Sea Turtle Nesting Season

It’s sea turtle nesting season here in Florida.

On Mother’s Day, my mom and I took a night walk on the beach.

I pointed at some sea turtle nests and explained that some of them get marked the next morning with white sticks. I looked for sea turtle tracks in the sand to show her, but on that evening, after crowds of people had spent their day on the beach, there were no sea turtle tracks to be found.

On our way back, my mom pointed at some fresh tracks in the sand and asked if this is what sea turtle tracks looked like. Yes, I said, and then she noticed that a couple of feet ahead, there was a green sea turtle (people here call these giants greenies) walking up the hill to dig a nest. We followed her quietly and watched her looking for the right spot before digging a nest and laying over 100 eggs in it. It was the most magical hour. When the greenie had finished laying her eggs and had covered the nest carefully, we walked behind her as she made her way back to the ocean. We stood there, overwhelmed with excitement at witnessing this amazing event. As the waves carried her back into the depths of the ocean, we began to walk back home.

We had taken only a couple of steps when my mom pointed at some more fresh tracks, and can you believe it? There was another greenie on her way to dig a nest! We followed her quietly and watched her work. It was getting late and at some point, we decided that despite the unbelievable opportunity to watch another turtle laying eggs the same night, we should go. Feeling a little sad, we began to walk. Amazingly, we came across a third greenie, who had just finished covering her nest. We cheered her on quietly as she made her way into the dark water.

How generous was mother nature to us on this Mother’s Day evening? She gave us the most beautiful gift we could have imagined.

The next night, I took the same walk at the same time, but I couldn’t spot any turtles. However, I did see that the first nest was marked with a stick. I took a picture of it. Perhaps I will be there to watch the eggs hatch later this summer.