At last the IOP is on the map for its first loggerhead nest of 2026. We suspect that the same turtle who came ashore three times recently in the same area of Wild Dunes finally found a spot to her liking and laid 128 eggs. Kristen Ness Ayers found the tracks which were the same size and had the same missing right flipper claw mark at Ocean Point in Wild Dunes after Kristen had to climb over sandbags at the condos where the tide was covering the beach to get to Ocean Point. On

At last the Island Turtle Team has recorded our first nest for 2026. Terri George and Kelsey Willey reported it on their Friday morning patrol. In 2025 Terri and Kelsey found the first Sullivan's Island nest on May 30 at Station 26. With 90 nests already in South Carolina, we have been patiently waiting. Last night a loggerhead crawled ashore on the beach at Sullivan's Island Elementary School located at Station 20 Street and laid her eggs. At first we feared that it might be

During the night on May 8 a loggerhead crawled up onto the beach at 56th Avenue. Tracks were discovered and reported by Debbie Kurtz, Louise Martin and Nicki Rambeau. Unfortunately she turned around without laying any eggs. We are hoping that she will return soon and nest. We documented this False Crawl on Seaturtle.org, our first entry for the season.

We've all been anxiously awaiting the day the first loggerhead nests are laid in South Carolina. It happened on May 6th in two locations on our coast. Below is the press release from SCDNR. As of today, May 7, there are at least six nests in SC. Photo by: Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge Sea Turtle Specialist, Billy Shaw First Sea Turtle Nests of 2026 Reported in South Carolina Photo by: Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge Sea Turtle Specialist, Billy Shaw FOR IMMEDIA