It’s that time of year again, when our Siesta Key Sea Turtles come to lay their eggs right in our backyard! Nesting season runs from March 1 through Oct. 31, but most nesting activity occurs between May and October. Plan accordingly, and you’ll likely see nests. If you’re lucky – and a night owl – you might see female turtles laying eggs or baby turtles scuttling to the water after the eggs hatch.
Most nesting and hatching activity occurs late at night or in the very early morning hours. In 2025, observers first spotted nests on April 26, so the season has begun. You can easily see the nests because volunteers mark them with wooden stakes and pink flagging tape. It’s okay to look and take photos, but don’t touch or disturb them. And if you decide to venture out late at night to see if you can spot moms or hatchlings, please leave ALL artificial light sources powered off. That includes phones and flashlights.
Read on for more information on why that caveat is so important to the survival of the Siesta Key sea turtles and how YOU can help protect these beautiful creatures.
About Our Siesta Key Sea Turtles
Sea Turtles have been around for millions of years. Their hydrodynamic shells and large, powerful flippers perfectly adapt their bodies for life in the deep sea. This allows them to dive to great depths for feeding or shelter.
Despite spending most of their long lives in deep water, turtles are air-breathing reptiles. This means they must surface several times per hour to breathe, except when resting or sleeping.
Florida is home to five types of sea turtles: green turtle, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, and Kemp’s ridley. The most common turtle found on our local beaches is the loggerhead. Less common are the Green Sea Turtles, and even rarer is the Kemp’s Ridley.
Protecting Our Siesta Key Sea Turtles
Like many marine creatures, sea turtles face significant environmental and pollution challenges, which numerous organizations are working to address.
Nesting turtles on Siesta Key face additional obstacles, namely: Artificial lighting, beach obstructions, and human interference. Residents and condo associations are keenly aware of these issues and actively work to prevent them and to educate our visitors and guests on proper “sea turtle etiquette.”
Artificial Lighting
Bright, white lights can disorient both moms and new hatchlings. Mom might abandon the nest altogether or lay eggs in locations that are not conducive to the survival of the eggs or offspring.
The lights at the Sea Shell are all turtle-friendly amber LED lights. These lights do not cast the type of wavelength that lights with a white or blue light spectrum do, so not distract the adult turtles and their offspring from the natural light of the moon and stars that guide them in their deeply instinctual nesting process. They are in place year-round, so we do not have to change bulbs for turtle season.
Even small electronic devices can distract baby turtles from reaching the ocean, so if you decide to go to the water at night to see adults or hatchlings, please leave all electronic devices fully powered down. Your eyes will adjust to the darkness.
Beach Obstructions
The Sea Shell has a crew that brings our chairs up and stacks them neatly as far up our property as possible. We also ask that guests fill in any holes they may have dug during their day at the beach, and – as hard as it might be to do – knock down any sand structures. These things can interfere with the moms finding a nesting spot and the hatchlings finding their way to the water.
And it goes without saying: Take your trash with you. There are trash cans at the top of every property and at the public beach. Trash, especially plastics, food waste, and fishing lines or other types of strings can be highly detrimental to the nesting process.
Human Interference
Siesta Key and Sarasota County have strict rules against disturbing sea turtle nests. Violators can face hefty fines and possible criminal penalties. Sea turtle nests on the Key are subject to daily monitoring by volunteers with the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium‘s Sea Turtle Conservation & Research Program (STCRP).
These volunteers patrol 35 miles of beach between Longboat Key and Venice – including Siesta Key. They look for signs of nesting, such as drag marks through the sand, then search for a mark and tag the nests. Because Turtle Beach generally has higher turtle nesting activity, it might be worth the quick ride on the free trolley to explore that area.
Hurricanes and Sea Turtle Nests
Now, more than ever, it’s crucial to be conscientious about our local sea turtles. The triple whammy of Debby, Helene, and Milton destroyed many existing nests in 2024.
Working together, we can all help to keep this millennial-long tradition alive and well, hopefully for many millennia more!