We had activity in all sections last night with one turtle seen, photographed and measured! Today, with volunteers getting drenched, we took care of business.
North: Last night under a full moon, in front of their Prince George house, Buffie and Mark got to observe a nesting loggerhead around 10:30. They arrived as she was digging her chamber and watched the entire process. This is such an advantage for volunteers as it helps them be more efficient probers and instructors to have observed the turtle’s moves. Mark measured the carapace as 37″ in length and 36″ in width, a young mother. This morning, Buffie and Mark were filling in on the North. Buffie probed and located the egg chamber:) They decided it was below the spring tide line and moved the nest directly back…yay for team DuPuis!
Middle: Kathi A., subbing for Jackie, had 2 crawls that looked promising. Betsy had planned to work with new volunteers Lori and Michael on relocating DEB20 out of invasive beach vitex. Those plans were abandoned and, as Kathi worked on a crawl at WW#5, Betsy, Lori and Michael went to train on a crawl in front of Pioneer Place Villas. The three analyzed the crawl, tidy body pit with broken vegetation and Michael went to work probing the center area of her crawl. Carefully, when he felt a difference in the sand, he dug down to find the eggs of his first nest…yahoo!! It was in a perfect spot at the base of the grasses to be left natural. Back at WW#5, Kathi worked for a while probing and digging. Bill came to bring Betsy’s probe and went to help Kathi. Even this experienced team, working together, could not locate eggs and called it a false crawl.
Hobcaw: Wendy’s activity was a crawl with a tight turnaround area south #2mm. There was no broken vegetation and the crawls were the same length. Probing and digging, she found no turtle eggs and deemed it a false crawl and headed back in the pouring rain.
DEB 25 HOB16 SCUTE 98 SC 2739
