Category: News & Events

CBTW’s 2023 Green Turtle Nest

We at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch were very excited earlier this season when we suspected one of our new nests (#66) was a Green Turtle nest (see July 11 post).

Our suspicions were correct! We were so excited to see the very first hatchling so that we could confirm the status of this nest!  It was a beautiful hatchling!!  Green Turtles have a very distinct markings. The turtles trickled out over a couple of days.  Then the King Tides arrived and the storm was approaching.  We were given permission by NCWRC to emergency excavate emerged nests early (we need this approval for any variance to their standard regulations), so we did so at almost dark on Monday night before the storm hit. 

We were sad to find that not all of the hatchlings made it out of this special nest due to the heat.  Here is the story of our Green Turtle nest!

Kemp’s Ridley Mid-Day Hatch!

BIG NEWS!  Caswell Beach’s Kemp’s Ridley Nest started hatching at about 9:30 this morning!!! New Volunteer Mary Beth and her cousin Mary Ann were out walking when a family alerted them to some turtle hatchlings.  IT WAS DAY 49 and had not been greened yet!  They quickly worked together with Turtle Ambassadors, the Williford family, to set up the runway and shield the turtles from the hot sun. Counting was a bit difficult, but we know there were more than 57. There were 103 eggs in the nest.  We are grateful for all the families that helped shadow the hatchlings!!

Kemp’s Ridley Daytime Hatch


**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.

New to Caswell Beach Turtle Watch?

Hello Caswell Beach Turtle Friends. As we head into the busy part of turtle season, we wanted to take a moment to re-introduce ourselves and help inform our newer supporters.

Caswell Beach Turtle Watch (CBTW) is a group of Volunteers formally trained and permitted by the @NC Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC), which in case you are not familiar with it is the state government agency responsible for the enforcement of North Carolina’s fishing, hunting, trapping and boating laws.

At CBTW, we work under the NCWRC State Guidelines in the protection of the Endangered and Threatened Sea Turtle Species that visit our beach and monitor the nests that are laid. We receive specific and detailed training from NCWRC experts and we also receive very specific directives about what we can and cannot do in our work protecting turtles in order to align with the guidelines.

As CBTW covers the east side of the island, we work closely with Oak Island Sea Turtle Protection Program that covers the west side of Oak Island. These two groups are the only official groups authorized by NCWRC.

We do not have any paid employees or Marine Biologists on staff. We operate purely on donated time and support from our community. Our Volunteers range from retirees, those still in the work force, empty nesters and young families still raising children.

To keep the public informed of our efforts, we share educational information when we are monitoring at the nest sites, and post regularly on our Facebook Page (drop us a hello!) and on our Website. You can also find us at the OKI Farmer’s Market and various in person events.

Our rewards are in the successes of the nests on our beach, seeing the turtle population increase over the years and the ever increasing support we gain from the public. We welcome new volunteers each year!

We appreciate the support of the Town of Caswell Beach, their employees and residents, who work hand in hand with CBTW to ensure that Caswell Beach remains a Sea Turtle Sanctuary!

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