Volunteers and guests hit the beach this morning energized and excited by the cooler, less humid conditions, and with the objective of completing the inventory of bonus/surprise nest #10.
Nest 10 was originally deemed false crawl #06 on June 12, after volunteers were unable to locate the nest chamber despite extensive probing and digging. Appears momma did her job in disguising the nest very well.
Walkers on August 13, found an emergence hole and lots of hatchling tracks coming from the area of a previously unmarked nest. Based on GPS recordings, timing, and comparing scene photos, false crawl #06 was declared nest # 10!
The inventory was scheduled for today- three days following the emergence. After walking to the end of the island up by the jetties and locating the emergence hole, we began to dig, easily following the soft sand.
We hadn’t dug for long when we came upon a live hatchling looking up at us in the sand, followed by another, then a few more. We didn’t come to an egg (unhatched) until several hatchlings had revealed themselves. So following DNR guidelines, sadly, we had to cover them back up and wait 3 more days to complete the inventory.
They looked healthy and ready to go, so it was hard to cover them back up. But they need their time in the nest to ready themselves for their next big adventure.
Photos by Barb and Leslie, text by Kim
Waties Island performs research and management activities regarding sea turtle conservation in accordance under SCDNR Permit Number MTP500
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