North daytime nester/Middle nest/Hobcaw false crawl with videos!

We will call this a turtle mega-morning with activity on all 3 fronts!

North: Maribeth and Donna were returning from the inlet with no activity to report UNTIL they spotted tracks with a nesting turtle just north of #7mm! She crawled up into the dune/grass area on a good slant. Fortunately, there were few people on the beach and those who observed were respectful. Maribeth and Donna said watching better helped them understand the procedure. Bill was able to measure the turtle and check for pit tags (none). Maribeth gave the turtle the traditional bucket bath spa treatment which the turtle seemed to appreciate! The egg chamber was easily located by Maribeth with Donna getting the feel of the soft chamber sand. Great experience!

https://youtu.be/m9DBKQQnn64 https://youtu.be/EdWr5ic4dZA https://youtu.be/Pt2M5j2W7Hc https://youtu.be/tcsLgnsyY5g

Middle: Pat St. texted early with photos of a crawl with nest potential in front of the octagonal house (Sibley). I went to observe her go through the procedure. She analyzed the crawl with the incoming definitely shorter than outgoing. She noted the tight textbook body pit and put a reed where she thought the chamber would be. Turns out she was just a few inches off as she located the soft sand and dug down to find the eggs…yay Pat!

Hobcaw: Susan had Lori and Michael join her this morning. They had a long crawl south #5mm where the turtle bumped along the dune line for 15-20 ft. before turning to go back. There was no interruption of tracks. This turtle seemed to have a barnacle scrape up the right side of her crawl. Pat’s turtle did also and was a later crawl than this one…could this one have been an earlier attempt??

DEB 12 HOB 7 SCUTE 51 SC 1470

6-10-21 Maribeth and Donna St. had a thrill when they spotted a turtle nesting in the daylight! This makes for ideal photos, videos and learning how turtles lay their nests.
6-10-21 DEB12 finished covering her nest and was ready to head back to the cool ocean.
6-10-21 Refreshed by Maribeth’s bucket bath, DEB12 heads home after nesting for 1.5 hours in the hot sun!
6-10-21 Pat St. found these tracks south WW#5. The longer outgoing track is a good clue the turtle spent some time on the beach.
6-10-21 Pat analyzed the crawl and tried to determine the turtle’s path and where the egg chamber might be.
6-10-21 The turtle had a tight body pit with thrown sand. Pat, working toward certification, put a reed where she imagined the eggs to be. She was only off by a few inches…DEB11!
6-10-21 This turtle came up at low tide, bumped along the dune line and then returned without nesting. The barnacle scrape on the right side of her incoming crawl looks similar to the one in DEB11 that laid today in the Middle. It was laid when the tide was coming in.