Sea turtle nesting
Our beaches are an active nesting habitat for loggerhead, green, and Kemp's ridley sea turtles. Most years the season runs May through October. Here's what to know if you're on the beach during it.
What you'll see
- Roped-off nests in the dunes — orange ribbons and a stake. The nest is buried; the marker keeps people from walking on top of it.
- Tracks in the sand in the early morning — wide parallel grooves where a mother turtle came up to nest and went back. Walkers (volunteers with Share the Beach AL or Friends of GUIS in FL) check the beaches early each morning during season.
- Hatchlings — late summer into fall. They make a run to the water at night, guided by reflected light off the Gulf.
What to do
- Leave the nests alone. Don't lean on the rope. Don't lift the sand to "look." Don't relocate the marker for a photo.
- If you see a turtle on the beach (alive, struggling, injured), call the rescue hotline — 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286) in Florida, 866-SEA-TURTLE (866-732-8878) in Alabama. Stay back. Don't touch it. They send out trained responders.
- Hatchling night: turn off beachfront lights. Don't shine a phone flashlight at the hatchlings. They orient by reflected starlight on the water; artificial lights make them go the wrong direction.
- If you see disoriented hatchlings going inland or toward a light, call the same hotline. Don't pick them up. Don't put them in the water yourself — the run is biological, doing it for them is harmful.
- Fill in your sandcastles and holes before you leave the beach. Real ones, the kind a turtle could fall into. The nightly volunteer beach walkers will smooth them, but it's better to leave the beach clean.
- Pack out your trash. Loose plastic on the beach can entangle a hatchling making its run.
Beachfront lighting in season
If you own or rent a property gulf-front during season, turtle-friendly lighting is required by local ordinances in both Escambia (FL) and Baldwin (AL) counties. The basics:
- No beachfront-facing white lights between dusk and dawn during nesting season
- Amber LEDs or shielded fixtures are the accepted alternative
- Pool lights and patio lights should be shielded or off
- TVs visible from the beach side need curtains drawn after dark
Property managers should already know this. If you're staying in a condo and the lights aren't compliant, tell the front desk — they're usually responsive.
The big picture
The Gulf Coast loggerhead, green, and Kemp's ridley populations have come back from very low historic numbers thanks to decades of beach-by-beach community effort. Volunteers walk the beaches every morning of season, mark every nest, monitor hatch success, and respond to strandings. Both states have active research programs.
This isn't somebody else's project. The beach you walked on this morning had volunteers on it at sunrise. The hatchlings making their run after dinner are a few feet from a deck somebody is sitting on. The whole thing depends on a community of people who care.
Get involved
- Share the Beach (Alabama Coastal Foundation): volunteer training each spring; structured beach-walking program. joinacf.org/stb
- Friends of Pensacola Bay / Gulf Islands National Seashore (FL side): NPS-coordinated turtle monitoring on Perdido Key and Santa Rosa Island. nps.gov/guis
Hotlines
- FL: FWC Wildlife Alert — 866-FWC-GATOR (866-392-4286)
- AL: Share the Beach — 866-SEA-TURTLE (866-732-8878)