The Caswell Beach Turtle Watch is a private non-profit program staffed by volunteers. These volunteers are supervised by program members who hold permits from the NC Wildlife Resources Commission. The purpose of the Caswell Beach Turtle Watch is to protect the threatened and endangered sea turtles that lay their eggs on Caswell Beach. Loggerhead turtles (Careta careta) are the most common sea turtle species to visit our beach and they nest from mid-May until mid-August.
During nesting season, almost always after dark, the mother loggerhead (about 30 - 40 inches wide, 200 - 300 pounds) lumbers up from the surf. Current research suggests that the texture of the sand and the ground temperature both play a part in the selection of the nest site. Unusual sounds or lights can scare her away from the chosen beach. If the female returns to the water without laying eggs, it is called a "false crawl."
When the female is ready to lay, she will begin to dig the nest with her hind flippers while she faces away from the water. She will throw sand back and forth with her enormous flippers, digging a hole about 18" deep near the base of the sand dunes and above the high tide line. If she lays the nest too close to the water where it will be in danger, it will be relocated by volunteers in order to increase the probability of hatching. When she completes the clutch, laying about 100 - 120 ping-pong size eggs, she urinates on each side of the cavity which allows her t o shape and pack the sand. Again using her flippers, she pulls sand over the eggs and then uses the weight of her body to pack the sand. When finished it will be difficult to perceive exactly where the eggs are located. She will then return slowly to the ocean, having been on the beach about an hour and a half. Volunteers check the beach sand for the tell-tale crawl tracks, locate the eggs, and begin the process of protecting the nest.
The turtle hatchlings emerge between 55 and 70 days later. Both nesting and hatching take place under the protection of the night sky. When baby turtles emerge from their nests they are drawn to light (moonlight and phosphorescence from the sea). Street lights, house lights and flashlights seem to disorient them so they wander and become victims of ghost crabs. This is why our volunteers hand out red covers for your flashlights! Once in the water, the hatchlings head for seaweed and sea grasses to hide and to find food. High mortality rates for young turtles are due to predation by ghost crabs, foxes on our beach, seagulls, blue fish, sharks, and fishing nets.
Out of 1000 hatchlings, only about ONE will survive to become an adult. After 25-30 years it is believed those females that survive will return to Caswell Beach as laying adults. During their development they will travel thousands of miles at sea, making it difficult to track their full life history from hatching to maturity.
