Sunday, April 28th - Outcome of the Meet and Greet meeting - Saturday, April 27th

 Hi All - we had a very good response to our Meet and Greet Meeting held yesterday by the shed on Waties Island.  It was great seeing most of my Wednesday team, and so happy that many of our "newbie" volunteers attended.

We did the introductions of the attending LOA's, and all who attended just stated their names, and what day they walk.  Leslie used her truck as an easel and taped some information items for our "newbies" to review.  We went over what to do when you arrive in the early DARK mornings.  Many took the opportunity to check out the shed.  

Sharon did a wonderful job addressing questions on the merchandise and how the shirts fit and showing an example of the moisture wicking material. We had many of the volunteers bring their filled out forms, or filled out a form during the meeting and turned them in along with payment.

The newbies were asked to take home a copy of both the CCU and SCDNR Volunteer forms to be filled out and returned to their respective LOA.

·    Here's a review of our 2023 nesting season - 11 nests, relocated 6, unique females at this time 5, False Crawls 16, 1 was a Green Sea Turtle, 1 unsure of the species.  The mean incubation time 56 days, mean clutch 121.3 eggs, 1,226 estimated eggs laid, 829 hatched eggs, and 796 emerged hatchlings.  Looking at our historical count of nests, we are hoping for a busier year in 2024!

Many thanks to Cherie for sending me some pics!

Thursday, April 25th Count down for start of the Nesting Season

The LOA's with the help of Kim's P grandsons got the numbered mile marker posts, along with buckets, DNR poles, and triangulation poles out on the beach.  Each LOAs should walk and note where the buckets and poles are located by each numbered marker post.  There is only a bucket up at Marker #9.  The  cages will be take out to the island at a later date.

 

 

Beautiful afternoon on Waties Island

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Pictures of a dead Gar found on the beach!

A grand day - our helpers  . . . . Kim P,  Jackie, Barb and Steve - Leslie and Kim marked where the number posts were to go and left the buckets, the grandsons dug the holes for the sleeve pipes, and others installed the number poles, and left the DNR  and triangulation poles.  Wonderful day on the island.

Job well done young men and volunteers!!  Many thanks for your muscles and time.

A New Blog for the 2024 Season

Welcome to the new 2024 blog! This season we have updated the look just a little but the content and pictures will look familiar. 

The new season starts on May 1 so bookmark the link above and join us on our journey this nesting season!

All sea turtle monitoring by Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol is permitted and authorized by the SCDNR Marine Turtle Conservation Program under Marine Turtle Permit MT500

Nesting season is about two weeks away

Nesting season is about two weeks away

 Hi All - I would like to thank all of our volunteers who have submitted their 2024 application.

Many of our veteran volunteers are returning, and we have about a dozen new volunteers.  Welcome to all!  Several of our veteran volunteers will be in training for being LOA/Leads.

As a memory refresh, we had 11 nests and 16 False Crawls last year,  From reviewing our nesting history we should have a busier year.  Cross your fingers, we are about 3 weeks out before our season starts.  Looking forward to seeing the Waties Island sunrise.

Monday, March 25, 2024

Monday, March 25th Example of the erosion on Waties Island

Hi all - I borrowed this Facebook post, with permission, and thought that many of you would be interested, especially our veteran members who have walked the short end of the island.  Some of you know that I belong to a kayak club, J & L Kayaking.  Justin Summerall, part owner and guide posted this information.  

I have both walked and paddled to the island, and have seen this erosion first hand.  Just think how much sand has been moved by the force of the ocean waves and water.  Just AWESOME and so powerful.

-----------------------------------------------------Facebook Post ---------------------------------------------------
THEN & NOW: Waties Island
This satellite image was taken about 4 years ago. The red line is a GPS overlay of our paddle trail on today's morning island trip (3/18/24). Look how much erosion has happened on the corner of Waties Island in only approximately 4 years. As you can see we would have been paddling dry ground.

Saturday, March 23, 2024

Saturday, March 23rd 2024 Nesting Season Starts May 1st

Yeah! The 2024 sea turtle nesting season starts in a little over five weeks.   The email and the Waties Island Sea Turtle Monitoring Program Volunteer Application have been sent out to our 2023 Volunteers and to those who had expressed an interest in joining.  Many thanks to those who have already submitted their paperwork. 

For those who are interested, you may want to take a look at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) South Carolina Marine Turtle Conservation Program website - https://dnr.sc.gov/seaturtle/index.htm   Lots and lots of information can be found on their website, such as:

   - "Loggerheadlines" a yearly publication - listed under the "Publication" label

       https://dnr.sc.gov/seaturtle/lhl.htm

   - Another excellent place to check out is under the "Volunteer" label 

       https://dnr.sc.gov/seaturtle/volres  under the "Volunteer"label, is the Volunteer Resources                         information

Every nesting season volunteers are strongly encouraged each year to record their time which assists the SCDNR Marine Turtle Conservation Program with their funding.

Looking forward to seeing our volunteers soon!

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