Photos: Turtle nesting update, Marco Island, 2022

Three days after a nest hatches, it is dug up so the number of eggs and hatchlings can be recorded. Any hatchlings that got left in the nest are rescued. These two hatchlings were rescued from a nest on Marco Island this season. They are released after dark when they have a better chance of avoiding predators.

Those that monitor sea turtles in Southwest Florida mark the nests with wooden posts and yellow tape. Here on Marco Island and on Bonita Beach there are no predators so they don’t need to put protective cages around the nest, but in other areas such as Keewaydin and Sanibel and Captiva, they need to put the protection around the nests to keep predators away.

On Marco Island the county has hired workers to monitor sea turtles. They scour the beach from their ATV’s and mark any nests they find.