See a Sea Turtle's Nest

All are welcome to join in the excavation viewing at Ramp 68 today at 11am. Please note that ramp 68 is currently closed to ORV traffic, so this area of the beach is for pedestrians only. Park at the NPS campground parking lot and follow the trail to the ramp. 

Below is information that Cape Hatteras National Seashore released about the 2016 excavation programs:

NPS invites public to observe nest excavations.

Each spring and summer, female sea turtles – loggerhead, green, and occasional leatherback – make a brief trip to the shores of Cape Hatteras National Seashore to nest.

Approximately two months later, under the cover of darkness, up to 150 hatchlings emerge from each sandy nest in a mad dash across the beach to reach the safety of the Atlantic Ocean.

Cape Hatteras National Seashore is offering park visitors an opportunity to observe excavations of recently hatched sea turtle nests during the months of July, August, and September.  An “excavation” is the process completed by biologists to document what remains in the nest after a natural hatch has occurred.

During an excavation, the biologists will dig up the nest, count eggshells, and collect un-hatched eggs for research.  Live hatchlings are sometimes found during these excavations. While the biologists perform their examination of the nest, a park ranger will present a program on sea turtles and share what the biologists have found. 

Nest excavations are an important way for the National Park Service to collect valuable data on sea turtle hatch and emergence success rates.  This data is added to the turtle nesting databases for the seashore and the State of North Carolina.