Turtle season is officially from May 1- Oct. 31 and according to https://conserveturtles.org, 90% of all nesting happens in Florida. Flagler County has set record numbers this year with over 1000 nests being recorded in August and still more coming ashore. As most of you know I am up at the beach at least 4 mornings a week and it has been well over 8 years since I was lucky enough to cross paths with a sea turtle. Well the dry spell has ended as I was so fortunate to come upon this momma in action. What an awesome experience to witness and then just a few weeks later I was blessed one more time to catch a baby on its way to a big new adventure. Mother Nature is the best show on earth folks.
The five species of Florida sea turtles are:
Loggerhead: most common
Leatherback: Largest
Green: the herbivore
Hawksbill: distinct tortoise like shell
Kemps Ridley: most endangered and smallest
Things to know:
There is a drop station if you find injured hatchlings or washbacks located outside of the UF Sea Turtle Hospital Whitney Lab Administration Office. 9505 N.Oceanshore Blvd, St Augustine, FL 32080
(904) 201-8446
The temperature of the sand is what determines the sex of sea turtles. There has been a dramatic decrease of male turtles being hatched as they require lower temperatures. This is not good for the survival of the sea turtle species and another depressing detail of the overall health of our environment and planet.
Sea Turtles return to the same beach they hatched from to lay their eggs. It is thought they are able to navigate this amazing ability by using the earths magnetic field and their sense of smell.
The top three turtles to nest in Flagler County are: Loggerhead, Green and Leatherback
It’s approximately 2 months after the eggs are laid for the emergence to happen.
Positive things you can do to help sea turtles:
Fill in holes at the beach. While super fun to make they are death traps to our marine friends.
Never bother or touch a sea turtle when nesting or crawling back to the ocean. It is a federal offense to have physical contact with these creatures. It is also said that the hatchlings are imprinting when crawling out sea so that they may return to nest years later.
Volunteer or adopt a nest with our local chapter http://www.turtlepatrol.com
https://www.facebook.com/Flagler-Turtle-Patrol-364551493051
Well that’s all the cool info I can shell out… :))
It’s been fun writing for the first time in a while. Hope you all have a wonderful day and thanks so much for being here.
Cheers, Carla
