It is crazy how much sand was pushed on top of the washed over nests by the tidal surge of Hurricane Erin! On the nine nests that were overwashed we had anywhere from a zero inches to a FOOT of accretion. The sand is very dense/heavy and could prevent hatchlings from emerging.
After high tide yesterday morning, several of our more experienced team worked very tirelessly to remove the added sand off of Nests #36, #38 and #40. Our Nest Teams are pulling additional sand from the outside perimeters to ensure the water does not drain into or accumulate over the nests.
Last night, we worked to remove the added sand off of Nests #35 and #37 with their Nest Teams providing additional clean up, smoothing out the perimeters.
Moving on to Nest #42, we took off a few inches of sand and pulled up poles to their correct level with nearby homeowners and visitors present. They were very appreciative of all of our efforts!
Surprisingly, when we checked Nest #39, it was determined that even though it had been overwashed, there was no extra sand accumulation.
This morning, we worked on the last two nests, Nests #33 and #43. Nest #33 was not as bad as expected! It had standing water on top for hours during the surge, but thankfully only needed a few inches of sand removed. Nest #43 also was not too bad and only needed a couple of inches scraped off.
There is another coastal flood warning with the new moon the next couple of nights, tonight being the highest. Most of the nests will probably be taking a little longer to incubate now, so we have time to dry out, except for the rain expected later today. We appreciate all the support and kind words from our community these past days while working on the beach! Your support bolsters our efforts and our spirits!
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 25ST03).
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.