Outer Banks Sea Turtle

The 2010 sea turtle nesting season is off to a great start on the Outer Banks.

NEST (Network for Endangered Sea Turtles) is reporting that they have already confirmed two nests.  This is the earliest nesting on the OBX in about seven years.

One of the nests is from a Loggerhead, and a NEST volunteer had the pleasure of discovering the nest as the mother turtle was covering the eggs; it’s relatively rare to catch a glimpse of the mother.  After covering the nest, Mama returned back to the Atlantic.

The second nest provided an even bigger surprise.  The next morning, a rare Kemp’s Ridley mother climbed ashore to nest.  Kemp’s are known to migrate through the North Carolina waters, and some have washed ashore, but it is very rare for one to nest on the NC beaches; only two Kemp’s Ridley nests have been documented on North Carolina beaches, and none along the Outer Banks.

This is a great indication that the Kemp’s Ridley are fighting their way back from the brink of extinction with the help of great programs like NEST.