Holden Beach Turtle Watch discovers ‘wild nest’, along with hatchlings

HOLDEN BEACH, NC (WWAY) — Volunteers with the Holden Beach Turtle Watch recently made an exciting discovery.

A ‘wild nest’ was found along the shoreline, defined as a nest undiscovered and found only when the hatchlings appear.

In some instances, the mother sea turtle has her tracks erased by strong winds or rain, making a nest undetectable.

Beach goers over the weekend called in a lone hatchling that was found down a long wooden walkway just a few feet from Ocean Blvd.

The team found plenty of tracks, and guided two hatchlings to the water, but saw no source nest after nearly two hours of searching in the darkness.

The nest was eventually found and inventoried, yielding 83 hatched eggs and two more baby turtles.