October 16, 2023 – Nest #93 Inventory

Whew!  Deep Breath…

Nest #93 was inventoried by Team 0 + this morning.  One more hatchling emerged overnight and left a really cute loop in his tracks!  The three live hatchlings that were brought out of their warm nest were probably shocked by the cool 52 degree temps.  All three had slight flipper issues from being compressed in the nest, but they still had a lot of spunk!

Nest #93 Inventory:
Hatched Egg Shells – 103
Unhatched Eggs – 10
Live in Nest at Inventory -3

This closes out our 2023 Nesting Season!  Thank you all for your support!  We will have some preliminary statistics in the next few days, but it will be a while before we receive all of our DNA data.  We will keep you updated!

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

October 15, 2023 – Nest #85 Inventory

Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Team 8 inventoried Nest #85 this afternoon.  It was Day 78 for this nest, which was over-washed for the first time 3 days after it was laid.  After this initial event, it was over-washed 8 more times before the Sept/Oct. King Tides and then a LOT more (we stopped counting).  Sadly, the excavated eggs showed development somewhere between Day 39-42. There were 108 unhatched eggs.  

We have some of the DNA results that show this Mama also laid Nests #13 and #91.  We will have to wait for more results to see if she laid more in between!

The DNA data is coming in all mixed up.  We have 1-30 minus #3, 82-91 minus #84.  We will let you know when more comes in!

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

October 11, 2023 – Wednesday #92 Inventory

Last night was a beautiful night for an inventory!  It was a small but successful nest!

Nest #92 Inventory:
Hatched Egg Shells – 64
Unhatched Eggs – 4
Pipped – 0
Live – 1
Dead – 0

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

October 6, 2023 – #91: A Great Hatch!

We inventoried Nest #91 on this busy King Mackerel Tournament opening day!  This nest hatched during the night-early morning hours October 2nd-3rd with lots of hatchling tracks leading to the high tide line. The bugs had chased everyone off the beach that evening, so the turtles emerged as nature intended (without an audience). It was a great hatch!

Nest #91 Inventory:
Hatched Egg Shells – 99
Unhatched Eggs – 7
Nothing else

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

October 3, 2023 – Nest #78, 75th Day

We Inventoried Nest #78 last evening, the 75th Day.  The King Tides definitely had an impact on the nest.  There were 84 unhatched, partially developed eggs.  One of those had been split open, probably by a crab.  It was not developed enough to have pipped on its own.  Team 3 rallied through and did what needed to be done!  Thank you, Team 3!

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

September 28, 2023 – Nesting Site Hatch

We had a surprise yesterday afternoon. Our last Nesting Site showed evidence of an emergence. A Nesting Site is an area where the Mama spent a good amount of time, but the nest chamber was not located by our patrol. Mama came in on August 4th.

Our best guess is that the nest hatched during the rains on Friday into Saturday. After digging an arms length deep, our patrol found the nest. That makes this Nest #96. Unfortunately they found many deceased hatchlings. Sadly the heavy rains must have stopped their progress out of the nest. Nature isn’t always kind.

Nest #96 Inventory
Hatched Egg Shells – 107
Unhatched Eggs – 3
Pipped – 0
Live in Nest – 0
Dead in Nest -66

We choose to focus on the 41 hatchlings that emerged!

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

September 27, 2023 – Wednesday News!

It was chilly and quiet out there this morning.  

We had 2 successful inventories last evening for the 2 nests that hatched during Friday-Saturday’s rain.

Nest #87 Inventory
Hatched Egg Shells – 61
Unhatched Eggs – 8
Pipped – 0
Live – 0
Dead – 0
+ 2 small spacer eggs

Nest #89 Inventory
Hatched Egg Shells – 105
Unhatched Eggs – 8
Pipped – 0
Live – 2
Dead – 0

Nest 87:

Nest 89:

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

September 23, 2023 – Ophelia Update

Looks like we made it through the storm! It was cold out there this morning and there was no damage to the remaining nests!

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations

September 19, 2023 – Quiet Nights

It has been very quiet on the beach the last couple of nights! The rain the night before could have erased any traces of activity, so hard to tell. There have been gorgeous sunsets and sunrises, though!

**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).

Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations