Last night, our Panama City Beach Turtle Watch volunteers had an incredible experience responding to a nesting turtle report—and we have an amazing story to share!
When our team arrived, they found awesome beachgoers observing the turtle from a respectful distance in total darkness (no flashlights or flash photography). Because of their cooperation, our volunteers were able to safely assess the turtle and scan her for tags.
🔍 An Unexpected History
We discovered she had a passive tag (similar to a pet microchip). She wasn’t a turtle we had tagged on PCB before, so we consulted other organizations to try to find her history. It turns out she was originally tagged in June 2018 on Cape San Blas, and nested again that same month at St. Joseph Peninsula State Park (other Panhandle beaches to our east).
Eight years later, she chose PCB to lay her most recent clutch. This is our fourth turtle encounter this season as part of our tagging research permit. The first one that already had a tag while the other three had new tags installed. It’s a beautiful reminder of how many organizations are doing their best to study sea turtle behaviors and protect these federally and state protected species.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions From the Beach
Here are some of the top questions our volunteers answered last night:
– How old is she? Loggerheads reach maturity around 25 years. Because we know she was already nesting in 2018, this mama is at least 36 years old!
– Will she come back to check on her nest? No. She covers her eggs, returns to the Gulf, and her job is done. However, she may nest again on a Panhandle beach as sea turtles can lay eggs roughly every 2 weeks during the season.
– How do you find nests if no one sees the turtle? Every morning from May 1 to September 15, our dedicated surveyors patrol the waterline at dawn looking for sea turtle “crawls” (tracks). If the track characteristics confirm a nest, our volunteers mark it for protection (4 wooden stakes with signage and survey/caution tape).
– What species is it? We identify the turtles based on their appearance or the track they leave; in this case she is a loggerhead, the most common nesting species on our beach.
– Why use red flashlights? White lights and camera flashes easily disorient or scare sea turtles. Red light is much more wildlife-friendly and preserves human night vision. We use it as sparingly as possible and encourage other beachgoers to do the same.
– How many eggs are in there and when will they hatch? Nests average about 100 ping-pong-ball-sized eggs and incubate for roughly two months on our beach. We won’t know the exact count until we excavate the nest 3 to 4 days after it hatches.
– Can we watch the nest hatch? We do not announce predicted hatch dates or specific locations. If you happen to witness a natural hatch at night, keep all lights off, give them space, and let them crawl to the water. If they seem disoriented, call the number on the blue sign at the nest immediately and our volunteers will respond.
– How can we find the results of this specific nest? Take note of the number on the green tag of the nest stakes. If it’s in an accessible area, we will post a public excavation date under our Facebook “Events” section to take place 3–4 days after it hatches, or we’ll share the final inventory results right here online.
🛑 How You Can Help!
If you encounter a sea turtle on the beach at night, please:
– Keep it dark: Turn off all lights and phone flashes.
– Give her space: Stay at a distance and remain behind her line of sight.
– Hands off: Avoid her tracks and the disturbed sand.
– Call it in: Immediately contact the PCB Police (Non-Emergency) at 850-233-5000. They will dispatch our on-call volunteers immediately!
Thank you to last night’s beachgoers for setting a perfect example. We can all follow their lead and keep our beaches clean, dark, and flat!
Photos taken with no flash (cell phone night sight mode was used) under MTP-038
