Unhatched sea turtle eggs Photo courtesy Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge.

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 nests and one possibly Kemps Ridley 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, with the help of dedicated volunteers, Share The Beach had an outstanding year along the Alabama Gulf Coast. Forty-five loggerhead (Caretta caretta) nests and one Kemps Ridley 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 help Friends of Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge purchase a new Polaris ATV. Through the contributions made by our dedicated volunteers, 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 hard 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.

The 2011 season was a banner year for Alabama. A total of 84 nests along the Alabama shores. USGS sent a tracking team to attach transmitting devices to more than a dozen Loggerheads. Due to Tropical Storm Lee passing by several nests were lost (innundated with water or washed away) but still more than 3,800 hatchlings (numbers are not final yet) made it into the Gulf of Mexico this season.

From 2003 – 2011 more than 28,300 (estimated) 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 251-965-6378 or 1-866-SEA TURTLE to report it.

How Are They Doing? - Seasonal Statistics

The 2012 season is under way and is already exciting. Not only have we had the usual Loggerhead (Caretta caretta) and Kemps Ridley (Lepidochelys kempii) sea turtles nesting, there appears to be a Green Sea Turtle (Chelonia Mydas) nest - a first for Alabama. For the 2012 nesting season please check the totals below to see the latest information on this season's activity.

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Alabama Gulf Coast Convention & Visitors Bureau
Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge
Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
ADCNR State Lands, Coastal Section
NOAA


Gulf Shores, Alabama
Phone: 866-SEA-TURTLE | Fax: 251-948-3813

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