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Nesting sea turtles

On July 4 give space to nesting shorebirds, sea turtles

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As people make plans to go to the beach for the Independence Day holiday, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) is reminding the public to help protect beach-nesting shorebirds and sea turtles by giving them space and keeping personal fireworks off the beach. Please respect shorebird and sea turtle areas that are posted to protect these vulnerable species, but remember not all nests are posted.
Shorebirds on Florida’s Atlantic and Gulf coasts are nesting now, with many of them watching over flightless chicks. Threatened species, such as the snowy plover, least tern, black skimmer and American oystercatcher, are among the shorebirds facing conservation challenges and needing help from people to survive. Loud noises can cause adults to flush off their nests and tiny chicks to become separated from parents, leaving them vulnerable to predators, the elements and getting stepped on by beachgoers.
July is also a busy time for sea turtle nesting on Florida beaches, and female sea turtles can become disoriented and fail to lay their eggs if disturbed by bright lights, loud noises and people getting too close to them. Sea turtle hatchlings, also vulnerable to disturbance, are beginning to emerge this month.
“It’s great to celebrate the Fourth of July, but please help our nesting shorebirds and sea turtles by giving them space and keeping personal fireworks off Florida beaches,” said Brad Gruver, who leads the FWC’s Species Conservation Planning Section. “Attending an official fireworks display is a better choice when it comes to helping Florida’s wildlife.”
During the July Fourth holiday, boaters also can help protect nesting birds by not getting close to or making loud noises near Critical Wildlife Areas, expanded by the FWC in 2016 to protect birds and other species during nesting and other critical life stages. The FWC wants boaters and beachgoers to be aware of the 13 newly designated CWAs, most of them small islands, and not all of them have yet been posted.
Boaters also can help conserve wildlife by looking out for and avoiding manatees and sea turtles in coastal waters.
How to be a Fourth of July beach hero:

  • Leave personal fireworks at home and attend an official display instead. The loud sounds and bright lights of impromptu fireworks on Florida’s beaches and waterways can have catastrophic effects on nesting birds and their chicks, as well as nesting sea turtles.
  • Stay out of posted areas, including Critical Wildlife Areas, and keep your distance from nesting sea turtles.
  • If you walk your dog on the beach, keep it on a leash and at a distance from birds, sea turtles and their nests.
  • Do not feed birds or leave trash, picnic leftovers or fish scraps on the beach. These scraps attract predators that will eat the eggs and hatchlings of birds and sea turtles.
  • Wear polarized sunglasses when boating to make it easier to spot manatees and sea turtles. With manatees, look for the circles on the water’s surface indicating their underwater movement or a nose sticking out of the water. Also listen for huffing noises that manatees make when coming up for air. Most of all, slow down and comply with the posted manatee zones.
  • Learn more from the Be a Beach Hero! and Share the Beach with Beach-nesting Birds brochures.
  • Report people disturbing nesting birds and sea turtles and their young by calling the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline: 888-404-FWCC (3922), #FWC or *FWC on a cellphone, or by texting [email protected].

Additional information on Critical Wildlife Areas is at MyFWC.com/CWA.

People can help nesting sea turtles!

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3.1.2017 Leatherback Turtle Nesting

Green Turtle Nesting
Photo courtesy of FWC

March is the beginning of Florida’s sea turtle nesting season, when female sea turtles leave the ocean to dig nests and lay golf ball-size eggs in the sand.
People can help sea turtles that nest on Florida’s beaches at night by leaving the beach as natural as possible. To do this, beachgoers should remove beach furniture and other obstacles before sunset each day.
“Anyone spending time on Florida’s beaches can do something to help save Florida’s threatened and endangered sea turtles. People’s actions on the beach can have a positive impact on whether our loggerhead, leatherback and green sea turtles nest successfully,” said Dr. Robbin Trindell, who leads the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) sea turtle management program.
“Whether you are a resident or a visitor, remember to take beach furniture, boats and canopies off Florida’s sandy beaches at night so these items won’t block sea turtles attempting to nest,” Trindell said. “When departing at the end of the day, beach visitors should fill any holes dug in the sand so nesting and hatchling turtles don’t become trapped. Please be careful not to disturb nesting sea turtles by getting too close, shining lights on them or taking flash photos.”
At this time of year, FWC-authorized marine turtle permit holders and volunteers begin their annual ritual too – walking beaches in the morning to look for “crawls” resembling tire tracks. Crawls indicate a sea turtle has landed and nested on a beach the previous night. On some of the beaches, nests are marked with a yellow sign and plastic tape, since sea turtles and their eggs are protected. This monitoring continues through October, the official end of sea turtle nesting season.
Exactly when sea turtle nesting season starts depends on where you are in Florida. While it begins in March on the Atlantic coast, it starts later in the spring, in late April or May, along the Gulf coast. Yet wherever you are in the state, what you do on the beach can make a significant difference on whether sea turtles nest successfully.
In the 2016 sea turtle nesting season, more than 120,000 loggerhead nests, more than 5,000 green turtle nests and over 1,000 leatherback nests were documented by the FWC. With Florida hosting nearly 90 percent of loggerhead nests within this species’ northern Atlantic Ocean population, the state plays an important role in its conservation.
You can help sea turtles by reporting those that are sick, injured, entangled or dead to the FWC’s Wildlife Alert Hotline, 888-404-FWCC (3922), #FWC or *FWC on a cellphone, or text [email protected]. Purchase of a “Helping Sea Turtles Survive” Florida license plate at Buyaplate.com contributes to sea turtle research, rescue and conservation efforts. People also can donate $5 and receive an FWC sea turtle decal.
Go to MyFWC.com/SeaTurtle for information on Florida’s sea turtles and how to get decals, and click on “Research,” then “Nesting” for more data on sea turtle nesting.