RECORD NUMBER OF SEA TURTLE NESTS LOCATED

By Ella Tyler

Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, which had a near brush with extinction, appear to be making a comeback. So far, 69 of their nests have been discovered along the Texas coast during this year’s nesting season, including five in Galveston County. This is a dramatic improvement over 2005, when 51 Kemp’s ridley nests were found here, according to Carolyn Allen, Gulf Office director of the Sea Turtle Restoration Project. She said nesting is also going well in Mexico at the major nesting site near Rancho Nuevo.

Turtles will continue to nest until some time in June. “Visitors to north Texas coastal beaches should be watching for sea turtles coming out of the water to nest,” Allen said. “People are going to see either a nester or tracks. They aren’t going to be able to find the nests if the turtle has gone – ridleys cover them too well and, since ridleys nest on windy days, the tracks are soon covered.”

Anyone spotting a nesting sea turtle should immediately call 1-866-TURTLE-5, Allen said. That number will direct the caller to the number of a local researcher who will visit the nest and check out the turtle to determine whether it is wild or “head-started” – raised in captivity for ten months in a program that was in place between 1978 and 1993.

Eggs are removed from the nest to protect them from predators, or young turtles are removed soon after they hatch. Currently, most are taken to the Padre Island National Seashore for hatching and release, but Allen hopes that at some point turtles will be released from Galveston.

It takes approximately 52 days for eggs to hatch. If a turtle lays eggs and no one observes her, beach visitors may soon see hatchlings going down the beach to the water. They should be protected but not picked up, and researchers should be contacted.

HEART (Help Endangered Animals Ridley Turtles) will be hosting a group patrol in Galveston on Saturday, June 3, beginning at 9 am. The patrol will meet at the seawall and 45th St, near where turtles have nested this year and last. The NOAA sea turtle barn is nearby. Tours are offered there on Saturdays at 11 am, 1 pm, and 2 pm.

The incubation facility at Padre Island National Seashore does not allow viewing of the turtles, but the public is invited to attend certain hatchling releases. Releases occur sporadically during the summer. Hatchlings are released after they emerge from the eggs and become active. The first release of the year, from eggs collected on April 26, is planned for some time between June 12 and June 17. For dates of releases, call the Hatchling Hotline, (361) 949-7163, or see http//www.nps.gov/pais/pphtml/eventdetail16507.html.

For updates on Texas nestings, see the Save Texas Seaturtles website.