Turtle Walks with BHI Conservancy
By Kaitlyn Williams, BHIC Intern
Imagine the wonder of witnessing a 300-pound loggerhead sea turtle emerge from the waves to lay her eggs on the starlit beaches of Bald Head Island. Or, consider the sight of around one-hundred sea turtle hatchlings—each small enough to fit inside a golf ball—racing toward the light of the moon on the ocean as fast as their flippers can carry them, eager to touch the sea for the first time. If your timing is right, moments like this can be yours on a BHI Conservancy Members-Only Turtle Walk.
Becoming a member of the BHIC is an excellent way to support BHIC operations and the protection of the BHI ecosystems. Along with a discount at Turtle Central and other educational programming discounts, one of the best parts of being a member of the conservancy is Turtle Walks! Each membership level is assigned a set number of turtle walk passes, allowing you to experience our beautiful Bald Head beaches after dark and hopefully see a nesting mother sea turtle or hatchlings.
Each Turtle Walk program begins at the conservancy, where two members of our staff will introduce themselves and what to expect for the night, along with a brief presentation on the basics of sea turtles and our history of sea turtle protection on the island. Then it’s time to head to the beach! Outfitted with red lights only – the importance of which is discussed during the evening’s presentation – you and our staff will drive to one of the public beach accesses to await notification of a mother turtle coming ashore. During this downtime, groups get to explore the magic of the beach after dark. Overlooking the shoals, Turtle Walk participants have a beautiful view of the ocean and the Milky Way is putting on its best performance up above. From stargazing to looking for bioluminescence in the sand and waves, there are plenty of ways to enjoy your evening outdoors. Each of our staff members has a unique wealth of information, and this is a great moment to learn more about our interests and backgrounds while waiting for a turtle sighting.
Though we cannot guarantee a sea turtle will crawl onto the beach during any given night, turtle walks are a magical time to explore BHI beaches in the dark. And, if our staff does receive a notification, you’re in for one of the most amazing experiences on the island. Our staff will gather the group and travel down to the nesting mother’s location, following the directions of Paul Hillbrand, our resident sea turtle biologist, and his team. We will get to observe the mother during the different stages of her nesting process and see the Sea Turtle Protection Team in action, really putting into practice everything you learned about back at the conservancy.
Seeing a nesting sea turtle or a nest hatching will be one of the most memorable parts of your time on Bald Head. The work our team does each and every night makes a big difference for BHI sea turtles.Seeing a mother turtle return to sea after completing the nesting process is genuinely so rewarding, and we can’t wait to share it with all of you!
To join, visit www.bhic.org for more information.
