We’re back to discuss our Turtle Walk experiences and what to do if you find a sea turtle. Sea turtle nesting season along the Treasure Coast runs from March 1 through October 31 each year. The months of June, July, and August are the busiest of the season, with both nesting and hatching hitting their peaks. People travel far and wide to see sea turtles along the Treasure Coast.
Coastal Connections Inc. offers nighttime Turtle Walk experiences starting in June and going through mid-July. During our Turtle Walks, CCinc provides an interactive and educational opportunity to observe a nesting loggerhead sea turtle while she lays her eggs. You’ll start the night with a presentation on Florida’s sea turtles and proper procedures for our Walk. If a nesting loggerhead is observed, guests will then follow our team onto the beach to watch her lay her eggs and return into the water.
With our nighttime Turtle Walks, you can observe a nesting sea turtle in a safe and educational manner, following proper protocols and with a permitted team.
As a reminder, please don’t go the beaches at night during nesting season. High foot traffic can cause sea turtles to false crawl, meaning she decided not to lay their eggs in that particular area due to disturbance. If you must be out on the beach at night, refrain from using flashlights or flash photography – your eyes will adjust to the dark.
Want to help save sea turtles? Here are a few important reminders to ensure sea turtles are able to survive and thrive:
1. Please turn off any unused lights and make the switch to red/amber bulbs over white ones. Nesting sea turtles may decide not to nest in a particular area due to the bright lights, causing them to false crawl, or not even come up on the beach!
2. Call Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) at 1-888-404-3922 if you find a sea turtle that is sick, injured, dead, or in a place it shouldn’t be. When you call this number, the closest permitted team will be dispatched to respond to the turtle.
3. You can follow Coastal Connections on Facebook, Instagram, or check our website event calendar https://coastal-connections.org/connect-with-us/#calendar, for the dates of our Turtle Walks. Turtle Walks will be on Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday nights.
FB – @coastalconnectionsinc
IG – @coastalconnections_inc
For more information, visit www.coastal-connections.org, like and follow the socials listed above, or visit our gift shop at 1790 14th Ave, Vero Beach, FL 32960
- Photo by: Joe Rimkus Jr. – Loggerhead sea turtle returning to the ocean after nesting. Photo taken using no artificial light in accordance with FWC regulations and conducted under FWC-MTP #259. ↩︎
- Photo by: Joe Rimkus Jr. – Loggerhead sea turtle nesting. Photo taken using no artificial light in accordance with FWC regulations and conducted under FWC-MTP #259.
↩︎ - Photos by: Olivia Redding – Loggerhead sea turtle false crawl. Note the abrupt u-turn shaped in her crawl. ↩︎
- Photo by: Tyler Call – Rescue and Research Coordinator, Olivia Redding, holding a juvenile green sea turtle that was rescued after receiving a call from a community member. The sea turtle was found struggling at the ocean surface due to having “bubble butt” syndrome. Following its rescue, the turtle was transferred to Loggerhead Marinelife Center, where it received treatment. ↩︎
