The Hilton Head Homes Blog - Beach & Sea Life

Dolphin Watch Volunteer Project Update

Embarking from Bell's Landing in Savannah, a small group of us set out to explore the captivating world of bottle-nose dolphins. With a knowledgeable skipper, his wife (also a talented photographer), and a couple of companions from Hilton Head, our voyage promised a day filled with exciting encounters and valuable insights.

As we ventured into the estuaries, our eyes scanned the waters in anticipation of spotting these majestic creatures. Although the dolphins initially eluded us, our perseverance paid off when we chanced upon a remarkable sight—an osprey perched atop a towering nest, gracefully overlooking the surrounding waters. The size of the nest emphasized the osprey's prowess as a master builder.  

After a delightful break and a satisfying…

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Dolphin Watch Volunteer Project

I CAN’T WAIT FOR MY FIRST DOLPHIN PROJECT EXCURSION! 

I’ve been in the Low Country for some time now, and have been looking for a volunteer project in that I could really invest my time and efforts. Nothing really caught my eye, until I read the article about the Dolphin Project in the Local Life magazine. The more I read, the more interested and excited I became!  Throughout high school, I was always interested and excelled in science. Combine that with my love of the water and wildlife, I was smitten. I immediately signed up for the two-hour Zoom class, which explains the project and what they are trying to accomplish.  

As a volunteer, I'll work alongside marine researchers and other volunteers to collect photo ID research of all of our…

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Port Royal Sound Foundation

The Port Royal Sound is 1,600 pristine acres of water, marsh, and land.  It extends from the northern sea islands in Beaufort to the sparkling waves rippling onto the immaculate shoreline of Hilton Head Island. The Port Royal Sound is where brown pelicans dive for their favorite seafood meal to go, and bottlenose dolphins leap for joy. It is a spectacular design by nature of the Atlantic Ocean’s inland straights, creatively weaving like artwork through the Lowcountry.

The Port Royal Sound Foundation excels at education, conservation, and action to ensure our natural habitat lasts for generations. Their mission for living in harmony with the land unites the Lowcountry’s ancestral, natural, and historic resources that make up the Port Royal Sound…

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Hilton Head Creates a Unique Footprint!

Discover hidden details artfully woven throughout this shoe-shaped island that make this admirable town stand out! Hilton Head is a tropical paradise that economically grows while taking huge strides in preservation and has successfully created its mark on the world.

 With only 300 island residents in 1956, Charles Fraser developed an environmentally friendly Sea Pines Resort. At the same time, a swing bridge brought more residents, visitors, and investors to this gorgeous land. The vision to improve and not destroy the island's natural appeal spread into additional neighborhoods. Expansion continued, and Hilton Head's four-lane bridge, built in 1982, quickly connected the island with outside communities at the shoe's opening. Today nearly 40,000…

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A Home that Grows on You- Hilton Head Attracts Sea Turtles & Us!

One of Hilton Head Island’s first residents arrived in a remarkably designed and sturdy mobile home. The loggerhead turtle (Caretta caretta), with its heart-shaped carapace, or shell, found our tropical climate and soft, sandy beaches to be the ideal nesting place. Its solid house, a protective exterior shell that covers most of its body, also functions as a float that allows the turtle to rest its flippers and enjoy the refreshing waters surrounding Hilton Head Island. 

One loggerhead sea turtle is a 35-year-old Hilton Head Island native. It’s early May, and she is finally feeling mature enough to start her own family! After mating at sea, our familiar coastline calls her home, and she is drawn back to Hilton Head’s pristine shore to lay her eggs in…

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Hilton Head’s Best-kept Prize is an Ecosystem that Thrives!

Indulge in the well-preserved, natural beauty of Hilton Head Island’s breath-taking ecosystem because a friendly smile is contagious, especially when it comes from a dolphin! Whether you look up, down, right, or left, the circle of life surrounds Hilton Head Island with lush landscaping, carefree animals, and abundant sea-life. Set your watch to island time, breathe in the fresh outdoor air, and uncover nature’s finest!\

In the Water  

A scenic water excursion on a kayak, paddleboard, or boat lets you discover a habitat swimming with life! You don’t have to travel far off the coast of Hilton Head to see a loggerhead sea turtle, an Atlantic bottlenose dolphin, or even a huge manatee surface for a quick breath. Although a dolphin can hold its breath…

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DOLLARS, STARS, & JELLIES ON HILTON HEAD BEACH! UNBURY THE HIDDEN TREASURES OF SEA LIFE YOU MAY SEE!

A BEACHFRONT HOME FOR SAND DOLLARS, STARFISH, and JELLYFISH 

Strolling along the soft sandy beaches in Sea Pines, Forest Beach, Palmetto Dunes, or other beaches in Hilton Head Island, you may find some buried treasures that are extremely valuable!  Low tide is an ideal time for a beach walk as the coastal beach expands and small tidal pools form. Marine life flourishes in Hilton Head’s well-protected oceanfront, and it is a natural home to sand dollars, starfish, and jellyfish, yet, as you will discover they are not quite what their names imply!  

SAND DOLLAR

Its actual value exceeds a genuine dollar because the interesting details of an eccentric sand dollar are priceless!  Close yet brief observation of this spiny skinned disk’s underside will…

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SHELLS & SHARK TEETH ON HILTON HEAD BEACH - UNBURY THE HIDDEN TREASURES OF SEA LIFE YOU MAY SEE!

SHARK TEETH 101 AND THE ORIGIN OF SEASHELLS
Soft, glimmering sand covers Hilton Head Island’s picture-perfect beach, yet, unlike some coastal beaches, rugged, there is only a gentle sprinkling of seashells along the Atlantic shoreline beaches of Palmetto Dunes 
and Forest Beach. The island is a sandbar system, and shells tend to collect plentifully towards the tips of the island. South Beach in Sea Pines or at the opposite end at Mitchellville Beach Park, Burkes Beach, and Port Royal Beach are avid seashell collector’s ultimate destinations!

Every 12 hours, as the tide washes in, it uncovers a once buried layer. Hilton Head Island’s beach renourishment and dredging to preserve the beautiful shore opens the possibilities of exciting and valuable…

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‘TIS THE SEASON! For sea turtle nesting on Hilton Head Island

During May through October, Hilton Head Island excitingly welcomes hundreds of sea turtles each nesting season!

For this reason, we ask our residents and visitors to help protect this endangered species. 

In a perfect setting, with ideal conditions, Hilton Head Island’s most common marine turtle, the loggerhead, comes ashore about every 18 days during nesting season. She lays 80 to 120 eggs into a freshly made nest nearly two feet deep. Under the warm, dry sand, the round eggs incubate for an average of 50 days.  The two-inch hatchlings dig together to travel to the surface of the nest. The newborns rely on their instincts, moonlight, and even magnetic fields to guide them. They squirm, crawl and wiggle as quickly as their new little flippers will…

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NOT TOO MANY CRABS ON HILTON HEAD BEACH! UNBURY THE HIDDEN TREASURES OF SEA LIFE YOU MAY SEE!

FAR FROM CRABBY: HORSESHOE CRABS, HERMIT CRABS, AND GHOST CRABS 

Hilton Head Island is a natural habitat for eleven different crabs and a few marine animals that share the crab’s name. Each refreshing walk on the beach brings discoveries that are fascinating to observe. Horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs, and ghost crabs happily reside along the shoreline, yet the only thing they have in common is their name and address.  

HORSESHOE CRABS

This ancient marine animal looks frightening but is harmless.  The firm tail, called a telson, is not used for defense; its telson can flip it over or help with stability. Your nose will let you know if the horseshoe is deceased or if it is an empty shell. A juvenile will molt its outer shell, the exoskeleton, 15-16…

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