Is it true we have 62? Yes, yes it is! Our last nest was 5 days ago, so this is a nice surprise! Our Nest #62 was laid in a low area at the high tide line. With this nest, 102 eggs were relocated to a safer location, hopefully safe from the approaching storm also! It’s getting late in the season so this was unexpected.
Many nests have had activity in the last few days and we appreciate the commitment of our Teams as they have been out there in the sand blowing wind! Several nests have had partial or full emergence. Others are showing signs of movement below the sand.
Nest #25 had an indentation last night at Day 45! This is very unusual. Thankfully they saw it and greened. There was no change today, so the turtles are probably just pipping out of their eggs.
These 2 nests were inventoried Friday night and Saturday morning:
Nest #15 Inventory
Hatched Eggshells – 73
Unhatched Eggs – 6
Pipped – 0
Live – 0
Dead – 0
Nest # 19 Inventory
(The nest had a few scouts early on, the Team saw 133 hatchlings two nights later, there were 2-3 more tracks in the sand the next day and 2 dead from a crab attack.)
Hatched Eggshells – 125
Unhatched Eggs – 7
Pipped – 2
Live at inventory – 1
Dead – 1
There were 2 handfuls of small eggshell pieces that couldn’t be counted as hatched shells which could account for the discrepancy in totals.
We don’t know what the approaching Debby storm will bring, but we will keep you posted. Please keep in mind that per our NCWRC Guidelines, we cannot excavate a nest where there has been no evidence of emergence!
**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.
See our Latest Nest Inventory Results.
Nest #62
Nest #15 Inventory
Nest #19 Inventory
