We Got Him!!

Wednesday morning, a bit of a rain delay, but we really need to check on the ghost crab trap that was put in place yesterday. And (somewhat to our surprise), we got him!! He's in the jug and scrabbling around. And not munching on sea turtle eggs anymore.

A BIG ghost crab!

We took him all the way down to Hog Inlet before dumping him out. Hope they don't have a homing instinct!

Shaking him out

There is the troublemaker

And boy, did he scurry away

This was also a morning for sand dollars - saw 5 whole ones

Two chairs at Marker 5 now in case you need to take a break on your walk

Photos and post by Steve and Barb

Crab Trap on Nest #3

Egg shells were found yesterday and again today on top of Nest #3.  Barbara brought out a crab trap and put it on the crab hole.  Please check this when walking to see if we have caught him.

Nest # 5 Sunday June 4

The Sunday Walkers found the crawl just before marker 6.

The body pit was sloppy and the eggs were
hard to find because they were deep.

But we found them!! Nest five in the books.

Our happy people
Karen, Cathryn, Todd
Sharon, Jiarong,Akim,and
guest.
Post and Pictures by Paulette

Is it a Nest?

Only time will tell...

 The activity was right at the base of the dune.  Mostly dry loose sand which made it hard to find the nest.  We probed and dug, but did not find the nest.

 On the turtles way back to the ocean she crawled right over the log.

 She wasn't going to waste any time getting back into the water.

 While checking nest #3, Barb found ants and two very small pcs. of shell.  She covered up the ant holes and continued to walk.  Upon returning, there were no ants, but lots of Ghost Crab tracks.  We will need to keep an eye on this nest.

Saturday, May 27th two new nests

Another exciting morning on Waties with the addition of two new nests! Nest #3 was spotted merely seconds after arriving at the beach - it is only a few steps below the entrance. Valerie, Jeannie and Barb stayed to find the eggs at this site while Steve, Jackie and Pat continued up the island.

The eggs in Nest #3 was quite shallow with the eggs found only about 6 to 8 inches below the surface. One egg was broken during probing but the eggshell was used for the DNA sample. 

Then the call; the upper end walkers had another crawl just above Marker 6. This was a very determined turtle; she climbed up on top of a dune and laid her nest up there. Good thing she didn't go any further or she would have gone over the bank and gotten trapped back there. The view of the island from the nest is lovely; check it out when you are on the island. Nest #4 is on the books.

This time last year (our busiest season ever), we had three nests and one more laid on May 30 for a total of four May nests. We still have four more days this month and we might even surpass last year's numbers. All in all, this is shaping up to be another busy year!

Nest #3 near entrance

Nest #4 on top of the dune

Probing up on the hilltop

And... We're Off! Our Nesting Season Has Started

Not one nest this morning, but two! AND the walkers even got to see one of the turtles returning to the ocean. No pictures though; she was very close to the water and got away before they could take any photos.

Nest #1 is between Marker 5 and 6 on the island. She laid it in the middle of the beach but above the high tide line, so we didn't move it, but we did place a cage over it to keep horses and ATV's from inflicting any damage.

Nest #1 in the middle of the beach

Steve looking for the nest

Part of the team - the rest were working on Nest #2

Then on to the other crawl (this is the one where the walkers saw the turtle entering the ocean). This nest is between Marker 4 and 5 and again, in the middle of the beach.  She took a meandering path on her way back to the ocean. We caged this one too to protect it from horses and ATV's. 

Nest #2 - Not a straight crawl back into the water!

The wandering return to the water

Thank you Nick and Steve for taking all the photos and to the whole team for all their help this morning!

Barb

The Season Begins!

On Thursday afternoon, a group of kayakers reported to SC Department of Natural Resources that they found a sea turtle on the lower end of Waties Island. Steve, Valerie and Barb responded. What we found was the biggest loggerhead turtle any of us had ever seen - it was over 40 inches in length and 37 inches across!

Unfortunately, it had been dead for some time. What made this turtle a bit unusual, other than the size, was that it had a long tail - indicating that it was a male. See the photo below; that's not a flipper on the left side.

Loggerheads are known for their large skulls and this animal was no exception.

We had help from the man who reported the stranding and were very glad to have him there. This was a heavy animal.

If your patrols take you on the lower end of the island, you will probably see the skeleton high up on the beach near Marker 1. It has red paint on the body indicating that it has already been reported and documented in the seaturtle.org stranding records.

Now for some live turtles! Let the nesting season begin.

Barb D