NEST News- September 2026
Nesting Season Has Arrived!
September brings a shift in sea turtle season on the Outer Banks. While most nesting activity is now behind us, the work on the beach is far from over. Nests laid throughout the summer are reaching their final stages, and tiny hatchlings are making their way from the sand to the sea. N.E.S.T. volunteers continue to monitor each nest, assist during emergences, document important data, and help beachgoers understand how simple actions like keeping beaches clean, dark and flat, can give nesting turtles and hatchlings the best chance for success. As another busy season winds down, it is a wonderful time to celebrate the turtles, volunteers, and community who have made this season possible.
Nest Tally
Green: 8
Kemp's Ridley: 0
Loggerhead: 49
Leatherback: 1
Hatched Nest Count
23
False Crawls
45
Emerged Hatchlings
1967
Stranded turtles
26
Nest Sitting Teams
As a sea turtle nest gets close to its expected emergence date, a team begins preparing the site for those first tiny flippers to appear. There is much more involved than just sitting and waiting!
The team creates a runway- a clear, protected path between the nest and the ocean. This helps keep spectators safely to the sides and gives hatchlings an unobstructed route to the water when they emerge. We don’t want them to get stepped on or fall in any holes!
After dark, lighting becomes especially important. Nest sitting teams look for artificial lights that could be visible from the nest and work to address problem lights when possible. Hatchlings instinctively move toward the brightest horizon, which under natural conditions is typically the open sky over the ocean. Artifical lighting behind the dune line can cause them to crawl in the wrong direction and toward the busy beach road.
You may also see volunteers listening to the nest using a hydrophone. Placed in the sand near a nest, this equipment allows the team to listen for sounds and activity beneath the surface. Although we cannot see what is happening under the sand, listening can give us clues that hatchlings are close to emerging.
Perhaps the most important job of a nest sitting team is education. Volunteers are available and eager to answer questions, explain what is happening, talkabout the challenges sea turtles face, and help visitors understand how they can make a difference.
2026 Leatherback
2025 was a difficult season for N.E.S.T. Intense storms and high surf took a toll on many of the nests. As the saying goes, after every storm comes a rainbow and 2026 has proven to be just that!
On July 30th, we witnessed the first leatherback in 17 years nest on the Northern Outer Banks. She put on a magnificent show for hours on the beach and successfully laid a nest. A few miles north, a leatherback nested in Virginia, too. Could it be the same turtle?….Only time will tell!
On August 1st, a second leatherback came ashore in Southern Shores! We aren’t sure what the future holds for this nest site, and we may not see hatchlings, but you can bet we will be watching and waiting! After digging for many, many hours, we were unable to locate her nest but the area is secured and we are montioring it-just in case!
What has N.E.S.T. been up to all summer?
While volunteers have been working overtime with nesting season, we have also been busy off the beach!
This summer, we participated in six Soundside Markets, the Donkey Derby and Artsy August and had a fundraiser at Whalehead Brewery in Corolla. We hosted weekly turtle talks at the Outer Banks Beach Club, Barrier Island Station, and Sweet T’s, giving visitors a chance to learn more about our local sea turtles and how to protect them. Volunteers even traveled all the way to Elizabeth City to participate in an education event at the Museum of the Albemarle! For the first time, we participated in National Aviation Day at the Manteo Airport. Airplanes and sea turtles both use runways, after all!
Behind the scenes, our education team has been pulling out all the stops for the second year of the Adopt-A-Nest program! We had 112 adoptions this season and each adopter has a direct line of communication with a volunteer who keeps them up to date on what is happening with the adopted nest. Our volunteers truly love the connections made with adopters and it is a highlight for them to build those connections!
In addition to the nest adoptions, we also launched a corporate sponsorship program! Local establishments are able to sponsor an atv sign for the season. We are incredibly grateful to the three sponsors of 2026- Shoreline Orthodontics, Dorothy Brady, and Hilary Klein. We cannot do what we do without support from our community! Thank you all!
2025 Data Summary
1,216 Stranded Turtles
Nests
Total Nests: 29
Loggerhead: 25
Green: 2
Kemp's Ridley: 2
Hatchlings: 1,711
False Crawls: 21
Looking for N.E.S.T gear?
Our merch is available locally at these shops:
Corolla Surf Shop
Cloud Nine, Nags Head
Frisco Woods Campground
