Author: pcbturtle

We knew it was only a matter of time before we started seeing this year’s hatchlings and that time has arrived!

Over the last three nights we have had some kind of hatching activity. Our surveyors and volunteers are doing their best to help protect the hatchlings and ensure they reach the water.

Hatch activity is commonly overnight, if you sea turtle hatchlings keep it dark (no flashlights or pictures) and enjoy the moment! If our volunteers are not present, call the Beach Police at 850-233-5000 and they will call us to respond.

Since we don’t know when a nest will hatch and we keep it dark during a hatch, we use our excavations to help share information. 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 found 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!

These excavations will be announced via Facebook Events hosted by Panama City Beach Turtle Watch.

We are at the point in our season where we continue to survey and locate new nests AND we are out checking for any hatching activity.

Average incubation on our beaches is about 2 months so the early season nests should be hatching soon and we are ready! When the hatchlings emerge they will head toward the brightest horizon. Hopefully that will lead them to the water but on our beaches we typically have a lot of disorientation. You can help by keeping the beaches clean, dark and flat. Avoid using lights around the sea turtle nests or any sea turtles seen on the beach. Turn off exterior lights, close your blinds on beachfront properties and remove everything from the beach when you leave for the night.

If you encounter any hatchlings (or nesting turtles) on the beach, please give them space while you stand between them and the dune and refrain from using lights or taking photos. Call the Beach Police at 850-233-5000 and they will inform our permitted Turtle Watch volunteers who will respond to the area to ensure the turtle(s) are protected and make it to the water.

We will announce when a nest has hatched and an excavation has been scheduled. At the excavation we will assess the contents of the nest, collect data, retrieve any hatchlings that did not successfully emerge from the chamber and inform anyone attending about our program and our sea turtle species.

Note: the permit we operate under does not allow us to list nest locations or provide ‘expected’ hatch dates. As with any nature, incubation and emergence are not an exact science and it will happen when the turtles are ready.

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It’s simple, use the Amazon Smile app or shop through smile.amazon.com and establish our organization as the beneficiary of donations based on your purchases.

Then each time you shop from your browser go to smile.amazon.com or use the Amazon Smile app, you’ll help support our organization which is focused on protecting sea turtles along Panama City Beach!

Follow the link below to select our organization for all of your future Amazon Smile purchases, we appreciate it!

We have officially surpassed our 2021 PCB total nest count! We are now at 33 nests so far in our 2022 season versus 27 last year. In July we expect to continue to locate and mark off new nests. We also expect our early season nests to begin hatching late July.

Please do your part to help. Leave the beach clean, dark and flat (Leave No Trace ordinance https://www.visitpanamacitybeach.com/things-to-do/beaches/leave-only-footprints/ ).

If you see a sea turtle on Panama City Beach, please immediately call the Beach Police at 850-233-5000. They will forward your report to Turtle Watch volunteers who will respond to the area to ensure the turtle(s) are protected. Don’t shine lights on the turtle or take flash photos, and stay at least 30 feet away and not in her line of sight.

Did you know there are several shorebird nesting sites along Panama City Beach? Our surveyors keep in touch with FWC and Audubon Florida as they work to protect the threatened shorebird species that nest along our beaches. This year there are nesting Least Terns and Black Skimmers with some of those nests are already hatching so there are chicks in the area!! If you come across one of these marked areas on the beach, please be mindful of the marked off area and any chicks that may have wandered out. Please also refrain from shooting off fireworks near the protected shorebird areas. Have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Loggerhead nesting continues on PCB, having reached 22 nests so far!
We have had one Green false crawl (she returned to the water without nesting) so we are still awaiting our first green nest (fingers crossed we get a couple this year).

Considering our first 2022 nests were laid late May, we’re patiently waiting for late July when our hatchling season should begin.

We appreciate your help to keep our beaches clean, dark and flat. If you see a nesting turtle on Panama City Beach, please immediately call the Beach Police at 850-233-5000. They will forward your report to Turtle Watch volunteers who will respond to mark the nest. Don’t shine lights on the turtle or take flash photos, and stay at least 30 feet away and not in her line of sight.

Our surveyors and nesting volunteers have been busy! We have marked 12 nests for protection and recorded 12 false crawls. Our surveyors check the beach each morning looking for turtle crawls. When a nest is found, data is collected and our volunteers mark it off for protection. Average incubation on our beaches is 2 months at which time we monitor for hatching activity. Reminder, if you see a sea turtle on the beach at night keep your distance, do not use any light, and contact local police so our volunteers can respond.

Pictured: Our 2022 Nesting Volunteers

We are off to a great start having found seven loggerhead nests so far. We expect more in the weeks to come as we enter our peak nesting period.

If you see a nesting turtle on Panama City Beach, please immediately call the Beach Police at 850-233-5000. They will forward your report to Turtle Watch volunteers who will respond to mark the nest. Don’t shine lights on the turtle or take flash photos, and stay at least 30 feet away and not in her line of sight.

Hooray, our first nest was found this morning by surveyor Tina Buddi! It was made by a loggerhead, the most common turtle nesting on our beaches. In accordance with FWC guidelines, we will not report specific nest locations to protect them from harm. Later this season (July – October) several days following any hatched nests, we hope to invite the public to nest excavations performed to determine hatching success. Nest excavation locations will be posted on our Facebook page as they are scheduled. We hope you can join us!

Training was conducted yesterday at Seltzer County Park for volunteers who practiced identifying and marking simulated nests. We expect our first loggerhead nest any day!