2013 Nesting Season Wrap Up

We said the same about last season, but…what a season! This summer was the third highest nesting year on record for Sanibel and Captiva. Sanibel finished the 2013 nesting season with 328 loggerhead nests, 21 green turtle nests, and 511 false crawls (509 loggerhead and 2 green). Captiva had 132 loggerhead nests, 2 green turtle nests, and 80 false crawls (78 loggerhead and 2 green).

Loggerhead turtle nest on Sanibel. Photo by: A. Bryant

 Unlike last year, which suffered from the impacts of two tropical storms, hatch success this year was great! Sanibel and Captiva had 258 and 119 hatches respectively. This summer our beaches produced 26,641 live hatchlings!

Loggerhead turtle hatchlings crawling to the Gulf at dawn. Photo by: A. Bryant

Overall, green turtle nesting was up statewide this year. While the final numbers are not in, yet, the 2013 nesting season appears to be the best on record for this species. Sanibel and Captiva were no exception. Our previous record for green turtle nesting was eight nests (7 on Sanibel and 1 on Captiva). During the 2013 nesting season we documented 23 nests (21 on Sanibel and 2 on Captiva) on the Islands!

Female green turtle crawling to the Gulf at dawn after nesting. Photo by: L. Linsmayer

 

Hatch Season Update

It may finally be safe to say nesting is finished on Sanibel and Captiva. Although, the last time that thought crossed our minds another green turtle kindly came ashore and proved us wrong! It is been over two weeks since the last nest was laid and more than a month since the last loggerhead came ashore. 

Hatching is continuing in earnest, but should begin slowing in the next few weeks. To date, there have been 348 nests laid on Sanibel (327 loggerhead and 21 green turtle nests) and 130 nests laid on Captiva (128 loggerhead and 2 green turtle nests. This is the THIRD highest nesting year for the Islands and the BEST nesting year for green turtles! So far, 311 nests have hatched between Sanibel and Captiva and we're patiently monitoring the 75 nests that remain on our beaches.

This success would not be possible without the visitors and residents of the Islands practicing sea turtle friendly behaviors. For that, we’d like to say THANK YOU! Keep in mind that turtle season isn’t over, though, and keeping beachfront lighting to a minimum is essential so we can guarantee a safe nest to Gulf trip for the remaining hatchlings.

Loggerhead nest with predator exclusion screen. Look at all the hatchling tracks leaving the nest and headed straight for the Gulf!

Green turtle hatchling awaiting its nighttime release.

Loggerhead hatchling crawling to the Gulf at sunrise.

Tracks of the last green turtle nest laid on Sanibel.

Hatch Season Begins on the Islands

There's always a point in the summer where try as we might we can't manage to get an update written and posted. Generally, this coincides with hatch season beginning! All of our staff and volunteers are so busy keeping up with nests being laid and nests hatching it never feels like there's a moment to sit down at the computer.

Hatching has gotten off to a slow but steady start. Eight of Sanibel's nests have hatched and nine nests on Captiva have hatched. Nesting is still going strong. Sanibel has 241 loggerhead nests and 9 green turtle nests. On Captiva there are 113 loggerhead nests and 2 green turtle nests. This is the most green turtle nests the program has ever documented on the Islands! Green turtles tend to nest later into August than loggerheads, so hopefully we can expect a few more nests before the season is done.

Loggerhead hatchling tracks from the nest to the Gulf.

Loggerhead hatchlings crawling to the Gulf at sunrise.

Green turtle tracks.

Green turtle nest on Sanibel.

Nesting Update

We’ve been busy, busy, busy since the last post. We’re now up to 118 nests on Sanibel and 48 nests on Captiva. The nests fared really well through the high tides of Tropical Storm Andrea. 

High surf in front of Island Inn during TS Andrea.

Three nests washed away on Captiva and 15 were washed over by the tide. On Sanibel, we lost 14 nests and 46 nests were washed over. One of the lessons that came out of Tropical Storm Debbie last summer was to not count the nests washed over as a lost cause. Many nests, some that sat underwater for more than a day, still had eggs hatch. This leaves us really hopeful for the nests washed over briefly by Andrea. Luckily, the first green turtle to nest on the islands waited for the storm to pass! 

Sunrise after TS Andrea passed.

Captiva got the first green nest of the season last weekend. Hopefully, there will be many more that follow on both islands.

Green turtle nest on Captiva.

Species Spotlight: the Green Turtle

Green turtle nesting on Sanibel at sunrise. (Photo by: A.Bryant)

Meet the green turtle (Chelonia mydas). As the only vegetarian sea turtle (in adulthood), they eat mostly sea grasses and algae. While not green in color, they are named for the green color of their fat. Green turtles are the largest of the hard-shelled turtles, often reaching over three feet in length and 300-350 pounds. They have an oval-shaped shell and a head that is small in proportion to their body. Hatchlings are typically dark grayish-black with a white underside and white edges to their carapace (top shell) and flippers.

Green turtle hatchling.

Green turtles are found worldwide. The estuaries in Southwest Florida provide nursery habitat for juveniles and our beaches provide nesting habitat. While loggerhead turtle nests make up the bulk of sea turtle nesting in the area, there are several green nests laid each year. Green turtles usually begin nesting in June and continue into September. Like all sea turtles, the green is protected by the U.S. Endangered Species Act. It is currently listed as endangered across its range.