It’s been an interesting weather week for Caswell Beach and for our sea turtles! We knew the King Tides were coming (and we are expecting more each month this summer), but it’s the first experience in how they’d affect the newly replenished beach. Add to that the high winds that accompanied it, and the beach was looking quite battered and eroded this week, making it challenging for sea turtle mamas trying to find good places to nest. One poor mama encountered the escarpment and said, “Nope, not today!” and turned back to the ocean.
While we love the wide and flat beach, the tides are covering more sand than we expected and would have hoped. And unfortunately, even though many of the sea turtle nests to date are a good ways up the beach, some were overwashed this week. Our NCWRC biologists remind us that some amount of overwash is healthy, and it’s best to keep things as nature intended. Nevertheless, as champions for the sea turtles, it still hits us hard when we see this.
If you were on our beach this week, or any south-facing North Carolina beach, you likely experienced the onslaught of Sargassum that covered the beach. Sargassum is the seaweed of the Sargasso Sea that protects and replenishes sea turtles and other sea creatures out in the ocean. It makes visits to the beach a bit less pleasant but serves an important purpose. Fortunately, the King Tides helped wash some of it back into the ocean.
All that said, Caswell Beach has had a steady stream of new nests and false crawls. We are on track to have one of our highest nest count years yet! [We are up to 42 nests!] We’ve enjoyed meeting and educating all the beach visitors and supporters!
And let’s not forget the special encounter this week with a sea horse!
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 26ST03).
Please consider donating to our efforts as we build up our necessary resources for the season.
You can donate at Caswell Beach Turtle Watch Donations.
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.)
PLEASE PRINT AND SHARE our Sea Turtle Info Sheet below. If you own a rental or are a renter, please post this for visitors to see. Greater education and understanding will lead to more happy and healthy sea turtles gracing our beaches. Every little bit helps!
