Sea turtle nest excavation to take place on Labor Day on Ocracoke Island

Visitors and residents on Ocracoke Island are invited to join rangers at the Cape Hatteras National Seashore for a public sea turtle nest excavation on Labor Day, September 5.

The excavation will begin promptly at 9:00 a.m., and visitors can park at the Pony Pen Beach Access lot. The nest i located just 0.03 miles south of the Pony Pen Beach Access ramp

During the excavation, spectators can watch National Park biologists dig up a recently hatched nest and inventory what’s inside. Biologists 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.