JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — Sea turtle nesting season is here, and Georgia’s first nest has already been reported.
Glynn County locals woke up to find a nest just south of Glory Beach on Jekyll Island, according to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.
“It’s like clockwork, we always get our first nest during the first week of May,” Georgia Sea Turtle Program Coordinator Mark Dodd said. Nests are already popping up in Florida.
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Thursday’s nest was laid by a Loggerhead sea turtle, a species protected under the Endangered Species Act.
According to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, loggerhead nesting peaked at 4,071 nests in 2022, which was the most since comprehensive surveying began in 1989. The total dipped to 3,431 nests in 2023 and reached just over 2,490 last year.
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While that was lower than the yearly recovery goal of 2,800 nests a year, the department said on average, the population has increased about 4 percent annually since the early 1990s.
“This is predicted to be a big year for nesting. That being said, our modeling suggests the loggerhead population will stabilize at current levels for about the next 15 to 20 years. So we don’t expect this season to be way beyond (previous high counts). But relative to the three-year cycle, it should be up,” said Dodd.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center allows the public to ride along with the sea turtle patrol in the mornings as they search for nests. To learn more about how you can participate, click here.
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