Sea Turtle Nesting Season Update 2026

Sea turtle nesting season is underway and is shaping up to be a record-breaking year. Get an inside scoop on what it’s like to experience sea turtle nesting season on Sanibel Island. 

Meet SCCF’s 2026 Sea Turtle Nesting Intern: Ashlyn!

If you see someone patrolling the shoreline early in the morning looking for tracks, wave hello to Ashlyn, SCCF’s daytime Sea Turtle Nesting Intern for the 2026 season!

Ashlyn grew up on the exact opposite side of the country in Washington State. Driven by a lifelong love for the outdoors, she headed to the University of Montana, where she earned dual degrees in Wildlife Biology and Environmental Science.

After graduating in May 2025, she packed her bags and moved to Sanibel for the thing she loves most: turtles! You might actually recognize her face; she spent last summer out on the sand placing protective cages over the nests. If you see her out on the property, feel free to stop her and hit her with all your turtle-related questions!

Why 2026 is Going to be a “Boom” Year

Sanibel’s nesting season officially kicked off on April 15th, and the data from the first two months of surveying is incredibly exciting.

First nest of the season.

Sea turtles are creatures of habit, and the mamas who nest on Sanibel and Captiva return to our shores on a 2-to-3-year cycle. Because 2026 falls perfectly on the third year of that natural curve, a BUSY season was anticipated and the turtles are not disappointing!

So far, there are a whopping 223 loggerhead sea turtle nests spread across Sanibel and Captiva. That is 58 more nests than the islands had at this exact same time last year!

The Nest Count at Sundial (And a Special Visitor Named Soul)

Right here on Sundial, we are currently hosting 4 sea turtle nests! We are just now entering peak season and are highly optimistic that number will continue to climb.

One of our four nests was laid by a gorgeous loggerhead named Soul. Soul was spotted by SCCF’s night patrol crew, who determined she was a brand-new, previously unidentified visitor to our island. The SCCF team took her measurements, clocking her shell (carapace) at an impressive 95.0 cm long and 83.9 cm wide (that’s just over 3 feet long and just under 3 feet wide)! We are keeping our fingers crossed that Soul decides to come back and visit us again before the summer ends.

In addition to our 4 confirmed nests, SCCF has logged 10 false crawls on the property. A “false crawl” happens when a mama turtle makes her way up onto the sand but changes her mind, turning back to the water without laying eggs. This is completely normal and happens for many reasons; she will usually return to try again at a later time or a little further down the beach.

A Musical Theme for the Night Patrol

Every year, the SCCF night team picks a fun theme to name the new, unidentified mama turtles they encounter. For the 2026 season, the theme is musical terms and instruments!

Mama turtle nesting near Blind Pass

Aside from our lovely jazz-and-blues-inspired mom Soul, the team has already named two other new arrivals Accordion and Banjo. We can’t wait to see what other musical names pop up as the summer progresses.

How You Can Help Us Stay on “Turtle Time”

We are officially entering peak nesting season, meaning things are about to get very busy on the beach over the next few weeks. As we wait for more turtles to find the perfect nesting spots, remember that you can help keep them safe by practicing good beach etiquette:

• Turn off lights at night near the beach so nesting moms and hatchlings don’t get disoriented.
• Flatten your sandcastles and fill in holes at the end of the day so turtles don’t get trapped.
• Take your trash and beach gear with you when you leave the sand.

Sundial is proud to be a part of this year’s Adopt-A-Beach 2026 program with SCCF. This program helps to protect our local marine life and keep Sanibel’s beaches a safe haven for these incredible creatures.

Some info and images provided by SCCF