Monday, 6/29/2026. FC06 & FC 07

  The start of our walk was very comfortable, with a nice breeze.  At the lower end we were amazed at how quickly the island changes. The lower end had no drop off today.

FC #06:  You can see she came right up and turned around. By the time  I got there, there was a big crab hole right along the side, so of course I probed it. No luck.  Then I got the call that there was another crawl by the same lady.  This turtle measured 32 “ And she has a distinct line in the middle of her crawl.

I ended up probing this area extensively to no avail. The sand was very hard with very little  thrown sand. Plus the incoming and outgoing crawls were the same length, so she didn’t stay up there long.

FC#07:  The same turtle. She went right up and left three body pits. The first looked  like she had just stopped and rested, but the other two were both very promising. At these body pits the sand was very soft, and it looked like she just couldn’t find a good spot to lay her eggs. She actually slid down the dune on her way out and went right over her incoming crawl. 

After I found a soft spot, Jewel got down to check it out.  We were very disappointed!

In the above picture she went right out  over her incoming crawl and again she didn’t stay long.  It did rain on the island last night so maybe she just couldn’t find the right place.

Hopefully she will return tomorrow!!

Posted by Sharon, picture s by Jewel and Sharon

All seaturtle monitoring by Waties Island sea turtle patrol is permitted and authorized by SCDNR under permit MTP 500.

Tuesday, June 23rd - Possible Nest-PN01

Tuesdays team was greeted on the causeway bridge by the familiar black faced doe. Once she found a safe place to exit, we headed to the beach. The tide was going out and the wind was brutal. Those of us going to the lower end walked into the wind and a volunteer mentioned how it was taking her breath away. We found very little trash, a whole sand dollar, and a secluded beach. 

After surveying the lower end, we were heading back to the truck to replenish the DNR poles and a cage used for the previous days nests when a call came in from one of the volunteers walking towards the jetties/upper end. This group saw a crawl from a previous day that was crossed out with Xs then further up the beach, they found a new crawl. They reported they could see the beginning and end of the crawl near the low tide line, but the wind had obliterated part of it leading towards the dune. I asked her to mark the crawl with a big arrow that I would be able to see from the truck as I approached and they were instructed to continue surveying the beach to the jetties. Permit holder Leslie was contacted to join us to examine the crawl. In the meantime, I picked up the volunteers after they completed surveying the upper end and delivered the poles and cage. 

We gathered on the beach at the location of the crawl marks to access the situation. From the beach looking towards the dune, we could see equal length crawl marks that ended at blown sand, then a potential body pit halfway up the sand dune. The crawl width was 34”. The turtle approached from the right, climbed the dune, encountered some vegetation and turned back towards the ocean after crossing back over her incoming tracks. I probed extensively and Leslie joined in, but no egg chamber was located. Whether the wind erased possible clues or she didn’t nest remains a mystery so we marked the site as PN01 and will monitor it for further possible developments. 

Text by Kathy G. Photos by Kathy G and Leslie. 

All sea turtle monitoring by Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol is permitted and authorized by SCDNR under Permit MTP500.

Monday, June22 Nest 6R, Nest 07 and False crawl 05

 Well, the Monday team has not had a lot of action in the last two years, but we certainly made up for it today. We had three crawls which turned into one false crawl and two nests. So I’m going to get right to it.

Walking up the beach we came to the X’d  out false crawl from yesterday, and we were commenting on how narrow the crawl was.

Continuing our walk up the beach, we came upon our first crawl. It measured 32” wide - larger than yesterday’s crawl. This turtle came up, made her body pit and then returned directly to the ocean. The crawl going in and out were almost the same length.

I was taking some pictures and sent the rest of the team to finish the walk. No sooner did I get done when I get the call they have a second crawl.  Told them I would be up and to finish their walk. When I got there the crawl measured 28”  The lady from yesterday.  Would have to come back to this one because got another call about another crawl - #3. Needed to call Leslie to help get this all done.

Third crawl pictured below - turned out to be FC#05. 

This turtle had a long crawl up to the dunes, where she travelled all around.  After studying and probing all areas extensively we determined this to be FC#05.     

We then went back down to crawl number two and located the body pit. I began probing and quickly found the egg chamber. The nest contained 109 eggs. We also found four broken eggs within the nest and retained one for the DNA sample. The nest was not laid high enough to be protected from high tides so it was relocated. Also she laid right in back of all that vegetation!

One more crawl to do.  Back to the beautiful body pit with a substantial amount of thrown sand in one big spot. It was hot and getting late, so I began probing on one side while Leslie probed on the other. We both located soft spots so we had Jewel and Claudia begin digging. Jokingly I remarked that they were going to meet in the middle and find the eggs. That’s exactly what happened a few moments later Claudia excitedly 

called out “there they are.” The nest was in an excellent location, high enough on the beach to provide good protection and did not require to be relocated. It became N#07.

We had two visitors join us today from Utah -Yvonne and her son Cooper. They had a wonderful experience and as a high school student he commented on how he will really have something to tell his classmates.

Text by Sharon pictures by Jewel and Sharon

All sea turtle monitoring by Waties Island sea turtle patrol is permitted and authorized by SCDNR under permit MTP 500.

First Official Day of Summer 6-21-2026

 Today was the first official day of summer and we were greeted on the beach by a beautiful sunrise. Erin had a good feeling that the Sunday team would have some sort of activity today. It was a comfortable morning weather wise and there was plenty of beach to walk on during low tide.

 Today showed how important it is to walk the whole stretch of beach from the water to the dunes since the activity was so far from the water. Pam, Barb & Erin were walking when they came across some tracks far from the water. It was obvious that the turtle did not lay a nest here, since there was no body pit and the tracks were the same length. This mama did not spend much time on the beach at all. She is a smaller turtle, measuring her tracks at only 28 inches wide.

Excited about the activity, the team recorded all the information and kept trekking along. They found a lot of trash the further up the beach they went, along with a vertebrae from a marine mammal, likely a dolphin or porpoise. 

They were checking out a clump of nests that are all close together and were on their way to the next nest when Erin noticed a mark in the sand out of the corner of her eye. Pam, Barb and Erin noticed it was another set of tracks. Unfortunately, this set looked exactly like the first set. The ladies took all the measurements and think that it was from the exact same turtle. Another set of 28 inch tracks that went straight up the beach and turned around and went straight back to the water. The incoming and outgoing tracks being the same length again. 

The Sunday team was excited for the activity, just hope this turtle comes back tomorrow. They priced a lot of deer tracks all over the beach, so they wonder if this mama was spooked in her nesting process. They finished their walk with 4 large bags full of trash mostly made up of goggles and sunglasses. On the drive back to the shed, they came across a group of 4 bucks and 1 doe close to the bridge that goes over the water. It was a beautiful morning and just hope this mama comes back to lay her eggs on Waties Island.

 

All sea turtle monitoring by Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol is permitted and authorized by SCDNR under Permit MTP500.

Write-up and photos by Erin D.

Wednesday, June 17th - Nest 05

 I thought it was going to be a wet walk this morning, but we only had a few sprinkles.  We could see the rain showers over the ocean.

 

 

 

 Grey rainy skies.  The Sargassum wrack line was high on the beach this morning.

 

 

 

 

The Wednesday Volunteers were excited to find a crawl about mid way up the island. She had well defined in and out crawls, she crawled over her incoming crawl on her way out.  She crawled a little higher above this clump of vegetation, turned around slide down and nested at the bottom of the clump of vegetation.  There were some Ghost Crab holes in the area, so I probed in that area first.  

Moved toward the crescent shaped sand and found the nest chamber quickly.  The newbie Volunteers were thrilled when they uncovered the eggs.  Her nest was in a good high location, so we did not relocate.  Her crawl was 34 inches wide.

She crawled a long way  

She plowed through the Sargassum

Her nest . . .  but she 

First crawled above the vegetation, turned

Slid down to the place she finally nested

Her nest - classic signs - torn up vegetation, crescent shaped sand, thrown sand

We have eggs

The Wednesday Volunteers were thrilled.  There are several new members and we had a guest walking with us this morning.  Great start for the day.

 

Team work - getting our poles ready, and setting up our cage to protect the nest from coyotes.

 

Happy Volunteers

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Text by Leslie and photos by Leslie, Pam and Jackie

All sea turtle monitoring by Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol is permitted an authorized by SCDNR under permit MTP500.

 

 

Wednesday, June 10th - FC03

 We were greeted by a beautiful, serene view of Dunn Sound on the causeway, then overcast skies and a new crop of sargassum spread across the wide beach. 

No turtle activity was detected on the lower end of the island. As the volunteers who walked towards the jetties approached the upper end of the island, they found a crawl left by a big momma. Her crawl width was 40”!!! She crawled 2/3 of the way up the dune, encountered vegetation, and headed back to the ocean crossing over her incoming crawl. 

The equal length of her crawl tracks and the lack of thrown sand led us to believe she may not have nested. Nevertheless, I probed in several areas and dug shoulder deep in a few places where the probe went down easily. Unfortunately, no egg chamber was found. Consequently, this was logged as a non-nesting aka false crawl. 

Text and photos by Kathy G.

All sea turtle monitoring by Waties Island Sea Turtle Patrol is permitted an authorized by SCDNR under permit MTP500.