Sea turtle nests on Little St. Simons Island are now beginning to hatch, and new nests are still being laid as well. The total number of nests on LSSI is 106. To date, there have been 154 additional emergences of females who did not nest.  Of the 106 nests, 33 have hatched already (31%). 2402 live hatchlings have been accounted for in the hatched nests. The mean incubation period for the nests this season is 52 days.

Island guests have had the opportunity to accompany our naturalists and the turtle intern to inventory hatched nests. The nests are dug up; hatched and unhatched eggs are counted, and occasionally there have been a few live hatchlings in the nests that were put on the beach to return to the sea! To watch a baby sea turtle  make its way to the shore then dive in to catch its first wave and come back up for air, and keep paddling vigorously out to sea is possibly one of the best images of summer on our beaches! What else can compare?

The past two nights have been incredibly active for Loggerhead sea turtles on Little St. Simons Island, relative to the number of emergences typically seen on our beach. On Friday morning, our turtle intern Kristina Hammond spent the morning exploring 10 turtle activities from the previous night; there were two nests and eight false crawls, bringing our totals to 17 nests and 23 false crawls for the season.

Today naturalist Abby Sterling rode the beach, and was astonished to find that last night was even busier for turtles. She discovered a total of seven nests and eight additional false crawls! The totals as of June 5 are now 24 nests and 31 false crawls! This is shaping up to be one of our biggest turtle seasons, if things continue at the present pace. The highest year so far on LSSI was in 2008, with 113 nests.

The loggerhead sea turtle nesting season is off to a good start; as of May 27 we have encountered a total of 11 turtle nests on the beach and 3 false crawls. On Saturday, May 22, guests visited the beach on an evening walk to look for turtles, and saw a female far down the beach. They ran like mad, and got to the area just as she was arriving at the tide line. They watched her swim away, and marveled at the luck they had to have that brief look! Our turtle interns continue to monitor the beach daily seeking out new nests; keep checking back for more updates.

This morning our new turtle intern, Kristina Hammond, embarked on her morning beach bike ride to discover the first loggerhead turtle nest of the season! The turtle emerged near the time of high tide, crawled up into the dry sand, started to excavate a hole, changed her mind, went a little farther on to the beach, and dug the nest she laid her eggs in.  Judging by the return crawl, she spent a great deal of time up on the beach. Her return crawl was filled with meanders and loops. Finally she made it back out to sea, some time after the tide had begun to fall. Kristina located the eggs and confirmed that the turtle had truly laid a nest, then marked the area with protective screening to keep out predators. She added a stake with today’s date  so that we will know when to begin looking for hatchling turtles.  The average time for loggerhead eggs to hatch is between 50 – 65 days.

The looping return crawl of the first loggerhead of the season

Closer view of the crawl

On Friday, February 5, naturalists on LSSI took part in the annual Mid-winter Shorebird Survey with the help of Giff Beaton and Brandon Noel. The survey is part of a statewide effort looking at shorebird numbers. A total of 23 bird species were seen during our count, adding up to a total of 8099 birds. Of those, 18 species (7989 individuals) were shorebirds. Dunlin numbered the highest, with 5477 birds counted. Trailing far behind in second were Semi-palmated Plover (834). Third numerous were Sanderling (593), followed by Short-billed Dowitcher (236).

Other shorebirds counted were: Black-bellied Plover (227), Red Knot (171), Western Sandpiper (158), Ruddy Turnstone (157), Dowitcher Sp. (32), Least Sandpiper (25), American Oystercatcher (17), Piping Plover (12), Greater Yellowlegs (11), Wilson’s Plover (9), Marbled Godwit (9), Killdeer (9), Greater Yellowlegs (8), and unidentified “peeps” (4).

Other species counted on the survey were: Scaup Sp. (86), Lesser Scaup (19), Greater Scaup (3), Lesser Black-back Gull (1), and Bald Eagle (1).

It is the time of year when visits to the two Bald Eagle nests on LSSI become more frequent… we believe that the eggs of both clutches have finally hatched! The nest on the north end of the island was believed to have hatched on January 26th. The adult was seen sitting high on the nest and moving things around below it. The bird seemed very active in comparison to when it was still incubating the eggs. The pair on the south end of LSSI is a bit trickier — we don’t have an exact date of hatching for them, but by now the eggs should be fully developed and hatched. So far, we have not had any looks at either nest where the chicks could be seen. Stay tuned for further updates and photos as the season continues!

We have had several reports of River Otter on Little St. Simons Island over the last week. The sleek brown mammals have been seen at Norm’s Pond on two occasions, Goose Pond, and the north dike of Myrtle Pond.  River Otters belong to the weasel family, Mustelidae, and are in the sub-family Lutrinae.

Today’s morning activity started out seeking sparrows, but when the sparrows eluded us we changed course and turned up numerous other species. We began at the marsh near Myrtle Pond looking for sparrows but flushed Sedge Wrens instead. We gave up on the sparrows and our list lengthened. The morning birds included: Pied-billed Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Black Vulture, and Turkey Vulture. We also saw Blue-winged Teal, Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Bufflehead, Ruddy Duck, Common Moorhen, American Coot, Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, Red-tailed Hawk, American Avocet, Greater Yellowlegs, Lesser Yellowlegs, Least Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher. In addition to all those wonderful birds, we noted Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Eastern Meadowlark. As if the birds weren’t enough, we were also fortunate enough to spot one American Alligator and a River Otter!

This week there has been a large group of White Pelicans at the mouth of the Altamaha River. The group of pelicans is visible from Sancho Panza beach, and also from River Beach. High counts topped out around 100 pelicans, and smaller groups of 60 – 75 have been seen as well. The brilliant white is visible from a distance, even without binoculars, but the birds are moving about quite frequently and have been seen close to the shore and on Sancho Panza beach as well.

Little St. Simons Island is pleased to announce this year’s line-up of guest ornithologists for Spring Birding Days 2010! The event will take place from April 16 – 23, 2010. The guest birders featured this year will be John Sill, author and illustrator; Scott Weidensaul, author; and Tim Keyes, Wildlife Biologist with the Georgia DNR.

Spring Birding Days is a wonderful time for beginner to advanced birders to explore the many habitat types found on LSSI alongside others who are passionate about birds.  The variety and abundance of birds is plentiful in April as migration north is underway. Shorebirds, wading birds, birds of prey, warblers, and other songbirds can be found moving through the island in the Spring. LSSI is an important stop-over area for many birds traveling north who need a place to rest and refuel.

While the focus of Spring Birding Days is mainly on birds and their conservation, it is also a great opportunity to experience all the different types of wildlife found on the island as well. While out birding, we often encounter other wildlife such as interesting mammals, insects, and flora.

Be sure to call 912-638-7472 to book your stay during Spring Birding Days! This wonderful and exciting time of year fills up quickly!