TOPSAIL TURTLE PROJECT NESTING PROGRAM

Topsail Island has 26 miles of coastline. Each mile is surveyed every morning to identify sea turtle tracks and nests from 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.

2021 Nests to Date

2020 HATCHING

TB = Topsail Beach  SC = Surf City (north/south of bridge)  NTB = North Topsail Beach (north/south of bridge)

DATE	NEST #	LOCATION	HATCH DATE	#EGGS/#HATCH
MAY 11	1	1306 NRI, ​NTB	July 26	121 / 101
MAY 17	2	386 NRI, NTB	July 26​	124 / 102
MAY 22	3	416 Hampston Colony, NTB	Aug 2
MAY 22	4	392 NRI, NTB	July 26	136 / 36
MAY 25	5	264 Topsail Rd, NTB	Aug 2
MAY 28	6	1521 NRI, NTB	Aug 3	124 / 71
MAY 29	7	NTB		Value
MAY 31	8	NTB
JUNE 1	9	SC	Aug 7
JUNE 2	10	1177 N. Anderson TB	Aug 2	144 / 103
JUNE 3	11	NTB
JUNE 3	12	NTB
JUNE 3	13	216 Topsail Rd, NTB	Aug 3	Value
JUNE 5	14	NTB
JUNE 5	15	NTB	Aug 4	Value
JUNE 6	16	1111 N Anderson TB	8-4	113 / 21
JUNE 7	17	SC
JUNE 7	18	SC
JUNE 8	19	SC
JUNE 8	20	SC
JUNE 9	21	SC
JUNE 11	22	NTB
JUNE 12	23	NTB
JUNE 15	24	SC
JUNE 16	25	SC
JUNE 18	26	NTB
JUNE 18	26	NTB
JUNE 18	27	SC
JUNE 18	28	NTB
JUNE 19	29	NTB
JUNE 19	30	NTB
JUNE 20	31	NTB
JUNE 22	32	TB
JUNE 22	33	NTB
JUNE 23	34	SC
JUNE 24	35	NTB
JUNE 24	36	NTB
JUNE 26	37	TB
JUNE 27	38	NTB
JUNE 28	39	NTB
JULY 2	40	SC
JULY 2	41	NTB
JULY 2	42	NTB
JULY 3	43	NTB
JULY 3	44	SC
JULY 4	45	NTB
JULY 5	46	SC
JULY 5	47	TB
JULY 6	48	TB
JULY 6	49	NTB
JULY 6	50	NYB
JULY 6	51	NTB
JULY 7	52	SC
JULY 7	53	TB
JULY 8	54	NTB
JULY 9	55	NTB
JULY 10	56	NTB
JULY 10	57	NTB
JULY 10	58	NTB
JULY 12	59	TB
JULY 13	60	SC
July	61	NTB
July	62	NTB
July	63	SC
​July	64
​July	65	SC
​July	66	NTB
​July	67	SC
​July	68	NTB
​July	69	NTB
​July	70	NTB
​July	71	TB
​July	72	TB
July	73	NTB
​July	74	NTB
​July	75	NTB
​July	76	NTB
​July	77	NTB
​July	78	NTB
​July	79	SC
​July	80	NTB
​July	81	TB
​July	82	NTB
​July	83	NTB
​July	84	NTB
​July	85	NTB
​July	86	NTB
​July	87	TB
July	88	SC
July	89	NTB
August	90	NTB	Value