Nesting Season Statistics | Alabama Sea Turtle "Share the Beach" volunteer program

Nesting season begins in May and that's when we begin to see females coming ashore to lay their eggs. They lay an average of 100 eggs per nest. The incubation period is from 55 to 70 days.

Alabama's coastline is divided into several areas which are patrolled by Share the Beach volunteers. These volunteers devote their time to searching for new nests, marking the nests and protecting the nests and hatchlings from natural and, more likely, human-related dangers.

In 2005, thirty-seven loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests and one possibly Kemps Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) were identified along the coast. Throughout the summer, the coast was impacted by four named storms which affected the sea turtle nests by inundating them with water, covering them with large amounts of sand, or washing them away.

In the 2006 season, Forty-five loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests and one Kemps Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) were identified from Dauphin Island (Mobile County) east to Alabama Point (Baldwin County) near the Florida state line. Only four nests were lost due to Tropical Storm Alberto and a non-tropical storm in mid-October. Many of the nests were adopted through the Adopt-A-Nest program, which provided the funds needed to purchase a new Polaris ATV. It is estimated that 3,603 hatchling safely made it into the Gulf of Mexico.

In the 2007 season, there were fifty-four loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests and one Kemps Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii). Share the Beach had an outstanding year along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Many of the nests were adopted through the Adopt-A-Nest program, which provided the funds needed to help Friends of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge purchase a new supplies for marking and monitoring nests. Through the contributions made by our dedicated volunteers, it is estimated that 3465 hatchling safely made it into the Gulf of Mexico.

In the 2008 season, with the help of dedicated volunteers, Share the Beach had an average year along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Seventy-eight loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests and one Kemps Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) were identified. Through the contributions made by our dedicated volunteers, it is estimated that 3520 hatchling safely made it into the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2009, Share the Beach volunteers discovered sixty-four loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests and two Kemps Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) nests along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Through the contributions made by our dedicated volunteers, it is estimated that 4,513 hatchlings safely made it to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2010, Share the Beach volunteers had to work extra hart to protect nesting turtles and their hatchlings. On April 20, 2010, the Deepwater Horizon (MC-252) Incident occurred. Oil began leaking into the Gulf of Mexico approximately 50 miles south of Louisiana. Due to the oil that began to wash onto Alabama beaches, USFWS developed new criteria for monitoring sea turtle nests. With the start of nighttime operations, turtle nest surveys were conducted in front of night clean-up crews. Forty-one loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) nests and two Kemps Ridley sea turtle (Lepidochelys kempii) nests were located. As hatchling season approached, USFWS determined that it was too dangerous for the hatchlings to be released into the Gulf until more of the oil was cleaned up. Therefore, as the nests matured, the eggs were transported to Cape Canaveral, Florida with the help of Fedex. Sixteen nests were moved to Cape Canaveral with an estimated 1,261 hatchlings being released into the Atlantic Ocean. Three nests were released off the Florida Panhandle and twenty-four were allowed to hatch from Alabama?s beaches. Approximately 1,365 hatchlings entered the Gulf of Mexico. For 2010, a grand total of 2,626 hatchlings were released.

From 2003 – 2010 an estimated 24,529 hatchlings safely entered into the Gulf of Mexico.

If you are visiting the beach and see signs of a new nest (a large "crawl line" to and from the water), or vandalism to a nest, please call 965-6378 or 1-866-SEA TURTLE to report it.

How Are They Doing? - Seasonal Statistics

For 2011, check the totals below to see the latest information on this season's activity.

AlabamaPoint - I

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
I-1	6/26/2011	95	8/18/2011	88	88	94
I-2	7/10/2011	115	9/30/2011	112	112	97
I-3	7/10/2011	76	9/3/2011	67	67	88
I-4	7/13/2011	132	9/5/2011	119	118	90
I-5	7/18/2011	84	9/12/2011	62	62	74

Dauphin Island - J

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
J-1	6/4/2011	138
J-2	6/15/2011	85
J-3	6/16/2011
J-4	6/24/2011	100

East Beach - E

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
E-1	7/3/2011	81
E-2	7/9/2011	154

Fort Morgan - A

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
A-1	5/20/2011	96		72	72	75
A-2	5/24/2011	99	7/22/2011	90	90	91
A-3	5/24/2011	152	7/21/2011	123	123	91
A-4	5/24/2011	105	7/22/2011	88	88	84
A-5	5/26/2011	117	7/22/2011	111	111	95
A-6	5/27/2011	102
A-7	6/7/2011	119	8/7/2011
A-8	6/7/2011	119	8/2/2011	84	84	71
A-9	6/8/2011	110	8/2/2011
A-10	6/9/2011	86		0	0	0
A-11	6/11/2011	117	8/1/2011
A-12	6/11/2011	125
A-13	6/11/2011	144	8/4/2011
A-14	6/13/2011	101	8/7/2011	98	98	97
A-15	6/20/2011	114	8/15/2011	110	110	96.5
A-16	6/22/2011	118	8/13/2011	112	112	95
A-17	6/23/2011	86		82	82	95
A-18	6/23/2011	102	8/17/2011	95	95	93
A-19	6/23/2011	108		93	96	86
A-20	6/26/2011
A-21	6/27/2011	134	8/15/2011	126	130	96
A-22	6/30/2011	107	8/26/2011	101	104	94
A-23	7/1/2011	75		68	68	91
A-24	7/5/2011
A-25	7/7/2011	108
A-26	7/7/2011	102	9/1/2011
A-27	7/8/2011
A-28	7/9/2011	111
A-29	7/11/2011	132
A-30	7/15/2011
A-31	7/15/2011
A-32	7/21/2011	101	9/12/2011
A-33	7/22/2011	90
A-34	7/22/2011	58
A-35	7/23/2011
A-37	7/31/2011
A-38	7/31/2011	104
A-39	8/5/2011
A-40	8/5/2011	94
A-41	8/26/2011	110		0	0	0

Gulf State Park - G

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
G-5			9/16/2011	72
G-1	6/6/2011	123	8/2/2011
G-2	6/9/2011	118	8/1/2011	111
G-3	6/27/2011	101	8/24/2011
G-4	7/3/2011	81

Laguna Key - B

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
B-1	5/25/2011	125	7/21/2011	113	115	90.4
B-2	5/27/2011	110	7/22/2011	96	103	87
B-3	6/7/2011	105	8/3/2011	99	100	95
B-4	6/11/2011	113	8/6/2011	102	102	90
B-5	6/14/2011	75	8/12/2011	17	17	23
B-6	6/15/2011	100	8/12/2011	92	92	92
B-7	7/5/2011	118	8/27/2011	118	118	98.3
B-8	7/7/2011	94	8/29/2011	91	91	96.8
B-9	7/13/2011	120
B-10	7/16/2011	117	9/6/2011	92	94	78.6
B-11	7/22/2011	98	9/12/2011	92	92	93.8
B-12	8/7/2011	90
B-13	8/10/2011	107

Orange Beach - H

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
H-1	5/26/2011	118	7/24/2011	115	115	97
H-2	6/25/2011	129	8/16/2011	113	113	88
H-3	7/1/2011	145	8/26/2011	133	133	92
H-4	7/12/2011	138	9/4/2011	110	110	80
H-5	7/15/2011	90	9/11/2011	86	87	96
H-6	8/11/2011	87	10/15/2011	47	47	54

West Beach II - C

ID	Date Found	# Eggs	1st Emergence	# to water	# Hatched	Survival %
C-3
C-1	6/11/2011
C-2	6/12/2011	110		0	0	0
C-4	7/21/2011	118	9/18/2011	78