Sea Turtle Season In Florida
About 80 percent of sea turtles eggs are laid on the east coast of the United States with much of them being in Florida. Sea turtles are amazing creatures with many of them weighing between 200 and 300 pounds. These endangered animals are pretty specific about how they lay their eggs. Humans need to take precautions to avoid disrupting them. However, you can see sea turtles in Florida during the right season.
When is peak?
In Florida sea turtle nesting season is March 1st through October 31st. It takes about 2 months for the nest to hatch after they are laid. About 100 sea turtles will hatch during this time.
When can you see them?
Sea turtles usually hatch at night. This means that if you want to increase your chances of seeing sea turtles, you may need to stick around at the beach for several hours during the night to wait for them to actually hatch and leave their nest.
What about guided sea turtle walks?
You will find that there are a whole host of places that offer guided sea turtle walks. Many of them occur during the summer months. Because of the popularity of them, you may need to make a reservation. Here’s a little more information about some of the more popular ones.
- Archie Carr National Wildlife Refuge- This is considered to be the world’s best loggerhead nesting beach.
- Canaveral National Seashore- This is a great place to see sea turtles as it’s Florida’s longest undeveloped stretch of beach on the east coast.
- Gumbo Limbo Nature Center- Not only can visitors go on turtle walks, but they can watch hatch-lings being released at certain times.
- Sebastian Inlet State Park- It does take a little while to get here so many people also spend the night at the campground as well.
- Loggerhead Marine-life Center- Turtle walks can be reserved online and visitors can even keep track of giant leather-back turtles on Loggerhead’s website.
Tips On What To Do If You Are Near A Nest
Certain precautions need to be taken if you are near a sea turtle nest. Many of them are marked off and your guide on the tour will direct you to a safe distance of them. Sea turtles are sensitive to light many females laying their eggs will return back to the ocean. Before she nests, if she sees any also, light can cause new hatch-ling to become disoriented. If you are near a sea turtle nest, individuals must turn off their flashlight if baby sea turtles are present. You also should never put your hands on a sea turtle as you could disorient or injure them.
