During the late spring and early summer, mama sea turtles lumber onto the shores of Charleston at night to lay their eggs – often more than 100 in a single nest. The tiny hatchlings emerge between July and October.
As you’re visiting Charleston’s area beaches, be careful of the sea turtle nests and never disturb a nest of eggs or a nesting mother turtle. Volunteers patrol local beaches looking for the tell-tale tracks that indicate a mother turtle came ashore during the night.
Volunteers may relocate the nest if it is in a location threatened by people or tides. Usually the nests are marked so beachgoers know to avoid that area.
Here are some more tips from the Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol about how you can help protect these great sea creatures:
- Stay away from nesting turtles and hatchlings.
- Fill in any holes you made on the beach.
- If you’re staying on the beach, turn off lights visible from the beach by 10 p.m. through October. You don’t want the turtles to be confused by man-made lights when they really are seeking out the light of the moon.
- Do not use flashlights or camera flashes around turtles or hatchlings.
- Do not leave trash on the beach; plastics look like food to sea turtles.