07/29/2026
TURTLE TALK TUESDAY: A RECORD-BREAKING NESTING SEASON
We're now more than halfway through the 2026 sea turtle nesting season, and it's shaping up to be one for the record books!
If you've visited Amelia Island's beaches lately, you've probably noticed sea turtle nests marked with stakes and yellow tape stretching up and down the shoreline, a welcome sign of another successful nesting season.
Here's how this year compares:
--> 2025 (at this point): 133 nests (primarily loggerheads, with some green turtles), well below the historic average.
--> 2026 (as of today): 285 nests , including 280 loggerhead nests and 5 green turtle nests.
This year's total is the second-highest on record, trailing only the remarkable 2019 season, when 301 nests were documented on Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch beaches. Volunteers have also recorded 192 false crawls, bringing the total number of adult sea turtle tracks observed along the island's 11.5 miles of monitored Atlantic shoreline to 477.
Sea turtle nesting numbers are up across Florida this year, following a statewide decline in loggerhead nesting during 2025. Loggerhead females typically nest 4 to 6 times during a season, laying nests about every two weeks before taking one to two years off, making 2026 an especially productive "on" year.
While nesting activity is beginning to slow, hatching season is just getting started. As hatchlings emerge under the cover of darkness and make their journey to the ocean, Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch volunteers monitor each nest. About three days after a nest has emerged, volunteers carefully excavate it to collect important data that helps researchers better understand nesting success.
The public is invited to attend many of these nest excavations and learn more about these incredible animals. Excavation schedules are posted throughout the season on the Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch website.
And if you spot one of the organization's dedicated volunteers on the beach early in the morning wearing an Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch shirt, don't hesitate to say hello. They're always happy to answer questions and share information about the sea turtles that make Amelia Island their summer home.
Amelia Island Sea Turtle Watch
