Two sea turtle nest excavations will take place over Labor Day Weekend

September 3, 2022 Kassidy Watson-Perry
Two Park Rangers counting egg shells and digging down into a sea turtle nest in the sand. [Courtesy NPS/P. Vankevich]

According to an update from Cape Hatteras National Seashore, two public sea turtle nest excavations are set to take place during Labor Day Weekend along the Outer Banks.

The first excavation will begin Sunday, September 4, at 10:00am on Hatteras Island (park in the Buxton Lifeguard Beach lot). Nest location: 0.05 miles south of the Buxton Lifeguard stand.

The second excavation will occur on Labor Day, Monday, September 5, at 9:00am on Ocracoke Island (park at Pony Pen Beach Access lot). Nest location: 0.03 miles South of Pony Pen Beach Access ramp.

Those who attend will be able to watch Park biologists dig up a recently hatched nest and inventory what’s inside. They will count empty eggshells, collect unhatched eggs, and occasionally find live and/or dead hatchlings 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.

For more information and to learn about additional upcoming public nest excavations, call our sea turtle nest excavation hotline at 252-475-9629.

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