Hatching season runs from May to October

Alabama's sea turtle conservation program, Share The Beach, has volunteers patrol the beaches to mark and monitor endangered sea turtle nests. Sea turtle monitoring in Alabama started in 2003 and two years later the Friends of the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge founded Share the Beach, an all volunteer program. Once the program became to large at the end of 2016, the Friends group asked ACF to lead Share the Beach and that transition happened in January of 2018.

Loggerheads and Kemp Ridley turtles are the most populous along the gulf beaches. Kemp’s Ridley eggs incubate between 45-55 days from the date the nest was laid. It’s important to remember that nature can be unpredictable and environmental factors like temperature and weather can influence incubation periods.

Why is excessive artificial lighting a problem for sea turtles on our beaches? Bright lights on nesting beaches can disorient and disturb both nesting and hatchling sea turtles, making it difficult for them to find their way to the ocean. Sea turtles rely on an innate behavior to find the ocean; on a natural, undeveloped beach, sea turtles head towards the brightest horizon which is typically the ocean where the night sky is reflected. Using these instincts, hatchlings or nesting sea turtles will crawl towards artificial light sources on heavily lit beaches because the artificial light will appear so much brighter than the natural environment. Coastal developments and flashlights both serve as distractions for sea turtles. When sea turtles spend more time on the beach trying to find the ocean, they are at greater risk for dehydration, exhaustion, and predation.

So as one season ends along local beaches, the nesting season goes into fall months. Remember to Share The Beach and hopefully you will see one of the best events on the sand!