This time of year our lovely loggerheads are lumbering onto the sandy beaches to lay their eggs before returning to the ocean before the sun comes up. Plenty of loggerhead turtles nest on Charleston area beaches so it’s important for visitors to be mindful of the nests.
Volunteers patrol our beaches looking for the tell-tale tracks that indicate a mama turtle came ashore during the night. Volunteers may relocate the nest if it is in a precarious location threatened by people or tides.
The Folly Beach Turtle Watch Program has indentified one nest on Folly Beach so far. On April 17, the first turtle nest was found on the beach at Kiawah. The volunteer Kiawah Turtle Patrol reported it’s a leatherback turtle nest, only the second known leatherback nest laid on Kiawah since they started keeping records in the mid-1980s. The Island Turtle Team patrols the Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island for new turtle nests. Monitor the teams’ websites for reports of new nests and for successful hatchings later this fall.
Learn more about sea turtle nesting at the S.C. Marine Turtle Conservation Program website. The South Carolina Aquarium is also home to the Sea Turtle Hospital. Contact them if you encounter an injured turtle.
If you come across a turtle nest, please don’t disturb it. Nests are often flagged by volunteers so steer clear and appreciate the wonder of nature from afar.
Lastly, if you’re staying at a house on the beach, don’t leave your porch lights on all night long. Artificial lights will confuse the turtles – especially the hatchlings – as they follow the moonlight back to the ocean.
