The sea turtles have returned! Hilton Head reports its first nest of the 2022 season
The talk of the town are back, and they’re here to stay awhile.
Hilton Head Island reported its first Loggerhead sea turtle nest of the 2022 season Thursday morning on Sea Pines beach, said Amber Kuehn, a marine biologist and director of Hilton Head Island’s Sea Turtle Patrol.
Kuehn had called it: The beloved visitors would return four days after the official May 1 start of sea turtle season.
And so it begins. The season will run through Oct. 31 on Hilton Head Island.
Last year, sea turtles laid 283 nests on Hilton Head’s beaches, according to an online nest monitoring system.
When a sea turtle mother is successful, she will walk the shore at night, lay about 120 eggs in a nest, cover it and head back to the ocean. Based on the sand’s temperature, the eggs will incubate between 45 and 60 days.
On Thursday morning, around 8 a.m., Sea Turtle Patrol volunteers made their way up to the tell-tale tracks, identified the egg chamber and placed poles around it. A center pole, with a signature orange sign, held a gold plaque. It signifies something even bigger than the start of the season.
The plaque commemorates Scott Liggett and dedicates the first nest of 2022 to him. Liggett had a profound impact on Hilton Head before his unexpected Feb. 2, 2021, death, working as the director of public projects and facilities for the town.
“This one is a big deal to me because of the dedication,” said Kuehn, who remembers Liggett as a mentor. “That was a great morning for me.”
What to do now that sea turtles are here?
Nurturing and protecting sea turtles on Hilton Head Island means following rules.
- Remove large tents, chairs and personal property from the beach when leaving.
- Dismantle sandcastles and fill in holes before leaving the beach.
- Don’t touch a sea turtle on the beach.
- Follow boating laws, especially in small tidal creeks where sea turtles like to feed.
- Keep artificial lights off the beach at night during nesting season.
- Beach front homes must shade or turn their lights downward.
- Observe sea turtles from a distance.
- Keep beaches and the ocean clean. Plastic bags and balloons can cause injury or death when sea turtles mistake them for food.
Source: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
This story was originally published May 5, 2022 at 10:34 AM.
