Loggerhead Sea Turtles: Turtle Nesting: DeBordieu Beach

It is turtle nesting time of year again. The first turtle tracks of the season were found on our beach this week!

See the website below for more information on the S.C.U.T.E. program.

DeBordieu Hobcaw SCUTE

Loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nest on South Carolina beaches May through October. S.C.U.T.E. which stands for South Carolina United Turtle Enthusiasts is one of 30 volunteer sea turtle protection projects along our coastline under the direction of the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). The 60 mile S.C.U.T.E. area extends from North Inlet in Georgetown County to North Myrtle Beach. The six miles of DeBordieu and Hobcaw beaches typically account for 30-50% of the nests in this area.

The 2011 nesting season was a record with 4016 nests laid along the South Carolina coast! The S.C.U.T.E. area recorded 205 nests (77 in 2010). One possible explanation for the surge is that SCDNR's volunteer nest protection program is about 25 years old. Sea turtles mature at 25-30 years. The theory is that the first female recruits from the volunteer effort are now returning as first time adult nesters. We will see if this trend continues into the next few years!


More information here at South Carolina Dept. of Natural Resources.

The report...

There was activity today on the Hobcaw stretch of beach! I found a crawl just as I walked out 70 yds. south of Walkway #12. The turtle went well up into the dunes and it had the classic signs of being a nest. Kathi was walking the Middle with new volunteers Joan and Don so they went to check out the crawl while I continued walking Hobcaw. Joan and Don both got good probing experience and Joan actually found the eggs. We decided it was in a good location and left it natural. Congratulations to Joan and Don (photos)!

V in crawl: When trying to determine ingoing and outgoing crawl, look for a V in the crawl (photo). This is made by the claw on the turtles front flippers and indicates the direction she came from. The V is not always present in a crawl but is very helpful when it is! You want to make sure you are reading the tracks correctly so you start probing on the correct side of the crawl.