The Winds Sponsors Turtle Nest!

This year The Winds once again signed up to sponsor a Sea Turtle nest. The Winds nest was laid on July 28 at 215 West First St. (West end of Ocean Isle Beach – see map below!).

We want your help in naming our “turtle” with a  “Name Our Turtle” contest. We’ve put a form up for you to submit your suggested name. The Winner will have the honor of having named the Sea Turtle and will receive a free Winds T-Shirt!

We will continue to accept entries for one more week, through August 12th, and then have the Winds’ Staff pick the winner (employees are not eligible to win.

Click here to submit your suggested name for our adopted Sea Turtle.

The nest adoption helps provide funds for The Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Protection Organization which provides, through appropriate management activities and education, a safe and protected environment for all sea turtles that frequent the island of Ocean Isle Beach.

Jim and Deb Boyce, Island Coordinators who are licensed by the North Carolina Wildlife Commission, Non-game and Endangered Species section, work with a team of approximately 50 trained volunteers in a year-round effort to protect sea turtles.

Volunteers are especially active between May and late September, when female sea turtles dig their nests and lay their eggs. In addition to identifying and marking nests on Ocean Isle Beach, volunteers also protect hatchlings from predators, transport sick and injured sea turtles to the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center at Topsail Island, and educate the public about these amazing creatures.

For more information, visit www.oibseaturtles.org. Deb Boyce has told us that so far this year there have been 17 nests discovered and when another one is identified it will be designated as our “adopted nest”.

Last year’s Winds’ Turtle was named ”Windy”. She came ashore the night of June 28th and laid a nest full of 86 eggs!!!!

Deb  Boyce told us that 50 days from the date that the eggs are laid they will begin to watch for a ‘boil over’ or mass hatching to begin and usually they hatch around the 55th day. However if the hot weather continues they could hatch as early as 49 – 50 days from being laid.

These photos are actually of Windy heading back out to sea after digging her nest in the sand, laying her eggs and then covering them up to protect them.

The photos were taken by the the Zvoch family from Michigan who were visiting Ocean Isle Beach on vacation. We’d like to thank them for sharing these incredible photos with us!

Click here to watch a video of a live sea turtle at Ocean Isle Beach

For more info on The Ocean Isle Beach Sea Turtle Protection Organization click here:  http://www.oibseaturtles.org