We had no new crawls or nests this morning.
The only emergence was 1 more hatchling from Nest #3 emerged overnight. He had very strong flipper prints!
There was a big crowd at Nest #4 last night as a crater developed throughout the day. The hatchlings are pipping out and getting ready for their appearance! We had great education going on at all the nests!
Team 10 excavated and inventoried Nest #3 early this morning. There were 6 live hatchlings trapped under heavy sand and hatched eggshells. This was a relocated nest that contained 142 eggs. The inventoried eggs did not add up to the number relocated, but there were a lot of shredded eggshell pieces. Thank you, Team 10!
Nest #3 Inventory:
6 Live Hatchlings
0 Dead Hatchlings
3 Pipped Eggs (the turtles broke through the eggshell, but perished before emerging completely out of the shell).
90 Hatched Eggshells
35 Unhatched Eggs
LOTS of shredded pieces
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 23ST03).