1st Turtle Nest Hatches

The first sea turtle nest of the 2010 season hatched last week on Ocean Isle Beach.

The nest, which is near the Concord Street beach access, started to hatch the night of Sunday, July 18th, Gloria Hillenburg, coordinator of the Ocean Isle Beach Turtle Patrol, said.

Baby loggerhead sea turtles began emerging around 8:30 p.m., and were still hatching as of the following Tuesday afternoon. Hillenburg said 70 turtles had left the nest so far.

Hillenburg said about 250 people gathered Sunday night to watch the babies emerge.

The nest was the first of 16 on Ocean Isle Beach this year, but there have been as many as 87 nests in one season. Sea Turtle nests take between 55-60 days to hatch, but this nest near Concord Street began to hatch on the 51st day.

Hillenburg attributed this to the heat, noting turtle babies usually come out at night.

The Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Patrol meets at 7 p.m. every Tuesday at the Ocean Isle Beach Community Center. Their meetings are open to the public and Turtle Patrol T-shirts are available for a $10 donation at the meetings or at the Second Street Bar & Grill.

The Turtle Patrol is still looking for information about the theft last year turtle of 83 babies that were taken from their nest on Ocean Isle Beach. There is a $5,402 reward which will expire Aug. 8. Anyone with information is asked to call Special Agent Jack Baker with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, or Hillenburg at 754-9513.

NESTS ON OCEAN ISLE BEACH THIS SEASON

No.	Name	Location	Status
1	Ellie’s Estate	90 East 1st St.	Closed
2	Kloba Family Nest	370 East 1st St.	Closed
3	Inlet View Bar & Grill	131 West 1st St.	Watching
4	Bogey’s Buddies	244 West 1st St.	Watching
5	Purple Onion	122 East 1st St.	Laid
6	KAN-Do	89 West West	Laid
7	BL Team	89 West 1st St.	Laid
8	Ocean Ridgers	142 East 1st St.	Laid
9	Bourbon St. Bar & Grill	116 East 1st St.	Laid
10	2nd St. Bar & Grill	231 West 1st St.	Laid
11	Williamson Realty	96 West West	Laid
12	Hope – The Winds Resort Beach Club	294 East 1st St.	Laid
13	Ranger Babies	410 East 1st St.	Laid
14	The Chicken Coop	388 East 1st St.	Laid
15	The Delaware Pink Hat Girls	241 West 1st St.	Laid
16	Darla’s Darlings
17	Kinner’s Skimmers
18	The Van Wormer Babies
19	Caroline & Grammy’s Buckeye Babies 2