PONCE INLET, Fla. — Across the Southeast, sea turtle nesting season is still underway. In Central Florida, volunteers are busy monitoring and protecting nests. It’s an effort that’s seen nearly 900 nests in Volusia County.

What You Need To Know

  • Sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 to Oct. 31 in Flagler and Volusia counties

  • Throughout the season, Volusia/Flagler Turtle Patrol volunteers protect and monitor nests

  • More than 41,000 sea turtle eggs have hatched in Volusia County this season

The Volusia/Flagler Turtle Patrol is a volunteer organization dedicated to protecting sea turtles and their nests. Sea turtle nesting season runs from May 1 to Oct.  31. Throughout the season, Turtle Patrol volunteers track and monitor nests every day, and since most activity happens at night, they start patrolling at dawn. 

“When we come out first thing in the morning, we’re looking for new turtle tracks from nesting females, or we’re looking for hatchlings tracks,” Turtle Patrol volunteer Stacey Bell said. 

Bell is an environmental science teacher and has been volunteering with Turtle Patrol for 20 years. 

“I love turtles,” she said. “I love the beach. I love my volunteers that I get to work with. But I really love being a part of supporting our natural environment.”

So far this year, more than 880 nests have been laid in Volusia County. After being laid, turtle eggs incubate for about two months. Volunteers are there each day to monitor the nests and check for any disturbances. 

“If there're ruts on the beach, that hatchlings could get stuck on during their emergence or lights visible from the beach, we will also note that,” Bell said. 

Another duty of Turtle Patrol is checking on nests after the eggs hatch. 

“We are permitted to go into the nests three to seven days later to count and see what happens in that sea turtle nest,” Bell said.

It’s how volunteers are able to track the number of hatchlings from the nest. So far this year, Bell said more than 41,000 eggs have hatched in Volusia County. 

“It’s really important to count the hatched eggshells and the remains of this nest because we learn a lot of science about our beaches and about sea turtles,” she said.

Sometimes, a hatchling may even be found in the nest. When this happens, Bell said volunteers place the hatchling in the sand so it can trek to the ocean on its own. This trip imprints the turtle’s home beach into its memory.

“Hatchlings that crawl off of our beach are going to return to our beach if they’re female to nest in 15 to 20 years,” she said.

Bell said it’s always thrilling to see a sea turtle trek to the ocean for the first time. She said it shows the significance of Volusia County’s shoreline for sea turtles, and that it’s important to protect beaches and coast.

“Having natural dunes and beaches that provide nesting habitat for sea turtles is really going to help in the long-term protection of these species,” she said. “The babies that are hatching from our beach this year will be back in 15 to 20 years to use this habitat again for their own babies. And hopefully we have a really lush natural habitat for them to utilize.”

As the nesting season slows down, washback season is just starting. It’s when juvenile sea turtles living in sargassum seaweed can get pushed to shore by strong winds and surf.

“When we have fresh seaweed wash on the beach, these post-hatchling turtles could be still sitting in the seaweed like they would be offshore,” Bell said.

From August to November, Volusia County’s Washback Watchers look for turtles stranded in the seaweed. Bell said that when a person finds one, their first instinct may be to put them back in the water, but that’s not the best way to help them. 

“They don’t have the energy reserve that they did as hatchlings to make the swim back to the gulf stream,” Bell said. “They always should be brought to a local rehabber.” 

Anyone who finds a washback turtle on the beach is encouraged to call a local sea turtle rehab or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1-800-404-FWCC (3922) or by dialing #FWC on a cell phone.

Reagan Ryan is a 2023 — 2025 Report for America Corps Member, covering the environment and climate across Central Florida for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.