Shirts are now available at The Lighthouse Gifts Inc. on the Holden Beach causeway, at Turtle Talk and Turtle Time this summer and by mail - order shirts and other merchandise; shop here
Found a mother turtle laying a nest? A stranded or injured sea turtle and/or unattended hatchlings?
Call the HBTWP Stranding Team:
910-754-0766 | 24/7/365
Nesting turtles are frightened by lights and won't lay their eggs on a brightly lighted beach. Hatchlings will go to the lights rather than the ocean! Please help us preserve our marine life by keeping beachfront lighting off from May 1st until October 31st. learn more turtle facts
As recommended by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission, it is the policy of the HBTWP to NOT disclose the locations or potential hatch dates of active turtle nests on our beach.
A list of nest locations will NOT be published in newspapers, on this website or on other social media. Please do NOT call the emergency number or contact the Project Coordinator to ask about nests. This is for the safety of the turtles! learn more about turtle nesting
Current Nest Count |
False Crawls |
35 |
32 |
Total Known Eggs |
Hatchlings to Ocean |
4012 |
2389 |
posted: October 2, 2025, 8:36 AM
ATTENTION CREATIVE TURTLE LOVERS! The Holden Beach Turtle Watch Program is holding a contest for the creation of an original, hand drawn design for the 2026 season T-Shirt. If you love turtles and have a talent for graphic design, we hope you will be interested in donating your idea for consideration by our committee to be featured on the 2026 T-Shirt. So get your creative cap on and here are the details: • Only one design submission per individual. • The design must include a sea turtle. • The design must be original artwork, hand drawn design. • The design...read more of this article.
posted: September 28, 2025, 11:45 AM
It is a bittersweet ending for our Holden Beach Turtle Patrol 2025 sea turtle season. This year we say goodbye to Pat and Alice Cusack, who have been icons for 2 decades. Alice joined the Turtle Patrol in 2006 and has completed 20 sea turtle seasons. After her trainee year on the patrol, she immediately began taking on additional roles and responsibilities. She was a strong supporter for the Turtle Patrol and not only cared about sea turtles, but cared about us the Turtle Patrol members, and was a great advocate for sea turtles and loved to share her knowledge...read more of this article.
posted: September 20, 2025, 3:13 PM
Holden Beach Turtle Patrol joined efforts with the Town of Holden Beach to celebrate International Coastal Clean-up Day. Thanks to everyone who came out to help us clean-up the beach and marsh area of Holden Beach. We picked up two truckloads of trash! About 35 Turtle Patrol members participated. It was great having a troop of 25 American Heritage Girls from all over Brunswick County join in! Thanks, too, to family members, neighbors, visitors and Holden Beach residents who came out to help us keep Holden Beach clean and safe for everyone especially the sea turtles. The Town of Holden...read more of this article.
posted: September 13, 2025, 10:24 AM
This is a REMINDER to signup and join us for the Beach Sweep on Holden Beach next week. Please check out our facebook page or review the full event article, below. The Town of Holden Beach and our Holden Beach Turtle Patrol are partnering this fun event and we look forward to seeing you on the beach. ...read more of this article.