Loggerhead Sea Turtles
Returning Home
From May to October each year, Fripp Island experiences a wonder of nature. It is during this time that the loggerhead sea turtles return to nest. Each year dozens of adult females come ashore, on various stretches of beach, to lay a clutch of 100 or more eggs. Many of these females were born on the island only to return some 20 to 30 years later to nest.
Each female will nest and lay eggs 3-5 times each season, digging an egg chamber near dunes away from rising tides. After laying her eggs, the turtle will return to the ocean before returning 12 to 14 days later to build another nesting spot. After the final nesting, turtles return to the ocean and will repeat the cycle every 2-4 years.
Hatchlings
A sea turtle egg will incubate in about 60 days. This varies a bit with temperature, with warmer conditions leading to faster development of the embryos. Interestingly, cooler sand has a tendency to produce more males, while warmer sand produces more females. Once an embryos has fully developed, the hatchlings break out of their shell using “a temporary, sharp egg-tooth, called a ‘caruncle.’ The caruncle is an extension of the upper jaw that falls off soon after birth.” (conserveturtles.org) Now out of their shells, the little hatchlings somehow know to emerge from the sand. Usually emerging at night when the temperature is milder, they dig their way up through about 18” of sand. As a group, the newborns paddle their way to the top before beginning their journey across the sand. This process of emerging can take several days.
Heading to Sea
The journey to the sea is no small task for these little creatures. They must move quickly so as not to get dehydrated or become prey to birds or crabs. As mentioned earlier, many sea turtles return to the beach where they were born. Some scientists believe this is due to a turtle’s ability to read the earth’s magnetic field, while others believe the hatchlings takes an imprint of their birth beach, smell, sound, even celestial cues, while making the trek from nest to water. All pretty amazing, nonetheless.
What to Know
Here on Fripp Island, we are blessed to be a key location for loggerhead nesting along the east coast of the US. With that, it is our responsibility to be good stewards of their habitat and respect their space. To that effort we have the Fripp Island Loggerhead Patrol, made up of volunteers, which monitors and marks nests along the beaches each day throughout the season.
See their photo albums and logs:
Thank you, Fripp Island Loggerhead Patrol! We really appreciate all of your hard work.
If you are fortunate and see an adult female nesting, or traveling to or from the ocean, it is very important to maintain a 20’ distance and be sure to stay clear of her path. Also, do not use flashlights while walking on the beach. If you encounter the hatchlings rising from the sand, or making their way to the water, do not get near and, again, do not use any lighting. Hatchlings rely on the moon over the water to guide their way and can get easily turned around if another light source is nearby.
If you see a hatchling moving away from the ocean, DO NOT pick it up, as it is against federal law to touch a sea turtle without the proper permit. If you see a hatchling and are worried about the direction in which it is moving, please call Fripp Island Security or the Activity Center at (843)-838-1516. (Source: Fripp Island Resort)
The wonders of Fripp island are abundant and the seasonal nesting of loggerhead sea turtles is no exception. Enjoy from a distance and share in the amazing process that has been going on for more than 100 million years!
🐢 The Alabama Gulf Coast sea turtle nesting season runs from May through October, and for every one of those mornings, trained volunteers are walking the beach before sunrise looking for evidence of the previous night`s nesting activity.
It is quiet, unglamorous, early-morning work that produces no immediate visible result — just a GPS coordinate, a nest marker, and a notation in a log that will matter enormously sixty days later when those eggs are ready to hatch.
The turtles themselves are already gone, back in the Gulf before the first beachgoer arrives, leaving nothing behind but the tracks and the nest and the quiet fact of their presence.
Loggerhead sea turtle nesting on Alabama`s beaches has been monitored and protected by volunteer organizations for decades, and the data those volunteers have collected represents one of the most valuable long-term wildlife datasets on the Gulf Coast. Every nest found and protected is a potential hundred hatchlings that make it to the water.
Every unmarked nest on an unmonitored beach is a nest that may be destroyed by a beach chair, a tire track, or a disorienting light before a single egg hatches. The margin between a successful nesting season and a failed one comes down, in large part, to whether enough people care enough to walk the beach in the dark before breakfast.
Did you know that sea turtle nest monitoring was happening on the Alabama Gulf Coast beaches every single morning of the summer? Drop a comment — and tag someone who would sign up for that dawn patrol in a heartbeat. 🐢
#AlabamaGulfLife #SeaTurtlePatrol #LoggerheadTurtle #GulfShoresWildlife #CoastalConservation
ஃபைப்ரோபாப்பிலோமட்டோசிஸ் நோயால் பாதிக்கப்பட்ட லாகர்ஹெட் கடல் ஆமைகள் மீட்கப்பட்டு சிகிச்சை பெறுகின்றன. குணமடைந்த பிறகு பல ஆமைகள் மீண்டும் கடலுக்குத் திரும்பி இயல்பான வாழ்க்கையைத் தொடர்கின்றன.
#loggerheadturtle #seaturtle #marinelife #oceanlife #sealife #turtlehospital #wildliferescue #animalrehabilitation #marineconservation #oceanconservation #turtlefacts #wildlifefacts #naturefacts #animalfacts #marinebiology #oceananimals #underwaterworld #biodiversity #ecosystem #sciencefacts #didyouknow #factoftheday #earthfacts #naturelovers #wildlife #oceanphotography #educationalcontent #saveourturtles #conservation #verityfacts
It`s turtle time, cowabunga dude 🐢🤙 #manasotabeach #manasotakey #loggerhead #loggerheadturtle #sarasotacounty
This graphic shows you how a Loggerhead turtle`s diet changes through their life stages. If you would like to learn more about the Loggerhead Turtle and witness a rare event, our Sea Turtle Walks are going now through July. Our tickets sell out quickly, be sure to get yours today. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2026-sea-turtle-program-and-walk-tickets-1987661056727?aff=oddtdtcreator #seaturtlewalks #loggerheadturtle #miwarefuge #merrittislandnationalwildiferefuge #thingstodointitusville #titusville #homeschoollife #homeschool #marinebiology #turtles #seaturtle #conservation #education
June 9, 2026 — Off Hutchinson Island South, FL
The water is flat glass.
I can see my shadow on the sand below.
Some days the ocean forgets to move.
#JetTheSeaTurtle #LoggerheadTurtle #HutchinsonIsland #UnderwaterWorld #OceanFromBelow
Loggerhead Turtle #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #turtles #loggerheadturtle #reptile
New on CreteTip: A New Beginning for Crete’s Seas: Loggerhead Nesting Season Starts as Rescued Turtle Returns Home: Newsflash from Tuesday, 9 June 2026: Crete is welcoming one of nature’s most remarkable annual events: the nesting season of the protected loggerhead sea turtle (Caretta caretta) has officially begun. […] http://dlvr.it/TSxtCQ www.cretetip.com #LoggerheadTurtle #Crete #MarineConservation
Meet `Lotus`🍪 🐢
This loggerhead sea turtle was found in Alexandroupoli with a deliberate head injury and was urgently transferred to ARCHELON’s Rescue Centre for specialized care.
We are once again deeply grateful to aegeanairlines for their swift response and invaluable support in transporting Lotus from Thessaloniki to Athens, ensuring she received the treatment she urgently needed.💙
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Γνωρίστε τη «Λότους» 🍪🐢
Αυτή η θαλάσσια χελώνα Καρέττα βρέθηκε στην Αλεξανδρούπολη με σκόπιμο τραύμα στο κεφάλι και μεταφέρθηκε στο Κέντρο Διάσωσης του ΑΡΧΕΛΩΝ για περίθαλψη.
Για ακόμη μία φορά, εκφράζουμε τη βαθιά μας ευγνωμοσύνη προς την Aegean Airlines για την άμεση ανταπόκρισή της και την πολύτιμη υποστήριξή της στη μεταφορά της `Λότους` από τη Θεσσαλονίκη στην Αθήνα, εξασφαλίζοντας την έγκαιρη φροντίδα του ζώου. 💙
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#SeaTurtleRescue #LoggerheadTurtle #MarineConservation #ARCHELON #WildlifeRescue #AegeanAirlines #ProtectOurOceans
The turtles are back. 🐢
Every year, loggerhead sea turtles cross entire
oceans to nest on the beaches of Boa Vista —
and every year, our spots fill up before August.
Small groups. Maximum 6 guests.
Guided by Olavo, who has been doing this since 2009.
This is not a show. It’s a privilege.
📍 Boa Vista, Cape Verde
🗓️ Season open: June – October
🔗 Book directly → olavotours.cv
#BoaVista #CapeVerde #TurtleWatching #OlavoTours
#LoggerheadTurtle CaboVerde TurtleSeason2026
On this World Ocean Day, I`m sharing a photograph I took of female loggerhead making the slow, determined journey back to the sea after laying her eggs in the sand dunes. She`s guided by instincts older than memory.
As a photographer, I document these moments every nesting season in Isle of Palms, SC. As a conservationist, I work year-round to protect them. And as a storyteller, I never stop being inspired by the resilience of every turtle who calls this beach home, like I do.
Every sea turtle nest laid is a reminder to me of the wonder and majesty of our oceans, and protecting them is a responsibility we all share.
On this World Ocean Day, let`s all commit ourselves to protecting the oceans, the coastlines, and all creatures who call them home.
#WorldOceanDay #LoggerheadTurtle #SeaTurtleConservation #ProtectOurOceans #IsleofPalms #Barbbergwerf #SouthCarolinaAuthor #FatalExposure
The Fripp Island Resort offers a Turtle Walk nature program to visit the nests and learn about these magnificent creatures. May through September.
☏ 843-838-1516
