Isle of Palms Nest 1 Inventoried and Nest 36 Laid

Harold and Sandy Hirschmann had a very early and busy morning today. First they walked all the way from Cedar Creek in Dewees Inlet to the Wild Dunes Property Owners' Beach house and then drove to 28th Avenue to be at the inventory of the first nest laid on the island in May.

Inventory of Nest 1: This first IOP nest of the season at 28^th Ave produced hatchlings on July 17. It was found by Kristen Ness Ayers on May 18 at Ocean Point in Wild Dunes. It was a loggerhead whose tracks were seen a lot this summer. They were distinctive because she was missing a right flipper claw. She laid 128 eggs that incubated for 60 days. Today we found that only eight eggs failed to develop, and all but one of the hatchlings climbed out of the nest and crawled to the water during the three days before the inventory. The lone tiny turtle in the nest had a left front flipper that was not fully functioning, but Sandy released him to crawl to the ocean where he swam away. Hatch Success was 92.9% and Emergence Success was 92.1%.

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New Nest 36: Before coming to the inventory Harold and Sandy Hirschmann also found a new nest at 48 Ocean Point Drive and a false crawl near the Ocean Point boardwalk. In addition they saw a track farther into the inlet that appeared to be from an alligator crawling ashore. We hope this reptile made it back to the golf course lagoons and out of the ocean, but this happens sometimes. There were 106 eggs in the nest at Ocean Point in the renourishment project area where equipment is being unloaded and set up. As required, we relocated them to a dune near 31st Avenue where they can hatch safely in September.