Sunrise Sea Turtle Nest Spotting Walks
There will be several mornings where we’ll walk the pristine beaches of coastal North Carolina in search of freshly made turtle tracks leftover from the night time nesting habits of the turtles. In North Carolina, the nesting season runs from mid-May through August. The female loggerhead sea turtles comes ashore to nest 3 to 5 times during a nesting year. A female will deposit an average of 120 eggs per nest. Her eggs will incubate in the sand for about 60 days.
It is vital to the sea turtle’s proliferation that we perform these walks up and down the beaches of the east coast of the United States due to the amount of use they receive during the summer months. Vacationing tourists, 4x4 traffic, and storm surf are all major threats to the unborn sea turtles. Volunteer groups up and down the coast monitor their local beaches every morning, because after a long summer day at any given beach any hint of a sea turtle mother’s tracks are covered up by footprints, tire tracks, and high tides. The first light of day provides a chance to spot the unmistakable parallel tracks left behind by a large flippered reptile dragging its heavy body through the sand up to its chosen nesting spot. From there, it is necessary for sea turtle patrol groups, such as ourselves, to identify the exact nesting location, rope it off, mark it and protect it from intrusion.
After all the hatchlings have popped out of their eggs, they emerge from the nest together and race to the sea. Weighing in at about two ounces, their first challenge on our beach is escaping the deadly grasp of the ghost crabs. Once in the water they must hide from both bird and fish predators, and make the swim to the sheltered seaweed rafts in the Sargasso Sea. It is a long swim to maturity. It is estimated that 1 in 1,000 survives the first year, and as few as 1 in 5,000 - 10,000 survives to adulthood. In 20 to 30 years the surviving hatchlings will reach adulthood, and the females will then return to their natal beaches to lay their eggs. The cycle will be complete and then begin once again.
Support Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation
Please help us continue to protect and conserve the remaining species of Sea Turtles. Through education and public awareness we can ensure that future generations will be able to enjoy the natural wonder of these magnificent marine species.
Please consider giving a membership to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital Foundation for birthdays and other special occasions.
Thank you for your interest and support.
