Sea turtle season is off to a great start in Texas. On Tuesday, volunteers with Sea Turtle, Inc.—a South Padre-based organization dedicated to rescuing, rehabilitating, and releasing sea turtles—followed tracks that led them to a Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nest on South Padre Island’s Cameron County Beach near the mile marker 10.
The nest, which is the first discovered in the 2023 season in Texas, was found by longtime volunteer Paul Sorenson while he was on ATV patrol. It contained 86 eggs. “Mommas are back!” Sea Turtle Inc. wrote on Facebook. “We cannot wait for what the rest of the season will bring!”
Last year, Sea Turtle, Inc. had the largest nesting season in recorded history with more than 100 nests and 10,00 hatchling protected. “This marks the beginning of a very long but exciting season for Sea Turtle, Inc.,” said Wendy Knight, chief executive officer of Sea Turtle, Inc. in an emailed statement. “Our staff, interns and volunteers have been preparing for months and we are excited to see it pay off with the first nest of the season.”
The Kemp’s ridley sea turtle is the most critically endangered sea turtle in the world, and also the smallest of all sea turtle species. Once abundant in the Gulf of Mexico, their populations began to dwindle between the late 1940s and the mid-1980s but are slowly rebounding. Juveniles have also been found in the Atlantic Ocean and in the eastern North Atlantic, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Volunteers took the newly discovered eggs to protect them from potential predators, explained Sea Turtle, Inc. They will be transported to the nonprofit’s protected corral on the beach where the eggs will incubate and hatch in about 40-55 days. It’s a bit earlier in the season than when sea turtles began nesting in late April last year, the nonprofit said.
Last year, Kemp’s ridley sea turtle nests were found on a new beach along the Galveston shoreline and Magnolia Beach for the first time ever.
Nestling and hatching season for sea turtles officially kicked off on April 1 and continues through late August, with more sea turtles making their way inshore to forage and nest during the summer. This also means there will be a significant increase in sea turtle sightings and strandings, according to the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research. If you come across a sea turtle on the beach or tracks, the organization asks that you call the 866-TURTLE 5 hotline.
Sea Turtle, Inc. is gearing up to open the world’s largest, fully enclosed dedicated sea turtle hospital by 2024. Construction on the 15,000-square-feet rehabilitation space dedicated to saving and conserving sea turtles is currently underway.
I am broadly interested in how human activities influence the ability of wildlife to persist in the modified environments that we create.
Specifically, my research investigates how the configuration and composition of landscapes influence the movement and population dynamics of forest birds. Both natural and human-derived fragmenting of habitat can influence where birds settle, how they access the resources they need to survive and reproduce, and these factors in turn affect population demographics. Most recently, I have been studying the ability of individuals to move through and utilize forested areas which have been modified through timber harvest as they seek out resources for the breeding and postfledging phases. As well I am working in collaboration with Parks Canada scientists to examine in the influence of high density moose populations on forest bird communities in Gros Morne National Park. Many of my projects are conducted in collaboration or consultation with representatives of industry and government agencies, seeking to improve the management and sustainability of natural resource extraction.
