- April 24, 2024
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The 2012 nesting season saw a record-high 919 turtle egg nests on county beaches.
BY MATT MENCARINI | STAFF WRITER
A day at the beach now comes with a little responsibility.
Turtle nesting season began May 1, and over the next few months, Volusia County estimates hundred of turtles will make their annual journeys to our beaches to lay eggs.
“If (people) see a turtle, they need to stay back because turtles spook very easily,” said Beth Libert, president of the Volusia-Flagler Turtle Patrol. “Sometimes the turtle won’t nest if there are people in the area.”
Libert and the rest of her patrol drive the beaches before sunrise on four-wheelers, looking for nests. When they find one, they get to work relocating it if it seems in danger of being destroyed by weather, traffic or high tides.
“There's a lot of digging involved,” Libert said. “You have to find the eggs, (then) you can move them in a bucket. (It can take) an hour if you find them right away, and could go up to a few hours if you don’t find them right away.”
The patrollers find the turtle mother’s tracks from the ocean and follow them to a nest. If the tracks, or even portions of the tracks, are disturbed, it becomes more and more difficult to find nests and ensure they’re in the best possible locations.
The patrollers also seek out injured turtles and birds.
“The 2012 season saw a record high, with 919 nests laid on county beaches; of those, 885 were loggerhead nests,” Jennifer Winters, Volusia County’s sea turtle conservation manager, said. “The county’s average is around 480 sea turtle nests per season."
But that doesn't necessarily mean similar outcomes in 2013, she added. Once eggs are birthed, it takes about 48-60 days until hatching.
Ormond Beach and Ormond by the Sea, Libert said, are two of the more popular places for turtle nesting because there are fewer sky rises and less traffic.
In October, nine street light shields were installed in Ormond Beach, along State Road A1A, to help hatchling turtles find their way to the ocean.
“It’s a huge impact,” Libert said. “The hatchlings are distracted (by street lights). The natural glow off the ocean from the moon, in a natural environment, is the brightest in the area. The light from the street draws them away from the ocean.”
The county also recommended beachfront property owners shield, modify or position light fixtures so the glow isn’t visible by someone standing on the beach, in addition to eliminating the effect of interior lights shining through doors and windows.
“It’s going to get busy here in the next few weeks,” Libert said. “As it gets warmer, we’ll see a lot more activity. Probably by June, we’ll have nests every day.”
