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Topsail Island has 26 miles of coastline.
Each mile is surveyed every morning to identify sea turtle tracks and nests from May through August.
SEA TURTLES  DIG THE DARK
Please keep oceanfront lighting to a minimum.  Lights disorient nesting mothers and lead hatchlings away from the sea, a trip they cannot survive.
In North Carolina the nesting season is mid-May through August.
The Loggerhead Sea Turtle comes ashore to nest 3 to 5 times during a nesting year.
She deposits an average of 120 eggs per nest.
The eggs will incubate in the sand for about 60 days.

After all the hatchlings have pipped 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 the swim to sea weed rafts and the Sargasso Sea begins.

It is a long swim to maturity.
It is estimated that 1 in 1000 survives the first year,
and as few as 1 in 5,000 - 10,000 survive to adulthood.
No one has the answer to this.
In 20 to 30 years the surviving hatchlings will reach adulthood.
The females will return to their natal beaches to lay their eggs and the cycle begins again.

5 sec video clip 1
  Surprise daylight visitor
 This sea turtle came to nest about 5 PM.
  

5 sec video clip 2
  She left behind nest 125 eggs.

Michael Coyne and the tagging crew were able to attach satallite tags on two nesters summer 2010

This is Topsail Belle heading out with her new hardware

Follow her on seaturtle.org/tracking
TOPSAIL BELLE
Did Carolina Beach get our turtle?
 
NEYTIRI
Did she come back to Surf City

 
Beach Patrol 2010
The storms diminsished our numbers this day, but not our enthusiasm!

Covering 26 miles, rain and shine, every morning,
the many, the proud, the beach patrol 2010

TB = Topsail Beach    SC = Surf City (north/south of bridge)   NTB = North Topsail Beach ( north/south of bridge)
Activity  
Date        
Nest #     
False Crawl # Location   
Hatch Date #Eggs/#Hatch
1
 May 27
1
 NTB s

2
 May 28
2
 NTB n

3
 May 28
 1
NTB n
Bay Court
 July 27
day 57
  92 / 81
4
 May 31
3
 SC s

5
 May 31
 2
SC s

6
 June 1
 3
SC s
1348 s shore
 July 30
7 June 2
 4
SC-s
202 s shore
 July 28
day 56
8
 June 3
4
 SC-s

9
 June 4
 5
SC-n

10
 June 4
 6
SC-s
2426 s shore
 July 29
Day 55
11
 June 4
 7
SC-s

12
 June 4
 8
SC-s
1140 s shore
 July 30
13
 June 4
 9
SC-s

14
 June 4
 10
TB

15
 June 4
5
 NTB-s

16
 June 5
 11
NTB-n

17
 June 7
6
 NTB-n

18
 June 8
7
 NTB-s

19
 June 8 12
NTB-s

20
 June 8 13
NTB-n

21
 June 8 14
NTB-n

22
 June 8 15
TB

23
 June 9
 16
SC-n

24
 June 11
 17
NTB-s

25
 June 12
 18
NTB-n

26
 June 12
 19
NTB-s

27
 June 13
 20
NTB-n

28
 June 14
8
 NTB-s

29
 June 14
9
 TB

30
 June 15 21
SC-s

31
 June 15 22
TB

32
 June 15
10
 NTB-s

33
 June 16 23
NTB-s

34
 June 17
11
 TB

35
 June 17
12
 TB

36
 June 17
13
 TB

37
 June 17 24
TB

38
 June 18
14
 NTB-s

39
 June 18 25
SC-s

40
 June 19
15
 TB

41
 June 19 26
TB

42
 June 19 27
NTB-n

43
 June 19 28
NTB-s

44
 June 20
 29
NTB-s

45
 June 21
16
 NTB-s

46
 June 21 30
NTB-s

47
 June 21 31
NTB-n

48
 June 21 32
NTB-N

49
 June 21 33
NTB-n

50
 June 21
17
 NTB-s

51
 June 21
18
 NTB-s

52
 June 21
19
 SC-s

53
 June 22
20
 SC-s

54
 June 22
21
 SC-S

55
 June 22 34
SC-s

56
 June 22 35
NTB-n

57
 June 23 36
NTB-n

58
 June 23 37
NTB-n

59
 June 23 38
NTB-S

60
 June 23
22
 NTB

61
 June 24
 39
SC-s

62
 June 24
23
 SC-s

63
 June 24
24
 SC-s

64
 June 24
25
 SC-s

65
 June 24
26
 TB

66
 June 24
27
 TB

67
 June 25
28
 TB

68
 June 26 40
TB

69
 June 26 41
NTB-S

70
 June 28
 42
TB

71
 June 30
29
 NTB-n

72
 June 30
30
 NTB-s

73
 July 1
31
 NTB-n

74
 July 1
delete


75
 July 2
33 p/n
 SC-s

76
 July 2
34 p/n
 SC-n

77
 July 2
 43
NTB-s

78
 July 3
 44
SC-s

79
 July 3
 45
SC-s

80
 July 3
 46
Sc-n

81
 July 3
35
 SC-n

82
 July 3
36
 NTB-s

83
 July 4
37
 NTB-n

84
 July 4
38
 TB

85
 July 5
 47
TB

86
 July 5
 48
TB

87
 July 6
 49
NTB-n

88
 July 7
 50
NTB-s

89
 July 7 51
NTB-s

90
 July 7 52
NTB-s

91
 July 7 53
NTB-s

92
 July 7
39
 SC-s

93
 July 7 54
NTB-s

94
 July 7
40
 NTB-s

95
 July 8 55
TB

96
 July 9
 56
NTB-s

97
 July 9
 57
NTB-s

98
 July 10
 58
NTB-s

99
 July 10 59
TB

100
 July 10
41
 NTB-s

101
 July 10 60
NTB-s

102
 July 10 61
NTB-s

103
 July 10 62
SC-s

104
 July 10 63
TB

105
 July 10
42
 TB

106
 July 10
43
 TB

107
 July 10
44
 TB

108
 July 10 64
TB

109
 July 10 65
SC-s

110
 July 15
 66
NTB-n

111
 July 16
 67
TB

112
 July 16 68
TB

113
 July 16 69
NTB-n

114
 July 16 70
Sc-s

115
 July 16
45
 Sc-s

116
 July 16
46
 SC-s

117
 July 16
47
 NTB-n

118
 July 16
48
 NTB-s

119
 July 17 71
Sc-s

120
 July 17
49
 SC-s

121
 July 18
50
 TB

122
 July 19 72
SC-s

123
 July 19
51
 Sc-n

124
 July 19 73
TB

125
 July 19
52
 TB

126
 July 19
53
 TB

127
 July 19
54
 TB

128
 July 19
55
 TB

129
 July 20
56 p/n
 NTB-s

130
 July 20
57
 NTB-s

131
 July 20
58
 NTB-n

132
 July 20
59
 NTB-s

133
 July 21 74
NTB-n

134
 July 21
60 p/n
 NTB-s

135
 July 21 75
NTB-s

136
 July 22
61
 NTB

137
 July 23
 76
NTB-s

138
 July 23
 77
NTB

139
 July 24
 78
NTB-s

140
 July 24
 79
SC-s

141
 July 24
62 p/n
 SC-s

142
 July 24
63
 TB

143
 July 24 pm
 80
SC-s

144
 July 25
 81
TB-n

145
 July 25
 82
NTB-s

146
 July 25 pm
 83
TB

147
 July 26
 84
TB

148
 July 26
64
 TB

149
 July 27
65
 NTB-s

150
 July 28
 85
SC-n

151
 July 29
 86
SC-n

152
 July 30
 87
NTB-s

153
 July 30
 88
SC-s

154
 July 31
 89
TB





YEAR
TOTAL #
Crawls
 # Nests
# False Crawls
# Eggs
# Live Hatchlings
# Unhatched Eggs
# Dead Hatchlings
2009
 105
 59
 46
 7315
 5804
 1450
 39
2008
 152
 89
 63
 10,112*
 8212
 1102
318
* data incomplete
6 nests lost
354+ lost eggs
2007
 111
 61
 50
 7,146
 5,152
 1,832
 162
2006
 166
 94
 72
 9,838*
 7,750
 1.179
289
* date incomplete, 20 nests lost hurricane ernesto
2005 105
 72
 43
 7,460*
 5,107
 1,244
208
*901 missing eggs, hurricane ophelia
2004
98
55
43
6,783
5,349
1,219
215
2003
134
80
54
9,882
8,260
1,531
91
2002
162
86
76
10,307
8,866
1,246
195
2001
130
79
51
  9,045
7,721
1,271
53
Volunteers can keep in touch
by joining our  list!
Please go to -  http://topsailseaturtle.multiply.com
and sign in.  This is a members only list.  

 

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