This nesting season has started slower than 2020—a record-breaking season—but current nest numbers are steadily climbing towards that record. SCCF’s current loggerhead (Caretta caretta) sea turtle nest count for Sanibel and Captiva is 896, while last year’s was 917.

At the start of the nesting season, this year’s numbers closely resembled the 2019 nesting season. In both 2021 and 2019, only one loggerhead nest was laid in the month of April, compared to 15 last April. This May’s nesting activity counted 199 nests compared to 203 nests in May 2019. In July—when nesting really starts to pick up on the islands—283 nests were laid. That total is higher than July 2020 (186 nests) and July 2019 (218 nests). The end of sea turtle nesting season is nearing but since the start of August, 12 new nests have been documented.  

Pictured here is a loggerhead named “Flame Lily,” who was first seen and tagged on our islands earlier this nesting season. Thanks to the Senkar Family for calling our hotline at 1:30pm on Aug. 10 when they spotted her nesting in the dune. Each season, we choose a theme to guide the naming of our nesting females. This year, our theme is flowers.

If you see a nesting turtle or hatchlings, please call (978)728-3663.