Broward County has 26 miles of coastline, 24 miles of which are monitored for turtle nesting activity by the Broward County Sea Turtle Conservation Program. Broward County is considered a “medium-density” nesting area by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and hosts an average of 2,000 nests annually.

Sea turtles are marine reptiles that have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, over 110 million years ago. There are seven species of sea turtles worldwide and five species found in Florida. These sea turtles are protected by federal law. Broward County protects sea turtles by supporting efforts to conserve their nesting and in-water habitats.

Sea turtle nesting season in Broward County lasts from March 1 – October 31 each year. The leatherbacks are typically the first nesters to arrive in March, followed by the loggerheads in April, and then the green turtles in June. If undisturbed, the female turtle will emerge from the ocean, crawl up the beach, and dig an egg chamber in the sand using her rear flippers. She will then deposit the eggs, carefully cover the eggs with sand using her rear flippers and camouflage the nest using her powerful front flippers before crawling back to the water. The female will never return to the nest site to assist her hatchlings or care for them. 

However, sea turtles can be quite unpredictable in their nesting, and sometimes our surveyors document nests earlier or later than expected. The peak of nesting season usually falls at the end of June or the beginning of July. Sea turtle nests take approximately two months to incubate. After incubation, the hatchlings emerge from the nest and quickly travel to the ocean.

If you see a nest, please leave it undisturbed!