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It’s Turtle Hatching Season in Holden Beach!

A baby sea turtle crawling on the beach

The Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program, also known as “Turtle Patrol,” was founded back in 1989 with the goal of protecting and monitoring the sea turtle population of Holden Beach. Run as a non-profit, all-volunteer conservation organization – they do amazing work ensuring the safety of sea turtles.

The first nest in North Carolina this season was spotted at Cape Lookout on May 9th. Holden Beach is seeing water temperatures rise, meaning that female turtles will soon begin coming on to the beach to make their nests and lay eggs. Daily dawn patrols of the beach are being carried out to spot turtle crawls and nests. Any nests found in unsafe areas are carefully relocated to areas that will help to help ensure survival.

The teams also cover nests with protective grates and clearly mark them with stakes, warning signs, and ribbons. For the next 50 to 70 days of incubation, volunteers monitor the nests for signs of hatching. Once a hatching appears imminent, patrol members will watch the nests overnight until all of the hatchlings emerge and make it safely into the ocean.

If you are looking to watch baby sea turtles hatch, here are a few tips:

– The best time to view a hatching is late at night.
– Do not shine white lights on nests or turtles as they use moonlight to find their way to the ocean.
– If you do use a flashlight, cover the lens with red cellophane as they cannot see colors in the red spectrum.
– Never touch eggs or get close to a mother that is laying eggs.
– If you find a nest, let the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program know by contacting them.
– If you encounter a mother turtle laying a nest, injured turtles, stranded turtles, or unattended hatchlings – call their emergency number at (910) 754-0766.
– Never leave any garbage on the beach.
– Never touch the hatchlings.

The work of the Turtle Watch Program is instrumental in the survival of sea turtles as only about 1 in 1,000 sea turtles make it to adulthood. If you would like to learn more about this great organization, or possibly volunteer your time, visit their official website to learn more and contact them by clicking here.