Alabama Sea Turtles

6 09, 2022

Reminder: Sea Turtle Nesting Season is Still Going On

By |2022-08-17T15:21:54+00:00September 6th, 2022|Blog|0 Comments

Summer may be over, but sea turtle nesting season is not. These beautiful creatures have been laying their eggs and hatching along the coast of Alabama since May and this will continue through the end of October.   Daily patrols have now ended, which means it’s important to stay dedicated to following the guidelines to keep hatchlings safe.   Avoid using flashlights or anything bright on the beach at night. The lights confuse the turtles and keep them from completing their trek to [...]

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8 09, 2021

A reminder: Sea turtle nesting season is not over

By |2021-09-13T16:30:11+00:00September 8th, 2021|Blog|0 Comments

It’s still sea turtle nesting season along the beautiful Alabama Gulf Coast. Those amazing sea turtle patrol volunteers have had a busy summer. Daily patrols ended August 31, but the season continues through October 31. Since sea turtle eggs have an incubation period of 55 to 70 days, it’s likely there are a few stragglers that haven’t hatched yet.    Please continue to practice the following guidelines until nesting season is over.    No white lights or flash photography on the beach. It [...]

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23 09, 2020

Protect nesting sea turtles at the beach this fall

By |2020-09-23T16:31:23+00:00September 23rd, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Sea turtle nesting season on Alabama’s Gulf Coast is between May and October. During this time, mama turtles come on shore to lay their eggs. After approximately 55 days, the baby sea turtles hatch and head to the Gulf of Mexico. Thousands of these endangered creatures hatch on the beaches of Gulf Shores and Orange Beach each year.   Sea turtle nesting season is also the busy tourist season on Pleasure Island. Volunteers comb the beaches each morning and keep a watchful eye out for turtle tracks in the sand. If they spot tracks and a nest, it will [...]

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5 08, 2020

Share the beach with sea turtles this fall

By |2020-08-19T16:56:30+00:00August 5th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

How can you not love a sea turtle? Just look at that face! Did you know these endangered beauties nest on Alabama’s beaches?   Each year, starting in May, sea turtles make their way to shore to lay their eggs. Here on Alabama’s beaches, we are lucky to have them visit our sugar-white sand. In 2019, 114 nests were recorded in Alabama. With an average of 110 eggs per nest, that’s a lot of baby turtles.  Volunteers with Share The Beach cruise the beach each [...]

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18 05, 2020

Sea turtle nesting season is here!  

By |2020-05-18T20:07:47+00:00May 18th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

May brings one of our favorite seasons of the year: sea turtle nesting season! Each year, the endangered loggerhead, Kemp’s ridley and green sea turtles arrive on our beautiful white-sand beaches to dig nests and lay eggs.   The amazing part is what happens after the eggs are laid and the mama turtle returns to the Gulf of Mexico. That’s when hundreds of volunteers step in to help ensure the baby turtles find their way to the water. Alabama’s Share The Beach program enlists volunteers to patrol the beach and record each nest. The nests are marked and [...]

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15 04, 2020

Sea turtle nesting season is May through October  

By |2020-04-01T17:28:26+00:00April 15th, 2020|Blog|0 Comments

Each year sea turtles return to our beaches to nest. After returning to the coast where they were born, the female sea turtles make their way onto the beach and dig a hole to lay their eggs. The two types of sea turtles that nest on the Alabama coast are the loggerhead, which can grow to 200 pounds and an average length of three feet, and the Kemp’s ridley that can grow to two feet and weigh 100 pounds. In 2019, a rare green sea turtle also nested in Orange Beach!    Since the establishment of the Leave Only Footprints program, both of their numbers continue [...]

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13 06, 2017

Sea turtle nesting/safety facts

By |2017-06-13T03:56:53+00:00June 13th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

Do you ever wonder what’s the big deal about sea turtle nesting season on the Alabama coast? The more you learn about these creatures, the more fascinating they become. And you’ll want to do your part to keep our sea turtle hatchlings safe. Each year, thousands of endangered sea turtles make their way to our state’s shores. The species we see most often on Alabama beaches are loggerheads, known for their large heads and blunt, powerful jaws. But other species [...]

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24 05, 2017

Do you Share the Beach?

By |2017-12-20T04:33:14+00:00May 24th, 2017|Blog|0 Comments

How much do you know about the Share the Beach program? While thousands of families converge on our beautiful beaches each year for their summer vacation, so do thousands of sea turtles. Starting in May, female sea turtles make their way hundreds of miles to our shores to lay eggs, which hatch between July and October. Once they hatch, the young sea turtles must make their way to the Gulf of Mexico. That’s when they need our help. Hatchlings are [...]

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