First 2021 turtle nest hatches on Tybee Island

TYBEE ISLAND, Ga. (WTOC) - The first turtle nest on Tybee Island is believed to have hatched last week, according to a Facebook post from the Tybee Sea Turtle Project.

Members of the group visited the island’s first nest of the 2021 season on Sunday morning and discovered that it had hatched “days ago,” according to the post. Permitted volunteers excavated the hatched nest according to the protocol developed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.

During the excavation, volunteers with the Tybee Sea Turtle Project discovered 82 hatched eggs and four live turtle hatchlings. The group called the nest “very successful” and the baby turtles were released to the ocean.