Let’s face it, it’s been un unusual Sea Turtle summer here on Caswell Beach this year. First, we’ve had a record number of sea turtles nests, more than EVER before at 108 nests! That alone has kept Caswell Beach Turtle Watch scrambling, especially in recent weeks, as we pivot from Mamas nestings to babies hatching at a rapid rate.
Our sea turtle mamas were picky about where they put their nests, resulting in many false crawls. Some chose high on the beach, way up in the dunes, in someone’s beach access walkway, and even in nest runways and almost on top of other nests. There are bunches of nests all together, side-by-side, in an area affectionately called the “turtle nursery”, and other sections of beach completely barren of nests. Mamas have laid high and very low in the tideline, east and west. And they’ve hidden a few, as we have discovered some wild nests by following some wandering hatchling tracks.
And then there are the nests and baby hatchlings. Average incubation is 55-60 days, but we are now seeing some nests hatch at 47 days. We are seeing some
preemie turtles, and more leucistic turtles than even before. No sooner does a team get one nest set up with its runway and poles to protect the nest and hatchlings, and the next is showing signs it may also be hatching soon. Hatchlings are having a mind of their own as to when they hatch, and where they head when they come out. We are finding MANY wayward hatchling tracks, heading in all directions. In some cases, hatchling are trekking up to a mile, and not to the ocean! Of course, some of this is attributable to lights from beach homes and street lights, but we are also suspecting other factors as well. But these poor baby turtles are tired, and so are our hard working volunteers as they rally to keep up with them!
We did some digging (pun intended) into what could be different about this year and also discussed with with our state biologist. We have all experienced first hand what a crazy weather season this has been, not to mention a very hot and dry summer. There have been multiple King Tides and extreme beach erosion threatening a number of nests, as well as multiple thunderstorms with impressive lightning. We are told that a phenomenon called Atmospheric Block is likely a factor for our weather, our turtle season and our turtles. And it is impacting many things in nature beyond the turtles.
We did a bit more research on Atmospheric Block, and here’s what we found. An Atmospheric Block is a large-scale, stagnant high-pressure weather pattern that disrupts the normal west-to-east flow of the jet stream, effectively “trapping” weather systems in place for days or weeks. For sea turtles, these persistent blocks pose a severe threat by triggering extreme and prolonged weather anomalies. In the summer, atmospheric blocking can trap extreme heat over the ocean, causing marine heatwaves that destroy foraging habitats like coral reefs and alter beach sand temperatures, which dangerously skews hatchling sex ratios toward mostly females. It also affects hatch success, overall embryo development, and can impact a hatched turtle’s “GPS” causing misorientation or disorientation (which we have clearly seen in recent weeks).
So we are not imagining it! It’s a very different turtle year. Exciting and tiring (but in a good way)! We are hoping our remaining nests get a break with some cooler weather and longer incubation so we can send stronger and healthier turtles southward into the ocean!
Many thanks for the numerous calls about turtle sightings, alive or otherwise! Every call helps us to make sure all is well with our Caswell Beach Turtles. We’ve had numerous turtle ambassadors this week provide an assist!
This Week’s Highlights
King Tide Challenges
Crabs!
**This conservation work for protected sea turtles on Caswell Beach is authorized by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission (ES Permit 26ST03).
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.)