Harbor Island Turtle Program

Harbor Island Turtle Program Sea turtle nest protection/ stranding activities on HI per SCDNR guidelines under permits MTP550-1; MTP555

See a sea turtle? Contact security at (843)838-9985.

Support our conservation efforts, buy t-shirts! Contact: [email protected]

An added bonus for today's volunteers was an exfoliating treatment courtesy of Mother Nature! The wind was fierce, but d...
05/31/2026

An added bonus for today's volunteers was an exfoliating treatment courtesy of Mother Nature! The wind was fierce, but didn't stop our team from locating a new nest and a "Wandering Wanda" crawl on the spit.

Blue Moon tonight, which we hope will find our turtles nesting alone on a quiet beach!

SCDNR Permits MTP550-1 & MTP555

Our team works like clockwork as they locate nests, document data, check nests, and patrol the entire beach. We also hav...
05/30/2026

Our team works like clockwork as they locate nests, document data, check nests, and patrol the entire beach. We also have systems in place to thoroughly check Non-nesting crawls. What's that saying about teamwork and dream work? 😉

Today's tally:
3 new nests 🎉🎉🎉 and
1 FC.

SCDNR Permits MTP550-1 & MTP555

Another quiet day on the beach this morning as our sea turtles are taking a break from nesting. They typically nest ever...
05/29/2026

Another quiet day on the beach this morning as our sea turtles are taking a break from nesting. They typically nest every 2 weeks (ish) during the season and can lay 4-6 (ish) nests each season.

Our volunteers enjoyed a cool breeze and cool company on patrol this morning. We are so grateful for our amazing team!

SCDNR Permits MTP550-1; MTP555

Thank you to our exemplary team of volunteers for coming out this morning. No turtle activity noted, but they checked on...
05/28/2026

Thank you to our exemplary team of volunteers for coming out this morning. No turtle activity noted, but they checked on our 14 existing nests to be sure they're safe and sound while they incubate.

Reminders: Lights out and leave only footprints! Thank you! 😊

Don't forget, we're selling raffle tickets for that amazing sea turtle quilt! ♥️

SCDNR Permits MTP550-1; MTP555

1/3 of today's crawls resulted in a nest. Sometimes the nesting turtles act like Goldilocks - this sand is too soft, thi...
05/27/2026

1/3 of today's crawls resulted in a nest. Sometimes the nesting turtles act like Goldilocks - this sand is too soft, this sand is too hard - so they wait until they can find some place that's just right! Even though we know this, we still work long and hard to make absolutely sure it is, indeed, a Non-nesting emergence.

Thank you to Barb and Stacie for working the crawl sites, Erin and Nick for relocating the nest and walking both North and South, and Talia for delivering supplies and personnel. ♥️

SCDNR PERMIT MTP555

Try as we might, we came up empty this morning. We had four false crawls (2 north, 2 south). Our volunteers work hard, w...
05/26/2026

Try as we might, we came up empty this morning. We had four false crawls (2 north, 2 south). Our volunteers work hard, with great attention to detail, and we are grateful they choose to wake up early to do the important work of sea turtle conservation.

SCDNR Permits MTP550-1; MTP555

05/25/2026

Thank you to Carla Chinn-Ferguson at Safe Harbor Dry Stack for assisting us with a sea turtle stranding event in Port Royal today. She and her staff didn't hesitate, and while the outcome for the turtle wasn't what we'd hoped, we are thankful for the generosity of community partners!

We had extra hands on deck today - thank goodness! Four crawls, two were easily located, one was a false crawl (we inves...
05/25/2026

We had extra hands on deck today - thank goodness! Four crawls, two were easily located, one was a false crawl (we investigated thoroughly), and the fourth was very tricky! Our team never gave up and were able to locate and protect the clutch. Huge thanks to Maria and Lori for coming out, and to Terry and Donna for patrolling the beach while others worked at nests. Terry and Donna even got to assist in their first nest!

SCDNR Permits MTP550-1; MTP 555

We "got a peaceful, easy feeling" with no turtle activity noted this morning. Beaches are busy this holiday weekend, so ...
05/24/2026

We "got a peaceful, easy feeling" with no turtle activity noted this morning. Beaches are busy this holiday weekend, so please be reminded to extinguish beach visible lights💡, take everything off of the beach when you leave🏖️, fill in holes, and knock down sand structures🏰. Enjoy your day at the beach, but please leave the beach quiet, dark, and safe for nesting sea turtles. We thank you and so do the turtles! ♥️

Pictured: Dani, Helena, Hope C., Terry, David, Cyndi, and friends

Address

162 Harbor Drive North
Saint Helena Island, SC
29920

Telephone

+18438384890

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