If you are a regular visitor to the Alabama Gulf Coast, you’ve no doubt heard the phrase “sea turtle nesting season.” So, just what is it, and what does it mean for beachgoers? Here’s what you need to know. Each year from July to October, thousands of sea turtles make their way to our beaches where they lay eggs. Last year, 22,240 eggs were laid. However, only 14,105 of those hatchlings made their way to the warm gulf waters to [...]
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 [...]
You know about the Alabama sea turtles, right? The females make their way hundreds of miles each year to the beach where they hatched so that they can lay their own eggs in the same nesting spot. From May through October, these creatures become our neighbors. And they are very vulnerable ones. When the eggs hatch, the hatchlings follow the light to the warm Gulf of Mexico waters to begin their own trek. But beach lighting, such as parking lot [...]
More sea turtle hatchlings have made it to the relative safety of the Gulf of Mexico from our beaches than in years past, according to Mike Reynolds, turtle czar for Share the Beach, the Alabama sea turtle conservation program. As of September, approximately 14,000 sea turtle hatchlings had emerged from nests along the Alabama Gulf Coast, but Reynolds reminds us the season is not over yet. “Higher numbers are being reported all along the northern Gulf Coast, from here to [...]
Sea Turtle Season is upon us and there are 127 nests so far, according to Mike Reynolds, turtle czar of Share the Beach, which focuses on all things sea turtle in Alabama. From May 1 to Oct. 31 each year, loggerhead, green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles return to the place they were hatched to lay turtle eggs. Share the Beach, a volunteer group formed by the Friends of the Bon Secour Wildlife Refuge in Gulf Shores, patrols the beaches, [...]
