The Caswell Beach Turtle Watch has not located any new sea turtle nests in the last 2 days, but we did have 2 nests inventoried! As part of these inventories we’ve noted that the recent hard rains have made the sand in the nests damp and heavy which prevented many hatchlings from emerging independently. Sadly, the pipped (turtles who have broken through the shell but not emerged) perished because there was not enough room in the nest for them to emerge completely out of their shells.
Here are the results from these recent inventories.
Nest #5: Hatchlings were trapped in the heavy wet sand.
Hatched Egg Shells – 100
Unhatched Eggs – 21
Pipped – 11
Live – 26
Dead – 2
Nest #9 (Kemp’s): Hatchlings were trapped in the heavy wet sand, also. They were very lethargic. 3 made it to the water independently. Per guidelines and consultation with our NCWRC Coordinator, and under the handling of our authorized permittees, after 30 minutes at the top of the runway 9, Kemp’s Ridley babies were escorted to the water’s edge via Turtle Taxi.
Hatched Egg Shells – 90
Unhatched Eggs – 10
Pipped – 10
Live – 12
Dead – 2
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 24ST03).
Want to help? Please consider donating to our efforts to protect sea turtles at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations.
Nest #5 Inventory
Nest #9 Inventory (Kemp’s Ridley)
