I was excited to witness the Sea Turtle Patrol crew in action during yesterday morning’s beach walk. Every morning at dawn, from May through August, a trained team traverses the entire 3 mile stretch of Treasure Island.

They are looking for tell-tale disturbances in the sand that lead to a new nest. After spotting a trail, they take careful measurements and protect the nest with informational markers. All the data is then carefully logged so they can analyze nesting rates at the end of the season.

Three sea turtle species commonly nest along our coast, Loggerhead, Green, and Leatherback (though rarely a Kemp’s Ridley or a Hawksbill will also come ashore here). Because they each have a different crawl pattern, it is possible to tell them apart even without seeing the actual animal. Which is quite helpful, seeing as how most nesting* occurs in the middle of the night. According to the Turtle Patrol, this new nest was laid by a Loggerhead Sea Turtle.

What a wonderful way to start the day! The view was pretty incredible, too.

*Though not all, the summer of 2020 I was incredibly fortunate to watch a Loggerhead Turtle digging her nest one morning.