Nesting Turtles on Our Beach

My sister-in-law, Sally, sent these to me last night and I wanted to share them as this is Mother Nature at her best. This is right outside of their condo in Indian Harbor Beach, Fl.

I am always so amazed by the lengths wild creatures will go in order to preserve their young. This little turtle has an amazing feat for one so small and low to the ground.

Here is a little information about the nesting turtles I picked up from the website of the Natural Resources Management Office of Brevard County:

Marine turtle nesting season along Brevard’s coasts—from the mother turtles’ nocturnal crawls to lay their eggs through the hatchings’ mad dash toward the waves—occurs each year primarily from May 1st through October 31st. During this time, construction activities are avoided on the beach in order to protect habitat for nesting and hatching sea turtles. Mother turtles come ashore in the dark, dig a hole using their flippers, and lay 100-150 eggs at a time in these “nests”. During the course of a season, a single female lays multiple nests, usually 3-8. After a 45–70 day gestation period, hatchlings emerge from the nest under the cover of darkness and follow the light of the moon reflecting off the ocean.


This is the nest full of eggs all covered up to keep safe and warm.

This is mama turtle racing back to the sea.

She has just about made it. Poor thing must be exhausted by now.

These are the tracks left by all of the turtles running up and down the shore.