Life of A Loggerhead
Learn All About Sea Turtles on Hilton Head Island.
THE EGGS & INCUBATION
The 400-pound mother loggerhead emerges from the sea and drags herself up the beach to the dry sand. She digs an egg chamber for approximately 120 eggs with her back flippers. The eggs are soft and leathery and do not break when they are dropped into the 2-foot deep egg chamber. The temperature in the nest determines the gender of the hatchlings.
HATCHING & EMERGENCE
The eggs will hatch under the sand after about 60 days. The hatching process takes about three days inside the egg chamber. In the cool temperature of the evening after sunset, the hatchlings will emerge from the nest chamber by crawling through about a foot of sand. Because they are reptiles, they cannot control their body temperature. They will emerge when temperatures are cooler in the evenings instead of during the heat of the day.
ENTERING THE WATER
A hatchling’s journey begins with crawling toward the beach toward the ocean’s open horizon and into the waves that roll onto shore. At night the reflection of the moon on the water directs them into the surf. They know to swim into the open ocean out 70 miles to the Gulf Stream, which takes approximately 3 days. It is estimated that one out of 100 hatchlings will make it safely to the Gulf Stream.
RIDING THE GYRE
The Gulf Stream provides shelter in the sargassum weed that floats in it. There are plenty of small organisms that the hatchling can feed on. They will rest for a time and float north in the current of the North Atlantic Gyre. When they are rested, they will swim with the current and cross the Atlantic. Their destination is an isolated island chain off of the coast of Portugal called the Azores, and it could take them up to a year to get there! They stay there for many years.
THE JOURNEY BACK HOME
When they are about 10-15 years old, sea turtles are about 2.5-feet long and will grow very slowly for the rest of their lives. At this age, they instinctually find the North Atlantic Gyre again and follow it all the way back across the Atlantic to the Eastern seaboard of the United States. They find a spot that provides adequate food and forage until they are approximately 30 years old.
NESTING
The male loggerheads will never come back to shore, but the females will become sexually mature around the age of 30. They will find the Earth’s magnetic signature that they imprinted during their first journey as a hatchling to the Gulf Stream and return to that area. Hatchlings entering the ocean in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina will consider any beach in all three states to be the “beach that they were born on”. During a nesting summer, a female can lay five or six nests. She will lay a nest with an average of 120 eggs every two weeks anywhere in her natal beach area.
Annual Nesting Activity on Hilton Head Isalnd
How Many nests are laid Annually
learn more about sea turtles
frequently asked questions
The people who volunteer with Sea Turtle Patrol are highly trained and work together for several months each year. Their training follows guidelines from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) to monitor sea turtle activity on the Island. These activities are authorized by a permit held by the program leader. It is not possible to volunteer with the patrol on a short-term basis. But, you can help in other ways! Learn about Putting the Beach to Bed.
- Turn off the Lights! Make sure your beachfront lights are turned off or properly shielded and downward facing after dark. Nesting sea turtles do not like bright lights. Hatchlings will be confused by artificial bright lights and could crawl towards a brightly lit beach house instead of to the ocean.
- Use a red beam flashlight for evening beach walks. Bright, white flashlights are confusing and disorienting for sea turtles.
- Flatten sand castles, fill holes, and remove chairs and shades or umbrellas from the beach at the end of each day. We call this Putting the Beach to Bed!
What does “Put the Beach to Bed” mean?
Many visitors help us by paying attention to the following: A clean, dark, flat beach is a safe nesting habitat.
- CLEAN: Pick up trash and put in proper receptacles.
- DARK: Use a red light when walking on the beach at night. White lights can scare nesting females and confuse hatchlings. Please turn off ocean front lights that are visible from the beach.
- FLAT: Fill in all holes and flatten sand structures to clear the way for nesting females and hatchlings. These obstacles on the beach can prevent nesting.
A red light can be seen by sea turtles, but it is less distracting than white light. The red light does not attract hatchlings but can be confusing if the red light is pointed at them. Nesting females will move away from red lights if approached. Never point any lights directly at a sea turtle.
NEED NEW TEXT
If you see turtle tracks in the sand, that probably means a sea turtle has nested in the area. Sea Turtle Patrol is out on the beach every day starting at 5 am. Our highly trained patrol staff will see the tracks and find the nest. It can take a few hours for us to cover the entire length of the Island, but we will be on the beach until all nests are found. There is no reason to call anyone or mark the tracks.
Dedicate a nest! This fundraiser keeps our Sea Turtle Patrol rolling down the beach to monitor nests every day from May 1 until October 31. This effort requires fuel, equipment, supplies, and many other operational costs associated with nest monitoring.
Do not touch or approach the sea turtle. Report Sick or Injured Sea Turtles to SCDNR at 1-800-922-5431.
Deep holes create a hazard for people and for sea turtles on the beach. Holes can trap adult sea turtles and hatchlings. Holes that are dug in the sand after a fun day at the beach should be filled in to create a safe, flat beach for our nesting and hatching sea turtles. Did you know our beach rules say that holes should be no deeper than 12 inches? Dig holes by using a plastic shovel that is no longer than 30 inches.
We never know where or when a sea turtle will come ashore during the nesting months of May to mid-August. A sea turtle may be anywhere on our Island’s 14 miles of nesting beaches sometime during the cooler dark hours.
There are things you can do to respectfully observe a nesting sea turtle. If she gets spooked, she may return to the water without nesting.
If you see a sea turtle:
- Be very quiet
- Keep at least 30 feet away
- Stay behind her so she cannot see you
- Never use flash photography!
The incubation period of a sea turtle nest is anywhere from 48 days to 65 days. Incubation time is dependent on many conditions, so no one can predict exactly when a nest will hatch. If you see hatchlings emerging from a nest:
- Stay behind them and do not block their path to the ocean
- Keep your distance
- Do not shine any lights on them
- Allow them to make their way to the ocean unassisted
- Never pick up a hatchling
Hatchlings need to orient themselves on the beach and make their own way to the ocean. Touching a nest or hatchling is against federal law, even if the hatchling is in distress or not crawling toward the ocean. If you see hatchlings emerging from a nest:
- Stay behind them and do not block their path to the ocean
- Keep your distance
- Do not shine any lights on them
- Allow them to make their way to the ocean unassisted
- Never pick up a hatchling
