It's Hatching Season

The nest is located 0.3 miles north of the lifeguard stand at the day use area, Ocracoke Island. Visitors may park at the day use area parking lot, and walk over the boardwalk to the beach. 

During an excavation, biologists dig up the recently hatched nest, count empty eggshells, and collect unhatched eggs for research. Live and dead hatchlings are occasionally found during these excavations. While the biologists perform their examination of the nest, an interpretive park ranger will present a program on sea turtles and share what the biologists have found.

Call the public excavations hotline, 252-475-9629, for more information.