Every loggerhead nesting season is different. Ongoing genetic research that began in 2010 has shown that the turtles that nested last year are rarely the same ones nesting this year. Typically, loggerheads skip a year before returning. Past records also show that nest numbers along the Atlantic Coast often spike about every four years. It appears 2026 is one of those bumper years for nesting.
South Carolina recorded 3,916 loggerhead nests in 2025. With the 2026 season still underway, however, there have already been 6,797 nests reported. Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, where the most loggerheads nest north of Florida, recorded 462 nests during a recent two-week period and had documented 3,832 nests on the three islands it monitors by mid-July. Other beaches across the state, including Kiawah, Hilton Head and Edisto islands, had recorded 434, 374 and 419 nests, respectively, by July 14.
But how are the Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island being affected by this?
ISLE OF PALMS: There have been 33 nests and 39 false crawls on the Isle of Palms so far in 2026, as of mid-July. That already exceeds last season, which was considered a low year with only 28 nests. Because the island has fewer miles of beach and a highly developed shoreline with artificial lighting, it will never see the nesting numbers found on Kiawah, Hilton Head or Edisto islands.
This season, severe erosion has reduced available nesting habitat. These numbers were recorded before the July 22 start of the 24-hour sand-pumping beach renourishment project at Wild Dunes, which includes lights and noise from heavy machinery. We have seen many mornings when turtles appeared to search unsuccessfully for a dry beach or elevated dune suitable for laying eggs.
This season, turtle mothers also seem to prefer the north and south ends of the island, where 73% of all nests and 85% of false crawls have been documented so far in 2026.
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources has instructed us to relocate nests laid within the three upcoming project areas to the middle section of the island for safe incubation, and that has been done.
Under the terms of the construction project, the Turtle Team conducts an all-clear sweep of the project area at dawn each day to check for turtle tracks before work begins. Overnight monitoring for sea turtles is also required in the active work area. If a loggerhead comes ashore, all work must stop and lights must be turned off until she returns to the water. Any eggs laid during that time are then rescued and relocated.
SULLIVAN'S ISLAND: Sullivan's Island has also surpassed last season's total of 12 nests, with 16 nests recorded as of July 15. This is the highest number of nests ever documented on the island.
We never know how the offshore shoals and sandbars affect the turtles' efforts to reach the beach. Last season, most turtles nested near the north end around Station 26. Hurricane Erin later passed offshore but damaged the dunes there, affecting several nests.
This season, loggerheads appear to be nesting farther south near Fort Moultrie and the maritime forest around Station 16. On June 17 and again on July 15, turtles laid eggs in the vehicle path at Station 16 because there was no dry beach—only steep, eroded dunes that could not be climbed and very little beach remaining at high tide.
Other nests were laid against the rock seawall at the fort, where the beach is often underwater. Here, too, we have relocated most of the nests to the middle section of the island, hoping the dunes there remain safe until the eggs hatch.
Parts of the beach from Fort Moultrie to Station 18 could be described as a "boneyard beach," with dead trees in the intertidal zone. We have recorded a record 30 false crawls on Sullivan's Island this season. We are often seeing loggerheads crawl through the tangle of dead trees and wax myrtles in search of a dry, elevated nesting site, only to give up and return to the ocean. This type of beach, however, is a normal feature of ever-changing barrier islands.
Hatching season begins in mid- to late July, when tiny hatchlings begin emerging from their nests. We are hopeful the existing nests remain safe from storms and flooding and that, despite these challenges, it will be a successful season for both islands.