Sunday, September 29th - Beach Clean Up with CCU Sea Turtle Club

First, I want to give many thanks to Kathy G, Jo Ann J and her husband Rich for helping with the transportation of the students and help me manage this beach clean up.  I could not of done this without their help.

 It was a bright sunny day on Waties Island early afternoon when we took seventeen students out to the island to do beach clean-up. We split up into three groups, one group did the Hog Inlet area, another did the middle of the island, and the last did further up the island.  We did not cover around the jetty area, since their was someone on the beach enjoying the day at that end of the island.

We picked up lots of small trash items - the norm, bottle caps,  small pieces of foam, plastic bottles, balloon ribbon, rope, several shoes, clothes plastic and glass bottles.  The "unique" items we collected were a mannequin plastic hand, toilet seat, this large foam item, and an ocean buoy.

Posing with the hand

One of the shoes we found

Investigated a Ghost Crab

Another shoe

One of the many bottles

Toilet Seat

Group pictures was taken. 

Students 

Kathy, Jo Ann and Rich plus students

We piled the trash on the beach and transported students back to the shed.  Kathy and I returned to the beach and loaded the trash in the back of my truck.  The ocean buoy was reported to Dr Gayes, and is sitting outside the shed. 

The ocean buoy is sitting out side of the shed.  A good time was had by all.

Our haul for the day

Not sure what this large black foam item is?

Pictures and text by Leslie P

Sunday, September 15th- Last Walk of the Season/Nest 19 Inventory

 It was a wet and cold morning when the Sunday team started their last patrol for the 2024 season. They had time to stroll, so they took a look at the short end first. It was beautiful to see all the seagulls and pelicans flying just above the sand. 

The Sunday team met Leslie, Kim T. and Sharon at nest 19 for the inventory. This nest was found on August 20th, after being dug up my a coyote. One unhatched egg and 20 empty egg shells were found and removed from the beach on this day. After looking at the false crawls we have had this season, we decided that this nest was most likely from False Crawl 23, laid on July 16th. On September 12th & 13th, hatchling tracks were seen coming from the nest. 

 

Dani, Kim and Sharon dug into the nest to quickly find hatched egg shells. Unfortunately, the found hard sand just as quickly. They dug in different areas around the nest connecting all the holes, since we never found the actual nest and could have the location wrong. 

After coming to the conclusion that we had found all the eggs, we counted 18 hatched, 2 unhatched eggs (1 of which was piped), and 1 live hatchling. Including the previous eggs found, the clutch total was 42 eggs with a hatch success of 42.8% and emergence success of 40.4%. 

We took the live hatchling toward the water and released it. It was very strong and had no issues crawling to the water and swimming out into the ocean. We may have all been soaked from the rain, but everyone was happy to see the hatchling start its journey. 

                                    

                                    

It was a wonderful way to end the 2024 season and we cannot wait to see what the 2025 season brings!

Narrative by Erin; Photos by Leslie & Erin.

Waties Island performs research and management activities regarding sea turtle conservation in accordance with SCDNR permit number MTP500.

Thursday, September 12, 2024 - Inventory of Nest 15R

Today’s objective for the Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol was completing the inventory of nest 15R- a nest borne in the midst of a great summer thunderstorm on July 12. 

The picture perfect view on our way out to the island this morning……

Was in direct contrast to that on the morning of July 12……

Because of overnight stormy conditions that continued into the morning, our July 12, early morning patrol with our Friday volunteers was called off due to safety concerns. Our fearless leader, Leslie, graciously agreed to meet me at the beach with her trusty 4-wheel drive for a “drive by” to check things out. We headed to the beach through big road puddles, amid dark skies, light rain, periodic thunder, and very strong winds. 

As we approached mid island, we observed a very faint crawl that ended up becoming Nest 15R.  Appears our intrepid mama was undeterred by the conditions on the beach that night, determined to complete the task of laying a nest which produced 96 eggs. Due to the nest being laid close to the high tide line, we agreed to move it closer to the dune to protect it from upcoming king and possible future storm tides. With intermittent intervals of refuge in the truck, a new nest was dug, the eggs relocated, and the new nest marked and documented - all in record time! 

The nest emerged on September 9, at day 59, and scheduled for inventory today. During it’s incubation, the nest was subjected to large amounts of sand accumulating on the egg chamber due to periods of high winds. Excess sand was removed by volunteers a few times, and the hatchlings did the rest-  finding their way out and heading toward the sea. Mother Nature finds a way! 

With the help of two truck loads of CCU Sea Turtle Club participants, the nest evacuation was completed, eggs sorted and results tabulated. The results were good- 78 eggs hatched, 14 unhatched, 1 egg used for DNA, 1 dead hatchling. A hatch success rate of 81.2% and an emergence success rate of 80.2%.

As our season is winding down, it was good day on the island-  beautiful seas and sky, with a touch of fall in the air; enthusiastic students and future stewards of continued sea turtles programs; and a good nest result. We empathize with those on the Gulf coast currently experiencing hurricane issues - knowing full well we could be next. But for today, we are grateful for the blessings of the gentle breezes and calm seas of our incredible island beach. 

  Pics by Leslie and Kim. Narrative by Kim T.

Waties Island performs research and management activities regarding sea turtle conservation in accordance with SCDNR Permit Number MTP500.

Sunday September 9- Inventory of nest 16R

 It was a much cooler morning when the Sunday team patrolled the beach and witnessed a beautiful sunrise. They only had a couple nests to look at before the Coastal Sea Turtle Club and our volunteer team met them at the nest for the inventory. 

This nest was originally laid on Sunday, July 14th. It was laid along the high tide line, so the Sunday team relocated 100 eggs closer to the dunes. 

                         

Most of the students had not been to an inventory yet, so Leslie explained the process to them and assigned roles. 

Kim and barb showed many students how to sort eggs and Leslie showed students how to dig. Erin and other volunteers helped transport eggs to those sorting.           

                                

       

The results were not great but they weren't bad either. There were 58 hatched eggs, 35 unhatched eggs, 2 dead hatchlings and 3 live hatchlings. 

After all the eggs were removed, the students took the hatchlings closer to the water and released them into the ocean. This was a new experience for many of them, so there were smiles all around. 

   

    

         

                  

Narrative by Erin, photos by Erin and Leslie

Waties Island performs research and management activities regarding sea turtle conservation in accordance with SCDNR permit number MTP500.