WATIES ISLAND HAS A NEST!!

The sea turtle nesting season has started on Waties Island this first day of June!!! The crawl was located between markers #1 and #2. There was a lot of loose sand thrown at the nesting site, almost as if there was a light drizzle. Her crawl back out continued for a bit over the incoming crawl. We knew from the large difference between the incoming crawl and the outgoing crawl that something must have happened.

It took us awhile, but with Steve's expertise at finding the nesting site, there it was right up there at the base of the dune!! The perfect spot for a nest.

After we located the nest, the DNA sample was taken, the nest caged and marked and the crawl measured (2 ft., 8 in.)

It was a busy morning between Waties and NMB and hopefully only just the beginning of what the season will bring.

May 9 Stranding on Waties

This morning - and a beautiful morning it was - brought us the first stranding of the season on Waties: a small Kemps ridley sea turtle.

There have been a number of these small turtles which have washed up on Grand Strand beaches recently. One on Briarcliff on May 3, one on NMB on May 5 and another one on NMB on May 7. Two new volunteers, Will and Jenny Lynn, were on hand to help this morning - thank you! Also, a big thank you to Valerie for these great photos.

Barb and Steve