Betsy Quinn and Karen Sewell called in with a promising crawl just south of boardwalk 6 immediately next to Nest 11 - the mama even bent nest 11's screen! Sandy MacCoss and Amanda and Joshua Shilko responded and found Nest 46 which was left in situ.
They called again to report another crawl two houses south of the yellow house. Bill Greubel responded and located Nest 45 which was also left in situ.
Nests 41, 42, 43, & 44
A blustery morning greeted our fearless walkers who had lots to report - 4 nests and 2 false crawls!
Karen Preston, Lynne Madison and Pixie Hider first called with a crawl on Zone 3 just north of Boardwalk 6. Sandy MacCoss and Weny Holschuh responded and found the shallow nest. The wind blown sand tried to disguise the nest but the mama turtle helped the process by leaving a broken shell on the top of the nest. The 126 eggs were moved further back on the dune as Nest 41.
Zone 3 then called with a crawl near Boardwalk 5. The crawl could be seen below the high tide line. Unfortunately, above the high tide line the crawl was obscured by the wind. Judy Morr, Leslie Gore, then Sandy MacCoss all searched for evidence of a pit but with no clues to follow, it was labeled as a false crawl. Not much further down the beach, they again called with a promising crawl 100 yards south of Boardwalk 4. Judy Morr and Leslie Gore responded. Nest 42 was found and the 111 eggs were moved further back on the dune.
Meanwhile, Zone 2 walkers JoAnne Lewis, Nancy Chomel, and Kathy Noel called with three crawls between Boardwalk 7 and the yellow house. Mike Vinson responded to all. The first crawl at the first house past the club was a false crawl into the rocks. The next one north of that was a rather artistic mama that decided to draw a bow with her tracks while deciding where to lay her very deep nest. She went to great pains to disguise the location of the nest but ultimately put Nest 43 up on the dune. It was able to be left in situ.
Zone 2's third and final crawl resulted in Nest 44 with 98 eggs. The nest was moved further back on the dune.
Nest 40
All of our Zones were covered early this morning with the walkers braving high tides and very strong winds. The winds obscured much of the turtle activity that occurred overnight, but Zone 1 walkers Christine Dudzik and Tom Lamb found tracks south of the Camp St. Christopher boat shed. Judy Morr and Lesley Gore arrived to probe and found 121 eggs. Nest 40 was relocated north of the boat shed.
Nest 39
What a storm last night! One mama turtle waited for the weather to clear to come in to lay her nest. At 6:05, Zone 1 walkers Joleen Ardaiolo, Bev Stribling and Lisa McDonald called with the exciting news that a mama was still on the beach laying her eggs at the end of the Pelican Watch villas. Judy Morr went out to assist in crowd control and measure the mama as she returned to the water (not as easy as you would think!). Bill and Linda Nelson responded and found Nest 39 which was left in situ. Check out the video below of the mama making her way back to the water!
Nest 38
One mama turtle celebrated Father's Day by laying Nest 38 on Seabrook Island. The crawl was found near peg #1 on Zone 4 by walkers Jen Paterson, her daughter Gracie, Diane and John Woychick with their daughters, Heather and Sarah, and grandsons, James and Coleman. This big group woke up early to walk and certainly were rewarded. Valerie and Mark Doane probed and helped relocate 111 eggs.
