Nesting Season Near You
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center provides information about nesting
Sea turtle nesting and hatching season in Boca Raton’s Gumbo Limbo Nature Center is March 1st through October 31st .
Every morning during sea turtle nesting season, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center employees and marine turtle specialists survey sea turtle tracks and look for turtle nests. After observing the tracks, the marine turtle specialists determine which turtle species created the tracks. Once a nest is located, the specialists mark off the area with flagging tape.
The sea turtles hatch approximately two months after being laid in the nest. Hatchlings are brought back to Gumbo Limbo and released the next evening. This process helps conserve the hatchlings’ energy and ensures they are able to glide smoothly into the ocean and avoid hungry predators.
“Our Sea Turtle Conservation Team is on the beach every single morning during sea turtle nesting season,” said David Anderson, conservation coordinator. “We mark all the sea turtle nesting activity that happens the night before. We also check on the existing nests to see if they’ve hatched out or not.”
The highest recorded number of sea turtle nests was over 1,000 during nesting season in 2013. During the 2018 nesting season, Gumbo Limbo Nature Center found over seven-hundred nests. At the beginning of the summer, Anderson reported the number of recorded sea turtle nests found at various beaches in Boca Raton.
“We have over eight-hundred sea turtle nests so far this summer,” said Anderson.
For more information about sea turtle nesting, visit the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center website at www.gumbolimbo.org/nesting
