Panama City Beach Turtle Watch

Our surveyors and volunteers have had a chance to assess the impact of Tropical Storm Bertha that was in the Gulf with local beach impacts on July 21st and July 22nd.

The surge that Tropical Storm Bertha brought to our beach on July 21st was more significant pushing the water nearly up to the dunes on some stretches of the beach.

This caused many of our nests to be washed over by the storm surge. Continual strong surge on July 21st and 22nd led to 33 of our 37 nests being washed over.


The four nests that didn’t receive washover were located at the dunes.

As the surge continued, some parts of the beach experienced erosion leading to some or all of our marking stakes being washed out. That erosion also led to eggs becoming exposed and washing out.

We received many reports of downed stakes or visible eggs. Our volunteers sprung into action responding to the calls to collect our marking stakes and any eggs that could be collected and relocated to the dunes.

The morning of July 22nd, our morning surveyors assessed the status of each nest and collected any of the nesting stakes that were still laying along the beach.


Any eggs that were found were collected and buried at the dunes in the event that they may still be viable.

We were able to replace missing stakes at one of the nests.

Volunteers also responded to a call when someone found buried eggs while playing/digging on the beach. Our volunteers confirmed that was the location of a nest that had the stakes washed out and they marked the area off again.

All washed over nests are given a full 80 days for a chance to hatch. If they don’t hatch, we’ll conduct our excavation and determine the nest contents as part of our permit. Hatched nests will be excavated 3-4 days following a hatch to assess the nest contents.

A very sincere THANK YOU to our surveyors, our volunteers, beach goers, code enforcement, police, beach safety (lifeguards), beach ambassadors, beach cleaning crew, vendors and anyone else who helped us in locating nesting stakes or eggs.

We are still in our nesting season and we hope we’ll find a few more nest.

Today also begins our hatching season. Our permitted volunteers will be checking on the nests that remain on the beach when they have reached approximately 60 days incubation. We don’t announce nest locations but we do announce excavations on Facebook through our Panama City Beach Turtle Watch page.

This morning, our ATV surveyor encountered a nesting loggerhead here on Panama City Beach. She finished her nesting process, turned and made it back to the water. Volunteers responded and marked the nest area for protection. It takes about 2 months on our beach for the eggs (on average 100 eggs buried 10-20 inches deep) to incubate and hatch. It’s uncommon for us to witness and video a nesting female on shore since it commonly happens overnight. If you encounter a sea turtle on the beach, remember to refrain from using any lights or flash photos and stay behind her observing from a distance and call Beach Police non-emergency 850-233-5000 with the location and our volunteers will respond.

We were able to get a couple of quick videos as she was about to reach the water after nesting.

Activities performed under MTP-038

Let’s test out your sea turtle knowledge. Do you know what species of turtle left this nest on PCB?

If you guessed loggerhead, that is a reasonable guess considering that is the most common species (1013 loggerhead nests since 1991 – current) here on our beach.

If you guessed leatherback, that is not a bad guess without size reference in the photos. They are the largest species leaving a track up to 7 foot wide. We haven’t had a leatherback nest on our beach since 2019 (14 total since 1991) but are hoping we’ll see some in the future years.

Those that guessed this is a green sea turtle crawl and nest are correct. To date since 1991, we have marked 40 green nests for protection here on PCB.

Some of the common characteristics of a green crawl/nest:
– flippers observed on the crawl are parallel as they propel themselves forward with both sides of flippers at the same time
– high on the beach or to the dunes
– a noticeable tail drag (the line down the center of the crawl)
– a deep body pit before she digs the chamber (this makes the eggs deeper), sometimes from a distance you can’t even see her on the beach she has dug so deep
– a large mound with a lot of thrown sand covering/disguising her nest

Activities performed under MTP-038

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

🐢 NEST UPDATE: The Good News, the Bad News, and How You Can Help! 🌊

First, the good news: We currently have 22 loggerhead nests marked for protection across Panama City Beach! 🎉

Now for the bad news: We are currently experiencing very high tides, drastic daily changes in beach depth, and strong surf. This rough weather is impacting some of our nests with waves wash over them or even washing them out.

Why can’t we just move them?
We operate under an FWC permit that requires us to leave nests in place once they are marked. Even if a nest is getting washed over by waves or the stakes are washed out, we are not permitted to relocate it unless we encounter exposed eggs (which are the size and shape of a ping-pong ball). Otherwise, our rule is to leave them in place and monitor them daily.

How you can help :
Our surveyors check the nests at least 4 times a day, but extra eyes always help! If you see downed stakes or exposed eggs:

🚫 DO NOT replace the stakes or dig for the eggs yourself.

📍 DO note your specific street address or beach location and where the eggs are on the beach (close to the water, at the wrack line).

📞 DO report it immediately via Facebook message, the phone number on the blue sign at the nest, or the non-emergency PCB Police line at 850-233-5000.

Looking Ahead:
Sea turtles lay nests approximately every two weeks during the season, and we are still in the first half of our nesting season! While some of our current nests may be impacted, we remain optimistic for the rest of the season. 🤞🐢

Work performed under MTP-038

📸 Photo: A nest from a previous season that eroded and had exposed eggs.