Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project

15/07/2024

🎉🐢❤️Welcome KB9!!! After too many false crawls over the weekend we are so relieved to have a place this mama felt safe leaving her precious clutch yesterday.

📷 Thank you to Rob, Ann, Tammi & Damian for the great pics!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

06/07/2024

Holy moly we have had a very busy start to the weekend!!! Turtle rescues and human rescues and false crawls and nests oh my!

🪝Yesterday we got a call about a hooked turtle… volunteers Claire and John met the very worried boaters who brought the turtle to us and transported it to the The Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center for triage and care. There the hook was removed safely, and they actually found a second hook via xray… by calling this turtle in to us they saved this turtles life! *If you accidentally hook a turtle please call us so we can get it life saving care! Our emergency hotline is 888-290-1065.

🐢 Last night we had multiple false crawls on CB and KB (due to the overwhelming crowds and activity on the beach), and 2 nests! Welcome CB11 and KB8! 🎉🐢❤️ We located the CB egg chamber in under 5 minutes, but volunteers spent almost 3 hours working to find the KB egg chamber. This mama was on the beach with fireworks and lights and chaos, which made for a very difficult verification. Thank you to Tammi, Tracy, Ann, Heather, Krystal Damian, Cathy, Nancy, and Debbie for your tireless dedication to making sure this nest was able to be protected. You are our turtle heroes!

🚩 While we were verifying the KB nest, we had to call Kure Beach Ocean Rescue for a swimmer caught in a rip. Thankfully the swimmer was fine (but exhausted). Please pay attention to ocean conditions and stay out of the water during these red flags! We are so grateful to both PD and ocean rescue for the unbelievable life saving work they do.

Also a huge shout out to Liz and everyone else who was out there picking up the unbelievable amount of trash this morning! Our beaches were absolutely trashed last night!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

02/07/2024

We have the best volunteers around!!! Sea turtle tracks are difficult to see during (or after) a downpour, so we often have to patrol in the rain… and that’s tough! Hiding out in their cars or under the pier with Queen Bibi waiting for the lightning to pass, these volunteers had a super wet morning! Thank you thank you thank you for all your hard work making sure no nest is missed! 🌧️🐢❤️

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

01/07/2024

We can’t wait to try this, it sounds delicious!!! 🍋😋

Introducing our Mission Drink for July- Frozen Key Lime Lemonade! Fresh squeezed lemon juice blended with local honey and key lime flavor for a chill treat perfect for peak Summer heat!
Our beneficiary this month is the Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project! Each drink sold will support their organization- which is already up to ten nests on CB this summer! It’s a win-win for everyone, but only for this month!

30/06/2024

🚨⚠️CB10 and what NOT to do… This poor mana was harassed to the point that she abandoned her egg chamber in the middle of digging it. Not only that, but someone placed a traffic cone right over top of it!

⚠️ We know people are trying to be helpful by putting things around crawls and nests, but this is NOT helpful… in fact it destroys important clues we need analyze the crawl, and can cost us precious time we need to complete the verification process. Please just leave it alone.

🚨 And more importantly, leave wildlife alone! If you are disturbing a sea turtle, that is harassment. Harassment of sea turtles is illegal because they are protected. Being caught doing this can result in hefty fines and imprisonment.

🚙 Thankfully she was able to move further down the beach to nest in a dark quiet spot… HOWEVER, the spot was also in freeman park right at the end of the driving zone. We were able to quickly move her 158 eggs to a safe spot to incubate for the next 2 months.

🐢 1st picture is her 1st attempt with the abandoned egg chamber only halfway dug.
🐢 2nd one is her Freeman Park crawl.
🐢 Look at how smooth she made the inside of her egg chamber in the 3rd shot! AMAZING!

📷 Thank you Maria, Laura, & Hannah for the beautiful pictures!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

29/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️ Y’all welcome CB9!!! This mama did a perfect job yesterday of getting all the way up to the dune to lay her beautiful nest! The dunes are a critical habitat for nesting turtles, shorebirds, and many other important animals.

📷 Thank you Hannah & Damian for the gorgeous pics!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

26/06/2024

What a special treat Dana & Nancy got this morning… alligator tracks to greet the sunrise on beautiful Freeman Park! The important wildlife this stretch of beach supports is incredible… from protected species of shorebirds and sea turtles, to this happy little (also protected) gator! Thank you for sharing these pics Dana!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

26/06/2024

This…. This is amazing 🐢❤️

25/06/2024

🎉🐢Bring the kiddos by to see us tonight at 6 for a turtle talk before the big show starts!

Join us tomorrow at the Carolina Beach Lake for Family Night!

🐢From 6:00 pm until 6:30 pm, we will have Turtle Talk with Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project.

🔥After that, we'll be ready for interactive storytelling from The Campfireball.

🎨We will also have face painting by Events by P3 and a character from Fairytales and Dreams by the Sea - Princess Parties and Events!🧜🏼‍♀️

24/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️We had a two-fer today! Welcome CB8 + KB7!!! As excited as we are about these important nests, we need to show some of the obstacles these poor mamas face… CB8 mama came very close to crawling into a whole on her way back to the water (marked in yellow on the photo). And KB7 mama was harassed all the way back to the tideline so severely that her out crawl completely disappeared beneath all the human footprints (marked in blue on the photo). Please remember the beach may be our playground, but it is THEIR HOME.

📷 Thank you Krystal, Damian, & Shannon for the great pics!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

22/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️Welcome CB7!!! This mama laid just below the tideline yesterday, and with high tide still an hour away, the ocean was creeping up on us! Working quickly, 128 sweet eggs were carefully relocated to a safer spot.

🏖️ You can see where she had to push through a big pile of sand on her “in” crawl on the left… please help us keep the beach !

📷 Thank you Nancy and Debbie for catching this nest and for the great pics!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

19/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️Welcome KB6!!! This mama was on a mission & waisted no time laying and covering her nest!

📷 Please remember turtles are sensitive to light and may leave without nesting if they are disturbed by camera/flash lights. These pictures were taken in night mode with zoom. Thank you Krystal, Damian, Hanna & Jessica!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

16/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️Welcome CB6 y’all!!! Yesterday this mama found the perfect spot up on the dune and crawled back out right over her “in” crawl!

🚨Please remember if you are lucky enough to witness a turtle on the beach - she is sensitive to lights, and exhausted from giving birth. Give her space and leave her alone.

📷 Thank you Dana, Krystal, & Damian for the pics!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

13/06/2024

Thank you so much to Pleasure Island Chamber of Commerce and Bryant Real Estate for hosting such a fun afternoon and featuring our project! Thank you also to the business owners and representatives from Town of Carolina Beach and Town of Kure Beach who stopped by to chat with us and support our mission to protect sea turtles through conservation and education! 🐢❤️🐢

13/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️Welcome KB5 y’all! This mama picked a quiet spot on KB yesterday to leave her perfect clutch of eggs. We also had a false crawl on Freeman Park!

📷 Thank you to Damian, Tammi, Celeste, and Jennifer F for the great pics!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

12/06/2024

Business After Hours for the month of June is hosted by Bryant Real Estate and featuring Pleasure Island Sea Turtle Project as the non-profit of the night. Bring a fellow business owner and come network on Pleasure Island!

05/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️ Yesterday was a Tuesday two-fer!!! Welcome CB4 and CB5! It was a perfect morning to verify nests in CB!!!

📷 Thank you Liz, Katrina, Sharon, & Jo for the turtley awesome pics!

🐢 We are almost ready to open adoptions and thank you all so much for your patience as we have been working through the delay. We will announce them here when they are ready… stay tuned!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).

02/06/2024

🎉🐢❤️Welcome CB3 y’all!!! A beautiful crawl on a beautiful morning, filled with joy and education on the beach as we verified this nest. Sharing all the things we do (and why we do them) is crucial in conservation… and we just love watching people fall in love with learning about sea turtles!

Remember, this is THEIR home, let’s keep it clean, dark, and FLAT!

*PISTP conservation work for protected sea turtles is authorized by the NCWRC (ES Permit 24ST09).