Sea Turtles Nesting on Hilton Head Island 2021-2022

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These incredibles Sea Turtles are returning to the Island after leaving the Island as hatchlings almost 25 years ago. If you would like to adopt a nest, the cost is $25.00 and you will be able to follow your nest with updates from from Terri Johnson(see below). Hilton Head Properties this year will adopt a nest for every new buyer that works with us this year! Click here to adopt your own nest. If you would like to start shopping for your very own nest on the Island please click Hilton Head Properties!


“Take care of our world.”

~ Miss Andrea Siebold

August 25, 2021

Dear Sea Turtle Nest Adopters,

On May 10th (Mothers Day!  How appropriate!!!), the first sea turtle nest of our season was found on Hilton Head Island!!  In the middle of the night, a mother sea turtle dragged herself out of the ocean, on to the sand and crawled to a beautiful, scenic spot waaaay above the high tide line.  We did not see the mother turtle (long gone by daylight) but we did see her unmistakable tracks in the sand leading into the dunes:

Once she got there, she busily dug a deep hole with her back flippers (not too easy to do!) and laid her eggs (usually about 120 of them) into the hole.  After that, she covered up all of the eggs, filled in the hole, so that her eggs would be safe from harm for the next 60 or so days until they are ready to hatch.  Then, exhausted, she dragged her tired body back into the ocean – never to visit her nest or see her babies again!  Wow!  What a lot of work for that poor mother! If you look carefully, you can see her tracks to and from her nest: Also notice the nice empty beach, perfect for peaceful sea turtle nesting!

The Sea Turtle Patrol has now marked the nest with three poles and an orange label to remind us all that this is the nest of an endangered species – they are not to be touched or disturbed.

We got off to a great start, despite it being such a cool, cool spring.  273 nests as the nesting season winds down!!

Thanks so much for your interest – we’ll keep you posted!

Terri

Terri Johnson

Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Coordinator

Coastal Discovery Museum

803-389-8458

turtles@coastaldiscovery.org

www.coastaldiscovery.org

Be sure to check out our Facebook and Instagram pages:

“Take care of our world.”

~ Miss Andrea Siebold

July 20, 2021

Dear Nest Adopters,

In July and August, the Hilton Head Island beach is a busy place:  During the day, tourists and locals fill the sand and water with fun, noise and laughter.  But in the night, although most of the mother sea turtles have finished coming ashore to nest, a lot of hatchlings are leaving the nest racing to the ocean!  Everyone on the island is working hard to educate our beach goers with simple instructions:  leave the beach at the end of the day as you found it!  Fill in the holes, flatten the sand castles and pick up the trash.  This is sea turtle territory!!🐢🐢🐢

Our “Man On The Beach” (MOTB) has been up early in the morning checking on the nests near our house!  It’s Hatching Season!!  Our first nest laid (May 9th) was our first nest hatched a week ago (around 65 days incubation), so we are off to the “races”!!!!

Hatching is the always a big question.  No one really knows when a nest will hatch (like waiting for a pot to boil or lightening to strike!!) – it can be any time between 45 and 65 days after it was laid.  But we do know that hatchlings prefer to come out in the night – it is cooler, quieter and safer for them.

Here is how it happens:  more than 100 eggs have been developing under the sand for almost two months.  Gradually, the hatchlings start to break out of their shells – still under the sand.  You can tell that this is happening when you see a depression in the sand that looks like a bowling ball was dropped on it – like this:

The hatchlings don’t just come out one at a time…..they wait until a whole bunch of them are ready to make a run for it – and lots exit the nest at the same time.  This is called a “boil”.  In the Coastal Discovery Museum, there is a model of what a nest looks like under the ground during the hatching.  

Then they make a run for the nearest light – which is supposed to be the ocean.  (If people have on lights in their beach front houses, the hatchlings will go that way and never make it to the ocean….very sad!) 

If everything goes right, our Man On The Beach will see tracks coming out of the nest like these,  all going the same direction straight for the ocean!

After a couple days allowing the nest to “boil out” the Sea Turtle Patrol will “inventory the nest”, counting hatched egg shells and checking to see if any babies where left behind.  Last year MOTB got to see the Turtle Patrol scoop some of the babies that didn’t quite make it out of an inventoried nest and release them closer to the lapping waves.  You can see a good bit of the video he took at the attached link!  Remember, only certified members of the Sea Turtle Patrol can handle these babies! 

If you happen to see a nest hatching, you are very lucky – but PLEASE keep a distance away, do not take any pictures, and use only a red turtle safe flashlight – pointed AWAY from the hatchling.  We want to protect every one of those babies!

Over 13,000 eggs are incubating in the sands of HHI beaches…..more later, we are getting closer to those results!!!

Terri

Terri Johnson

Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Coordinator

Coastal Discovery Museum

803-389-8458

turtles@coastaldiscovery.ort

www.coastaldiscovery.org

April 26, 2021

Dear Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Friends,

Dear Sea Turtle Nest Adopters,

Let me introduce you to our “Man On The Beach”, my husband, Steve.  He is out on the beach at sunrise most every morning and has some wonderful interaction with both the Sea Turtle Patrol (those folks permitted by the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to both monitor and protect our precious mommas and nests) and the opportunity to photograph his adventures for us to enjoy!

May 1st is the “official” opening of Sea Turtle Nesting Season (right around the corner!!).   It won’t be long now until you find out when “your” momma came on shore to nest!  I will email you right away when that happens!!

Last year, our Man on the Beach had the great fortune of starting his morning sunrise journey with a momma ashore nesting right on the dunes by our home!  He had a chance to film it and you can see those videos here:

and
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvaSRmJfDq8

You have as much a chance of seeing a momma come ashore to nest (they are notoriously shy) as being struck by lightning! 

Remember, these animals are an endangered species and federal law prohibits anyone, but the folks licensed by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, to interfere or handle them in any way.   So, if you are lucky enough to be on the beach during the late evening or early morning hours and see such an amazing thing, be sure to stay behind her and out of sight!  Our MOTB had a very long zoom lens and was way out of her eye range when this video was shot.

More in the coming weeks!  In the meantime enjoy this sunset view over the water taken from the dock of Hudson’s Seafood House on the Docks……..

Best,

Terri

Terri Johnson

Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Coordinator

Coastal Discovery Museum

803-389-8458

turtles@coastaldiscovery.ort

www.coastaldiscovery.org

November 6, 2020

The beach is empty – the tourists and the sea turtles have departed.  The 2020 hatching season has ended.   We had a great season!

291 Nests

33,379 eggs
25,390 hatched eggs

55.5 days average incubation duration

114.8 eggs average per nest

95.8% nest success

Thank you for sharing the sea turtle journey with us in 2020 – your interest and enthusiasm have been inspiring!  You are wonderful ambassadors to help save the sea turtles and our environment.

Our adopters came from almost every state in the US plus some providences in Canada.  You are all awesome!  This year’s adopters include:

  • Children and adults receiving birthday gift nests.
  • Couples anniversary gifts and new brides and grooms around the country becoming adoptive sea turtle parents.
  • Lost loved ones near and far honored with dedicated memorial nests.
  • Friends who travel around the world – and shared their experiences with us.
  • Book Groups
  • Mother and fathers who adopt for family members around the country so they can compare their nest success stats at the end of the season.
  • Grandparents who share in the joy of sea turtles with their grandchildren and continue the tradition of environmental stewardship and appreciation.
  • Realtors who adopt for their clients to share the lovely sentiment:

“Like the Sea Turtles that return to the island, it is our hope that will return to the Island again.” 

  • Plus countless others.

To our local sea turtle lovers, we say thanks – the amazing Sea Turtle Patrol who does the “heavy lifting” every morning starting at 5:00 am, the Turtle Trackers who help clean up the beach in the evenings, the beach walkers who share their joy and pictures of mothers or hatchling sightings.

Special thank you to our Man On The Beach (my husband, Steve).  He will be our eyes and ears for the 2021 season, therefore make sure you adopt for 2021 so you can follow along on his early morning adventures!

Thank you to the Coastal Discovery Museum staff who prepares and mails all of the certificates and shirts and who teach and inspire endless classes of school children, visitors, and locals.

A special thanks to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources who graciously provides us with the exciting details of each nest hatch.

A final thank you to our lovely Miss Andrea Siebold, who has shouldered the responsibility of keeping all adopters up to date and informed in her educational, entertaining way for the past 12 years.  I am humbled and blessed to follow in her footsteps and look forward to new educational, entertaining journeys with our amazing returning adopters and those new to the HHI sea turtle nest adopting experience.

The 2021 nest adoption form is on the museum website www.coastaldiscovery.org, plus I’ve included the form with this email.  Adoptions are already underway for next year so don’t delay to make sure you get the whole experience from the first momma sighting (around the end of April) to the last nest hatch (usually beginning of October)!

Because of our current pandemic situation, the Holiday Market at the Museum has been canceled, therefore I will be at the Farmers Market at the Museum on Tuesday, November 24 from 9 am to – 1 pm.  Come over and say Hi!

With thanks until next season –

Terri

Terri Johnson

Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Coordinator

Coastal Discovery Museum

803-389-8458

turtles@coastaldiscovery.ort

www.coastaldiscovery.org

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Sea Turtles and Hilton Head Island!

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October 7, 2018

Dear Hilton Head Island Nest Adopters and friends,

While we wait for the final 3 nests to hatch and be inventoried, just a quick word of thanks to you – our amazing nest adopters!

We cannot say enough about the actions and support for the sea turtles that we have seen from our army of adopters.  From 44 states and 5 countries, you have been spreading the word, sharing your enthusiasm, and taking action for the preservation of the special endangered creatures that nest on the Hilton Head Island beaches.  You are awesome!

For example, there is Elise from Minnesota – an 8 year old who has requested for several years that her birthday gift $$ be donated to specified wildlife endeavors.  This year was the Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Protection Project.  While on Hilton Head, she also visited the aquarium in Charleston so she could see the sea turtle hospital.  Way to go, Elise

And Kyle and Jessica from Georgia, long time adopters who are now expert enough to make sea turtle presentations to local classrooms and at the library:

 

My favorite is this picture of the note that Kyle and Jessica wrote in the sand to remind everyone to leave the nest alone:

Many classrooms around the country, including our local elementary school, have raised money to adopt nests so teachers can help their students understand the plight of endangered species.  (Many parents and grandparents also adopt for their children’s or grandchildren’s class – very cool gift!)  Thank you!

I love when the teachers share their classroom sea turtle project artwork with us:

Speaking of helping the sea turtles, two couples who are adopters, followed the lead of other local neighborhoods, and started an evening patrol group this summer to make the north end of the island free of holes and trash so the sea turtles could nest and hatch.  The North End Sea Turtle (NEST) Trackers are cleaning up the beach and helping educate our locals and tourists alike. Thank you, Lisa and Don, and Chris and Cindy!

Robbie Bunting and Jane Hyers of Hilton Head Properties Realty and Rentals who adopt a nest for each of their clients.  Fantastic introduction to the island!  And we are so grateful to the law firm Winston and Strawn who spread the HHI sea turtle word to their staff in New York, Illinois, Texas and California offices.  Yeah, Allan!!

There are way too many more to mention here…..but on behalf of the Coastal Discovery Museum and the Sea Turtle Protection Project, our heartfelt thanks!!!  I’ll be sending you all a final report on the season in the next few weeks – or whenever our late nest finally hatches (it is still only at 39 incubation days!)

Again, many thanks –

Andrea

Andrea B. Siebold

Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Coordinator

Coastal Discovery Museum

843-415-2211

andreabsiebold@gmail.com

www.coastaldiscovery.org

                         Read the rest of this entry



Register to win a big comfy beach towel!

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Ready for some family fun on our beach?  Hilton Head Properties R and R has adopted four Sea Turtle nest on the beach!  Find one(or all) of our nests and we will register you to win a big comfy beach towel. One beach towel drawing will be made every week from Memorial Day to Labor Day.  Island visitors, guests and friends are welcome to participate!  Register for as many of our nests as you can find!   Please read more below! Read the rest of this entry



Turtle Nest Update 2016 – Hilton Head Island

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August 23, 2016

Hi, Sea Turtle Friends

A few quick updates:

  1. We are settled in at 403 nests on the Hilton Head Island ocean beaches (one more very late arrival this week!).  There are several more nests along Port Royal Sound which will be added in for the final count.  However, we did have some excitement at one of the 75 day nests – there was one little hatchling found still in the nest – and it was an albino!!  Amazing – have never seen one before, but he is now swimming out in the ocean!

Albino Sea Turtle

 

 

 

 

  1. Flashlights and sea turtles:  regular flashlights on the beach at night will distract the sea turtle hatchlings from going to the ocean – they will immediately head toward the flashlight, and will not re-direct to the sea.  So, we need your help – if you see someone on the beach at night using a regular flashlight, please tell them to use a sea turtle friendly flashlight.  (Either covered in red or a special red light turtle-safe flashlight – various styles available at the museum or Amazon.)

No Lights

 

 

 

  1. I will write to you again in 3 weeks or so – by that time, we should have some DNA information to share!
  1. In the meantime, I will be keeping you informed about your particular nest.  Many of the nests have hatched (about 58% so far) but there are many more to go…….

Enjoy the end of the summer – and remember:  Lights out for Sea Turtles – including flashlights

Andrea

Andrea B. Siebold

Sea Turtle Nest Adoption Coordinator

Hilton Head Island Sea Turtle Protection Project

andreabsiebold@gmail.com

843-415-2211

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Hilton Head’s Top 10 Christmas Ideas

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Posted by robbie@robbiebunting.comon December 22nd, 2010

Christmas2009
4.  Attend a Christmas Concert on Hilton Head
5.  Visit Signes Bakery for a cookie
6.  Take a long beach walk on Hilton Head
7.  Daytrip to Savannah, Charleston or Beaufort
8.  Take a tour of the Coastal Discovery Museum
P.S.  Don’t forget to sign up for the Polar Bear swim New Years day on Hilton Head
All the best to you and your family!!!

Robbie Bunting & Jane Hyers

800-932-3652



Hilton Head Properties – a dream and a great location!

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Hilton Head Properties – A Dream

We are proud to announce the opening of Hilton Head Properties located at 12 New Orleans Road and Highway 278 across from the Village of Wexford.  Although new to this high volume location, we have over 26 years of representing luxury homes, villas and homesites in the Hilton Head Area including Bluffton and Daufuskie.  “It has always been my dream to own a real estate office on Hilton Head Island and with Jane Hyers assisting, we will make it the best”. Read the rest of this entry



Hilton Head Island Summer

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Dear friends, referrals, new visitors, and clients,

Summer on Hilton Head is a fun.

With one of the busiest spring real estate seasons we’ve seen in years our visitors are jumping in the car of their favorite Realtors to go find a good one before they are all gone. Coupled with affordable prices and incredibly low mortgage rates buyers are not waiting until their next visit.

Pricing is so good

We had a buyer step up recently on one of our properties and pay 96% of asking price…of course they started lower, but knew this was a chance of a lifetime type property. We have had a few properties where we were bidding with other buyers…and my clients all know I hate to lose!

Ideas for your Summer visit
Enjoy this summer on Hilton Head and if you need some double top secret things for fun, just email Jane for great ideas for your visit…

Happy Hilton Head 

Scroll down for the latest Hilton Head Articles and information about our wonderful Island.  Wondering about Real Estate Opportunities on Hilton Head?  Just send us an email.  Above all we wish for you a safe and Happy Summer and  always appreciate your questions, trust and referrals.   Thank you.

All the best,
Robbie Bunting & Jane Hyers



Hilton Head ~ Memorial Weekend Island Style

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Nothing better…Memorial Weekend Island Style.  We have some great outdoor events planned for the weekend including an art festival and paying honor to our fallen veterans on Memorial Day.  Join us on Hilton Head Island for Memorial Weekend!

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Hope, Courage and Miracle

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Late one night on Daufuskie Island three turtle hatchlings climbed to the surface of the beach and followed their instincts and what they thought was the moon.  First Faith, than Hope and right behind them little Miracle climbed out of the sand where their mother had placed them..This new day proved to be a big adventure… Read the rest of this entry



The Hilton Head Town Transfer Fee

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With the sale of every Hilton Head Property, a quarter of one percent transfer fee is paid by the purchaser(typically). This transfer is collected for Beaufort county and paid to the town.  The town of Hilton Head has purchased over 1,170 acres with it and have reduced the potential of 4.37 million square feet of commercial development, 1,365 motel rooms and 4,210 residential and timeshare units on the Island.  As a buyer you will benefit with more open green spaces, more parks and less development, the very reasons why you are buying in the first place. Read the rest of this entry




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