Last updated: July 23, 2008

As July arrives, we know the crowds will increase, and, unfortunately, with them, all the human-oriented "comforts."

Too many of these comforts -- chairs, tents, volleyball nets, floats, boats, toys, shovels -- are being left on the public beach after dark, overnight, even days after the visitors have gone home.

This is not only thoughtless littering (ok, ok ... maybe a little harsh ... people do have some good thoughts: like "it'll save me time -- I won't need to set up again tomorrow," or "I don't really want this, I'll leave it here for someone else to enjoy") -- it's also a major safety problem.

Photo courtesy of Shannon.

FOLKS ... TAKE YOUR STUFF, or leave it AT THE CURB for others to shop.

Items left on the public beach overnight present hazards to humans and their pets, as well as our critters of concern: nesting sea turtles.

Nesting sea turtles CRAWL FORWARD on the beach in the dark. They do not have a reverse gear. If they hit an object, they generally turn away (sometimes back to the ocean), or attempt to keep going. If they can get over the object, great. If not, the momma turtle can easily become entrapped or entangled under chairs, in pole guywires, or in deep holes dug for fun. Entrapment is not fun for turtles -- they exhaust themselves trying to move on -- eventually resulting in injury or death.

Thanks to the persistent efforts of Turtle Watch volunteer Sharon H, the hard work of the Folly Surfriders Foundation (thanks, Marty!), and the support of Folly Beach City Hall (Steve Robinson's crew in particular), real work is being done to remove chairs, tents, poles, etc. for the SAFETY of ALL.

It's up to each of us to be responsible beach visitors. If you bring it, REMOVE IT. If you dig it, FILL IT IN. It's the SAFE thing to do.

A record setting May just got bigger and better on June 1st.

Shannon got a midnight call from Public Safety saying there was a turtle on the beach.

Excited, but expecting it to be a "typical" loggerhead visitor, Shannon made some calls to crew members who wanted to be alerted, then settled back in to hear their stories and check out the nest in the morning.

But it wasn't a "typical" loggerhead at all!

Charlotte and Tim, Bob, Carole and Judi were startled to see a huge, black LEATHERBACK turtle nesting. Almost 6-feet long and over 3-feet wide, the turtle was quietly laying and concealing her eggs in 400-West sand.

A quick call-back to Shannon brought her out, too. She couldn't stay away!

Excited reverence took hold of the growing crowd.

It's an amazing, amazing, AMAZING experience to be on the beach with any sea turtle, but a LEATHERBACK?! Wow.

This is Folly's second-known leatherback nest. The first was in July 2003, laid at the northeast end of the island (see Nest #40).

At that time, it was only the 3d ever leatherback nest reported in SC sea turtle history. Florida is the usual east coast nesting home for leatherbacks, but in recent years, a few at least are nesting further north in GA and SC. Nesting, in-water sightings and, unfortunately, dead-on-the-beach strandings have increased.

Also exciting was the news that a leatherback had nested on Kiawah nine days earlier. Those who saw the turtle reported that she had a torn left rear flipper. So did the one on Folly!

DuBose and Charlotte, SC/DNR biologists, believe it's the same turtle. Leatherbacks re-nest at a 10-12-day interval, usually in the same region. The timing, proximity of Kiawah and Folly, and especially the flipper are very strong indicators that a leatherback has chosen us for her nesting ground.

Leatherbacks differ from other sea turtle species. Instead of a hard shell, they have a thick, ridged rubbery covering. Their body design enables them to withstand colder, very deep water temperatures where they feed on their diet staple -- cannonball jellyfish.

Their eggs are also different. They're LARGE -- tennis ball size in comparison with the loggerhead's ping-pong ball size. And the clutch includes not only these large, viable eggs, but also much smaller "spacer" eggs that do not produce hatchlings. Their purpose is unknown, but may provide cushioning and air spaces for the large eggs. Incubation time is about the same as loggerheads -- 55-75 days with a mean of 63 days.

Look carefully at the tracks in Bob's photos (click to enlarge) and you'll see the tell-tale feathery flick at the end of the leatherback's track and her "orientation turn" just before she re-enters the ocean. These are "typical" leatherback track field signs -- even hatchlings have been seen to make the orientation turn.

Have we said "AMAZING" yet?

You can believe we're anxiously awaiting June 10th and perhaps another visit from this really big momma.

For more LEATHERBACK FUN (and to learn about their critical endangerment), take a look at the Great Turtle Race about the Pacific Ocean's leatherback population.

And this closer-to-home article published in 2003 about leatherback nesting on the East Coast, north of Florida.

Bob's pre-dawn walk on June 4th was perfect timing. As he got a few houses past The Washout, he saw a momma loggerhead nesting!

A few quick phone calls brought Suzie, Sharon and her friend Sep from NJ out to enjoy the sight -- a first for all of them.

See Nest #15 on our Tracks & Nests list to enjoy the great photos that Bob took of this beautiful momma.

And watch her cover her nest in this very cool movie [QuickTime viewer may be required].