A nesting loggerhead returned to the ocean after laying Nest No. 53 near 21st Avenue on the morning of July 17 (Credit: Barbara Gobien)
Another loggerhead nesting season is coming to an end on our beaches. Our focus now shifts from finding and marking new nests to protecting the ones that remain. The last nest is expected to hatch at the beginning of October. These mother turtles can come ashore four to six times at two-week intervals until they run out of follicles that become eggs. Toward the end of the season, we begin to see nests containing fewer than 100 eggs. However, at the beginning of the summer, they can lay much larger clutches, such as the nest laid near 8th Avenue that contained 162 eggs. As of mid-August, we have documented 60 nests on our two islands—56 on Isle of Palms and four on Sullivan’s Island.
We are pleased that Tropical Storm Debby did not damage any of these nests, as it was primarily a rain event without a strong tidal surge. The nests, which had been relocated the day they were laid, remained safe on proper dunes. Flooding of the beach access paths from rain after the storm did make reaching the nests a challenge. With the peak of hurricane season still ahead, we remain hopeful that our remaining nests will be safe.
Of our 60 nests, 45 were laid before July 1, and 15 were laid after that date. As of mid-August, 40 nests have produced hatchlings, with an average hatch success rate of 90%. All nests have hatched successfully so far, with an average incubation time of 52 days.
This season, we placed 4x4-foot screens over every nest to protect them from coyote predation. The holes in the screens are large enough to allow the tiny turtles to crawl through and reach the ocean. Numerous coyote sightings have been reported, especially on Isle of Palms, but no significant damage to eggs or hatchlings has been documented, aside from the usual small amount caused by ghost crabs.
False crawls—where turtles come ashore but do not nest—number 54 on Isle of Palms and three on Sullivan’s Island.
If nests are lost due to storms or erosion, it’s important to remember that each loggerhead mother lays four to six nests during the season. If she loses one late nest, she has likely already produced hatchlings that made it to the water earlier in the summer. Keeping this in mind, we can take comfort in knowing that a lost nest is not a disaster, as the mother turtle has already successfully contributed to the population during the season.
