Well, its official! The Sea Turtle Season for Caswell Beach wrapped up last night as the last next of the season was excavated to count how many eggs hatched.
Nest #105 was a smaller nest, as the final nests for most sea turtle mamas are, with 52 eggs total. Despite the cooler temps, even this last next hatched at 50 days! Even more exciting were the inventory results with 49 hatched eggs, one live hatchling to entertain the crowd, and only one unhatched and one pipped.
We close the season with 111 sea turtle nests documented, our all time record high. As our latest post highlights, EIGHT of those were in Southport – another first, and 103 on Caswell Beach. Wild Nests (undiscovered nests) also kept us on our toes.
We were faced with having to relocate a number of nests, 62 in total, something we avoid unless the health of the nest is in jeopardy. Of course, the nests in Southport needed to be moved as the odds of nests surviving the tides are minimal and any hatchling making it to the ocean even slimmer.
At Caswell Beach, due to the beach re-nourishment and the severe King Tides this season, many nests were laid too close to the tideline and needed to be moved. Additionally, significant erosion continued at the east end that made any nest survival there impossible. Unfortunately, even the re-nourished areas again lost some beach.
And then there was the heat. It was a HOT summer! No one will argue that point. But it was especially hot for our baby turtles. They incubated quickly and hatched early, many seeming smaller than usual. But they worked hard to get to the ocean, and we had some wonderful boils with visitors able to watch.
Total eggs hatched? 9,332! That’s alot for our small beach!
We greeted and educated hundreds if not thousands of visitors, and gained many new junior turtle ambassadors!
Our volunteer teams were amazing, sitting many nights without a break as they moved on the next nests. They braved winds, bugs, rain and hot nights. We have 9,197 volunteer hours logged with more still to be entered!
What can we say? It was intense and exciting and we are grateful for the success. Our success would not be what it is without the public support we receive from the Caswell Beach community and beyond. Beach Visitors ask great questions and root us on, and donations from the public help us to be able to do what we do successfully.
WE ESPECIALLY WANT TO THANK EVERYONE again for all the donation help at our season start to fund the purchase of a new beach patrol vehicle. We would not have been successful without this.
Follow our articles and posts for further updates on our off-season fundraisers and our Sea Turtle Mama (and Daddy this year) DNA results.
And don’t forget, our ONLINE STORE now sells T-Shirts, Hats and more ALL SEASON LONG. Great holiday gift ideas!
Keep our HOTLINE handy – there are turtles around year round especially cold stuns during the winter.
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 26ST03).
YOU CAN HELP! If you see a sea turtle mama coming onto the beach and and attempting to nest, please call our hotline immediately (910-368-6323) to notify us. During sea turtle season, we monitor 24/7. Please educate your family, friends, neighbors and especially – your renters. ALWAYS feel free to reach out to us if there is a concern, or you have questions. (All contact info is at the top of the page.)