Nesting species
Loggerhead (threatened)
Peak nesting
May through August
Nests per season
Dozens island-wide
The Nesting Season
May–Aug
Nesting
Female loggerheads return at night to lay clutches of ~100 eggs above the high-tide line. Topsail records dozens of nests each season.
~60 days
Incubation
Eggs incubate for roughly two months in the warm sand. Nest temperature even determines the hatchlings' sex — warmer sand produces more females.
Jul–Oct
Hatching
Hatchlings emerge after dark and race for the brightest horizon — ideally the moonlit ocean. Volunteers inventory nests afterward to track success.
How Visitors Can Help
- Fill in sand holes and knock down sandcastles before you leave — turtles fall in at night.
- Go dark oceanfront after 10 PM during nesting season: no porch or flash lights toward the beach.
- Keep flashlights, phone lights and flash photography off the beach at night.
- Never approach a nesting turtle or touch a nest; stay back at least 50 feet and report it.
- Pick up fishing line, plastic and fireworks — they trap and injure turtles.
- If you see a nesting turtle, hatchlings or a stranded turtle, call NC Wildlife: 252-241-7367.
Where to Learn More
Surf City · Tours available
Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital
The volunteer-run hospital rehabilitates injured turtles and offers seasonal public tours. Adopt a patient or shop the gift shack to fund care.