Sea Turtle Nesting Season Has Officially Started!
By Lisa Hamilton
How you and your kids can help these adorable animals have a successful nesting season here on the Crystal Coast this Summer! Sea Turtle nesting season on our coast starts May 1st and runs through October. The sea turtle digs a hole up to 2 feet deep and will lay on average 120-150 eggs! It sounds like a lot but only 1 hatching out of 1,000 will survive their first year.
I don't know about you but I think Sea Turtles are absolutely beautiful creatures! We are so fortunate here on the Crystal Coast to have so many Sea Turtles come every year to lay their eggs on our beaches. But great honor comes with great responsibility and this honor needs more assistance this year due to losing 120 nests when Hurricane Florence hit NC beaches last Summer.
Here are some simple ways we can all help! Share these with your kids, I'm sure it will make them feel "grown up" to help with something so important!
-Cleaning up after ourselves at the beach
-Pick up trash left by others on the beach when you see it
-Fill in any holes you make in the sand before you leave (nesting female sea turtles can get stuck in the hole)
-Remove any chairs, umbrellas, cabanas, etc.... (these items become obstacles for the nesting female sea turtles)
-Keep your pets & kids away from the nests
-Turn off oceanside lights during nesting season (it confuses the turtle, won't know which direction to go)
-Only use flashlights with a red filter during nesting season
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| Trash and debris like this can block a sea turtle from successfully nesting. | These sea turtle tracks show that it was most likely spooked and went back to sea before being able to lay eggs. | These sea turtle tracks mean there was most likely a successful nest made. |
NC Wildlife Resources Commission has trained volunteers to walk the beaches every morning during nesting season to look for sea turtle tracks in the sand that indicate if a nest has been successfully made and/or look for false crawl tracks. If a successful nest has been made the volunteer or volunteers enclose the nesting area to help protect it from predators. About 50-60 days later right before the nestlings hatch the volunteers watch over the nest all night to help ensure the hatchlings make it to the ocean safely.
Update: On Thursday, May 2nd, 2019 there was a "false crawl" spotted on Emerald Isle!
Click here to stay up to date on the sea turtle nesting activity this year. They update the information when there is something to update and will mark a general area on a map where a nest has been made.
If you would like to become a volunteer with the NC Wildlife Resources Commission please contact Michele Lamping at ABseaturtlecoordinator@hotmail.com
to start the process. You MUST be a resident here, you cannot volunteer with them if you are just vacationing here.
Please report any nesting activity you see or injured turtles to the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores by calling 252-247-4003.
