Sea turtle-nesting season begins in Florida

Sea turtle-nesting season begins in Florida

ORLANDO, Fla. — Florida’s sea-turtle nesting season has begun, and thousands of the creatures will return to their home beaches to lay eggs.

The young hatchlings will break out of their shells several weeks later and head for the water, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Florida beaches are one of the primary nesting grounds for loggerhead turtles, but the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that loggerhead-nest totals dropped 41 percent at the key beaches tracked for long-term trends.

Last year’s totals showed a slight rise from the 2007 record low.

Programs with organized beach walks at night to observe nesting turtles are offered by various organizations and agencies along Florida’s East Coast, where most of the nesting takes place. Programs may change from year to year and may fill up, so call ahead before you make travel plans. Here are some Web sites with contact information for sea turtle-watching: funandsun.com/1tocf/wildlife/turtles/observe.html and finetravel.com/unitedstates/southsoutheast/seaturtl.htm and www.seaturtlespacecoast.org/.