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Dates set for summer educational programsPosted: March 28, 2024, 4:43 PM Article Summary: We've set our dates for our traditional summer educational programs. Turtle Talk for all ages will be held on Wednesday evenings at 7 p.m. from June 19 through August 24. Children's Turtle Time will be at 4 p.m. on Wednesdays June 26 through August 7. This is for children 3-6 read entire articleTurtle Season will be here soon!Posted: February 9, 2024, 4:56 PM Article Summary: The 2024 Turtle Season on Holden Beach will start on May 1. If you're interested in becoming a HBTP volunteer, now is the time to apply. Send a message to Pat Cusack our Program Coordinator from this website's Contact page or directly to coordinator@hbturtlewatch.org for an application or to learn read entire articleDonation to the Turtle HospitalPosted: February 2, 2024, 2:22 PM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program (also known as the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol) recently donated to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (KBSTRRC). Sick or injured sea turtles found on our beach are taken to this turtle hospital in Surf City, NC for care and rehabilitation. read entire articleThe 2024 Shirt CommitteePosted: January 26, 2024, 9:16 AM Article Summary: The 2024 shirt committee has been working hard this winter and the 2024 shirt is now available! Committee members just picked up the order for the year. See history of the 2024 shirt in the photo section of this website. You can order them by mail at the SHOP link, read entire articleAnnual end-of-the-year celebrationPosted: November 19, 2023, 1:26 PM Article Summary: Do you recognize any of these folks all dressed up without their red shirts? Congratulations to all for a wonderful season. read entire articleGet them while you can!Posted: November 3, 2023, 8:03 AM Article Summary: We had a great weekend meeting folks at the Festival By the Sea! Thanks to everyone who came by our booth! We have almost sold out of all of the 2023 T-shirts! These shirts are only available for this year and we won't be ordering more. Right now, the only read entire articleCompleted our 35th seasonPosted: October 9, 2023, 8:26 AM Article Summary: The final nest on our beach was inventoried on Sunday October 8 marking the end of the turtle season. The team found 35 empty shells, 9 non viable eggs and 1 live baby that was sent along its way to the ocean. The official statistics for the year: 75 nests. read entire articleFour nests leftPosted: September 17, 2023, 1:06 PM Article Summary: This year’s turtle season is winding down. We have had 75 nests this season making this a record-breaking year. The only year that the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program has recorded more nests was in 2019 with 105 nests. The next highest years were 1988 and 2013 with 73. There read entire articleStorm UpdatePosted: September 3, 2023, 4:36 PM Article Summary: We quickly went from an abundance of nests and hatchlings to a quiet time for us to reflect on the busy season. Our teams have been out since Friday morning (September 1) evaluating the status of the sea turtle nests on our beach. The King tides, offshore hurricane Franklin and read entire articleHatchlings, hatchlings, hatchlingsPosted: August 23, 2023, 5:28 PM Article Summary: Nesting season is almost over on our beach. The last nest laid this year was on August 10 (#69) -- we wait two weeks after that date to make it "officially" closed. But this doesn't mean our work is over, there are many volunteers out on the beach each evening read entire articleADDITIONAL TURTLE TALK --AUGUST 16Posted: August 11, 2023, 6:57 AM Article Summary: There has been so much excitement on the beach---the momma turtles are still coming mornings and nests are hatching in the evenings! This is a busy and fun time of the year. Because of so much interest in sea turtles we've added and EXTRA Turtle Talk onto our season! There read entire articleSeason changingPosted: July 31, 2023, 2:12 PM Article Summary: As we enter into August, our work on the beach transitions from mother turtles digging and laying nests to hatchlings emerging from these nests. Typically, the eggs incubate in their sandy nests for 50-60 days before hatching. Our members on the beach in the evenings as the “due dates” for read entire articleNest #1 and Nest #3 closedPosted: July 24, 2023, 1:24 PM Article Summary: Nest #1 was "closed" and inventoried Sunday evening July 23. The team found 80 shells, 21 unhatched eggs and five hatchlings went into the ocean in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Congratulations to the whole team! Nest #3 "closed" on Monday morning July 24. The team found 113 shells and read entire articleNest #1 Hatched July 20Posted: July 21, 2023, 8:43 AM Article Summary: Hatchlings! Excited to report that nest #1 boiled the evening of July 20. There are a lot of number 1s associated with this nest: First nest on our beach this year (laid on May 12---so it boiled on day 70). The team was there to see 50 hatchlings into the read entire articleAhead of last year.Posted: July 15, 2023, 12:31 PM Article Summary: Friday night and Saturday morning was extra busy for the Mama Turtles on Holden. Daybreak revealed THREE NEW NESTS as well as two more false crawls. Our rider was fortunate to see one of the Mamas at daybreak. 2023 has already produced 56 NESTS, and that is only 9 short read entire articleMid-season reportPosted: July 5, 2023, 4:38 PM Article Summary: We're about halfway through this year's turtle season! We have 42 nests so far this year (we had 41 nests on this date last year). There have been 54 false crawls this year compared to 49 last year. Our first teams are beginning to "watch" nests during the evening this read entire articleUpdatePosted: June 20, 2023, 12:13 PM Article Summary: As of June 20 we have 21 nests and 29 false crawls on our beach. Last year on this date we had 25 nests. These numbers could change quickly....last Sunday June 18 we had 3 nests and 4 false crawls in just one morning. Mother turtles can nest into mid-August. read entire articleSlow weekPosted: June 5, 2023, 4:14 PM Article Summary: Update....It's been a quiet week for the Turtle Patrol. Our riders have been out early mornings, we've only found 2 new nests and 5 false crawls since May 27. One lucky rider saw the mother turtle on the beach and called our stranding team in to search for the eggs. read entire articleWe've been busyPosted: May 26, 2023, 10:34 AM Article Summary: We've been busy since the first nest almost two weeks ago. We now have 7 nests along with 7 false crawls. So far teams have moved 689 eggs. A false crawl is when the mother turtle comes ashore...looking for just the right spot, but doesn't find it....or something frightens her read entire articleNest #1Posted: May 15, 2023, 5:42 PM Article Summary: Our first nest was laid on Friday May 12. YEAH!! This determined mother turtle climbed up over a steep and high escarpment to lay her nest. The team moved the nest further back on to the beach away from the escarpment and the tideline. There were 113 eggs. We can read entire articleAnxiously awaitingPosted: May 7, 2023, 7:56 AM Article Summary: The turtle nesting season started on May 1 here in Holden Beach. Our riders began early morning searches for signs of mother turtles laying eggs on our beach. So far, we have not found any evidence. There have been nests recorded in South Carolina and on May 6, 2023 the read entire articleWe have new shirts!Posted: April 19, 2023, 5:21 PM Article Summary: The 2023 HBTP annual shirt is now available! They are in-stock at the Lighthouse Gift store. They can also be purchased by mail from the MERCH section of this website. We will also be at Days at the Docks on April 29 and 30 selling shirts and talking about what read entire articleTurtle Talk dates setPosted: March 24, 2023, 8:31 AM Article Summary: We have good news! The dates for this summer's educational programs have been set. More good news! We'll be back at the Holden Beach Town Hall for these activities. Turtle Talk will be held at 7 p.m. on Wednesdays June 28, July 5, 12, 19, 26 and August 2 and read entire articleTurtle Talk on the RoadPosted: February 14, 2023, 3:23 PM Article Summary: We're taking our popular Turtle Talk program on the road! Members of our Turtle Patrol are available to come to your local classroom, club, church or service organization to talk about our organization and how we help the sea turtles that nest on Holden Beach. This could be an in-person read entire articleJoin the Turtle PatrolPosted: January 21, 2023, 2:02 PM Article Summary: We are currently accepting applications for new volunteers. Training for HBTWP volunteers will begin in April and continue through the turtle season this summer. For more information on becoming a volunteer/trainee contact Pat Cusack, Project Coordinator at hbtwp.pc@icloud.com or the Contact Us section of this website. read entire articleHelping to Support the Turtle HospitalPosted: January 15, 2023, 7:27 PM Article Summary: We recently made a donation to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (frequently called the turtle hospital) near Topsail Island, NC. Their mission is to conserve and protect marine turtles through rescues, rehabilitation and release of sick and injured turtles. When the HBTP becomes aware of a read entire articleDonation to Sea BiscuitPosted: January 8, 2023, 10:27 AM Article Summary: The HBTP gives back to partner organization. Project Director, Pat Cusack recently gave a $1000 donation from the HBTP to Mary Ellen Rogers, President of the Sea Biscuit Wildlife Shelter https://www.seabiscuitwildlifeshelter.org/ on Oak Island. This is a non-profit wild bird rehabilitation organization that provides medical treatment for wild birds that read entire articleGet them while they lastPosted: November 20, 2022, 8:46 AM Article Summary: The shelves are almost empty. These are the last of the 2022 Holden Beach Turtle Watch T-shirts. Only a few sizes left...Adult Small and Youth S, M and L. Prices are reduced to $10 each. They can be purchased at the Lighthouse Gift shop or on-line through our website (see read entire article2022 Turtle Season OverPosted: September 30, 2022, 9:42 AM Article Summary: The Sea Turtle season on Holden Beach was declared officially over Wednesday evening when the final nest was closed out---just in time to beat the threat of hurricane Ian. When the nest closed the team found 113 eggshells and 18 unhatched eggs. The total number of known turtle eggs on read entire articleShirts are selling out.Posted: September 24, 2022, 1:22 PM Article Summary: As the season ends the numbers of sea turtle nests on the beach dwindles....so do the 2022 HBTP shirts. We still have all sizes of the long sleeve adult shirts, but are sold out of select youth and short sleeve adult shirts. Shirts are still available at the Lighthouse Gift read entire articleWild Nest #65Posted: September 6, 2022, 2:48 PM Article Summary: We have nest #65! It is what we call a WILD nest. Back on July 15 a mother came ashore. The early morning rider found the tracks, but it was identified as False Crawl #62. We didn't think she had laid a nest. But she had! It hatched yesterday (52 read entire articleTurtle Patrol is So ThankfulPosted: September 2, 2022, 12:02 PM Article Summary: One of the most amazing occurrences that happen each summer is when Turtle Patrol members and residents and guests of Holden Beach develop new relationships centered around the love of turtles. Teams of Turtle Patrol members adopt and sit on a nest starting on Day 50 after the mama lays read entire articleNesting SeasonPosted: August 29, 2022, 12:24 PM Article Summary: The 2022 sea turtle nesting season is "officially" over for the Holden Beach! It has been over 14 days since we've had a mother turtle appearance on our beach. That makes 64 nests for this year! That doesn't mean the turtle season is over. There are still 26 nest on read entire articleNorth Carolina Sea TurtlesPosted: August 22, 2022, 12:19 PM Article Summary: There are five species of Sea Turtles that have been known to nest in North Carolina: Loggerhead, Green, Leatherback, Kemp's Ridley and Hawksbill. In recent history (last 15 years) of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol we have recorded all but the Hawksbill on our beach. Hawksbill turtles usually lay further read entire articleNest ClosingPosted: August 17, 2022, 2:49 PM Article Summary: Closing or Inventorying a nest is done three days after the nest has boiled. At that time the team digs into the nest in search of any hatchlings that may be trapped. The egg shells are counted to determine the number of hatchlings. There may also be undeveloped eggs in read entire articleNumber One Turtle Question!Posted: August 10, 2022, 2:31 PM Article Summary: The #1 turtle question asked on the beach...."when is it going to hatch?" We don't really know, but one of the biggest "hints" is when a nest gets a DEPRESSION. This is when the center of the nest starts to cave in. This is caused by the eggs underneath breaking read entire articleDay 50Posted: August 7, 2022, 2:02 PM Article Summary: This is a "collared" nest. We currently have many of these on the beach. A nest is collared when landscape edging is placed around the nest to help keep hatchlings from walking towards the dunes. A trench is dug as a "highway to the ocean" for the hatchlings. Nests are read entire articleDetails of what's happened on the beach so far this season!Posted: August 2, 2022, 1:07 PM Article Summary: What’s happening on the beach…as of Tuesday August 2, 2022 This is the busiest time of the year for the Turtle Patrol…as we still have nesting turtles on the beach as well as nests hatching. Here are our current statistics...in detail. We’ve had 61 nests laid this season. Nest #61 read entire articleTwo Boils an Hour Apart!Posted: July 28, 2022, 4:23 PM Article Summary: Oh, what a night! Two nests laid on the same night decided to boil together an hour apart! The team overseeing both nests was there to ensure that all babies safely made it to the water. It is an amazing site to see 242 baby loggerheads make it to the read entire articleRed shirts on the beachPosted: July 25, 2022, 2:20 PM Article Summary: There are many HBTP red shirts on the beach both morning and evening. Last week that hatching season started with five nests boiling and hatchlings going into the water. We also had problems with a fox on the beach last week, she was able to dig up one of the read entire articleToo many false crawls--we need your help.Posted: July 16, 2022, 2:59 PM Article Summary: This week we've had a large number of false crawls on our beach. We've had 12 new false crawls since Tuesday with 8 of them on Thursday morning alone. As of Saturday July 16, we have 50 nests and 62 false crawls on our beach for the season. So far, read entire articleBusy Time of YearPosted: July 11, 2022, 9:53 AM Article Summary: The Turtle Patrol has a lot of things going on this time of year. Our morning riders are still out each day at dawn looking for tracks of mother turtles. Nesting season could go on for six more weeks. This week our teams will start "watching" nests in the evenings. read entire articleMore than last yearPosted: July 5, 2022, 4:38 PM Article Summary: As of Tuesday July 5, there are 41 turtle nests on Holden Beach. This is higher than we had last year at this time (see News from 6/27/21---we had 28 nests). There are potentially 6 to 8 more weeks for nesting mothers! These photos were taken of nests that were read entire articlePrograms start Wednesday!Posted: June 26, 2022, 5:10 PM Article Summary: Our Children's Turtle Time and Turtle Talk programs start this Wednesday! Join us that the Holden Beach Chapel. Children's program is at 4 p.m. for youth 3-6. Crafts, stories and age-appropriate activities. Turtle Talk at 7 p.m. for the whole family. Come learn about the sea turtles that nest on read entire articleA Cautionary Tale from Our Stranding TeamPosted: June 20, 2022, 11:59 AM Article Summary: Sharing a report from our Stranding Team. On Thursday evening June 16 at 10:30 p.m. our Stranding Team got a phone call on our emergency telephone regarding a turtle on the beach. The team arrived to find a mother turtle laying eggs. When she was done covering the eggs instead read entire articleBusy night for mother turtlesPosted: June 12, 2022, 12:12 PM Article Summary: Last night was a busy night for mother turtles on Holden Beach and a busy morning for Turtle Patrol members. The morning rider found seven different crawls (tracks of mother turtles) on the beach this morning. Teams found eggs at four of these nests and the other three were determined read entire articleFalse CrawlsPosted: June 4, 2022, 11:40 AM Article Summary: So far this year we have 13 nests on our beach and we've also had 17 false crawls. A false crawl is when a mother turtle comes up onto the beach--but for some reason she doesn't lay her eggs. There are several reasons why she changes her mind: she could read entire articleHolden Beach Turtle Patrol TraineesPosted: May 26, 2022, 8:33 AM Article Summary: It is that time of the year when the trainees for the Turtle Watch Program start preparation for saving our endangered friends. They go through an introduction to the program with Pat Cusack, the head of the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program. He holds the license with the state to read entire articleCelebrate National Turtle DayPosted: May 23, 2022, 7:28 AM Article Summary: World Turtle Day is observed every year on May 23rd with the purpose of increasing attention and knowledge about turtles and tortoises. It was founded in 1990 by the American Tortoise Rescue (ATR). The ATR's mission is to educate people about things they can do to protect the habitats of read entire articleTurtle Season 2022 has Officially BegunPosted: May 21, 2022, 3:52 PM Article Summary: The 2022 turtle season has officially begun! Our first nest was spotted by our morning riders on May 21. The nest is covered in plastic netting to keep crabs, fox, raccoons, and other predators out. The nest is then surrounded by caution tape for protection from people and vehicles. A read entire articleNew UTV in 2022Posted: May 18, 2022, 12:10 PM Article Summary: If you are up walking the beach early in the morning you may have noticed a rider in a red shirt driving down the beach on a four-wheel vehicle. The Turtle Watch Program recently purchased a new utility vehicle (UTV) with funds from the budget. Utility vehicles are used to read entire articleSafety and the Loggerhead Sea TurtlesPosted: May 6, 2022, 9:34 AM Article Summary: Any day now we expect the mama sea turtles to start coming onto our beach to lay their eggs. So now is the time we all need to be thinking of our turtles and how to keep the beach safe for them to nest. If the mamas get scared (lights, read entire articleThey're out there!Posted: April 26, 2022, 11:17 AM Article Summary: Yes! The sea turtles are out there! The sea turtle season on Holden Beach starts on May 1. Our volunteers will begin searching the beach each morning looking for signs of a mother turtle. Last year our first nest was laid on May 8 and the year before it was read entire article2022 HTBWP Shirts are here!Posted: March 31, 2022, 7:07 AM Article Summary: We are excited to offer the 2022 Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program shirts for sale. This year's shirt celebrates the first Kemp's Ridley turtle nest on Holden Beach which produced 87 hatchlings on July 14, 2021. Kemp's Ridley are the most threatened species of turtles that nest in North Carolina. read entire articleFellowship RecipientPosted: March 28, 2022, 6:35 AM Article Summary: We're pleased to announce the recipient of the The Judith C. Bryan, Holden Beach Turtle Watch Fellowship in Marine Biology. She is Jasmine Pierre from Fayetteville, NC. She has a Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology and Oceanography and is currently working on a Master's Degree at UNCW. Her master's read entire articleDonation to Sea Turtle HospitalPosted: November 18, 2021, 12:33 PM Article Summary: We recently donated $5000 to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center (KBSTRRC). Sick or injured sea turtles found on our beach are taken to this turtle hospital in Surf City, NC for care and rehabilitation. The donation will be used to partially fund a new x-ray machine. read entire articleTurtle Season is OverPosted: October 13, 2021, 7:06 AM Article Summary: The final turtle nest on Holden Beach has been closed for the season. Patrol members found this message on one of the last nests....it says it all...we say thank you to everyone who supported us this season. read entire articleGood newsPosted: September 19, 2021, 9:57 AM Article Summary: The HBTP received good news on Friday. The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Center in Surf City had a turtle release. One of their recent releases was a male Juvenile green sea turtle named Terry. He was found cold stunned here on Holden Beach and rescued by our read entire articleStill nests to hatchPosted: September 6, 2021, 12:01 PM Article Summary: We had another wild nest surprise Saturday night. What we thought it was a false crawl turned out to be a nest. Vacationers called the stranding team where they saw babies on the beach. The next morning a team found the nest with 122 empty shells and 10 unhatched eggs. read entire articleNesting Season over for 2021Posted: August 22, 2021, 11:32 AM Article Summary: It's been more than two weeks since a mother turtle has been seen on our beach. This confirms that the nesting season is over for this year. We have 67 nests. Which is up from last year, but not record breaking. Between 55 and 65 is becoming a new "normal" read entire articlePatrol Members are on the beach!Posted: August 12, 2021, 4:08 PM Article Summary: Busy time of year for the Turtle Patrol….beach visitors are now seeing more Turtle Patrol red shirts on the beach in the evenings than in the mornings. It has been one week since a mother turtle has been on our beach (there were two false crawls last Friday). When we read entire articleEvents CANCELLED Wednesday August 4Posted: August 3, 2021, 3:41 PM Article Summary: Due to an abundance of caution and concern for the health of Turtle Patrol members and visitors to our beach we are cancelling both Children's Turtle Time and Turtle Talk scheduled for Wednesday August 4. read entire articleWild NestPosted: August 1, 2021, 3:43 PM Article Summary: This past Friday our early morning rider found a Wild Nest. This is a nest that hatched on the beach....and we didn't know it was there. He found the tracks of hatchlings headed to the water. Luckily this nest was on the far west end of the beach where there read entire articleExciting time on our beachPosted: July 25, 2021, 7:07 PM Article Summary: Finally after waiting for several weeks nests 2 and 3 boiled this week with hatchlings headed to the ocean. This is a an exciting time of the year with Turtle Patrol members "watching" nests in the evenings looking for signs of hatchlings, while mother turtles are still nesting . Twice read entire articleNest # 1 HatchesPosted: July 18, 2021, 4:20 PM Article Summary: For 17 nights the team went to the beach waiting and watching a sea turtle nest. These members of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol (HBTP) had adopted nest #1. They went home Tuesday night July 13 disappointed again because there was no sign that the nest was ready to hatch. read entire articleWaiting...still waitingPosted: July 11, 2021, 2:10 PM Article Summary: Our Turtle Patrol teams have begun "watching" nests in the evenings. This means it is at least 50 days since the nesting turtle laid her eggs. Typically eggs hatch within 50-60 days, but early in the season (because of cooler weather) it may take longer. Teams have been watching nests read entire articleTurtle Talk is BackPosted: July 2, 2021, 4:01 PM Article Summary: After a year and a half....Turtle Talk is back!!! Yeah! Turtle Talk shares information about the Turtle Patrol, the sea turtles and how vacationers and residents can help the sea turtles that nest on Holden Beach. Several turtle artifacts will be on display and educational materials available. The 45 minutes read entire articleIncreased turtle activity on the beachPosted: June 27, 2021, 1:11 PM Article Summary: After a slow several weeks, the numbers of momma turtles laying eggs on Holden Beach has really picked up....especially these past three days and each day it kept getting better and better. Friday there were two new nests (# 25 and #26) along with three false crawls (when the momma read entire articleChildren's Turtle Time WednesdaysPosted: June 25, 2021, 5:09 PM Article Summary: The Children's Turtle Time program WILL begin Wednesday June 30. This program is designed specifically for 3,4,5 and 6 year olds. This program will be at 4 p.m. at the Holden Beach Chapel in Holden Beach. Children's Turtle Time will be held each week through August 4. This is a read entire articleChildren's Turtle Time Starting June 30 and 2021 Turtle Nest UpdatePosted: June 19, 2021, 11:46 AM Article Summary: We will be holding Children's Turtle Time from 4:00 to 4:45 for the next 6 Wednesdays starting June 30 in the pavilion behind Town Hall. These programs will feature age appropriate crafts, stories and activities for children ages 3 to 6 years old. The children will be divided into two read entire articleMomma Loggerhead Laying EggsPosted: June 8, 2021, 9:38 PM Article Summary: Watching a female Loggerhead turtle laying her eggs is an event to remember. This week our early morning ATV rider was lucky enough to witness the amazing occurrence and capture a photo as well. Our morning riders are just the best!! Here are some interesting facts about momma Loggerheads: • read entire articleTurtle Talk InformationPosted: May 25, 2021, 5:57 PM Article Summary: Our 2021 sea turtle season is off to an amazing start. We have a total of 4 nests so far! The ATV riders are searching the beach each morning bright and early looking to spy turtle tracks, and Turtle Patrol members are ready for that morning call! Our weekly Wednesday read entire articleSeveral firsts on a Saturday afternoonPosted: May 9, 2021, 6:44 PM Article Summary: Not only did we have our first nest yesterday (May 8, 2021) it was a historic event! Our first nest of the season was laid Saturday afternoon around 2 p.m. So our turtle season has officially begun. This nest marks a series of firsts! 1. First Kemp's Ridley Turtle nest read entire articleRiders are on the beachPosted: May 6, 2021, 8:05 PM Article Summary: It is almost turtle time on our beach. South Carolina has reported their first turtle nest of the season...so they should be on our beach,....soon. Yesterday there was a report of an injured small green turtle near the pier. Our turtle stranding team responded. The turtle was taken to the read entire articleAlmost Turtle TimePosted: April 24, 2021, 4:32 PM Article Summary: Turtle Patrols in south and west Florida are reporting their first loggerhead turtle nests of the season. As the ocean water warms up here in North Carolina we should be expecting our first mommas in the next month. Our early morning riders will begin looking for mother turtle tracks on read entire articleANNOUNCING the 2021 SHIRT!Posted: March 24, 2021, 8:36 PM Article Summary: There are here! The 2021 Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program shirts are in! They can be purchased locally at the Lighthouse Gift Shop on the causeway. They can also be purchased by mail. The theme of this year's shirt is "Born in the sand. I live in the Sea." We read entire articleSneak previewPosted: March 21, 2021, 11:33 AM Article Summary: The committee is working hard on the 2021 Holden Beach Turtle Patrol annual T-shirt. The goal is to have it available for Easter delivery. Watch this site for availability, prices, how to order and where you can get locally in Holden Beach. This year's theme...Born in sand, I live in read entire articleDNA DATA 2020Posted: February 13, 2021, 5:17 PM Article Summary: The HBTP participates in a three state DNA study. This study takes one egg from each turtle nest on the beach. This egg shell is sent to the University of Georgia to establish the DNA of the mother turtle. With this DNA we are able identify the mother. We read entire articleThink of the turtles on Valentine's DayPosted: February 6, 2021, 4:59 PM Article Summary: Valentine's Day will be quickly upon us. We wanted to ask that you to not release balloons into the air for the holiday. Remember what goes up, must come down and frequently these balloons will end up in our ocean, where they'll remain as pollution and pose as a huge read entire articleEnd of the Year ReportPosted: December 1, 2020, 8:21 PM Article Summary: Hurricane Isaias was the earliest storm to hit the beach in and took 28 of our 65 nests. Eighteen nests had hatched before the hurricane hit. Amazingly we some hatchlings out of the remaining nests which allowed us to end the season on a more positive note. We had a read entire articleEquipment on the beachPosted: October 7, 2020, 11:01 AM Article Summary: A couple of weeks ago we announced that the "turtle season" is over for 2020 on Holden Beach. But there is still some Turtle Patrol equipment still on the beach. This equipment may look just like the marking of a turtle nest, but sadly, these are not viable nests. We read entire articleTurtle Season is Over for 2020Posted: September 25, 2020, 11:31 AM Article Summary: The HBTP has declared the turtle season on Holden Beach officially over. The last known viable nest (#65) closed this past Wednesday night. (9/23) . They had 7 babies march into the water that evening....these are really “survivors”. The patrol will no longer have volunteers riding the beach in the read entire articleStill hopefulPosted: September 21, 2020, 1:29 PM Article Summary: Beach walkers and also the morning riders have been on the alert for signs of the lost turtle nests. This past week several pieces of equipment from nests that were lost during the hurricane have been found. Also predators such as fox and crabs have been digging up eggs. Twice read entire articleMore SurprisesPosted: September 2, 2020, 6:39 PM Article Summary: The last two known nests that survived Hurricane Isaias boiled and were recently closed. But, that’s not the last from the nests laid on Holden Beach! Nest 45 was rediscovered one morning when an egg shell brought to the top of the nest by a crab was noted by the read entire articleWelcome SurprisesPosted: August 24, 2020, 1:48 PM Article Summary: Last week, two nests thought lost to the effects of Hurricane Isaias boiled during the over night hours as hatchling tracks were found by the morning ATV rider! When inventoried, 6 additional hatchlings were found in each nest and released to begin their journey out to the Gulf Stream. Sadly, read entire articleHatchling NewsPosted: August 15, 2020, 7:25 PM Article Summary: Hatchlings were seen on the beach this past week! Nest 25 boiled Tuesday evening with 25 hatchlings and an additional 2 were found when the nest was inventoried Friday evening. Sadly, 100 unpatched eggs were also found. And, nest 35 which was thought lost after Hurricane Isaias, hatched sometime Friday read entire articlePost Isaias AssessmentPosted: August 7, 2020, 9:40 AM Article Summary: Prior to the storm there were 45 unhatched nests on Holden Beach. Sadly, only 3 remain after Hurricane Isaias came through Monday into Tuesday. Turtle patrol members will monitor these nests with the hope of seeing hatchlings later in the season. And, we will continue to look for signs of read entire articleBusy Friday NightPosted: August 5, 2020, 11:33 AM Article Summary: Five nests boiled Friday night (7/31/20) and 76 hatchlings were released during 2 nest closings. Because of the impending storm, Isaias, nests that are currently due to be collared (prepared for hatching) will be delayed until after the storm. Once conditions are safe, all of the nests will be evaluated read entire articleLots of Hatching ActivityPosted: July 26, 2020, 8:46 PM Article Summary: After what seemed to be a slow start to the hatching season, there’s suddenly lots of activity on Holden Beach. Four nests boiled (hatched) this week and several others have depressions indicating hatching under the sand. The warmer temperatures likely contributed to the recent hatchings and with the forecast calling read entire articleNest #1 Hatched overnightPosted: July 18, 2020, 12:57 PM Article Summary: No real details...but the morning rider today reported there were lots of little flipper prints out of nest #1. It hatched overnight on it's own. It appears many hatchlings got safely into the water on their own. Yeah. The hatching season has started. Not only is this the first nest read entire articleMidnight Walk on Holden BeachPosted: July 10, 2020, 10:51 AM Article Summary: Last Sunday our stranding team was called out about midnight for a momma on the beach. They took this spectacular photo....by moonlight. Please remember if you see a turtle on the beach to call the stranding team at 910 754 0766. Also, please do not shine a flashlight or take read entire articleHappy 4th of JulyPosted: July 4, 2020, 12:27 PM Article Summary: Our morning rider today found two "false crawls" on this holiday morning. A false crawl is when a mother turtle comes onto the beach but does not dig a nest or deposit eggs. The rider reports seeing a mother heading back into the water at sunrise, it appears she was read entire articleFinding Nests on the BeachPosted: July 2, 2020, 10:20 AM Article Summary: Beginning in early May a volunteer rides the ocean front beach on Holden Beach every morning looking for signs that the mother turtle has laid eggs. When nests are identified, they are covered with a plastic netting to keep crabs, fox, raccoon and other critters out of the nest. Sometimes read entire articleFrequently Asked QuestionsPosted: June 25, 2020, 12:14 PM Article Summary: How much do you know about the sea turtles that nest on Holden Beach? Q: Do momma turtles come ashore and nest more when it’s a full moon? A: The cycle of the moon has nothing to do with the momma turtles coming ashore. A female turtle can lay several read entire articleTurtle Nests on the BeachPosted: June 18, 2020, 4:40 PM Article Summary: Every morning starting in early May a volunteer rides an ATV down the length of Holden Beach looking for momma turtle tracks. These tracks (called a crawl) show that a momma turtle has come out of the ocean. Sometimes the tracks are washed away by the tides and they are read entire articleMomma TurtlesPosted: June 11, 2020, 10:46 AM Article Summary: For many years we all believed that the momma turtles came back to the same beach on which they were born to lay their eggs. We now know that they come back to an “area” but not always the exact beach. This “area” can be very large up to 300 read entire articleTurtle RescuedPosted: June 10, 2020, 1:10 PM Article Summary: The HBTP Stranding Team was called out last Thursday June 4 for a turtle that seemed to be floundering in the water on the east end of the island. This turtle ---that they've named SPOCK ---was taken to the Karen Beasley Turtle Hospital near Topsail Island. Reports are that SPOCK read entire articleTurtle Talk and Children's Turtle Time during COVID-10Posted: June 3, 2020, 11:20 AM Article Summary: Our weekly educational programs --Turtle Talk ---which are usually held each Wednesday evening throughout the summer are NOT going to happen....at least not until further notice. Right now according the the Phase 2 COVID-19 recommendations there should not be any indoor group meetings of more than 10 people. Also, the read entire articleMore turtle nestsPosted: May 21, 2020, 11:41 AM Article Summary: As of this morning (Thursday May 21) we have four sea turtle nests on Holden Beach. All of these have been located, marked and left where the mother turtle laid them---natural nests. We also have had three "false crawls". A false crawl is when the mother comes up on the read entire articleTwo nests!Posted: May 14, 2020, 11:19 AM Article Summary: The second sea turtle nest was found on Holden on Wednesday May 13! The morning team found the eggs, but the momma had laid them in a good spot, so they were covered with a grate and marked. This is what we call a "natural nest". We don't know how read entire articleIt’s officially sea turtle season on Holden Beach!Posted: May 11, 2020, 10:21 AM Article Summary: The mommas are here! The first turtle nest was laid on our beach last night! Our volunteer morning rider found a mother turtle “crawl” and a small team of Holden Beach Turtle Patrol members found the eggs! Last year the first nest was laid on May 9 which was the read entire articleIt's Turtle Season on Holden Beach!Posted: May 1, 2020, 11:44 AM Article Summary: May 1st marks the beginning of turtle season here on our beach. The water is still a little cold for momma turtles here, but Georgia has reported three loggerhead turtle nests already.. We are usually ten days to two weeks behind them. But riders will be out every morning looking read entire article2020 T-Shirts now available by mail!Posted: April 23, 2020, 2:14 PM Article Summary: Even if you can't make it to Holden Beach this summer, you can own this year’s HBTP Shirt. The shirts are now available by mail. The theme of this year's shirt is A Sea Turtle Symbolizes Patience, Determination and Serenity. The large turtle is on the back with a smaller read entire articleTurtle Season Has Begun!Posted: March 15, 2020, 2:28 PM Article Summary: The 2020 Turtle Season has begun....not on Holden Beach....but The Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program in Florida has announced that they've had their sixth nest of the season so far. #seaturtleseason2020 #nestsonnestsonnests @ Deerfield Beach, Florida Leatherback turtles arrive early in Florida. Last year they only had one nest read entire articleAnnual Meeting March 28Posted: March 12, 2020, 3:15 PM Article Summary: The HBTP annual meeting is scheduled for Saturday, March 28 at 10am at the Holden Beach Town Hall. This marks the beginning of a new turtle season. At this meeting new officers will be elected. Last year's trainees will be officially voted into membership. If you're interested in becoming a read entire articleEnd of SeasonPosted: September 28, 2019, 4:50 PM Article Summary: With the closing of nest #103 earlier this week, the sea turtle season on Holden Beach is officially over. The good news....this was a record year for the number of nests on our beach. We ended with a total of 105 nests, 11964 eggs and 8107 hatchlings into the water. read entire articleDifficult couple of weeksPosted: September 21, 2019, 2:51 PM Article Summary: Since the hurricane it has been moments of lost and found. Lost again. Hope and sadness for Turtle Patrol members. We originally thought we had only lost 4 nests during the hurricane. Teams were out on the beach with GPS and shovels looking for nests and uncovering several feet of read entire articleGood news!Posted: September 13, 2019, 11:27 AM Article Summary: Last night there was a beautiful sunset. Photos shared by volunteers watching nests. Good news. One of the nests lost in the hurricane was found by a group of mighty members with shovels! This was nest #104 and the last nest laid this summer on our beach. It has been read entire articleWe Dig TurtlesPosted: September 9, 2019, 9:18 AM Article Summary: Turtle Patrol members have been back in the beach! Saturday our coordinator rode the atv early morning and reported that several nests and equipment were completely GONE after hurricane Dorian passed our shore. He also reported that lots of sand had been deposited on most of the remaining nests. Yesterday read entire articleWaiting for Hurricane DorianPosted: September 4, 2019, 7:12 AM Article Summary: Holden Beach is under a mandatory evacuation. Turtle Patrol volunteers will not be on the beach until after the storm has passed and it is considered safe to return to the island. As of Monday (September 2) night we had 14 nests left on the beach. There are also three read entire articleRed LightsPosted: August 21, 2019, 2:04 PM Article Summary: It takes everyone working together to keep Holden Beach a safe place for our sea turtles . Kudos to the folks from Winding River Plantation! They have installed red turtle friendly lights on their beach house. Sea turtles can get misdirected when buildings along the ocean have bright white lights. read entire articleIs a nest ready to hatch?Posted: August 13, 2019, 5:32 PM Article Summary: Want to know how to spot a nest that might be ready to hatch? Look for one that has a black landscape collar on it. The turtle patrol “collars” nests 50 days after the momma laid the eggs. This prepares the nest to hatch. The black collar helps keep the read entire articleSad week!Posted: August 6, 2019, 3:38 PM Article Summary: Last week was a sad time for turtles and Turtle Patrol members on the beach. We had extremely high tides that flooded the nests. The turtle eggs can take a little water while in the nest, like an occasional high tide that comes in and then leaves, but when water read entire articleNest 101 IdentifiedPosted: July 31, 2019, 10:11 AM Article Summary: Yes, 101 turtle nests have now been found on Holden Beach this year! The nesting pattern has definitely slowed but we continue to find a rare wild nest and several false crawls have been converted to nests. A wild nest is one in which the Patrol has no idea of read entire articleAnother Turtle TuesdayPosted: July 23, 2019, 9:17 AM Article Summary: Three more new nests on another "Turtle Tuesday"! The nesting pattern has definitely slowed over the past two weeks, but this Tuesday morning followed the pattern established early in the season as the day of the week with the most crawls and nests. And, the morning ATV rider was lucky read entire articleHatching has BegunPosted: July 16, 2019, 11:04 AM Article Summary: It's the time of year we've all been waiting for - baby turtles on Holden Beach! Two nests hatched or "boiled" as we call it on Saturday night and since then another five nests have boiled. Most of the nests have boiled without displaying a depression or the sign that read entire articleNew Record Number of NestsPosted: July 10, 2019, 10:43 AM Article Summary: Today, nests 74 and 75 were found on Holden Beach breaking the previous record of 73! While the number of new nests has tapered off in the past 7-10 days, there are still several weeks of nesting ahead. This same nesting pattern has been seen throughout the Brunswick Islands as read entire article2019 T-shirtsPosted: July 3, 2019, 5:22 PM Article Summary: People have been asking about the 2019 T-shirts. They are light blue with a baby turtle on the back coming out of an egg. The theme is "The Ocean is Calling." The front has the HBTP logo. They can be purchased at Turtle Talk each week, Children's Turtle Talk and read entire articleTuesday UpdatePosted: July 2, 2019, 10:20 AM Article Summary: We are up to a record setting 67 nests and 76 false crawls as of this morning. Sunday and yesterday were busy days for the momma turtles and the turtle patrol. Sunday evening about 6 p.m. vacationers called our stranding phone that there was a momma turtle on the beach read entire articleObstacle Course for Turtles!Posted: June 25, 2019, 6:42 PM Article Summary: Please remove your items and fill in any holes you've dug during the day when you leave the beach each evening. Last week our momma turtles had a difficult time maneuvering around things on the beach, sand castles and holes. One mother had to lay her nest in the middle read entire articleTSUNAMI TUESDAYPosted: June 18, 2019, 4:05 PM Article Summary: It's Tuesday and once again the turtles didn't disappoint! For the 5th week in a row we've had over 5 turtle crawls or nests on the beach! Today the morning rider had five nests-- 48, 49, 50, 51 and 52. Three of these nests were covered and left where the read entire articleMorning Excitement!Posted: June 13, 2019, 1:14 PM Article Summary: Tuesday morning June 11 there were some excited people on the beach (including our morning rider). About 6 a.m vacationers from Lovingston, Virginia spotted a momma turtle on the beach. They were able to watch her dig her nest, lay eggs, cover them and then crawl back into the water. read entire articleAnother wild Tuesday!Posted: June 11, 2019, 10:44 AM Article Summary: For the 4th week in a row we've had numerous turtles and nests on the beach on Tuesday morning! This week there were 4 new nests. One nest with 149 eggs was moved and the other three covered and left in place. There were also two false crawls this morning. read entire articleTumultuous Turtle Tuesday.Posted: June 4, 2019, 7:53 PM Article Summary: Another busy Turtle Tuesday! 3 new nests this morning--#24, 25 and 26. All were covered with a grate and left in-place. This is by-far the most nests on record we've had this early in the season! Also today 7 False Crawls.....teams dug several of these and couldn't find eggs. Two read entire articleTurtle SanctuaryPosted: June 3, 2019, 3:05 PM Article Summary: Holden Beach is proud to be a Turtle Sanctuary. It takes everyone's cooperation to make our beach a safe place for the sea turtles. Please remember that you can help by: *Turning all ocean facing lights off at night. Lights can frighten or misdirect the turtles. *Picking up trash on read entire articleTurtle TuesdayPosted: May 28, 2019, 3:12 PM Article Summary: It seems the mother turtles are especially busy on Tuesdays at Holden Beach: last Tuesday there were 5 new nests and 1 false crawl while this morning there were 4 false crawls and 1 new nest. Currently we have 18 nests and 15 false crawls. A visitor this morning asked read entire articleNesting FenzyPosted: May 21, 2019, 12:33 PM Article Summary: WOW - after an early first nest, the mother turtles having been nesting like crazy on Holden Beach! There were 3 nests found Saturday morning plus an additional FIVE nests this morning bringing our nest count to 11!! Typically, we find our first nest around this time in May but read entire articleFIRST NESTPosted: May 10, 2019, 5:12 PM Article Summary: The first nest of 2019 on Holden Beach was found by our ATV rider yesterday morning (May 9). Yeah! It was behind the first dune in the 1300 block of Ocean Boulevard West. A volunteer team was called out and the nest was moved because it was so far back read entire articleTWO False CrawlsPosted: May 8, 2019, 12:25 PM Article Summary: We know the mother turtles are out there! The first sea turtle nest of the season in North Carolina was reported on May 4 at Cape Lookout National Seashore on South Core Banks. Oak Island reported that they had a nest this past Monday morning (May 6). Today (May 8) read entire articleOn their way!Posted: April 26, 2019, 2:32 PM Article Summary: Both Georgia and South Carolina have had their first loggerhead sea turtle nests of the 2019 nesting season. Our first nest of the season won't be far behind! Officially the nesting season on Holden Beach starts on May 1 when our ATV riders begin their early morning searches for mother read entire articleCongratulations Turtle Patrol Members!Posted: April 15, 2019, 4:36 PM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program held their annual meeting this on April 13 at the town hall. Welcomed as full-fledged members were last year's " trainees" who have successfully completed all required activities. New trainees for this year were welcomed. This year's Project and Beach Coordinator will be Pat read entire article2019 T-Shirts ARE HERE!!Posted: March 28, 2019, 6:28 PM Article Summary: They are in! The 2019 official Holden Beach Turtle Patrol T-shirt is now available. This year's theme is "The Ocean is Calling" and features a baby turtle crawling from an egg on the back and the HBTP logo on the front. Locally they can be purchased at Lighthouse Gifts on read entire articlePlans for 2019!Posted: March 20, 2019, 7:42 PM Article Summary: It's almost turtle time for 2019. The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol's Annual meeting is set for April 13, 10 a.m. at the Holden Beach Town Hall. Officers will be elected and new members welcomed. If you're interested in becoming a Turtle Patrol member don't wait until this meeting. Now is read entire articleFinal Numbers from 2018Posted: March 4, 2019, 3:11 PM Article Summary: Here is the "official" final report for last summers turtle activities on Holden Beach: Nests: 30 In Situ: 16 (natural nests--left where mother laid them) Relocated: 14 (46.6%) Inventoried: 30 (100%) False Crawls: 25 Estimated Eggs: 3342 Eggs Lost: 30 (0.8%) Hatched Eggs: 2840 Emerged Hatchlings: 2568 Mean Incubation Duration read entire articleFellowship WinnerPosted: February 12, 2019, 3:14 PM Article Summary: Congratulations to the 2019 Judith C. Bryan Holden Beach Turtle Watch Fellowship Winner...Morgan Whitmer. This fellowship is given by the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol yearly to a UNCW student studying sea turtles or other marine life. Morgan Whitmer will graduate in the spring of 2020. Her focus is on Maryland read entire articleThank you Girl ScoutsPosted: December 22, 2018, 1:56 PM Article Summary: Members of this Girl Scout troop from Greensboro visited in October for a special session of Turtle Talk. They generously purchased our annual T shirt for each member AND made a $100 donation! THANK YOU, Girl Scouts! . read entire articleBalloons are litter!Posted: November 27, 2018, 3:51 PM Article Summary: If you're thinking of doing a balloon release....please reconsider. Many folks don't think about balloons being litter and possibly hurting wild animals....including the sea turtle. There has been some controversy this football season. One team that has been "called out" about their tradition of releasing balloons during home football games read entire articleT-Shirts available!Posted: October 18, 2018, 5:44 PM Article Summary: Yes! There are still some of the 2018 HBTP T-shirts available. Sadly, due to some damage caused by Hurricane Florence, our only retail outlet for the annual shirts--Lighthouse Gifts-- has not been open. Hopefully they will reopen soon. But in the meantime, we have a few options for you to read entire articleAfter the stormPosted: September 29, 2018, 6:09 PM Article Summary: There is good news after the storm. Usually if we have a hurricane it brings an exciting and abrupt end of the turtle season. When the island was evacuated there were two unhatched nests left. Our Program Coordinator went out after the storm on Wednesday September 22 to check on read entire articleHurricane FlorencePosted: September 11, 2018, 8:23 PM Article Summary: Right now there are just two unhatched nests on our beach. This morning’s rider said they were flat and quiet with lots of crab tracks. Earlier this week, nest 27 was completely inundated by the high tide. Team members were called to the beach when bubbles were seen coming from read entire articleSix nests left on the beachPosted: September 6, 2018, 5:03 PM Article Summary: Three nests boiled Sunday night. This is a photo of nest #23 Monday morning. Note all the large canine tracks (foxes? dogs?)along with the little baby turtle tracks inside the collar and on in the trench. Fortunately the fox cage over the nest did keep the eggs from being dug read entire articleGreat PhotoPosted: August 28, 2018, 12:27 PM Article Summary: Have you seen this great photo? Shows a turtle nest on Holden Beach by Ken Blevins at the Star News on August 8. You can see more aerial photos that he took of local beaches at: http://www.starnewsonline.com/photogallery/NC/20180809/NEWS/809009995/PH/1 This was the closing of nest #8. It was in the 1000 block read entire article11 nests to go!Posted: August 27, 2018, 11:53 AM Article Summary: Photos from nest #14 closing last night. This nest boiled with 112 hatchlings on Thursday evening. The team closed it last night finding 120 empty egg shells and two non-fertile eggs. Sadly for the small crowd watching, there were no babies! We consider this a successful nest, they got out read entire articleCorrection and quick update!Posted: August 24, 2018, 11:19 AM Article Summary: We don't "officially" have 31 nests. The actual nest and empty shells from the "wild nest" last Thursday was never found. So, we can't count it as a nest (even though we know it was there....somewhere!) Another busy week on the beach. Nest 15 closed Wednesday night. Nest 14 had read entire articleMore surprises!Posted: August 20, 2018, 1:27 PM Article Summary: This has been a week of surprises for the Turtle Patrol. It’s been more than two week since we found the last momma turtle turtle tracks on Holden Beach, so sadly the HBTP has declared the nesting season over for this year. After the "wild nest" # 30 early last read entire articleWild Nest #30Posted: August 14, 2018, 1:53 PM Article Summary: You may note from our statistics that we now have 30 nests. How'd we get 30 without finding new momma tracks on the beach? It's called a WILD nest. As the team was cleaning up from closing nest #12 last night, a young vacationer came running up shouting there were read entire articleEnd of nesting? PossiblyPosted: August 13, 2018, 3:46 PM Article Summary: It appears that the nesting season is over on Holden Beach. The last time a new momma turtle laid eggs on our beach was July 22 (nest # 29). Then there were tracks and a false crawl on August 1. The policy is to wait two weeks from the last read entire articleAnother busy week on the BeachPosted: August 5, 2018, 10:59 PM Article Summary: It was another busy week for the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol! Nests 4 and 6 closed on Monday night, nest 8 closed on Tuesday night and nests 5 and 7 closed on Sunday night, August 5. Two hatchlings were found in nest 7 and 1 in nest 5 (pictured here). read entire articleBusy Night on the BeachPosted: July 28, 2018, 12:19 PM Article Summary: There was quite a bit of action on the beach Friday night! Nest 3 was closed and inventoried with 2 hatchlings being released to the ocean. Nest 4 boiled on day 57 with 64 hatchlings and nest 6 boiled on day 54 with 61 hatchlings heading to the ocean. Nests read entire articleNesting and Hatching ContinuePosted: July 22, 2018, 10:01 PM Article Summary: Last Wendesday evening a mother turtle was seen emerging from the ocean and the folks on the beach got to see her dig her nest and lay her eggs at what became nest 27. Since then we've had 2 more new nests on the beach so the mother turtles are read entire articleFirst Boil of the SeasonPosted: July 13, 2018, 4:41 PM Article Summary: Nest 1 boiled Wednesday evening on day 52 with 52 hatchlings! A 5 inch depression was noted Wednesday morning so the adoption team was at the ready that evening. The depression is a drop of the sand in the center of the nest signaling hatching beneath the sand. The team read entire articleSpectacular Sight Saturday Morning!Posted: July 9, 2018, 8:55 PM Article Summary: Just after 5am on Saturday morning, our ATV rider came upon one set of turtle tracks - tracks heading away from the water but no tracks going back out. So, he followed the tracks away from the surf and came upon the mother turtle facing towards the houses which read entire articleHalf way through the nesting seasonPosted: July 2, 2018, 7:01 PM Article Summary: **REMINDER: No Children's Turtle Time this Wednesday, July 4. Turtle Talk, however, will take place on July 4 at 7Pm at the Town Hall** Following a period of 9 days without a new nest, we had 7 nests in just 5 days last week bringing our current nest count to read entire articleAnother new nestPosted: June 26, 2018, 10:00 PM Article Summary: Nest 14 was located early Tuesday morning. The mother turtle crawled up beyond the high tide line and laid her eggs in an ideal location so the team left the nest in place. read entire articleNine Nests and CountingPosted: June 11, 2018, 9:53 PM Article Summary: Since the first nest was laid on 5/20/18, there have been an additional 8 nests which brings the total number of nests on Holden Beach to 9. The mother turtles will continue to nest through June and July and possibly into early August so it's always good to remember the read entire articleNest #2Posted: May 29, 2018, 2:02 PM Article Summary: Members of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol located the second Loggerhead nest of the season this morning. The mother turtle crawled right up to the fencing on the dunes and deposited 135 eggs; because the nest was below the high tide line, the eggs were excavated and moved several feet read entire articleFirst Nest on Holden Beach!Posted: May 20, 2018, 12:43 PM Article Summary: We've had our first nest on Holden Beach! Our morning riders found tracks for the first nest of the season today. It was not moved, but marked in place. There was also a false crawl! It is interesting to note that on four of the last seven years (2013, 2014, read entire articleThe Turtle Season has started!Posted: May 1, 2018, 12:35 PM Article Summary: It’s official....the turtle season has started on Holden Beach! Please remember to turn ocean facing lights out from May 1 through October. Momma turtles should start laying their eggs on our beach this month. Lights may scare and/or misdirect the momma turtles. You’ll be seeing our ATV riders out looking read entire article2018 Turtle Patrol Shirts are HerePosted: April 13, 2018, 3:54 PM Article Summary: Just revealed....the 2018 Turtle Patrol T-shirts. This year's shirt celebrates 30 years of helping turtles on Holden Beach. Shirts are now stocked at the Lighthouse Gifts on the Holden Beach causeway. Shirts can also be purchased by mail...see the front page of our website for mail order instructions. The shirt read entire articleAlmost Turtle Time at Holden BeachPosted: March 9, 2018, 7:37 AM Article Summary: Sea Turtle season has started in Broward County Florida. The folks at Fort Lauderdale Beach announced their first nest of the season yesterday. It was a Leatherback turtle! Leatherbacks are usually the "early nesters" (March through July) on that beach. That's exciting for them. Loggerheads and Green turtles are more read entire articleFinal thoughts....and numbersPosted: October 23, 2017, 10:19 PM Article Summary: The 2017 turtle season on Holden Beach officially ended on Monday, October 16 when nest 46 was inventoried and 8 hatchlings made the march to the ocean. Final numbers for the season include: 50 nests 63 false crawls 5123 eggs 4230 hatchlings to the ocean Unfortunately, 8 nests this season read entire articleWhat happened to 47?Posted: October 8, 2017, 11:39 AM Article Summary: Earlier this week we reported that nest #46 was the last one on the beach. The question came up....what happened to #47...recorded as the last nest laid on Holden Beach this year? The momma turtle laid that an unknown number of eggs on August 7. This was the last sign read entire articleAnd then there was one….Posted: October 6, 2017, 9:25 AM Article Summary: There just one remaining active turtle nest on Holden Beach. The last one for this year! :( Nest 45 closed last night when 12 hatchlings walked the trench to the delight of the wonderful crowd and the team. Our last nest is #46. It was laid on August 6. That read entire articleComing down the home stretchPosted: September 30, 2017, 9:35 AM Article Summary: Teams have set up the collar and are watching our last two nests of the season. One has a crack around the center which could signal upcoming hatching. The other doesn't have any sign yet of activity. Nests laid later in the season often take longer in the incubation range read entire articleLots of high waterPosted: September 12, 2017, 8:48 PM Article Summary: While Southeastern North Carolina, Brunswick County and Holden Beach were very fortunate to not have been in the immediate path of Hurricane Irma, we are experiencing high water. Sadly all nine of the remaining turtle nests on the beach have been over washed. A tourist called to report eggs on read entire articleWe have a winner!Posted: September 6, 2017, 2:12 PM Article Summary: Congratulations to Lacey W. from the Charlotte area the winner of turtle basket! Thanks to HBTP member Eileen Markum for handmaking the basket and conducting the raffle! Thank you also to everyone who purchased a ticket. We made over $900 with this fund raising activity. It is a beautiful basket! read entire articleSeptember will be a busy mothPosted: September 3, 2017, 9:39 PM Article Summary: Even though the summer season is officially ending, there's still quite a bit of turtle activity on the beach. Eight nests are "collared" which means they were laid 50 or more days ago and are in the hatching "window" and most of them have depressions (sign of active hatching read entire articleLast Turtle Talk this weekPosted: August 27, 2017, 1:06 PM Article Summary: This past week was a busy time for Turtle Patrol members. Babies in the water morning, noon and night. Vacationers found babies heading to the beach early Wednesday morning on nest #28. Due to the warmer weather later in the season, nests this week hatched between days 50 and 56 read entire articleNesting OverPosted: August 21, 2017, 1:01 PM Article Summary: It has been two weeks since any sign of a mother turtle on Holden Beach. This means we consider the “nesting” part of the sea turtle season over. The last nest was laid on August 7. With incubation of 50-60 days we anticipate we’ll be watching nests into early October. read entire articleIs it still nesting season?Posted: August 14, 2017, 5:06 PM Article Summary: Our last momma turtle was seen on the beach last Monday August 7.....that doesn't necessarily mean the nesting season is over. We wait two weeks without a nest or a false crawl to declare it over. You never know! With 47 nests so far...we're inching toward reaching 52---that's the number read entire articleBeach BabiesPosted: August 3, 2017, 4:45 PM Article Summary: Visitors called our stranding team at 3 a.m. this morning. The team found nest #45! It was moved into a safer location. Other vacationers called the nest team late last night when they saw nest #16 hatching. A turtle hunt ensued. (It was a busy night for turtle people!) The read entire articleConstantly Changing!Posted: August 1, 2017, 1:46 PM Article Summary: Well, another eventful week for the Turtle Patrol. The counts of nests, false crawls, eggs and hatchlings is constantly changing. We are up to 44 nests and 66 (minus 2) false crawls. Hmm you ask, how can we be minus 2 false crawls. Well 2 of our false crawls turned read entire articleTurtles are are in motion!Posted: July 24, 2017, 10:44 AM Article Summary: Nests #1, #2 and #4 have closed out. Nest #3 team is looking for something exciting to happen soon. Nest #6 boiled overnight Saturday without anyone being there. The morning rider found lots of little tracks in the sand. We had a gap of 8 days without a new read entire articleWe have babies!Posted: July 17, 2017, 7:52 AM Article Summary: The day we've all been waiting for is here! Saturday (July 17) night after midnight (really Sunday morning) nest #2 boiled and 21 hatchlings went into the ocean. This is the first nest to hatch on our beach this summer. It was laid on May 18 and this was day read entire articleBusy Time of YearPosted: July 11, 2017, 7:28 PM Article Summary: Nesting, Hatching and Turtle TIme: We currently have 35 nests on the beach along with 2267 known eggs (we say known eggs because we haven’t moved all the nests this year, so we haven’t counted all the eggs.) We’ve also had 51 False Crawls—where mother turtles have come onto the read entire articleNest UpdatePosted: July 4, 2017, 12:48 PM Article Summary: As of this morning Holden Beach has 28 turtle nests! One new nest ( #28) was laid last night and the team moved 132 eggs this morning. The stranding team had an interesting night this past Saturday. They received a call from a vacationer that found what they thought read entire articleAnother False CrawlPosted: June 26, 2017, 6:16 PM Article Summary: "Did a truck drive into the ocean?” ---this was one of the questions a beach walker asked our ATV rider this morning. No that’s not a truck, that’s what we call a “turtle crawl”. These are the tracks a mother turtle leaves in the sand when she comes a shore. read entire articleWasn't a False Crawl!Posted: June 11, 2017, 10:13 AM Article Summary: The early morning rider today spotted a mother's turtle's crawl...but the sand area didn't look quite right. It might be a false crawl. But a team was called to search for eggs. For a while it didn't appear there would be any eggs...but the suddenly there was just one. Then read entire articleTurtle Patrol on the NewsPosted: June 7, 2017, 2:43 PM Article Summary: WECT News Team was on Holden Beach yesterday morning and visited with turtle patrol coordinator Pat Cusack! It was great that a mother turtle cooperated and there was a nest and eggs to show. Great work to the team who moved the eggs to a safer location. Click on the read entire articleLots of False CrawlsPosted: June 5, 2017, 1:47 PM Article Summary: The mother turtles are visiting our beach! As of this morning we have 11 nests on Holden Beach. We've also had 30 FALSE CRAWLS. This is when the mother turtle comes ashore and looks for a place to lay her eggs....but goes back into the ocean without doing so. Will read entire articleMemorial Day updatePosted: May 29, 2017, 6:12 PM Article Summary: Memorial Day signals the start of the summer season on Holden Beach and we already have 7 turtle nests and 8 false crawls. A false crawl is when the mother turtle comes ashore but doesn't lay her eggs. Reasons for false crawls inlcude the mother turtle being startled by people read entire articleFirst nest of the season!Posted: May 16, 2017, 4:49 PM Article Summary: The first turtle nest of the season was found this morning! The mother laid the nest in a safe location so the nest did not have to be excavated; as a result the number of eggs is not known. The picture is of the team who located the eggs for read entire articleLooking for the first nest of the seasonPosted: May 4, 2017, 1:09 PM Article Summary: The 2017 turtle season is officially underway! Members of the patrol started riding the beach every morning on May 1 and will do so through October looking for signs of turtle nests. Typically, we don't have our first nest until about the third week of May but you never know read entire articleOur wonderful volunteers!Posted: April 26, 2017, 9:21 PM Article Summary: Our Turtle Patrol is getting up and moving for this year! Volunteers will be at Days at the Docks this weekend with information about the HBTP, Turtle Talk and how you can help the turtles. We'll also have this year's T-shirt available to purchase. Our morning riders will begin looking read entire articleFacts about our turtlesPosted: April 8, 2017, 6:04 AM Article Summary: Last year (2016) there was a total of 1650 turtle nests in North Carolina (52 of them on our beach). There were 1622 loggerhead sea turtle nests (this is a state record), 34 green turtle nests and 4 Kemps Ridley nests. With over 126200 hatchlings. Since 2010 we have been read entire article2017 Shirts are here!Posted: March 26, 2017, 9:13 AM Article Summary: The limited edition 2017 Holden Beach Turtle Patrol T-Shirts are now available. Be among the first to get one! They can be purchased from our website by mail or at the Lighthouse Gift Store on the causeway in Holden Beach. This year's prices: Short sleeve-- Youth $15 Adults S-XL $17 read entire article2017 Annual MeetingPosted: March 6, 2017, 9:30 AM Article Summary: The 2017 annual meeting of the Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program will be held at the Holden Beach Town Hall meeting room at 10 a.m. on Saturday, March 18, 2017. All program members are encouraged to attend. Tony Marwitz, the program's president will preside at this meeting. There will be read entire articleSpecial Donation....Thank you!Posted: February 17, 2017, 8:10 AM Article Summary: “Redmond Ruckus”....Austin, Miller, and Josie’s families have a longtime relationship with Holden Beach, dating back to the 60’s. When these youngsters and their families are here they attend Turtle Talks and enjoy Holden Beach to the maximum. Last summer they were fortunate and excited to have witnessed dozens of sea read entire articleTurtle Season is OverPosted: September 14, 2016, 8:28 PM Article Summary: Our last nest of the season closed tonight with 8 hatchlings found and released to the water. The season wrapped up earlier than previous years because no nests were laid in August. A total of 6250 eggs were laid over 52 nests with 5517 hatchlings released to the ocean resulting read entire articleFinal NestPosted: September 11, 2016, 7:10 PM Article Summary: It's hard to believe we're down to our last nest! Nest 50 was laid on 7/26/16 and has 90 eggs. The adoption team will begin checking the nest on 9/14, the 50th day after the nest being laid. read entire articleThe Last Few NestsPosted: September 7, 2016, 9:18 PM Article Summary: Fortunately, it doesn't appear that the high tides and heavy rains generated by Tropical Storm Hermine had a negative impact on the remaining turtle nests. Two nests, #45 and #46, closed on Sunday night with 20 and 16 hatchlings found respectively. In addition, three more nests boiled (hatched) between Monday read entire articleHermine's High WaterPosted: September 2, 2016, 10:33 AM Article Summary: Our ATV rider was out early this morning (between 6:30 and 7:30)---between bands of rain from Hermine. While the tide water is higher than usual, all of the nests appeared safe at this time. We have six nests left on the beach. .While this hot weather we've been having has read entire articleLast Turtle TalkPosted: August 31, 2016, 1:38 PM Article Summary: There has been a lot of baby turtle activity on the beach the past few weeks. 42 of the 52 nests have hatched already. The nests have been hatching “early” and fast---due to the high temperatures we’ve been experiencing. We expect that the season will be over by mid-September this read entire articleBusy Night on the BeachPosted: August 22, 2016, 8:24 PM Article Summary: Monday night was quite a busy night on Holden Beach. Two nests were closed out and two were "collared" or set up for hatching. Nest 29 boiled on day 53 wth 94 hatchlings. Additional hatchlings emerged on each of the subsequent three nights and 4 babies were found deep in read entire articleWild Nest ClosedPosted: August 21, 2016, 6:10 PM Article Summary: Wild nest 52 closed last night. We saw over 90 babies go out from this surprise nest in the beautiful moonlight last Wednesday night. There were no additional live babies found during the excavation. The patrol members did find 6 infertile eggs and 121 egg shells. Prior to Wednesday night read entire articleBabies in the moonlight!Posted: August 19, 2016, 11:50 AM Article Summary: There were lots of baby turtles swimming in the full moon last night and the night before. The news from the beach is that it's been over two weeks since a mother turtle has laid a nest on our beach. This is a sign that the nesting season is over. read entire articleTurtles, turtles everywherePosted: August 7, 2016, 9:17 PM Article Summary: If you were on Holden Beach any evening during the past week, chances were good you came across baby turtles. Several nests hatched and we thank all of the residents and vacationers who notified the Turtle Patrol when they came across hatchlings on the beach. Following the main hatch, or read entire articleMore sand on the beach?Posted: August 5, 2016, 10:24 AM Article Summary: For those of you who do not know, the Town of Holden Beach is considering adding sand to a large part of the strand. This project is called the Central Reach Project. The additional sand will be placed from 240 O.B. E. to 781 O. B. W. This will be read entire articleBusy time on the beach.Posted: July 31, 2016, 2:53 PM Article Summary: The babies are HATCHING!!!! And not wasting any time! Nest 9 hatched on DAY 50!!! The hot weather is speeding up the incubation time. Turtle Patrol is busy, there were at least 47 members on the beach between 7/25 and today! Look for the "red shirts" on the beach in read entire articleNest 5 Closeout and Nest 6 Boiled same night!Posted: July 28, 2016, 10:36 PM Article Summary: What a great feeling when nest 5 was closed Thursday night - 23 baby turtles were found and released to the water. Some of the babies were wedged into the side of the nest so Turtle Patrol members carefully scraped away the sand in order to free them. These little read entire articleNest 1 CloseoutPosted: July 28, 2016, 12:31 PM Article Summary: Ten baby turtles were found when nest 1 was closed out Wednesday night and all of them made a mad dash for the water! Two babies also emerged from nest 5 around 9:20pm. Please remember to turn off all porch lights and close blinds/curtains at night - the baby turtles read entire articleFirst Babies of the SeasonPosted: July 26, 2016, 11:17 PM Article Summary: The past several nights have been very busy with 5 nests hatching! Nest 3 boiled Saturday night shortly after dark with 110 babies and 13 additional hatchlings were found at the close out Tuesday evening. And the mornings continue to be busy, too - nest number 50 was found Tuesday read entire articleHatching Season is Upon UsPosted: July 21, 2016, 10:47 PM Article Summary: It's what we've all been waiting for: baby turtles! Our first nests of the season are now at least 50 days old and have been prepared for hatching. Black plastic landscape material is placed in the form of a "collar" around each nest on day 50 indicating the nest is read entire articleChildren's Turtle TimePosted: July 20, 2016, 3:52 PM Article Summary: If you missed it today, there are two more chances to attend Children's Turtle Time. The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol offers a program for younger turtle enthusiasts. The final two “Children’s Turtle Time” for this year will be held Wednesdays July 27 and August 3 from 4-5 p.m. at the read entire articleTurtle Trifecta Time of YearPosted: July 11, 2016, 8:09 PM Article Summary: Mid July means there are three major atctivites supported by the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol: 1) mother turtles are still actively nesting; 2) Turtle Talk takes place every Wednesday evening at 7pm at the Town Hall and children's Turtle Time takes place at 4pm; and 3) what we've all been read entire articleLots of ActivityPosted: June 26, 2016, 11:43 AM Article Summary: We've had lots of turtle activity over this weekend....a special turtle, too. Yesterday (Saturday) there were 4 crawls found on the the beach and this morning 7 crawls were found. What was exciting that one yesterday appeared to be a Green Sea Turtle. Teams searched for eggs but unfortunately none read entire article26 Nests and CountingPosted: June 21, 2016, 8:51 PM Article Summary: There are now 26 Loggerhead turtle nests on Holden Beach with 3137 known eggs and 30 false crawls. We're still in the prime nesting season so more nests are expected! Please remember to remove all beach equipment at the end of the day and fill in all holes so the read entire articleSpecial DonationPosted: June 18, 2016, 6:38 AM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol has only two ways of raising money....our annual T-shirt sales and donations. We recently got a special donation in the mail from Sam Ernest. There's a wonderful story behind this donation. Sam is a seventh grader in Charlotte, NC. For a Social Studies assignment he read entire articleThe turtles were REALLY busy this week!Posted: June 12, 2016, 8:52 PM Article Summary: Twelve nests were laid over the past 7 days with 4 of those on Friday! We've also had a lot of false crawls (mothers crawl onto the beach but don't lay their eggs) which means the mother turtles have been VERY busy! The mother turtle of nest 8 did a read entire articleLucky VisitorsPosted: June 6, 2016, 4:23 PM Article Summary: Saturday night June 4 was an exciting night on Holden Beach! Visitors walking the beach at dusk were treated to a sight not seen my many--a mother turtle laying her eggs. They called our "turtle emergency" number and members of our stranding team joined them on the beach to watch. read entire articleTurtle ReleasePosted: June 4, 2016, 10:52 AM Article Summary: One of the goals of the HBTP is to help sick and injured sea turtles found on or near Holden Beach. We have a stranding team that is on duty 24/7. We encourage anyone who sees a sick or injured sea turtle to please call our "turtle emergency" number. Frequently read entire articleTurtle Talk begins this weekPosted: May 30, 2016, 1:47 PM Article Summary: The first Turtle Talk of the season will take place on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 at 7:00pm at the Town Hall. Join members of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol to learn more about the turtles that nest on our beach, what you can do to help the turtles, and how read entire articleHappy Memorial Day!Posted: May 30, 2016, 1:43 PM Article Summary: Nest #4 was found this Memorial Day morning with119 eggs. The mother turtle crawled right up to the escarpment (cliff developed as the result of erosion), but turned and crawled another 10 feet to the west where she laid her eggs. The nest was near an escarpment and below the read entire articleStarted with a bang!Posted: May 26, 2016, 7:14 PM Article Summary: The sea turtle season on Holden Beach has finally started---and in a big way! Our riders have been up early everyday since May 1 looking for crawls made by the mother turtles. They've found only two "false crawls"----mom's coming ashore but not laying eggs---up until today! This morning our rider read entire articleIt Won't Be Long Now....Posted: May 10, 2016, 6:50 PM Article Summary: Both Georgia and South Carolina have had their first turtle nests of the season. And, although our morning ATV riders haven't seen signs of any turtles on Holden Beach, a false crawl (tracks from the mother turtle but no nest) was found this morning on Onslow Beach at Camp Lejeune. read entire articleNesting Season is here!Posted: April 28, 2016, 10:50 AM Article Summary: Remember it is turtle nesting season. The water temperatures at Holden Beach are going up, which hopefully means we’ll see momma turtles on our beach soon. Our riders will be starting their morning patrols early next week looking for marks in the sand (called crawls) left by mother turtles laying read entire articleShelves are full!Posted: April 16, 2016, 1:51 PM Article Summary: The shelves at the Lighthouse Gift Shop on the causeway are stocked full of the 2016 Holden Beach Turtle Patrol's T-shirt! Be among the first to get one! Turtle Patrol members will be at Days at the Dock next Saturday April 23. They will have shirts at their booth. Stop read entire articleAlmost that time again!Posted: March 17, 2016, 6:55 AM Article Summary: Turtle Patrol members are gearing up for another "turtle season." The 2016 edition of the "official" HBTP shirt is NOW AVAILABLE! (See photos! The design features blue baby turtles on a field of green). The shirts are available for purchase at Lighthouse Gifts on the causeway in Holden Beach or read entire articleFinal tallyPosted: October 17, 2015, 10:37 AM Article Summary: We had 5729 eggs laid on the beach 4950 hatchlings out and most to the water. We lost one nest completely to overwashed tides...that brought our hatch rate down to 88%....but that's still great! We will have more information soon from the DNA study--that will be able to tell us read entire articleAnd then there were none.....Posted: October 1, 2015, 9:33 AM Article Summary: The sea turtle season on Holden Beach is officially over with the closing of the last two turtle nests. Nests # 51 and #53 boiled earlier this week with 44 and 89 hatchlings. Those baby turtles timed it just right to get off the beach before the possible storm. Good read entire articleAlmost done for the year!Posted: September 19, 2015, 3:10 PM Article Summary: There is only one nest left to be "collared" --that is nest #53 and it will be done this week. It's due date (day 55) is September 26. All of the other nests on the beach have either boiled, closed or adopted and the teams are watching them each evening. read entire articleWinding Down for the Season!Posted: September 9, 2015, 11:52 AM Article Summary: We have had a busy season with 53 nests, but it’s starting to wind down now. We have 12 nests left, and they are still going fast which has been good for everyone. The average first emergence on the beach this year has been 54 days compared to 62 days read entire articleFootprints in the rainPosted: August 28, 2015, 1:37 PM Article Summary: It's been raining for the past few days. Last evening the team closed a nest just as it was starting to rain and found one little hatchling. He/she made it into the water---through a couple puddles along the way---before thunder and lightening started. For safety reasons, the HBTP does not read entire articleNesting Season is OverPosted: August 21, 2015, 12:21 PM Article Summary: It has been over two weeks since the last signs of a mother turtle on Holden Beach. Nest #53 was laid on August 2. There was a false crawl a couple days later. This two week period without a mother turtle sighting usually means the nesting season is over. But read entire articleMorning ExcitementPosted: August 15, 2015, 12:15 PM Article Summary: People always ask: "do the turtles always hatch at night?" While that is normal, the baby turtles can come anytime they are ready. There was a bit of excitement on this beach about 7:50 this morning. Our rider found nest #21 "boiling". We really don't know how many left the read entire articleNesting slowing in AugustPosted: August 6, 2015, 2:08 PM Article Summary: As expected, the number of new nests being laid is tapering off as the we move into August. However, there's still a lot of activity on the beach. Ten of our 53 nests have hatched with a total of 865 known hatchlings to the ocean. Two nests hatched or "boiled" read entire articleCan't keep up!Posted: July 29, 2015, 1:48 PM Article Summary: There is so much turtle activity on the beach we can't keep up with the counts! Last night nest # 7 closed with 16 babies into the ocean (see photos!) Nest # 5 closes tonight. Nest # 8 closes tomorrow. Nest #9 is collared. Nest # 10 will be collared read entire articleHigh Season for TurtlesPosted: July 26, 2015, 3:54 PM Article Summary: The past few days have been very busy for Turtle Patrol members. It's hard to keep up with all the activities. Momma turtles are still laying nests that we find in the morning and baby turtles are hatching in the evenings. Wednesday was a very busy day for the turtles read entire articleNests are being "collared"Posted: July 23, 2015, 7:55 AM Article Summary: If you're on Holden Beach in the evening you'll probably notice more Turtle Patrol members on the beach attending nests. We now have "collared" 8 nests....this means a large black landscape collar has been placed around the nest and a trench has been dug toward the ocean. If you see read entire articleFirst Hatching of the SeasonPosted: July 19, 2015, 8:44 AM Article Summary: Nest number 1 boiled last Friday evening (July 17) with 72 hatchlings getting to the ocean. Hatching season has officially begun! This was on day 58 after the mother laid the nest. The first nest of the season usually takes longer than most because it was laid in May when read entire articleTurtle Nest Update as of July 11Posted: July 11, 2015, 8:00 AM Article Summary: Now up to 35 nests on Holden Beach with 40 false crawls. read entire articleThree More Nests !!!Posted: July 5, 2015, 1:01 PM Article Summary: Guess the fireworks didn't scare all the mother turtles last night. We had 3 nests this morning and one false crawl. All three nests were moved to safer locations. The photos are of nest # 32 that was laid at 611 Ocean Blvd. W. You can see from the photo read entire articleHave a Turtle Safe 4th of JulyPosted: July 4, 2015, 2:21 PM Article Summary: It has been a busy holiday week for the sea turtles and the turtle patrol on Holden Beach. Saturday July 4 Nest #30 laid in the ICW inlet and 122 egg move and 3 false crawls. The rider reported a very windswept beach. Friday July 3 Nest #29 did not read entire articleNests almost every morningPosted: June 29, 2015, 3:12 PM Article Summary: Our morning caller reports that we've had nests almost every morning this past week. We're up to 27 nests on Holden Beach this season. We've moved a total of 2866 eggs so far. The nesting season is still only about half over. There is a possibility that mother turtles will read entire articlePlease fill in holes you digPosted: June 23, 2015, 9:17 PM Article Summary: Visitors to our beach are always asking how can they help the turtles. One big thing you can do is fill in any holes you dig during the day before you leave the beach each evening. The major reason to do this is to remove all obstacles from the path read entire articleCalled Them!Posted: June 21, 2015, 9:46 AM Article Summary: Busy Sunday morning (or Saturday night) for the momma turtles and the turtle patrol! The morning rider found three crawls this morning. Teams dug at 529 OBW and 543 OBW but could not find the eggs. This may have been the same mother, as the flipper width was 31" wide. read entire articleMagic # 19Posted: June 19, 2015, 1:34 PM Article Summary: We had Loggerhead nest #19 this morning. The team moved 133 eggs bringing the total known eggs for this year to 2047. What makes this nest special is that 19 was the total number of nests the entire season last year.....and we still have at least two more months when read entire articleSaturday update June 13Posted: June 13, 2015, 12:33 PM Article Summary: Wow! this was a busy week for the mother turtles and our turtle patrol. We're up to 14 nests! Six new nests this week and one false crawl. Over 150 people attended Turtle Talk on Wednesday. These photos are of nest #14 that was laid at the far west end read entire articleSaturday update June 6Posted: June 6, 2015, 12:39 PM Article Summary: The first Turtle Talk this year was this past Wednesday night. We had 93 people! If that's an indicator of how the year is going we strongly suggest people wanting to get into Turtle Talk come early (6:30) to get a seat. The team went out yesterday morning and couldn't read entire articleTurtle Talk This Week!Posted: June 1, 2015, 3:23 PM Article Summary: The first Turtle Talk of the 2015 season is this week--Wednesday June 3. It will be a the Holden Beach Town Hall @ 7 p.m. See you there! There has been some increased interest about our turtles because the teams have been out several mornings. We're now up to 6 read entire articleNests # 2 and 3Posted: May 25, 2015, 6:56 AM Article Summary: The mother turtles have been busy this weekend. Nest number two was found yesterday morning near a walkway. The nest was kept in its original location so the number of eggs are unknown. The momma's flipper width was 40". When the morning rider finds a "crawl" a team of volunteers read entire articleFirst nest of the season!Posted: May 20, 2015, 12:30 PM Article Summary: We knew it would be soon! Our morning rider found our first nest of the season today. The flipper length was 41" (that's a big turtle!). The team found and moved 139 eggs. This is right on "schedule" for Holden Beach. The last two years our first nest was on read entire articleActivity on the BeachPosted: May 19, 2015, 6:20 PM Article Summary: We've had some turtle activity on our beach, but so far, no nests. On May 6 the early morning patrol found two false crawls. This means the mother turtle came ashore but did not make a nest or lay the eggs. Tropical storm Ana came through right after that and read entire articleIt's almost Turtle Time!Posted: April 11, 2015, 3:26 PM Article Summary: When the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol holds their annual meeting, we know it's almost time for the mother sea turtles to return to Holden Beach. The "official" beginning was the gathering of Turtle Patrol members on Saturday April 11, 2015. Officers elected for the year were Tony Marwitz (President), Nan read entire articleThe 2015 Turtle ShirtPosted: March 22, 2015, 8:55 PM Article Summary: The secret is out. The design of the 2015 Holden Beach Turtle Patrol T-shirt is revealed! "The journey begins on Holden Beach" is the slogan along with a sea turtle hatchling on a blue shirt. The first batch of shirts are now available at the Lighthouse Gift Shop on the read entire article2015 Season Starting SoonPosted: March 15, 2015, 8:03 AM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol’s Annual Organizational Meeting will be Saturday April 11, 2015 at 10 a.m. at the Holden Beach Town Hall. All members are encouraged to attend. New volunteers, trainees and guests are welcomed! Have you always wanted to join the Turtle Patrol on Holden Beach? This is read entire articleEnd of year statisticsPosted: October 24, 2014, 5:10 PM Article Summary: 2014: # 13 Turtle Talk Programs with 1554 people attending. # 7 Children's Turtle Times with 189 kids attending. # 19 nests and we moved 1410 eggs in 8 of them. # 1582 shells found at close out and a total of 1179 total baby turtles hatched. # our average read entire articleChange of Plans...nest 19 CLOSEDPosted: October 21, 2014, 6:16 AM Article Summary: Update on nest 19. It was closed Monday evening October 20. The team found 9 babies to add to the 17 that went out last Friday. Due to the DNA study, we know that this momma had 4 other nests this summer. Two of the babies from Friday are at read entire articleThe last nest has hatched!Posted: October 18, 2014, 8:12 AM Article Summary: It’s happened! Nest 19 had its first emergence Friday morning October 17 when 17 turtles popped out of the sand between 8:00 and 9:00 AM . The team will be at the nest every evening until next Wednesday, Oct 22 when they will close. It’s at 363 OBW. There were read entire articleSad day for Turtle PatrolPosted: October 3, 2014, 2:05 PM Article Summary: We lost one of our own--Paulette Wade-passed away on October 2 after a long summer of fighting liver disease. She was unable to help with turtles this summer--but always asked how the patrol and the turtles were doing. Donations may be made in Paulette's name to the SECU Hospice of read entire articleAnd then there was one (nest)!Posted: October 1, 2014, 5:41 PM Article Summary: Nest 17 boiled last night after everyone had left. The team will close this nest on Friday. This leaves us with one nest on Holden Beach. Nest # 19. It was collared and set up last night. The adoption team will be watching this nest until it hatches. What we read entire articleMore from the state coordinatorPosted: September 11, 2014, 6:18 AM Article Summary: Matthew H. Godfrey, PhD , Biologist, NC Wildlife Resources Commission with the Sea Turtle Project said in a recent email... "The sea turtle nesting season in North Carolina officially ended on 31 August, but we might still get a few late nests (for instance, on Saturday, a green turtle nest read entire articleNesting down across the statePosted: September 10, 2014, 9:17 PM Article Summary: We know the number of nests on Holden Beach is down this year (only 19 nests) and according to an article in the Sunday, September 7, 2014 Wilmington Star News ---- http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20140907/ARTICLES/140909759/0/search --- this is true across the whole state. The articles says: "The number of sea turtle nests along read entire articleTwo nests closedPosted: September 1, 2014, 10:27 PM Article Summary: Nests #10 and #11 closed last night. It's interesting that they both were laid on June 30 and both got a depression on the same day (last Thursday) and both hatched that same night about 8:15 p.m. Both nests also had a great boil! The team from nest #10 found read entire articleTurtles leave before the storm!Posted: August 23, 2014, 4:40 PM Article Summary: Last night turtle nest #8 had a fast and furious boil just before a thunderstorm. There was a unique depression on this nest (see photo taken at 8 p.m.) and the team felt that there was movement and the nest would hatch soon. This was day #63. But there was read entire articleNest 7 closed but season isn't over..yet.Posted: August 18, 2014, 5:41 PM Article Summary: According to our ever efficient and "super duper" morning scheduler, Maggie, turtle nest #7 closed out on Saturday night. Nest #8 is active and should have babies sometime this week. Nests 9, 10 and 11 will be "collared" tomorrow (August 19) and they should hatch within the next 12 days. read entire articleNest #19Posted: August 10, 2014, 3:33 PM Article Summary: It's been a slow year for our turtle patrol....especially after last year's record 73 nests. But it isn't too late for a few more mother's to lay eggs. Nest #19 was found yesterday and members moved 34 eggs. That small number of eggs is typical for a late season nest. read entire articleThree nests have closed already!Posted: August 5, 2014, 5:43 AM Article Summary: Nests # 1,2 and 3 have all hatched! They were laid on May 20 (nest #1) and June 3 (both nests 2 and 3). So far we've had 335 hatchlings released into the ocean. There was another false crawl yesterday morning, perhaps she'll be back later this week---so we know read entire articleNest 3 hatches!Posted: July 31, 2014, 11:37 AM Article Summary: Nest #3 boiled Tuesday night July 29th around 7:25 pm. The team had 74 healthy hatchlings down the trench and into the water by 7:50. Usually nests don't hatch when it's still daylight, but it was a cooler day and slightly cloudy, so everyone was treated to baby turtles in read entire articleSaturday morning update!Posted: July 26, 2014, 10:10 AM Article Summary: Two nests and a false crawl today. Closing nest #1 tonight, so far only small numbers of hatchlings seen from that nest. Vacationers reported seeing a momma turtle on the beach last night, they took photos and she turned around and left without laying her eggs. This is a called read entire articleFinally some action!Posted: July 23, 2014, 5:33 PM Article Summary: We've been waiting for nest #1 to hatch. It was laid on May 20 and the team has been watching it since July 9. Last night 2 hatchlings went into the ocean. There are 151 eggs unaccounted for in this nest. Nests 2 and 3 are being "collared" today and read entire articleBusy WeekendPosted: July 14, 2014, 5:29 AM Article Summary: This past weekend provided three new sea turtle nests on Holden Beach. The nest count is now 15 for the season. This ties the lowest nest count the patrol has ever had and we still have a month of nesting to go. read entire articleStill at 12Posted: July 7, 2014, 5:12 PM Article Summary: We still only have 12 nests on Holden Beach. According to the state biologist at the NC Wildlife Resources Commission this nesting season has been much slower than last year. To date, we are just under 300 nests for the year statewide. If the seasonal trend is similar to other read entire articleSlow start to the seasonPosted: July 1, 2014, 8:54 PM Article Summary: It's been a slow year for turtle nests on our beach. As of yesterday (June 30) we've only had 11 turtle nests. Last year at this time we had 35 nests on Holden Beach. We're hearing similar reports from across the state. After record breaking numbers last season, the numbers read entire articleWave Runner released!Posted: June 5, 2014, 7:19 AM Article Summary: Great news! Wave Runner, the Kemp's Ridley turtle stranded with fishing line by the Holden Beach pier has been released from the hospital. See the complete story and photos of the stranding and release under the photos section of this website. read entire articlePick up your stuff!Posted: June 1, 2014, 5:42 PM Article Summary: A friendly reminder to remove all your personal items from the beach. It is a regulation on Holden Beach that all items must be removed from the beach each day by 6 p.m. or when you are finished using them. While this looks like a neat pile and the tent read entire articleOur first nest of the year!Posted: May 20, 2014, 5:03 PM Article Summary: We're excited to announce our first nest of the year laid this morning (Tuesday May 20)! There were 157 Loggerhead eggs and it was relocated. We will begin watching the nest for hatchlings on or about July 9th. Note the yellow tape around the nest? This is our new "code". read entire articleNesting Season is Here!Posted: May 10, 2014, 1:54 PM Article Summary: We just got word that the first turtle nest in NC for 2014 was laid yesterday (May 9) at Cape Lookout. It was a loggerhead nest. The water temperature at Holden Beach is going up (72 degrees) which hopefully means we'll see mommas on our beach soon. Morning riders have read entire articleStranding Team in Action!Posted: April 30, 2014, 5:30 PM Article Summary: Thanks to members of our stranding team for their fast action in rescuing a Kemp's Ridley turtle that was caught in fishing line off the Holden Beach Pier. Also thanks to the fishermen who alerted the team and Stephen Venker for these photos. Other photos can be seen on the read entire articleDays at the DocksPosted: April 28, 2014, 1:03 PM Article Summary: Thanks to all the Turtle Patrol members who worked our booth at the Days at the Docks festival in Holden Beach this past weekend. Thanks too to everyone who stopped by to say hello, for information about our turtles and to buy one of this year's T-shirts. The 25th Anniversary read entire articleT-Shirts are available by mailPosted: March 24, 2014, 2:39 PM Article Summary: Several have asked. Even if you can't make it to Holden Beach this summer, you can own the 2014 25th Anniversary HBTP Shirt. The shirts are now available by mail. Send your name, address, shirt size and check (sorry, we can't do credit cards) to Holden Beach Turtle Patrol. PO read entire article2014 Annual MeetingPosted: March 1, 2014, 5:09 PM Article Summary: Have you always wanted to join the Turtle Patrol on Holden Beach? For more information contact Skip Hager at hagers2@atmc.net. This is the time to learn more and sign up! The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol’s annual meeting will be Saturday March 29 at 10 a.m. at the Holden Beach Town read entire article25th Anniversary T-shirtsPosted: February 6, 2014, 1:42 PM Article Summary: The shelves at the Lighthouse Gift Shop on the Causeway in Holden Beach have been stocked! Check out or 2014 25th anniversary shirt. Yes, the Turtle Patrol has been helping sea turtle in Holden Beach since 1989. The shirts are $15 for children, $17 for adults small to XL and read entire article2014 T-shirts are available!Posted: January 18, 2014, 7:13 AM Article Summary: The 2014, 25th Anniversary T-shirts are now at the Lighthouse Gift Shop on the causeway in Holden Beach. The T-shirt committee wanted a simple design, and decided on a kelly green shirt with tribal turtles printed in black. The small turtle and tracks on the front represent the hatchlings that read entire articleTurtle Hospital NewsPosted: December 30, 2013, 11:12 AM Article Summary: For those that have been following ..after a long delay....the Karen Beasley Turtle Hospital has moved to their new facility! Yeah! See the attached link to the Topsail Advertiser for complete details. http://www.topsailadvertiser.com/20-patients-recuperating-in-sea-turtle-sick-bay-1.255415?page=0 The green sea turtle talked about in the article is one of our rescues. ICie was found read entire articleEnd of Season ReportPosted: December 12, 2013, 5:53 AM Article Summary: Our Coordinator Skip Hager reported to the turtle patrol members: "Ultimately we ended up with 73 nests, which tied our previous best year of 1998. In North Carolina we had a grand total of 1302 nests, with 1275 being Loggerheads, a new record for both. That equates to 134,646 eggs read entire articleSeason finally over.Posted: December 4, 2013, 3:39 PM Article Summary: This record "turtle season" on Holden Beach ended on a sad note last Monday evening (December 2) when the final nest of the year was closed. This nest had been "watched" by our Assistant Coordinators since early October. Unfortunately there were no live babies found. The nest had 117 eggs read entire articleOne left!Posted: November 18, 2013, 10:17 AM Article Summary: We're still watching the last nest on Holden Beach. Nest #71 closed yesterday with 8 hatchlings out of 46 eggs. Four babies made their way to the ocean. The other four are currently patients at the Karen Beasley Turtle Hospital in Topsail, NC. They are HB 1, HB 2, HB read entire articleDown to Two NestsPosted: November 1, 2013, 4:12 PM Article Summary: Yes, we are still watching two nests on Holden Beach. Yes, it is November. Yes, this is unusual...but it is not unheard of. We have had nests hatch in November other years---especially back in 1998 --the last time we had 73 nests in a season.The big concern with babies this read entire articleLots of nests statewide this yearPosted: October 22, 2013, 12:28 PM Article Summary: It's been a wild and crazy season for turtles up and down the North Carolina Coast. The latest report shows that the state has had 1296 nests this year (that's a new record). The last known nest was laid on Cape Hatteras on September 11. Total babies to hatch so read entire articleNest #69 closes tonightPosted: October 20, 2013, 3:43 PM Article Summary: Turtle Patrol members watched nest #69 for 17 nights before seeing any "action". It boiled last Thursday with 54 babies. Members and vacationers saw 6 more babies last night....but we know...because the morning rider saw little "flipper prints" headed to the ocean on Friday morning...that means more babies have hatched. read entire articleWe still have active nests on the beach!Posted: October 12, 2013, 8:26 AM Article Summary: Yes, we still have six active nests on Holden Beach. All of these nests were laid after August 1. The last nest was laid on August 22 and is located at 795 OBW. It was "collared" this past week. The "due date" is October 16...but these late season nest have read entire articleAnd then there were eightPosted: October 2, 2013, 11:02 AM Article Summary: Nest # 69 at 145 OBW was "collared" last night. The momma turtle laid this nest on August 12. It contains 113 eggs. Its projected due date is Sunday October 6. But, this time of year, when the sand starts to get colder it may take a little longer for read entire articleNine nests left!Posted: September 26, 2013, 9:01 PM Article Summary: We have several nests closing tonight and tomorrow so we will be down to 9 nests on Holden Beach. So far this year we've helped over 6500 babies into the water. Turtle Patrol members are still on the beach each evening. It's been a great year for us. read entire article73 and holding on HoldenPosted: September 1, 2013, 11:27 AM Article Summary: The last known momma laid nest #72 on August 22---over a week-and-a-half ago. We usually consider the nesting season over when it's been 2 weeks since a mother has laid a nest. Some of us are hoping for "just one more" nest so we can beat the record of 73 read entire articleRecord TiedPosted: August 22, 2013, 4:52 PM Article Summary: A momma turtle laid nest # 72 this morning. And then we had a surprise nest hatch that was discovered by some vacationers. These two nests brings our total up to 73 nests. This matches our all-time record set in 1998 for the number of turtle nests found on Holden read entire articleGod Speed Holden 3Posted: August 18, 2013, 9:20 AM Article Summary: This past Thursday was a great day for members of the stranding team from our turtle patrol. One of our own rescued turtles was released by the Karen Beasley Turtle Hospital back into the ocean. Holden III is an injured Green Sea Turtle that was found on Holden Beach last read entire articleBusy day and night on the beachPosted: August 12, 2013, 9:56 PM Article Summary: We're busy busy busy on the beach. One new nest this morning (bringing the total so far to 69--almost the record). Two nests closed this evening. More being collared this week! Photos are of turtles found in nest 14 as they walk to the ocean. Trainee Rob completed escorted two read entire articleThank you Lou AnnPosted: August 11, 2013, 5:45 PM Article Summary: A special thank you to Lou Ann Keisler of Supply, NC for the beautiful pieced turtle wall hanging. She presented it to turtle patrol members on the beach last week. We can't decide which side we like best. Thank you for your support, we'll make good use of your work, read entire articleLots of activity on the beachPosted: August 6, 2013, 9:24 PM Article Summary: So much has happened since the first nest hatched last week! We've had a total of seven nests "boil" so far. There are so many babies we can't keep the report accurate and up-to-date. We have many "active" nests on the beach. The momma turtles are still laying but they read entire articleFirst nest "closed"Posted: August 1, 2013, 11:29 PM Article Summary: A large crowd gathered to cheer "Sparkles', "Rosie", "Chubby" and their 30 siblings as they raced to the ocean when members of the Turtle Patrol "closed" the first nest of the season tonight. Look for more photos on the photo page of this website. read entire articleWe have babies......Posted: July 30, 2013, 11:38 AM Article Summary: Yeah! a crowd of about 100 ---lots of vacationers and new HBTP trainees---got to see our first nest of the year hatch last night. We helped 57 babies into the ocean about 8:30 p.m. This was officially nest #2 on our beach this year..it was laid on May 28. We read entire articleAlmost record breaking yearPosted: July 28, 2013, 10:09 AM Article Summary: The ATV rider found two more nests on the beach this morning. This brings the total turtle nests on Holden Beach to 63 (so far). This is the second highest number in the HBTP's history. The most nests we've had was 73 in 1998. We estimate that we have a read entire articleThe Waiting Begins!Posted: July 24, 2013, 4:03 PM Article Summary: Our first 3 nests have been "trenched" and the waiting begins. No baby turtle, yet. They are "expected" any day now. Look for and visit with Turtle Patrol members on the beach in the evening by these nests--look for the red shirts. Traditionally the first nests of the season take read entire articleBUSY NESTING!Posted: July 17, 2013, 2:01 PM Article Summary: Wow! those mother turtles have been busy. We had a total of 48 nests last year and already 50 this year! More than half of these nests (26) are "natural nests" . This means we did not need to move them. So far none of our nests have hatched. Don't read entire articleFalse CrawlsPosted: July 11, 2013, 11:14 AM Article Summary: The turtle mamas have had a tough week. We've had 12 false crawls since last Tuesday (July 2) and only 3 new nests. The beach is very crowded, this may be why the mother turtles are abandoning their efforts to lay eggs. Please, do not bother a mother turtle if read entire articleBeach Clean Up Sunday!Posted: June 29, 2013, 12:28 PM Article Summary: One of the most important ways you can help the turtles is to have a clean beach. Help us keep our beach trash free! This Sunday June 30 there will be a Beach Clean up on Holden Beach. Meet at the Pavillion under the bridge at 9:30 a.m to get read entire articleChildren's Turtle Time starts this week!Posted: June 23, 2013, 9:40 PM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol announces a special program for younger turtle enthusiasts. It’s called “Children’s Turtle Time” and will be held Wednesdays June 26, July 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31 at 4 p.m. at the Holden Beach Town Hall. These programs will feature age appropriate crafts, stories and read entire articleTurtle Bench RafflePosted: June 20, 2013, 7:24 AM Article Summary: Would you like to own this beautiful Sea Turtle Bench? Thanks to a donation from Candara Creations of Holden Beach we are raffling off this bench with all proceeds going to the HBTP. Tickets will be for sale at all Turtle Talks and Children's Turtle Times this summer. They are read entire articleI found them!Posted: June 15, 2013, 10:33 AM Article Summary: Mother turtles were busy last night. We had 4 nests on the beach this morning. Photos show volunteers finding the eggs at nest #16. This momma came in at high tide and left her eggs high and dry on the beach. This nest was not moved but marked and covered. read entire articleYes we have nests!Posted: June 9, 2013, 5:32 PM Article Summary: The first nest for 2013 on Holden Beach was laid on May 28. That's later than the last two years---in 2012 our first nest was May 12 and in 2011 it was May 21. It is estimated that this nest will hatch and we'll see the first baby turtles on read entire articleHB Turtle Patrol begins ATV crawl patrols.Posted: May 3, 2013, 3:34 PM Article Summary: We started patrolling Holden Beach on May 1. A Holden Beach Turtle Patrol member patrols all eight miles of the beach each morning. All you early risers can be on the lookout for these dawn patrols. The water temperatures are still fairly low...so we don’t expect to see mothers laying read entire articleFirst Florida Loggerheads!Posted: April 23, 2013, 9:19 PM Article Summary: Matthew Godfrey, the coordinator for the Sea Turtle program here in North Carolina reported yesterday that loggerhead nesting in Florida for the 2013 season has begun with several new clutches laid in Melbourne Beach and Juno Beach. As yet, there haven't been any observed nests in Georgia or South Carolina, read entire articleThe 2013 HB Turtle Patrol T-Shirt and HAT!Posted: April 1, 2013, 7:05 AM Article Summary: The 2013 shirt is now available for sale at the Lighthouse Gift Shop in Holden Beach. This year’s shirt features a mother loggerhead and the slogan “Coming Home to Holden Beach. “ In addition to the t-shirts, this year the HBTP will also be selling hats. The shirts are $15 read entire articleAttention potential volunteers!Posted: February 21, 2013, 4:43 PM Article Summary: Have you always wanted to join the Turtle Patrol on Holden Beach? For more information contact Skip Hager at hagers2@atmc.net. This is the time to learn more and sign up! The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol’s annual meeting will be Saturday March 2 at 10 a.m. at the Holden Beach read entire articleEnd of Season Report for 2012Posted: December 19, 2012, 10:50 AM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol is an active and dedicated group of folks. Members reported over 8535 volunteer hours for this past turtle season and donated 62,780 miles. If we had to put a dollar value on this it would be over $151,000! NC Wildlife reports that Holden Beach has read entire articleWhen do the turtles hatch?Posted: September 20, 2012, 11:41 AM Article Summary: That’s a frequent question Turtle Patrol members get while on the beach. The usual answer is we don’t really know (like human babies, they come when they are ready). But, traditionally the hatchlings emerge from the nest at night and usually just after dark. The sand cools when the sun read entire articleThank you Noah!Posted: September 18, 2012, 11:57 AM Article Summary: Special thank you goes out to Noah Harrell from Christiansburg, VA. Noah and his family vacationed on Holden Beach earlier this summer and they came to our Turtle Talk program. Noah’s mother wrote prior to the visit that he has become absolutely amazed with sea turtles and conservation efforts. Noah read entire articleMYSTERY NESTS!Posted: August 31, 2012, 3:13 PM Article Summary: We haven’t spotted a new mother turtle on the beach for over 3 weeks, but we have two more nests. How does this happen? Tuesday night we had a surprise “boil” at what we’re now calling our 47th nest. Vacationers saw 35 babies to the water and after Turtle Patrol read entire articleInnovative Surgery on Injured Sea TurtlePosted: August 12, 2012, 11:29 AM Article Summary: Doctors at NC State University in Raleigh recently completed experimental surgery on a sea turtle. This sea turtle was found by an Holden Beach town employee on the west end of the island. He called the Turtle Patrol’s stranding team. Team members Pat Anderson and Sue Hoffacker took the turtle read entire articleNesting Continues!Posted: August 5, 2012, 10:10 AM Article Summary: A team of volunteers was called out on August 4th for nest 46 for this year. The mother turtle came in on high tide and left on low tide—leaving an interesting crawl pattern in the sand. She spent some time crawling up the dune. The eggs were high and dry, read entire articleNOW 50 % more nests than last year!Posted: August 1, 2012, 10:36 PM Article Summary: It’s a good turtle season in North Carolina....As of July 31 we had 45 nests on Holden Beach. That’s 15 more than last year. We’re not the only beach that has more turtle nests this year. According to Matthew Godfrey from the Sea Turtle Project @ the NC Wildlife Resources read entire articleSCOUT BAILEY WATTS Builds Table for HBTPPosted: July 29, 2012, 1:34 PM Article Summary: During the 2011 turtle season. Bailey Watts a local Boy Scout contacted the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol to see if he could help us for his Eagle Scout Project. He joined the HBTP on several nests last season and under the supervision of an Assistant Coordinator, he helped carry equipment, read entire articleOne more Children’s Turtle Time—Wednesday August 1.Posted: July 27, 2012, 7:28 PM Article Summary: We’ve had a great turn out for the first 3 programs! Lots of kids and parents that are interested in turtles. This program features age appropriate crafts, stories and activities for children ages 3 to 6 years old. The are divided into two groups: ages 3 & 4 and 5 read entire articleNest ONE boils!Posted: July 21, 2012, 8:55 AM Article Summary: Finally, and without anyone watching (of course!) nest #1 boiled Wednesday night July 18. Vacationers missed the boil, also, but followed the tracks down the trench and watched for washbacks (babies being washed onto the beach by the waves).......none! Excellent turtles! There were 131 eggs in this nest, but we read entire articleNEW this year! CHILDREN'S Turtle TIME!Posted: July 7, 2012, 10:29 PM Article Summary: It’s called The first “Children’s Turtle Time” and will be held this Wednesday July 11 at 4 p.m. at the Holden Beach Town Hall. This program is for younger turtle enthusiasts. This program will feature age appropriate crafts, stories and activities for children ages 3 to 6 years old. The read entire articleCelebrate July 4th with Turtle Talk!Posted: July 1, 2012, 6:22 PM Article Summary: 4th of July week will be busy time for Turtle Patrol. Yes, there will be Turtle Talk as scheduled on Wednesday July 4. We will start at 7 p.m. and promise to be done be 8 p.m. so there will still be time to see the official firework displays. Please read entire articleALREADY MORE NESTS THAN LAST YEAR!Posted: June 27, 2012, 7:52 AM Article Summary: It’s already been a busy turtle season! We reached 31 nests this morning! One more than our total count of last year. Very busy mama turtles. We’re also been very crowded at Turtle Talk on Wednesday evenings. We’ve had “Standing Room Only” and will soon be needing to turn people read entire articleAMAZING FALSE CRAWL on June 13Posted: June 16, 2012, 12:53 PM Article Summary: Decisions, decisions!!! Even Sea Turtle Women sometimes can't decide!! This "lady" just couldn't make up her mind on Wednesday morning. She wanted that space and someone had already taken it so she looked further, and further, and further. After a very long "road trip" through and around and around the read entire articleWESTI released to the Sea! June 6th.Posted: June 7, 2012, 2:04 PM Article Summary: Westi, a loggerhead sea turtle, was released back into the ocean on Wednesday, June 6th. Rescued by the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol Stranding Team last June (2011), Westi spent the summer, winter and spring at the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital in Topsail. Members of the HB Turtle Patrol were read entire articleTURTLE TALK STARTS Wed June 6thPosted: June 5, 2012, 1:15 PM Article Summary: The first Turtle Talk of the summer will be this Wednesday June 6th. Turtle Talk will begin at 7 p.m. at the Holden Beach Town Hall, 110 Rothschild Street on Holden Beach. The doors open at 6:30 p.m. and seating is limited. This free weekly educational program will conducted each read entire articleFALSE CRAWLSPosted: May 31, 2012, 9:42 AM Article Summary: So far this year we have had 23 false crawls. A FALSE CRAWL is when the mother turtle crawls up on the beach but does not lay any eggs? Why? Perhaps she was frightened away by a loud noise, people on the beach or a light. Perhaps she ran into read entire articleNOW 9 Nests!Posted: May 25, 2012, 7:29 PM Article Summary: Been a pretty eventful week, since the last report, just 5 days ago, we have had 6 new nests and 10 more false crawls. This brings us to a total of 9 nests so far this year. All have needed to be moved except nest #7—we call it a natural read entire articleMore Nests on Holden Beach!Posted: May 20, 2012, 11:03 AM Article Summary: It's been a busy week! We now have 3 turtle nests on Holden Beach! There are a total of 26 nests statewide, most of the activity has been in our area with 15 of these nests from Caswell Beach to the South Carolina border. read entire articleFIRST NEST of 2012!Posted: May 13, 2012, 9:26 AM Article Summary: Welcome to the 2012 Turtle season! Saturday (May 12) marked the arrival the first nesting mother turtle on Holden Beach. The early morning Turtle Patrol ATV riders had a double treat with the first nest and being able to see the mom leaving the nest, rare to catch a turtle read entire articleThe 2012 T-Shirt is in!Posted: May 3, 2012, 6:03 PM Article Summary: The 2012 “official shirt” Holden Beach Turtle patrol T-Shirt is now available. Be among the first to own one. The shirt is blue and is called “Born to Swim”. It features the artwork of Florida artist Paul Brent showing several baby turtles on their first swim. Brent is often referred read entire articleSTILL TIME TO SIGN UP!Posted: April 15, 2012, 4:06 PM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Patrol held their annual meeting on Saturday April 14th. We welcome the new trainees who got their feet wet at the meeting. There is still time to volunteer for this years patrol. Contact our Project coordinator Skip Hager at hagers2@atmc.net. Congratulations to Tony, Dave & Joe read entire articleHow To Volunteer for 2012 Season!Posted: March 8, 2012, 9:11 AM Article Summary: Interested in working with the Hold Beach Turtle Patrol in 2012? Please contact Skip Hagger at hagers2@atmc.net for instructions and to set up training. The annual business meeting of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol ( HBTP ) will be held in the meeting room of Holden Beach Town Hall on read entire article2011 Final Turtle CountPosted: October 26, 2011, 7:54 AM Article Summary: We had a total of 30 turtle nests on Holden Beach this summer. All were loggerhead turtle nests. We had a total of 3422 eggs laid and 2372 turtle hatchlings released. The number of total turtles released (70%) may seem low. This can be attributed to 5 nests this year read entire articleNest 30 PhotosPosted: October 8, 2011, 9:59 AM Article Summary: Here is the crowd at the closing of the last nest for 2011 on October 4th. read entire articleEarly October Update - last three nests.Posted: October 3, 2011, 9:18 AM Article Summary: It’s getting colder on the beach. Nest 28 was finally closed on the evening of the 24th with a total of 16 hatchlings released. This was a very hard luck nest that tried to the end to produce a good hatch. Washed over, washed out, baked in the sun, and read entire articleNest 28 StirsPosted: September 12, 2011, 12:58 PM Article Summary: Good news. Nest #28 had one turtle boil on Saturday night. This nest has had a difficult time due to the storm and high water so one is a good sign. Hopefully more to come. read entire articleLast three nests.Posted: September 7, 2011, 7:32 PM Article Summary: The turtle season on Holden Beach is drawing to a close. We are down to our last 3 nests. Nests 25, 26 & 27 were opened on Monday night (9/5) to protect any hatchlings from another over wash. Sadly, nest 25 ultimately was victim to Irene. The nest was full read entire articleWe get fan mail!Posted: September 4, 2011, 2:03 PM Article Summary: Earlier this year we got a letter from a young friend in Sumter, SC. Dear Turtle Watch Program, I love what y’all do. I absolutely love animals too. I always thought your jobs are so cool. You once let me hold a turtle egg while on the beach. I am read entire articleThe Year of the TurtlePosted: September 4, 2011, 2:01 PM Article Summary: Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation (PARC) has declared 2011 as the year of the turtle. They’re celebrating all turtles, not just sea turtles. The September 2011 Year of the Turtle Newsletter and Calendar is now ready and can be found on line at http://parcplace.org/images/stories/YOT/YearoftheTurtleCalendarSeptember.pdf This month’s issue features a read entire articlePost Hurricane IrenePosted: August 28, 2011, 2:17 PM Article Summary: Good news! We still have seven nests on Holden Beach. More good news, nest # 24 boiled Saturday night after the storm. Over 12 inches of extra sand was deposited on top of this nest. The grate, markers and sign from nest #28 (a natural nest) were lost in the read entire articleHurricane Irene Update August 27, 2011Posted: August 27, 2011, 9:50 AM Article Summary: People have been asking about the turtles on the beach and the storm. Unfortunately there is not much we can do during the storm to prevent water getting into the nests and/or large waves and winds washing them away. We can hope. The turtle patrol is off the beach Friday read entire articleAugust 24th UpdatePosted: August 24, 2011, 10:19 PM Article Summary: We’re anxiously and cautiously waiting to see what happens with Hurricane Irene. Nest # 20 “boiled” last night (August 23) so it will be “closed out” before the hurricane gets here. We’ve “closed out” 20 nests so far this year with approximately 1968 baby turtles into the water. Sadly we’ve read entire articleApproaching the End Of Laying SeasonPosted: August 17, 2011, 11:16 AM Article Summary: We are now up to 30 Loggerhead nests on Holden Beach this year (one more than last year). The last nest was found on August 6. That’s late in the season for a momma. If we go two weeks after that date (August 20) we’ll consider the nesting season officially read entire articleFirst Holden Beach Nest Hatches!Posted: July 21, 2011, 3:59 PM Article Summary: Finally we have baby turtles! Eighty-seven baby loggerheads emerged last night under the watchful eyes of Turtle Patrol members and a large crowd of vacationers. A few more hatchlings “snuck” out during the night after the patrol members went home. Nest #1 was laid on May 20th and was a read entire articleJuly 5 2011 UpdatePosted: July 5, 2011, 2:01 PM Article Summary: June was a busy month for the Turtle Patrol. For 9 days early in the month we had at least one nest everyday. On June 16 and again on June 29 we had three nests each morning! This brings our total to 23 nests for the season. This is slightly read entire articleJune 10th 2011 Unusual EggsPosted: July 5, 2011, 1:57 PM Article Summary: On June 10 we had a loggerhead nest with a big surprise. Some very unusual eggs more than twice the length of regular eggs. There were 3 elongated eggs up to 5" in length. One of these large eggs was broken and had 5 yokes. This is nest #10 for read entire articleJune 4, 2010 UpdatePosted: June 25, 2011, 2:16 PM Article Summary: Turtle Talk, the Holden Beach Turtle Watch educational program kicked off this week with an audience of 72 turtle fans. This great beginning saw lots of new red shirted volunteers assisting the experienced team members. Project coordinator, Skip Hager reported that there are lots of jelly fish and Man-of-War (which read entire article2011 T-ShirtsPosted: June 25, 2011, 2:15 PM Article Summary: The Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program is an all volunteer organization that is funded only by the sale of T-shirts available at the educational program, the Light House Gift Shop and through Donations by interested people like you. We would like to give a special thanks to the Light House read entire articleMay 21, 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:09 PM Article Summary: We have been working since April getting everything ready for the turtles and they are now here. Our first mother, a Loggerhead came in on May 20th. The number of eggs is unknown since the nest did not need to be moved so we will be expecting babies anytime from read entire articleSeptember 30, 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:08 PM Article Summary: Well our last nest has hatched and the busy part of our year is over. That doesn't mean that we are sitting back doing nothing. It is now time to review the season and make changes and adjustments to our program, design next years shirt and repair our equipment. All read entire articleSeptember 7, 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:08 PM Article Summary: Well things are winding down. Nest 14 had 89 babies,15 had 128, 17 had 117, 18 had 140, 19 had 91, nest 20 had 115 babies. Nest 21 hatched and had 97, nest 22 had 145,nest 23 had 122 babies hatch. Our Green Turtle nest, nest #24 hatched with 72 read entire articleAugust 20, 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:07 PM Article Summary: Well it is August 20th and turtles have been popping out all over. Nest 8 was closed out with 118 babies to the water, nest 9 had 126 babies, nest #10 had 75 , nest #11 had 106, #12 had 110 and #13 had 116 go to the water. We read entire articleAugust 12, 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:06 PM Article Summary: Well our Leatherback nest (nest 2) has hatched and been closed out. We had 59 babies get to the water out of 69 eggs which is a good hatch rate for a Leatherback nest.Nest 3 was closed out with 102 babies making it to the water. Nest 4 - 7 read entire articleJuly 27, 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 2:06 PM Article Summary: Mothers are still coming in to lay and we had nest 30 last night. The nests have started to hatch and we have around 325 turtles to the water from nests 1,3 and 4. Nest #1 and 3 were closed out last night. Nest #4 has boiled and will be read entire articleKate's Lemonade Stand (July 21, 2010)Posted: June 25, 2011, 1:53 PM Article Summary: We would like to send a special thanks to a young girl named Kate who come to Turtle talk to find out about the turtles. She was so touched that she decided that she needed to do something to help them. She went home to Vienna, Virginia and decided to read entire articleJune 22 , 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 1:51 PM Article Summary: We had a turtle lay a nest last night which is nothing new but the way that it crawled and its flipper size lead us to believe that it was a Green Sea Turtle. If in fact it was a Green then it would be the first in over 10 read entire articleJune 19 , 2010Posted: June 25, 2011, 1:51 PM Article Summary: We had a live stranding today of a live adult female Loggerhead. Someone at Windy Point saw her in the water and went to the end of their pier to get a better look and saw that she had been hit by a boat, He called the stranding number and read entire articleJune 2, 2010 UpdatePosted: June 25, 2011, 1:50 PM Article Summary: In the 21 year history of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol we had a Leatherback Turtle come on our beach and lay a nest! She was over 6 feet from flipper to flipper and estimated to be over 900 pounds! She layed 70 eggs with about 30 decoy eggs which read entire article2006/2007 KayakPosted: May 7, 2007, 7:31 PM Article Summary: A loggerhead sea turtle had been seen struggling off Holden Beach for several days. Turtle Patrol stranding team members were keeping a watchful eye on her and had swam out several times to try to get her to shore but she was still strong enough to dive and swim away. read entire articleConjoined TurtlePosted: July 29, 0208, 3:27 PM Article Summary: July, 2008 Members of the Holden Beach Turtle Patrol found a unique baby among the hatchlings in the first nest that hatched on our beach in July. One of the babies that emerged during the "boil" was a conjoined (or Siamese twin) turtle. It had one shell but two heads. read entire article |
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