International Turtle Day just came and past, but in Florida, we have a whole season. May through October is a season dedicated to protecting them as they are endangered. These peaceful creatures grace our in shore waters all year, but their breeding and hatching season is marked by coastal lighting restrictions and orange tape-marked nests near the dunes of our shores.
Shells start popping up out of the water in spring where it’s important to keep the shoreline dark in order for the females to feel comfortable enough to beach themselves and dig their nest. After breaching the surf, and using their fins to climb through the sand, they lay an uncanny amount eggs with a high mortality rate. Many hatchlings don’t make it out of the shell, with more being a quick snack for gulls and dune animals (I’ve even seen a beach fox near Boca Raton’s inlet recently scouring the dunes). Exhausted, the new mother drags herself back to the sea to recover.
As we move towards fall, the hatchlings emerge from their sand nests and scurry towards the shorebreak to start their own lives in the sea where a whole other set of risks await.
The turtles I have documented here are green sea turtles – one of the smaller species in the Atlantic. It is a peaceful and graceful creature which is herbivorous after adolescence. No turtles were harmed or harassed in this documentation.
If you are interested in learning more about sea turtles, I recommend checking out The Sea Turtle Conservancy.
