The 2026 Sea Turtle nesting season at Caswell Beach starts in May and can extend well into August. For Caswell Beach Turtle Watch, there is generally a daily mix of false crawls, new nests, or nothing at all. Add in our stranded turtle response, public education events, fundraising, and it makes for a busy summer Read More
Posts by CWBTW Editor
It’s ALL About Sea Turtles, Well . . . Mostly!
At Caswell Beach Turtle Watch, our primary assignment and objective is to protect endangered and threatened sea turtle species on behalf of North Carolina Wildlife Resources. Many are unaware that sea turtle protection groups are not just “grassroots” local teams in love with nature. Official and designated sea turtle protection groups are trained and then Read More
Finding a Sea Turtle Nest Can Take a Village!
Today’s Sea Turtle Mama took a circuitous and windy route before she laid her nest, making it a bit tricky to locate. Our morning patrol team dug wide and far, using the standard locators guided by the mama’s tracks. But some of our more experienced team members just have the knack, and helped locate this Read More
Warm, Sunny Days Bring First Sea Turtle Nests!
Caswell Beach Turtle Watch has been out patrolling and anxiously awaiting our first sea turtle nests. The first few weeks are always a guessing game to see what our Mama Turtles will do, where they like to crawl and when! We wanted to share the news of our first crawls and nests, and as things Read More
A Surprise Sea Turtle Release For Caswell Beach
Meet Boston Cream Pie, Chocolate Mousse, Daylily, Flax, Kudzu, and Voodo Lily. These are the names for six cold-stunned, stranded sea turtles rescued and rehabilitated from the Cape Lookout National Seashore area this past winter. Caswell Beach Turtle Watch answered the call from the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center on Monday morning Read More
Happy Mother’s Day! Sea Turtle “Mama Pebbles” is Back!
Caswell Beach Turtle Watch’s Turtle Season is off to a great start with a Mother’s Day surprise from our Southport Sea Turtle Mama. Since has been the only of our sea turtle mamas who seems to prefer Pebble Beach, we named her “Mama Pebbles”. Our historical DNA has shown this to be the same turtle, Read More
Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Has a New Buggy!
We are overjoyed by the generous response from our community to our urgent need to replace our beach patrol vehicle. Thank you to ALL who donated, and so quickly! Donations raised thus far have helped to provide a solid down payment that allowed us to secure a loan (no interest!) to get the right vehicle for Read More
Returning Sea Turtle “Mama Caswell” Marks 15th-Year-Debut With Double Nest
Exciting Update! See The State Port Pilot’s report on Mama Caswell. It’s official! Our 2025 Sea Turtle DNA Results are in, and we officially have a sea turtle mama who has been EXCLUSIVELY visiting Caswell Beach every three years since 2010! It’s commom for sea turtle nesting cycles to be every 3 years so the Read More
What False Crawls Tell Us About Mama Sea Turtles
If you haven’t heard the term “false crawl” in relation to sea turtle nesting, it is an important sign of the struggles a mama sea turtle encounters when trying to find a nesting site. As a beachgoer, you can help ensure we keep visiting mama sea turtles safe and feeling secure about laying their nest. Read More
Caswell Beach Replenishment Is Underway!
Caswell Beach Turtle Watch is happy to share that the beach replenishment project has begun! If you followed us last seaon, you know that our turtle nests and our beaches overall were significantly impacted by beach erosion. We are elated to have this project underway and grateful for the resources going into this. We are Read More