Sea Turtle Season on Amelia Island

Photo, marked sea turtle nest, north-end Amelia Island, Florida
"Tis the Season for Sea Turtles on Amelia Island, Florida

It’s turtle time on Amelia Island, and I don’t mean the slow pace around here. Amelia Island is the nesting ground for sea turtles. It’s the second half of the season now (which begins May 1 and ends October 31st each year). Currently, the turtle eggs laid by female adult sea turtles in mid-June are hatching now in mid-August.

Who doesn’t love turtles? Especially a turtle tike? Kids and adults alike can enjoy the wonderment of Amelia Island’s sea turtles as summer lapses into fall.

Sea turtles are ancient reptiles, dating back to the days when dinosaurs roamed Earth. They are “living fossils,” having survived millions of years, but now in the twenty-first century, considered a threatened species. Kudos to sea turtle volunteers for their efforts to help protect and sustain the species.

This week at around 7:30 pm, I ventured to the beach for about an hour to check out a few marked turtle nests (some that I knew were approaching the timeframe to hatch). I was hoping to have the good fortune of glimpsing turtle hatchlings making their way out of a nest. Unfortunately, I missed this rare opportunity by only a few hours on Monday night. Turtle tracks in the sand coming out of a marked nest told the tale that hatchlings had emerged sometime during the day, with many trails leading toward the high tide line where the tracks disappeared. This nest, about six homes south of Jasmine Street beach access in Fernandina Beach, Florida will likely be one to be excavated next by the local sea turtle group, volunteers who monitor the sea turtle nests on Amelia Island.

I tried again last evening, checking out other sea turtle nests located north of Jasmine Street all the way up to the Fort Clinch State Park pier on Amelia Island. It was dead low tide, with plenty of hard packed sand near the shoreline -- a perfect evening to ride bikes on the beach. Sure enough, I found another nest with the turtle tracks of hatchlings, this one located about one home north of beach access five in Fernandina. (Likely another nest to be excavated this week by turtle volunteers.)

Sea turtle eggs hatch around two months after they are buried on Florida beaches. The female sea turtle typically comes ashore during the night and makes her way toward the dunes, trying to pass the high tide line. However, sometimes they dig their nests only about mid-way on the beach, so some nests erode away with the tides or storms. It is easy to identify sea turtle nests on the beach . They are clearly marked by yellow tape with posts and a sign warning folks not to disturb the nest.

Three types of sea turtles nest on Amelia Island beaches, loggerhead (the most predominant), green, and leatherbacks. Reportedly, genetic research indicates that the sea turtles nesting on Amelia Island are related to turtles in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina (and are a separate family from other Florida sea turtles).

The female sea turtle digs an egg cavity about a foot or two deep in the sand, and deposits her eggs, often around 100 or so. Once hatched, the tiny turtle hatchlings emerge from the nest, literally digging themselves out with tiny flippers. While a mature sea turtle may weight 175 to 350 pounds, the delicate hatchlings only tip the scale at about one ounce or so. These baby turtles attempt to make their way back into the ocean, generally at night, guided by moonlight. Local ordinances require dim lighting along the Amelia Island beachfront during turtle nesting season on this barrier island in northeast Florida. Lights along the beachfront can disorient turtles to head in the wrong direction toward beach homes and businesses, rather than toward the ocean.

The volunteer sea turtle group scours the beach at sunrise during turtle season, marking new nests. Then, around two months later, excavates the nest to make sure no turtle hatchling are left behind, unable to get out. They also count the shards (empty eggshells of hatched eggs), partially hatched eggs, and those eggs that remain unhatched and look somewhat like ping pong balls. Data is collected for each nest, and similar turtle watch groups do the same monitoring in beach towns along the southeastern coast of the U.S. There are lots of people dedicated to helping sea turtles survive.

The life cycle of a sea turtle is one of nature’s wonders. Only about one of every 1,000 sea turtle hatchlings will survive into adulthood. After about 20 years or so (and a journey often thousands of ocean miles away), the female turtle reaches maturity for breeding. Instinctively, the female sea turtle manages to return to the very beach of its birth more than two decades earlier, to dig a nest and “plant” its eggs.

Astounding, when you think about it. Imagine a woman trying to find her place of birth without parental guidance, without a birth certificate, without a map or GPS. Plus she’d have to walk back to her “home” town no matter where she ended up in her twenties. It appears sea turtles trump mankind with their instinctive turtle radar -- they don’t even have to stop and ask for directions.

Sea turtles can proudly take their place as one of Mother Nature’s most worthy and remarkable seafarers, burying treasure on beaches millions of years before pirates.

Amelia Island Runners Help Support Amelia Island Sea Turtles

There's a race (and walk), the Amelia Island Turtle Trot, held annually on Amelia Island. Saturday, September 5, 2009 is the annual Amelia Island Turtle Trot Race, an event by the Amelia Island Runners organization. The run is a 5K/10K and a 1.5 mile walk starting at 7:30 am at Atlantic Rec Center in Fernandina Beach, followed by a "Kid's Fun Run" at 9 am. Proceeds benefit the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch, turtle patrols in Fort Clinch, as well as Amelia Island Running club's youth running programs. The Turtle Trot entry fee through August 28 is $20 per person ($15 for running club members). After August 28th through the day of the race, $25 entry fee. Runners will receive (while supplies last) a Turtle Trot T-shirt with original artwork by Fernandina Beach artist and turtle volunteer, Sandra Baker-Hinton. Detailed info about the Turtle Trot, including the running routes, online entry forms and more is available at www.AmeliaIslandRunners.com


Read in-depth article about Amelia Island’s sea turtles in Amelia Island Living eMagazine.
W.B.L