their fingers and toes - and it worked! We have Nest #1 on Waties Island - Yeah! She came in at high tide, crawled up to the face of the dune, turned and found a nice high place on the beach to nest. Her body pit was textbook - crescent shape, thrown sand, so finding the nest chamber was done quickly. She left on the receding tide. She must have barnacles on the bottom of her shell, you can see the drag marks.
Our new volunteer Kathy, got to experience her first nest on Waties, digging for the egg, and doing the DNA sample, with help from Jo Anne. Leslie did the data recording, and Valerie assisted and took pictures. It takes a village.
It was a cool crisp 49 degrees on the beach this morning. Low tide, very little trash
So happy we have a nest! Text by Leslie P, pictures by Valerie W. and Leslie P.
Waties Island performs research and management activities regarding sea turtle conservation in accordance under SCDNR Permit Number: MTP500.
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Good Morning from the marsh
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| Here comes the sun |
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She crawled to the base of the dune, and turned
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| Incoming crawl |
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Outgoing crawl
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Note the drag marks on the bottom of her shell
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Body Pit
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Getting ready to process
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We have our game plan
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Leslie Probing for nest chamber
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Leslie and Cathy digging to find top of nest
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Cathy holding the egg we will use for DNA
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Cathy and Jo Anne taking care of the DNA
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Eggshell in the vial, used for DNA research
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Finishing up GPS Coordinates, Leslie Y data recorder
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2023 Nest #1
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