Four nests left

posted: September 17, 2023, 1:06 PM

This year’s turtle season is winding down. We have had 75 nests this season making this a record-breaking year. The only year that the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program has recorded more nests was in 2019 with 105 nests. The next highest years were 1988 and 2013 with 73. There are still 4 nests on Holden Beach that we are watching.

You may wonder how we gain more nests this late in the season. These were either false crawls or wild nests. A false crawl is when a mother turtle comes ashore but doesn’t appear to lay eggs or has hidden them so well the turtle patrol can’t find them. These nests are found when someone spots baby turtles on the beach. Of the 93 false crawls reported on the Holden Beach this year 3 have hatched and are now counted as part of the 75.

Wild nests are also found when someone sees baby turtles on the beach, but the turtle patrol didn’t know the nest was there. Perhaps the mother turtle tracks were covered by high water, or rain or lots of foot traffic on the beach. They are a real surprise. There have been 3 wild nests so far this year.

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