Nest #3 is Bill Greubel's 50th!

The only activity on the beach today was a great one.  Zone 4 walkers Alison Bowers, Sandy MacCoss, Tory Kindley and Pat and Bob Derajtys found a crawl just past the first dog sign.  Bill Greubel responded and found his 50th nest as a first responder. What an accomplishment. Congratulations Bill !! 

61 eggs were moved back on the dune by the first dog sign.  Some lucky visitors saw the mama on the beach last night and called Beautsie at 11 PM. They were very excited about seeing the mama do her thing.  

Nest #2

Vicki and Bob Becker are singing this morning, May 17, after finding the crawl in front of the house between the big yellow house and Bill Nelson’s house just north of the Pelican’s Nest. It is nest # 2 on Zone 2. They helped Judy Morr move 104 eggs back to a little dune behind where mama left them. We are rocking and rolling now. Keep it up.

1st Nest of 2016!!!

The Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol began walking the beach on Mothers Day, May 8th.  The action began quickly with a false crawl and the Leatherback stranding reported earlier. Then things ground to a halt with no activity from Monday through Friday. Even Saturday morning started slowly with zones 3 and 4 reporting no activity and zone 2 reporting a live horseshoe crab on the beach. Finally, Denisa Collins and Jen Gibson called in with a crawl on zone 1! Jen probed and found the eggs and we have nest # 1 at last. The nest was conveniently located at the vehicle entrance and didn’t need to be moved.  Terry Fansler, Sandy McCoss and Beautsie Zahrn brought the equipment to screen and mark the nest.

 A great day on the beach!

Mothers Day Leatherback Rescue

Mothers Day started slowly with no turtle activity on the beach this morning. But the action picked up just after Beautsie filed her uneventful morning report. She received a report of a stranding at Jenkins Point. Beautsie and Terry Fansler responded to the report and soon found the stranded turtle was a 500 pound Leatherback that got stranded in the marsh when the tide receded. It was right behind Lynda Fox’ house and she put on her waders and over the next few hours slowly steered the turtle toward shore while keeping it cool and protected with wet towels. Lynda’s effort was truly heroic and no doubt, saved the huge turtle’s life.

With the leadership of Michelle Pate, of the DNR, and the help of several Turtle Patrol members and other Seabrookers, the Leatherback was moved to shore and loaded in Beautsie’s Turtle Patrol truck. Among those participating were Bill and Pat Greubel, Mark and Valerie Doane, Bill and Susie Firesheets, Harvey Gibson, Don Smith, Ken and Deanna Hubbard, Gary and Terry Fansler and Beautsie Zahrn. We then drove to North Beach, unloaded the turtle and steered her back to sea to the cheers of a large crowd of helpers and observers.

All in all a very rewarding experience for all involved.

Lynda Fox helping keep the Leatherback cool

Leatherback heading back to sea

T Shirt Pick Up Party and 1st Crawl of the Season

Only one week after the T Shirt Pick Up Party and we already have our first crawl. The T Shirt Party was well attended and the new pink shirts received (almost) universal acclaim.

Buoyed by the announcement of South Carolina's first nest earlier in the week, Walkers for all four zones decided to start a day early. Their dedication was rewarded when Pat and Bill Greubel, Carol Agusta and Sherry Vincent found the first crawl of the season on Zone 3 just south of Boardwalk #4. Beautsie Zahrn, Sandy MacCoss and Terry Fansler searched in vain for the nest and finally declared it a false crawl. But now we know they're here!

In other news, Karen "anything for the turtles" Sewell reported alligator tracks on Zone 2 and was nipped by a dog on her way home. Be alert out there!