Turtle volunteers are preparing to begin early morning surveys searching for the large tracks of loggerhead sea turtles. Although the season officially begins May 1, at DeBordieu & Hobcaw we usually have our first nest around mid-May. We wait to begin walking when nests are reported just to the south of us because the ocean temperature warms from north to south. Our current ocean water temperature is 69.4 so we have a little way to go to 75 degrees when nesting historically begins on the north coast. Georgia reported its first turtle activity on Thursday with a false crawl (not sure where).
The current renourishment/groin project is making good progress thanks to favorable weather, calm seas and a 24 hour work crew. Marinex, the dredge company, is currently working around WW#5 and hopes to finish the project by mid-May. https://youtu.be/qcboe0UVoZE
The Coastal Observer ran a front page article this week about our night monitoring should a turtle attempt to nest in the renourishment work area:https://coastalobserver.com/turtle-monitors-prepare-to-watch-over-beach-project/
