Topsail Island beaches up into the sand dunes. There are four main species that can be found on and around the island which are loggerhead, green, leatherback, and Ridley sea turtles. One species specifically that has been the main theme of protection is the Loggerhead Sea Turtle. This turtle has been the basis for the stationing of the Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehabilitation Center in Topsail Island, North Carolina. Their mission is the protection and watching over of the 26 mile stretch of beach that is Topsail Island. They are committed to the overseeing of hatching of the eggs, caring for sick
Loggerhead shrike upon thorns or barbed wire for facilitated consumption. The numbers of Loggerhead shrike have significantly decreased in recent years, especially in Midwestern, New England and Mid-Atlantic areas. In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the loggerhead shrike in his "Ornithologie" based on a specimen collected in Louisiana in the Unites States. He used the French name "La pie-griesche de la Louisiane" and the Latin "Lanius ludovicianus". Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not usually conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. When in 1766 the