Home | Contact Us

Home | Birding on Bald HeadBarrier Island Study Center | Turtles  | Bald Head Research |  Deer  | Lecture Series  | Beach  | Forest  | Marsh  | Aquifer  | International Port  | Other 

Sea Turtles

Our turtle nests have started hatching!

Loggerhead sea turtle nests take about 60 days to incubate. When the eggs hatch the baby turtles or hatchlings "boil" out of the nest, that is they all crawl out at the same time. Three days after the nest "boils" the BHIC sea turtle team excavates the nests to determine how many eggs were laid and how many of the eggs successfully hatched. Sometimes we find live hatchlings in the nest when this happens we carefully remove them and release them into the ocean.

You can join us for one of the excavations by checking the website for dates and times or find flyers at Turtle Central.  The table bellow contains information for nests that have already been excavated.  The turtles that have "names" in the last column are satellite tagged turtles.  Click on the turtle's name to see where she's traveling!

IMG_1399.jpg

Nest#      Species    Hatch Date Total Number of Eggs Number of Eggs Hatched Turtle's Name
1 loggerhead  7/22/08  148  141  
2 loggerhead  7/24/08  140  124  
3 loggerhead  7/29/08  142  140  
4 loggerhead  ? 11+ predated by foxes 10   
5 loggerhead  8/1/08  96  55  
6 loggerhead  7/27/08  105  103  
7 loggerhead  7/26/08  101  94  
8 loggerhead 7/29/08   144  128  
9 loggerhead  7/27/08  139  128  
10 loggerhead  -  LOST - fox predation LOST   
11 loggerhead  8/2/08  85 81   
12 loggerhead  - LOST - foxes & crabs  LOST   
13 loggerhead

7/31/08

 141  136  
14 loggerhead  8/3/08 114   105  
15 loggerhead  - LOST - foxes  LOST   
16 loggerhead  8/2/08  125  110  
17 loggerhead 8/3/08  93   74  
18 loggerhead  - LOST - foxes LOST  
19 loggerhead  8/5/08  90  86  
20 loggerhead  8/8/08 114   72  
21 loggerhead  8/5/08  142  133  
22 loggerhead  8/6/08  124  117  
23 loggerhead  - LOST - tides LOST  
24 loggerhead 8/9/08  91  87   
25 loggerhead 8/14/08   109  105  
26 loggerhead  8/16/08  134  124 Uga VI 
27 loggerhead  8/9/08  96 94   
28 loggerhead  8/12/08 149  144   
29 loggerhead  8/13/08  100 94   
30
loggerhead
 8/13/08  123  112  
31
loggerhead
 8/20/08 21+ predated by foxes after hatch ?  
32
loggerhead  8/17/08 69 64  
33
loggerhead  8/13/08  150  135  
34 loggerhead  8/19/08  85 73  
35
loggerhead
 8/18/08  130 118  
36
loggerhead
 ? 59+ predated by foxes 2  
37
loggerhead  8/21/08 96 88  
38
loggerhead  - 47+ predated by foxes 0  
39 loggerhead 8/13/08   96 96   
40 loggerhead
 8/17/08  138 132  
41
loggerhead
 - LOST - foxes LOST  
42
loggerhead
 8/17/08 121  117   
43
loggerhead
 - LOST - tides LOST   
44 loggerhead
8/26/08  63   
45
loggerhead
8/25/08  111  84   
46
loggerhead
 8/20/08 97  96   
47
loggerhead
 8/24/08      
48
loggerhead  8/26/08 60+ predated by foxes 53   
49
loggerhead  8/25/08 96  92   
50
loggerhead
 8/28/08 149  135   
51
loggerhead
 8/21/08 52  26   
52
loggerhead
 9/3/08 54+ predated by foxes  45   
53
loggerhead
 8/29/08 118 94   
54
loggerhead
8/31/08  105  104   
55
loggerhead
8/24/08  132  104   
56
loggerhead
 ? 15+ predated by crabs  15   
57
loggerhead
 8/25/08 135  120   
58
loggerhead
 9/1/08 109  109   
59
loggerhead
 8/29/08 136  122   
60
loggerhead
 - 101  38   
61 loggerhead  9/2/08 117  110 

 

62 loggerhead  9/4/08 145  103   
63 loggerhead  - LOST - tides  LOST   
64  loggerhead  - 102  ? waterlogged from storm    
65 loggerhead  - LOST - tropical storm   LOST Uga VI 
66 loggerhead  - 21+ predated by foxes   
67 loggerhead        
68 loggerhead 84   
69 loggerhead  8/31/08 100  98   
70 loggerhead - 67  23   
71 loggerhead  - 141   
72 loggerhead   -  LOST - tides   LOST    
73 loggerhead  - 47   
74 loggerhead   -  LOST - tropical storm   LOST  
75 loggerhead  - 160  22   
76 loggerhead LOST - tides  LOST   
77 loggerhead LOST - tides  LOST   
78 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
79 loggerhead - 128   
80 loggerhead  - LOST - tides  LOST   
81 loggerhead 9/16/08  107 82   
82 loggerhead  9/14/08 130  72   
83 loggerhead 9/15/08  48+ predated by foxes   
84 loggerhead 9/15/08  120  47   
85 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
86 loggerhead  9/14/08 95  80   
87 loggerhead  - LOST - foxes   LOST  
88 loggerhead  9/24/08 111   
89 loggerhead  9/14/08 116  108   
90 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
91 loggerhead  - LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
92 loggerhead 93   
93 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
94 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
95 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST  Miss Huckstable 
96 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
97 loggerhead  - LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
98 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
99 loggerhead LOST - foxes  LOST   
100 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
101 loggerhead LOST - foxes  LOST   
102 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
103 loggerhead LOST - tropical storm  LOST   
104 loggerhead 9/1/08  81+ predated by foxes after hatch   

 

These photos were taken at two of this season's nest excavations.  The individuals wearing the bright green shirts are nest monitors.  Nest monitors are Conservancy trained volunteers and island residents that watch over the sea turtle nests for the approximate two month incubation period.  They also assist Conservancy staff and interns with turtle nestings, hatchings, and excavations.  Every turtle nest is excavated - or dug up - 72 hours after it "boils" or hatches.  We conduct excavations to count the number of eggshells, unhatched eggs, dead hatchlings, and live hatchlings in each nest and from that data we determine the success of the nest. 

 


 
 


A junior nest monitor holds a hatchling from the excavation of nest #2.  This hatchling was allowed to crawl its way to the ocean after being photographed and observed by those attending the public excavation.

                                         

If you look closely you can see that these folks are watching a little loggerhead hatchling crawl its way into the ocean.

                      

These hatchlings were found when we excavated nest #24 up east beach.  We found a total of eight fiesty hatchlings that were

 

Beach Furniture and Loggerheads

It take so much energy for a female loggerhead to hoist herself out of the water and up the beach in search of a suitable nestoys1.jpgnesting site.  Sea turtles can mistake beach furniture or toys for a desirable nesting area with heavy vegetation. Unfortunately, she doesn't know to avoid these potential dangers.  If a sea turtle encounters beach chairs, toys, tents, kayaks or boats she may be spooked and choose not to nest or, worse, she could become entangled in the clutter! A trapped sea turtle may become stressed and dehydrated and in the worst case, could die from her unfortunate encounter.

Please help sea turtles by removing your furniture, toys, and recreational equipment from the beaches at night.  Your actions will help protect our endangered sea turtles. 

The picture below shows a BHI turtle that walked over toys, around chairs, and pushed a kayak six feet out of her way (expending too much unecessary energy).  This turtle, an experienced female, persevered and successfully laid her nest.  And, thanks to the quick thinking of BHI-Conservancy interns who removed tent ropes which blocked her path back to the ocean, she made it back to the water.

 

Sea Turtle Protection Program efforts include:

  • Nests with rectangular cages made out of chicken wire - buried about 12 - 15 inches under the sand
  • Sea Turtle interns patrolling the beach all night mid-May - mid-August 9pm - 6am
  • Tagging - metal flipper tags with a series of letters and numbers, PIT tags, and 4 satellite tags every year & measure turtles
  • Volunteer nest monitors (island residents that are trained by BHIC) which are assigned nests to monitor throughout incubation and sit by as hatching approaches.  if they are there for the hatching they will help the hatchlings to the water.
  • Nest excavations - 72 hours after a nest hatches we will dig up the nest to determine the success and release any live hatchlings that had not yet made it out
  • Turtle Walks - educational program - includes a powerpoint presentation about the various species of sea turtles, threats to turtles, and conservation efforts and you have the chance to see a nesting sea turtle provided that one comes up to nest during the program


Research Papers

Hawkes L.A., A.C. Broderick, M.S. Coyne, M.H. Godfrey, and B.J. Godley.  2007.  Only some like it hot - quantifying the enfironmental niche of the loggerhead sea turtle.  Diversity and Distribution, 12.

Hawkes, L.A., A.C. Broderick, M.H. Godfrey, and B.J. Godley.  2007.  Global Change Biology.  13: 1-10.


Satellite Tracking Program

Where sea turtle go and what they do when they leave their nesting beaches remains a mystery. What is known is that sea turtles currently face conditions that threaten their existence like never before. The threats include overexploitation, incidental capture by commercial fisheries, coastal construction and pollution. As a result, all seven species of sea turtles are impacted worldwide. Tracking their movements helps researchers to better understand the migratory paths and foraging behavior. This knowledge helps to improve existing laws and regulations to protect the sea turtles while minimizing the potential burden of those restrictions.

Each sea turtle is fitted with a high-tech data transmitter that will relay information about its location via satellite. Seaturtle.org will compile the data and post tracks online. Billie was named by Ann Cathcart, resident of Bald Head Island, who writes: "Our family has been involved with the Bald Head Island Conservancy and the turtle program for several years. We named her Billie in memory of our husband/Dad who was a Conservancy Board member, and nest monitor extrordinaire! He always used the gatherings at the nest around hatching time to educate and entice folks to get involved with the work of the Conservancy. We thought this was a perfect way to honor his love for the turtles and the Bald Head Island Conservancy.

 

 

 

 

Thompson Plourde was adopted by the Plourde family and named by their son Thompson Plourde

 


Miss Huckstable was named by the Schuler family, residents of BHI.