Posts by CWBTW Editor

It is crazy how much sand was pushed on top of the washed over nests by the tidal surge of Hurricane Erin!  On the nine nests that were overwashed we had anywhere from a zero inches to a FOOT of accretion. The sand is very dense/heavy and could prevent hatchlings from emerging.   After high tide yesterday Read More

Yesterday, as Hurricane Erin’s effects begin to hit Caswell Beach, unusually high tides and rough surf battered our shores. After an alert about the quickly rising tide late Tuesday afternoon, we went into ER Mode.  Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Lead Coordinators contacted NCWRC State Biologist (who oversees and approves all our activities) permission was given to Read More

Can turtles sense an incoming storm? This week on Caswell Beach has left us wondering, as many of our sea turtles nests show increased activity. Many are deciding it’s time to get out early, and are anxious to get into the ocean! It’s keeping us very busy these last few days, and we are hoping Read More

Fact or Fiction? Does hot weather determine whether sea turtles are girls or boys? Well, there is a saying we use – hot chics and cool dudes. When temps are warmer during incubation, it’s been proven that more hatchlings are female, and when it’s cooler there are more males. With the scorching temps in recent Read More

It’s been an exciting week for Caswell Beach Sea turtles amid the heat and storms, and Caswell Beach Turtle Watch teams are keeping busy with hatches, inventories, and even new nests. Saturday morning on patrol we found four nests had early emergence activity (day 49-52), with one nest making a very slow boil (bloom) in Read More

Caswell Beach’s sea turtles are feeling the effects of Mother Nature in many ways in these past weeks. Erosion is battering our dunes feet at a time, higher tides are making beach areas inaccessible and overwashing nests, and well – it’s just been very, very hot. But sea turtles are enduring in surprising and miraculous Read More

“All nesting sea turtles, their incubating eggs and emergent hatchlings are listed as Threatened or Endangered by federal and state law. As such, they are protected from “take,” including harassment, harm, injury, or death. We recognize that the presence of sea turtle nests and hatchlings on the beach provides an opportunity to raise awareness about Read More