pcbturtle – Page 2 – Panama City Beach Turtle Watch

August 2, 2025January 12, 2026

Hatching and excavation season is underway!

After patiently waiting just over two months since our first 2025 PCB Sea Turtle nest was laid, we have had a nest hatch….not just one but seven nests have hatched in the last four nights. We don’t publish our nest locations or the date they were laid, but we do announce excavations when possible.

An excavation is conducted per the FWC Permit we operate under. Our volunteers will share information on how we found the nest, protected it and when/how it hatched. We’ll also share information on the sea turtle species common to our beaches and how you can help protect these wonderful creatures! Everyone attending will have a chance to see a sampling of the nest contents and take photos since the excavation occurs during daylight hours.

Following a hatch, if we are able to schedule a public excavation, we will post it as an Event here on our Facebook page, Panama City Beach Turtle Watch, with 1-2 days notice. So stay tuned as we hope to have many upcoming excavations over the next two to three months.

If you are lucky enough to be on the beach and encounter hatchlings (nests commonly hatch overnight) at night, refrain from using any lights or flash photography around the hatchlings as it can cause disorientation. Please call the local hotline found on the blue sign at the nest or PCB Police non-emergency at 850-233-5000 so we can have our volunteers respond.

Photo: volunteers laying out the contents (hatched an unhatched eggs) of a nest during a 2024 excavation, work conducted under MTP-038

July 18, 2025January 10, 2026

A nesting green birds eye point of view

POV = a nesting green sea turtle making her way to a suitable nesting spot (at the toe of the dune) and then back to the water

We have our 3rd green nest of the season! Special thanks goes to the local police officers that came upon a nesting turtle in the wee hours of the morning. They called our volunteers and accompanied the turtle until the volunteers arrived. Special thanks also goes to our volunteers for being ready any time of the night or morning to respond. They made sure she safely returned to the water and then marked the nest for protection, nest 39.

Just a couple hours later, volunteers responded to the beach to mark nest 40, a loggerhead nest, for protection when that was found by a morning surveyor. These volunteers have had a busy start to their week and we appreciate them and all of our other volunteers ❤️🐢

July 12, 2025January 12, 2026

More nests than last season and another Green!

In the past week, we have reached nest number 36 of the season. For those following along since last year, that exceeds our total nest count from 2024 (34 nests) and we found our second green nest of the season as well. We love our loggerheads, we really do, but the power and determination of the green nesting female is something we never tire of seeing.

Just like our first green, this green made her way to the dunes, dug an impressive body pit and followed much of the same path back to the water.

Green nest in the dunes, she crawled 172′ from the water to find her desired nesting site

Volunteers marked the nest area after the surveyor found the nest, look towards the top right of the marked nest area and see the depth of the body pit, the greens definitely move some sand and in this case some sea oats too!

If you encounter a marked nest area, please respect it and avoid entering it for any reason (as indicated by the yellow FWC and blue local signage). Most everyone seems to comply but unfortunately we have seen footprints inside some of our nest areas, we need to all do our part to protect them!

Please remember, if you encounter a sea turtle on our sandy beach at night, please refrain from using flash photography, use no lights at all (causes disorientation), avoid her track and any disturbed sandy areas, observe from the back side of the turtle from a distance and contact PCB Police non-emergency at 850-233-5000. They will contact our on-call volunteers to respond and protect the turtle and the nest she lays.

Everyone can do their part leaving our beaches clean, dark and flat!

All activities performed under MTP-038.

Our latest loggerhead nest, nest 36 of the season!

July 2, 2025January 10, 2026

The greens have arrived!

One of our wildlife observers encountered a nesting green sea turtle the evening of July 1st by spotting the large flipper pattern in the sand from the water’s edge. The turtle was found nesting in the dunes. Volunteers responded, a passive identification tag was applied to turtle and measurements were taken. The tagging program allows us to report her info to a database in the event that any other organization finds her and reports her tag number, they will know she was nesting on our beach on July 1st (no tags were found upon initial inspection, thus the installation of a tag).

The nesting process for a green involves the movement of a lot of sand! The turtle digs a body pit putting her below the normal sand height, digs the chamber with her rear flippers, drops the eggs, and packs sand on top of them. She then uses her powerful front flippers and sprays sand behind her to cover the area well. Greens often nest in the dunes and that was the case for nest 31’s mama. She uprooted a few sea oats in the process and flattened some others with her approximate 300 lb body. After covering her nest well, she made a turn towards the water, slid down the dune she was in and made the 150’+ crawl back to the water. Fortunately for this turtle, she chose a dark quiet beach where she wasn’t disturbed by artificial light. Volunteers present captured some photos and videos using either night mode on the phone or a thermal monoscope.

The nest was marked for protection. Average incubation is about two months at which time we’ll start checking for signs of hatching following our permit guidelines. A few days after it hatches, we’ll conduct an excavation to assess the nest contents and record the nest contents and success.

While in Panama City Beach, if you encounter a sea turtle on the sandy beach at night, please refrain from using flash photography, use no lights at all (causes disorientation), avoid her track and any disturbed sandy areas, observe from the back side of the turtle from a distance and contact PCB Police non-emergency at 850-233-5000. They will contact our on-call volunteers to respond and protect the turtle and the nest she lays.

Remember, everyone can do their part leaving our beaches clean, dark and flat!

All activities performed under MTP-038 and MTP-286

Nesting green (top center of photo) in the dunes during her nesting process. Notice the track leading to the dunes, and the amount of sand moved to begin her nesting

Green sea turtle returning to the water after nesting, her shell covered in sand from her nesting activities

Arial view of the green track and nest the following morning

June 25, 2025January 10, 2026

Recent Education Outreach Events

When they aren’t out marking nests or monitoring for hatch activity, some of our volunteers conduct local education outreach. We love when we are contacted by local organizations to share information about our program and protecting sea turtles. The audiences range from elementary age students to local civic organizations and weekly guests at local hotels or condos. In the last few months, we have had the chance to conduct education outreach at Rising Leaders Academy, Bay Day, Waller Elementary, Hutchinson Beach Elementary and Landmark Holiday Beach Resort. We are always excited by the interest everyone has during our presentation and then the questions they ask. We enjoy getting the opportunity to present and then let get an up close view of our educational specimens and items that help everyone understand the dangers to sea turtles and how they can help.

Bay Day students examining our sea turtle artifacts

Bay Day students learning about the powerful jaws of a loggerhead

Bay Day students learning about sea turtles and how it takes 25-30 years to reach adult size and maturity

Attentive students at Rising Leaders Academy

Rising Leaders taking a close look at our education specimens

Rising Leaders learning about the dangers to sea turtles and how they can help prevent these dangers

Landmark Beach Resort guests learning about sea turtles that frequent our beach and how they can help by keeping the beach clean, dark and flat while visiting

Hutchinson Elementary students examining our educational specimens

Hutchinson Elementary students getting a close look at a loggerhead shell

Waller Elementary students learning about sea turtle hazards and getting a look at the model of a sea turtle

Waller Elementary students learning about our nesting and hatching program

June 18, 2025January 10, 2026

A new record!

We are currently at 25 nests on our beach, all loggerhead nests.

Prior to this season, our highest nest count at this point in time was previously 23 nests, so we have set a new record having reached 25 nests so far! We’ll have to wait and see what the turtles have in store for us for the rest of the season, especially as we are leading into the typical peak of our nesting season. As previously mentioned, we don’t announce the locations of our nests and it takes about two months for a nest to incubate and hatch so we are still a little over a month from entering our hatching season.

Earlier this week, beach goers enjoyed an exciting evening and did everything just right when they encountered a nesting season turtle! Our volunteers received a call from local police with a report that a turtle had emerged from the water and was nesting. Our volunteers responded to find an officer and bystanders following all the proper turtle encounter guidelines. They were observing from a distance, not using white light or any flash photography. The volunteers explained the process the loggerhead was going through to nest. She received passive tags installed by our volunteers, finished nesting, disguised her nest area and returned to the water. Thank you to the beach goers for calling and for everyone’s cooperation allowing the loggerhead to successfully nest here on our beach!

Remember, everyone can do their part leaving our beaches clean, dark and flat!

All activities performed under MTP-038 and MTP-286

After nesting, a loggerhead returns to the water on a clear starry night; no flash used, taken with night site mode

Instead of a pot of gold, the rainbow leads to a loggerhead nest

Volunteers marking a loggerhead nest. Fun observation, apparently the loggerhead was nesting during rain. The tracks leading to her nest had rain drops (left side), but the nest and the tracks back to the water (right side) were raindrop free.

June 12, 2025January 10, 2026

Busy, busy with loggerhead nesting

We are still very much in our nesting season here on Panama City Beach. On average, it takes two months for our nests to hatch here so we won’t expect to be seeing hatchlings until late July at the earliest.

Our surveyors and volunteers have been busy, just the way we like it! Since June 1st we have had 1 false crawl (non-nesting emergence), marked 8 nests for protection, tagged 1 nesting turtle and relocated one of those eight nests out of the path of a storm drain. All of this activity was from loggerheads, the most common nester on our beach.

Of the 8 nests that have been marked in the last twelve days, we were notified by the police, the public, a Leave No Trace wildlife observer and our morning surveyors. Volunteers have been able to observe a nesting loggerhead while another volunteer installed passive tags. Volunteers also responded to a call from local police in the wee hours of the morning as they came upon a turtle nesting. And responded to reports from the public another night finding the nest after the turtle had returned to the water.

Nesting typically happens overnight, if you encounter a sea turtle on the sandy beach at night, please refrain from using flash photography, use no lights at all (causes disorientation), avoid her track and any disturbed sandy areas, observe from the back side of the turtle from a distance and contact PCB Police non-emergency at 850-233-5000. They will contact our on-call volunteers to respond and protect the turtle and the nest she lays.

Remember, everyone can do their part leaving our beaches clean, dark and flat!
All activities performed under MTP-038 and MTP-286

June 1, 2025January 10, 2026

Celebrating our program’s 1000th nest!

On May 31, 2025—during our 35th season of protecting sea turtles on Panama City Beach, Florida—we reached a truly remarkable milestone: our 1000th nest since the program began in 1991!

Fittingly, it was on May 31, 1991, that our very first nest was discovered. Now, exactly 34 years later to the day, surveyors located the 9th nest of this season—which also happens to be our 1000th overall. Even more amazing? Both the first and the 1000th nests were laid by loggerhead sea turtles, just 3/10ths of a mile apart.

This milestone is a celebration not only of the turtles but of the incredible community that has made this possible. Over 250 dedicated volunteers and surveyors have contributed their time, passion, and energy to help locate, mark, and protect each and every nest.

Sea turtles take 25–35 years to reach maturity and return to the beaches where they were born to lay their own eggs. That means the turtles nesting here today may very well be the hatchlings we protected in our early years. It’s a powerful reminder of why this work matters—and of the legacy we’re helping to build.

From all of us at the program: thank you to every volunteer, partner, and supporter who has made this journey possible. Here’s to the next 1,000 nests—and to the generations of sea turtles still to come.

May 24, 2025January 10, 2026

Pompano Joe’s Turtle Brew and T-shirts

As we head into the summer, we want to thank Pompano Joe’s Panama City Beach for their annual donation to our Panama City Beach Turtle Watch program. When you are in town this summer, stop by and give the Turtle Brew a try or pick up a 🐢 t-shirt!

Photo from Pompano Joe’s Panama City Beach Facebook
Don’t forget to get your Turtle Brew shirt or Draft beer to help save the turtles. We donate a portion of the proceeds from every draft beer and every shirt sold.

The much appreciated recent donation from the sale of Turtle Brew and T-shirts

May 21, 2025January 10, 2026

2025 Nest 1 is marked for protection!

🥁🐢Drum roll please….Nest 1 was found by morning surveyors today and has been marked by volunteers for protection! In the last week, we found three false crawls, where the turtle came onto the beach but didn’t nest, now we have our first 2025 Nest!

A loggerhead chose our beach overnight to lay her nest and our surveyors and volunteers put their FWC and local training to work to identify the crawl and mark it for protection. Per our permit guidelines, we do not post the locations of our nests. If you happen to see a marked nest on the beach, please refrain from entering the area so the egg chamber can stay well protected for the next 60-70 days. That is the average incubation time here on our beach and it is all dependent on various environmental factors. We commonly find our first nest around this time in May so we are right on track and hope to be finding many more nests over the next few months.

If you encounter a sea turtle on the sandy beach at night, please refrain from using flash photography, use no lights at all (causes disorientation), avoid her track and any disturbed sandy areas, observe from the back side of the turtle from a distance and contact PCB Police non-emergency at 850-233-5000. They will contact our on call volunteers to respond and protect the turtle and the nest she lays.

Remember, everyone can do their part leaving our beaches clean, dark and flat!