Nest #16 found today!

As of June 21, 2009, Seabrook Island Turtle Patrol has identified 16 loggerhead turtle nests on our beaches. Last year there were over 60 nests found.

If you are visiting Seabrook Island during turtle nesting season, here are some helpful hints to help us protect the loggerhead turtles.

• Observe the nesting areas from a safe distant. Do not disturb markers or protective screening over turtle nests. The nests are being studied and protected.
• Avoid walking on the dunes along the beach.
• Don't disturb a turtle that is crawling to or from the ocean or laying eggs. Watch from a distance.
• Lights out on beach front homes at 10 p.m. It is a good idea to avoid shining lights on the beach at night. Female turtles may be frighten away from nesting. Bright lights can interfere with baby turtles' ability to find the sea.
• Bring food and drinks in plastic containers instead of glass and cans. Cans are especially harmful to animals when washed into the water where they confuse wildlife. Plastic drink holders can and do entangle birds, fish, and turtles.
• Remove all personal property from the beach at dark so that turtles can come ashore unobstructed.
• Do your part to spread the word about creating safe nesting environs for the loggerhead turtles.
  

DID YOU KNOW?: Loggerheads lay 4 to 7 nests per season, typically about 14 days apart. The average number of eggs per nest ranges from 100 to 126. The eggs typically incubate for 50 to 60 days. And, then the nest "boils" to reveal turtle hatchlings. The hatchlings instinctively know to get to the ocean.