Loggerhead turtle excavation on Ocracoke beach in 2017. Photo: P. Vankevich

To catch up on Ocracoke news and much more, click here

Every summer, sea turtles visit the beaches of Cape Hatteras to lay their nests. This year the Seashore has had over 200 nests laid on the beach with many already beginning to hatch.

One of the ways the national park staff helps these turtles is by gathering data after the nests hatch. Because of current social distancing guidelines, the park staff is not able to hold the public sea turtle nest excavations but they will do so virtually.

Click here to join the hatching on Facebook at 10 a.m. tomorrow (Friday, Sept. 4) to view a virtual sea turtle nest excavation in your park!

During this excavation, a park biologist will dig up a recently hatched nest, count the empty shells, and collect unhatched eggs for research. Park staff will also share information about the sea turtles that nest on these beaches as well explaining what is going on during the excavation.

*This event may be postponed or cancelled due to inclement weather. Please stay tuned to the Facebook event page for any updates on the date and time of this excavation.

Previous articleOcracoke’s resiliency in the midst of many trials
Next articleHyde County reports first COVID-19 deaths