Nest Date
Found		 Location Number
of Eggs		 Hatch Date Hatch Success
1 May 22 2nd Avenue - Isle of Palms 62 July 18th 96.8%
  Anne Royall and Cheryl Burns with Anne's dogs Maggie & Monty found tracks at Access Path 2A near Breach Inlet this morning. This was a false crawl with no eggs. But half a block toward the inlet at 202 Ocean Blvd, they found more tracks and these led to a classic body pit below the spring tide line. We found eggs on the 4th probe. It was a smaller than average clutch. Only 62 were relocated to a nice dune one lot away next to the 2nd Avenue Access path. We were encouraged by the condition of the dunes, the lack of ghost crab holes, and the scarcity of beach ants that are usually numerous in that section. We're off to a good start, and there are at present 95 loggerhead nests in SC. Check it out at www.seaturtle.org/nestdb/ by clicking on the SCDNR program in the list. UPDATE: All but two eggs developed and hatched. And all of these turtles made it to the ocean for a great start with 96.8% Hatch Success.
2 May 23 Access Path 35A - Isle of Palms 104 July 19th 28.8%
  A very busy morning since two turtles nested last night. We were accompanied by Lynn Rennert and her mother Bev Fretchel who are visiting this week from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Nest #2 was at the 35A Access Path on the Isle of Palms. She laid her eggs close enough to the primary dune so that we decided to leave them where Ann Evans and Terri Stafford found the body pit and tracks. We're wondering if this was the turtle who made the false crawl at 208 Ocean Blvd the night before. It is possible. This nest was marked and left to incubate in situ. UPDATE: During the late May full moon time this nest kept getting flooded from above and rising ground water was also a problem. For this reason the eggs were moved about a dozen feet onto the primary dune where the elevation was safer. FINAL UPDATE: There were 72 eggs in this nest that did not develop and hatch which may have been a result of the flood water at the beginning of incubation. The Hatch Rate was only 28.8%
3 May 23 Ocean Point - Isle of Palms 145 July 20th 93.!%
  Nest #3, the second nest of the morning, was found by Nancy Houser and Andrea Roth near the Ocean Point boardwalk at the 18th tee of the Wild Dunes Ocean Course. These eggs, however, were in the flat washover area, so they were relocated to a suitable dune along the 18th fairway. We were surprised that the relocation count was a whopping 145 eggs when Nest #1 the day before had only 62 eggs! UPDATE: This turtle laid eggs on Bull Island on June 5th after nesting here on May 23rd according to the DNA research being done.The inventory showed that 10 eggs did not hatch and 13 live hatchlings were released for a 93.1% Hatch Rate and 84.2% emergence percent.
4 May 24 32nd Avenue 135 July 19th 68%
  Another nest was found in the 30-49th Avenue section this morning. Sgt. Bobby came across this turtle about 4:30 a.m. as she was crawling toward the dunes and thought she was just coming ashore, but the tracks indicated that she had already finished and was trying to find the ocean again. Her small body pit and her behavior certainly were not normal because the eggs were in the far end of the body pit from where she entered it and she continued to crawl in circles landward of the pit after laying. Linda Forslund and Lori Nelson reported the tracks around 6 a.m. and we were afraid it was a false crawl because of these abnormalities. However, we did find 136 eggs and relocated 135 of them to 32nd Avenue because they were below the spring tide line. The nest was shallow and one egg had been broken when she covered them. Another abnormality was that the first 8 or 10 eggs laid were oval instead of round, looking exactly like chicken eggs. There was also one tiny pearl sized egg with no yolk.UPDATE: For some reason 43 of the eggs in this nest did not hatch, bringing the hatch rate down to 68%.
5 May 26 49th Avenue - Isle of Palms 103 July 18th 81.7%
  This morning Susan Daley was substituting for Claire Calvin and discovered tracks at the beginning of her walk just north of the 49th Avenue Access Path. Deborah Johnson was covering the other half of this section. This was a larger than usual nesting loggerhead by her track measurements and she managed to crawl all the way up onto the low primary dune to lay her eggs. She crawled right back through her body pit and retraced her steps for a good part of the crawl which make reading the field signs in the body pit a little difficult. But we did find the eggs and marked the nest to stay where it is. UPDATE: After having several mornings with hatchlings emerging from the nest in daylight, we found that 18 eggs did not develop and that 33 hatchlings had died after hatching in the nest. So even though the Hatch Rate was 81.7%, only 50% of them actually survived to get to the ocean.
6 June 5 Ocean Point - Isle of Palms 74 July 25th 96%
  Last night a turtle laid eggs up against the scarped dune where sand had been trucked in and dumped in front of the south building of Ocean Club. Nancy Evans discovered the tracks and called in the report. We discovered that it was a small clutch with only 74 eggs which were relocated to a stable dune at Ocean Point near nest #3. It's possible that this is the same turtle who laid Nest #1 with less than 70 eggs exactly two weeks ago. UPDATE: This nest hatched at 50 days, sooner than any others so far this year. It did very well with only 3 eggs unhatched and a 96% hatch rate.
7 June 7 35th Avenue - Isle of Palms 136 August 1st 83.2%
  Looks like our turtle who laid Nest #2 at 35th Avenue on May 23rd may have made another visit last night. Lori Nelson and Linda Forslund discovered the tracks just after 5:30 a.m. This nest was laid less than 100 feet from Nest #2. It was slightly elevated on the primary dune, so the eggs were not moved. The clutch was quite deep and one egg was found already broken, so the shell from this one was used for the DNA research project. Congratulations to the Turtle Team volunteers who patrol from 30th to 49th Avenue for having four out of the first seven nests! UPDATE: This was a natural nest that was not relocated. Out of the 136 eggs laid 22 of them failed to develop and 4 hatchlings were still in the nest at the inventory.
8 June 10 29th Avenue - Isle of Palms 126 August 2nd 78.7%
  This morning Tracy Ciali found tracks in the Grand Pavilion/Boardwalk Inn area. It was hard to find the eggs because of the dry blown sand and the very coarse consistency of the sand that had been pumped from offshore as part of the nourishment project in 2008. The wind had erased the field marks of the body pit, and the sand was compacted and full of sharp shells. After a while we located 127 eggs, one of which was probably cut by the sharp shells. Sand fencing is beginning to create dunes there, but these eggs were down in the flat, washover area closer to the ocean. For this reason we decided to do the best thing for the turtles and moved them to a much better dune in front of 2902 Palm Blvd. So now there is at least one nest in every section of the Isle of Palms patrol areas. UPDATE: Tiny holes in some eggs showed that ghost crabs had some some damage to this nest. Hatch Success was 78.7% and Emergence Success was 70.8%.
9 June 17 30th Avenue - Isle of Palms 72 August 8th 95.8%
  During the night some tourists in Wild Dunes watched this turtle lay her eggs near Summer Dunes Lane. Animal Control Officer John Keelan reported the tracks the next morning. The eggs were moved to a safer place in front of 2912 Palm Blvd. There was also a false crawl at 44th Avenue which may have been from the same turtle. UPDATE: All but 3 eggs hatched, so the hatch and emergence rate was 95.8%.
10 June 22 Ocean Point - Isle of Palms 132 August 17th 63.1%
  Another turtle decided to nest at Summer Dunes Lane (in front of Tidewater Port O' Call) last night. Cindy Bergstrom and Patty Horton discovered these tracks about 6:30. We relocated 132 eggs that were laid below the spring tide line to a good dune at Ocean Point along the 18th fairway of the Wild Dunes Ocean Course. Because of the hot dry weather, the sand was very soft and dry and many stinging beach ants were on the surface. UPDATE: For some reason this nest had 49 eggs that did not hatch, lowering the hatch success to 63%.
11 June 28 2508 Palm Blvd - Isle of Palms 70 August 26th 94.2%
  Nest #11 for Isle of Palms was found by Kathy Magruder and her husband Jeff Walker between 25th and 26th Avenues. It was in a perfect location on a little hill on the ocean side of the primary dune. We found the egg chamber and marked the nest to incubate where it was. UPDATE: This nest was late hatching, but only 3 eggs failed to develop. So the Hatch and Emergence Success was 94.2%
12 June 28 2507 Atlantic Ave - Sullivan's Island 68 August 24th 47.8%
  The very first nest of the season for Sullivan's Island was found by Michelle Rovner between Station 25 and Station 26. The tracks were very small for a loggerhead and the egg count was also small. We relocated 68 eggs to a suitable dune at the same location. UPDATE: Unfortunately 36 of the 68 eggs failed to develop and 3 hatchlings were found dead in the nest for a rather disappointing 47.8% hatch success and 42% emergence success.
13 June 28 2257 Atlantic Ave - Sullivan's Island 85 August 15th 95.3%
  A second nest in the same section on the same day was found by Michelle Rovner. This one is between Station 22 1/2 and Station 23 in front of the Ford House. It was also below the spring tide line and 85 eggs were moved onto the primary dune.
UPDATE: This nest did very well. The sand kept building up on it during incubation and had to be lowered many times, but only 4 eggs did not develop and hatch, so the hatch success was a good 95.3%.
14 June 29 25th Avenue - Isle of Palms 73 August 23rd 91.8%.
  Our twelfth nest was laid all the way into Dewees Inlet where the power lines cross over to Dewees Island. Dina Edwards and Patti Horton reported this nest and three other sets of tracks which were at Ocean Club, at Ocean Point, and all the way at the mouth of Cedar Creek, even father into the inlet than the nest. We're not sure how many different turtles made these tracks, but it's probable that the two in the inlet were from the same nester and that she succeeded on her second attempt. Because of the dangerous location for the hatchlings to find the ocean, we relocated 73 eggs to a spot close to yesterday's nest which was laid between 25th and 26th Avenue.UPDATE: At the nest inventory there were 6 unhatched eggs and two hatchlings that probably been killed by ants before emerging. Hatch success was 91.8% and emergence success was 89.1%.
15 June 30 3904 Palm Blvd - Isle of Palms 143 August 20th 77%
  Jimi Frances Gurley found tracks near the Seagrass Lane boardwalk on the Cedar Creek Spit in Dewees Inlet this morning. The eggs were laid in the buried spartina wrack that was washed up on the beach from the marsh with lots of seashells under the surface, so they were a little hard to locate. But finally we found 144 eggs with one broken. So 143 of them were relocated to a better place near Nest #14 which was between 39th and 40th Avenues farther south. UPDATE: There were 32 unhatched eggs at the inventory, 2 dead hatchlings, and 7 live ones released.
16 June 30 3906 Palm Blvd - Isle of Palms 100 August 22nd 36%
  Cambey and David Mikush, who are helping us look for tracks while they are here this summer, also spotted very long tracks in front of 3906 Palm Blvd, just south of 40th Avenue. The incoming tracks had been blurred by heavy rain from the thunderstorm between midnight and 1 a.m., but the outgoing tracks were clearly made AFTER the rain. So this turtle was dropping her eggs with thunder and lightning booming all around her. This was one of those nests that are laid in a perfect spot, so it was marked and left to incubate in situ.UPDATE: For some unknown reason this nest which was not moved had 63 undeveloped eggs in it. There was no tidal washover and no evidence of ghost crab or ant predation. Only 36 turtles successfully emerged from it in spite of its perfect location chosen by the mother turtle.
17 July 6 6th Avenue - Isle of Palms 134 August 24th 97%
  Nest #15 was found this morning by Barb Gobien and Gillian Ellis. This large turtle crawled a long way up the flat beach at Dunecrest Lane but still missed laying her eggs on a dune that was nearby. We relocated 134 eggs to an elevated place in front of 606 Ocean Blvd since that is a good spot and no turtles have nested in that section since May 22nd with Nest #1. UPDATE: This relocated nest did very well with 130 of the 134 eggs successfully hatching and making it to the ocean. Only one live turtle was found at the inventory under the eggshells. Hatch Success was 97% and Emergence was 96.2%.
18 July 8 31A Access Path - Isle of Palms 98 August 31st 90.9%
  Terry Anderson and Mackenzie Robison found tracks at Ocean Point along the 18th fairway. This turtle nested up against the sand fence and hid her eggs very well. They were not in the typical place & it took us quite a while to find them. They were laid in the highly erosional part of the golf course where the Wild Dunes folks keep having to truck in more sand. With August and September storms coming and erosion likely, it was decided to move them to a safer place at 31st Avenue. So 98 eggs were relocated two doors south of the 31A Access Path. UPDATE: We were fearful that this nest had not done well, because we never saw but one turtle come out or any tracks. However, those hatchlings fooled us again and to our surprise it was a 90.9% hatch success. There were 13 dead hatchlings in the nest which brought the emergence success down to 77.7%
19 July 10 31st Avenue 74 August 31st 97.3%
  Nancy Evans and Allyson Lutz found their second nest of the season. They also have #6 which was laid the almost the same place on June 5th with the exact same number of eggs! They were very lucky to see the turtle soon after 6 a.m. laying her eggs and returning to the water. Unfortunately she picked one of the worst places on the island to nest, right in front of the four story Ocean Club Villas boardwalk up against the sand fence and scarped dune where the nest would surely have been destroyed by tidal inundation. For this reason we relocated 74 eggs to a dune just north of the 31A path. UPDATE: Only two eggs failed to develop in this nest, so the hatch and emergence rate was a very good 97.3%
20 July 15 Access Path 33A - Isle of Palms Unknown
  After having two false crawls on their Thursday walks, Sue Googer, Jane Powers, and Barbara Allen finally struck it rich this morning. Very long tracks led up onto the primary dune (and behind it) near Access Path 33A. The turtle first tried to dig in a very root filled area and left an open hole there, crawled over and behind the dune, and finally laid eggs right on the high front edge of the primary dune before crawling back out to sea. We did not have to move the nest and marked it to incubate in situ.
21 July 19 302 Ocean Blvd - Isle of Palms 80
  This morning Elaine Schupp, Sandra McLean, and Beverly Blalock were walking and Elaine spotted tracks in front of 302 Ocean Blvd. near the 3rd Ave path. This turtle finished nesting before the tide was high around 1 a.m. She made her body pit below the spring tide line, however, so with September storms in mind we moved her 80 eggs onto a nearby dune. This is only the second nest to be laid in the southern section of the Isle of Palms.
22 July 24 31st Avenue - Isle of Palms 102
  After at least 4 attempts (maybe 6) this turtle with quite a lot of posterior damage who's been seen and photographed on the beach twice before finally laid her eggs at 45th Avenue last night. Her wounds are well healed and her rear flippers and cloaca look fine. The old wound is jagged and looks more like natural predator damage than a boat propeller strike. Bev Ballow spotted her about midnight crawling parallel to the ocean at 45th Ave. We got there in time to see her dropping just over 100 eggs in a flat washover part of the beach. We waited for her to finish and cover the nest, checked her for external and internal tags and walked with her back to the water at about 1:45 a.m. Sis Nunnally was patrolling the beach and found the tracks and body pit early this morning and we moved the eggs to a good location at 31st Ave. It's possible that she also laid Nest #19 on this list two weeks and two days ago which is also located now at 31st Avenue.
23 July 26 602 Ocean Blvd - Isle of Palms Unknown
  Another Monday nest in the south section was laid this morning. Sandra McLean and Beverly Blalock were walking with Bev's adorable granddaughter Kali in a stroller when they discovered tracks in front of 602 Ocean Blvd. The turtle had made one body pit and dug the beginning of a hole a little lower on the beach, but then she abandoned this site leaving the empty egg chamber and moved to the base of the primary dune where she tried again and this time laid her eggs. We marked the nest to incubate there even though it was close to the side of the beach path of the rental house.
24 August 8 Beachside - 20th Avenue Unknown
  A turtle was seen crawling on the beach at 5th Ave. before midnight but was frightened by lights and people. The next morning Kathy Kowalchick and Erin McCall found tracks at Beachside near 20th Ave which may have been a second attempt by the same turtle. This nest was laid high on the dune, so the eggs were not moved. This may be the last nest of the season and will not hatch until early October.
25 August 13 6th Avenue - Isle of Palms 116
  Just when we thought all of the loggerheads were finished nesting, Caroline Stone and Alice Williams found tracks and a body pit in Breach Inlet this morning - only two days before nesting season is supposed to end on August 15th. Friday the 13th turned out to be a lucky day for them! The outgoing tracks were about 30 yards longer than the incoming ones showing us that the tide went out quite a long way while she was laying her eggs. Because of the location in Breach Inlet with strong and dangerous currents for the hatchlings, we relocated 116 eggs to the middle of the 600 block of Ocean Blvd and marked the nest there to most likely hatch toward the middle of October.
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