Loggerhead Love

We just returned from our annual family trip to Harbor Island~ a barrier island in the Lowcountry of South Carolina~ home to pelicans, herons, horseshoe crabs and a nesting site to Loggerhead Turtles.

 By the end of our week’s stay, this private residential 3 mile-stretch-of-beach, had a recorded number of 64 turtle nests~ closing in on the record of 66 nests set in 1999~ twice as many than in 2010!

 

On two of our morning walks, we were thrilled to come across turtle tracks and volunteers inventorying and marking nests numbered 62 & 64.

  Nest 63~ a wild nest was also discovered during our week stay.  A “wild nest” is one that was not found and marked during routine turtle patrol. There were 126 eggs that hatched from nest 63.

Approximately 25 volunteers participate in the Harbor Island Project, searching each morning at sunrise for turtle tracks and nests. All nests are monitored until they hatch and data is submitted to the SC Department of Natural Resources and SeaTurtle.org

Nest 8, had 83 hatchlings to emerge~ the last 8 stragglers remaining in the nest were released early one morning. . .

So fun to see them making their way to the ocean :-)

 Wishing all the hatchlings a safe swim :-)

Thank you to Fran, Judy and all the other turtle volunteers for sharing their Loggerhead Love!

 

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 Metamorphosis Monday, The Scoop, Wow Us Wednesdays