The Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation released an updated nesting report today.

Officials reported that nesting is ramping up on the West End as SCCF continues to see great nesting on that stretch of beach. The East End and Captiva are still a little bit slower. In addition, the first green sea turtle nest of the season was recorded last weekend near Blind Pass.

There have been 13 strandings in the past week and a half. They are likely the result of the red tide event that has persisted offshore for several months. Of the 13, seven were adult males, three were adult females, two were juvenile loggerheads and one was a juvenile green.

The comparison of nest counts to date (as compared to 2017) are as follows:

Loggerhead nests

– East End: 32 (63 in 2017)

– West End: 169 (181 in 2017)

– Captiva: 60 (97 in 2017)

– Total: 261 (341 in 2017)

Green nests

– East End: 0 (1 in 2017)

– West End: 1 (5 in 2017)

– Captiva: 0 (0 in 2017)

– Total: 1 (6 in 2017)

Kemp’s ridley nests

– East End: 0 (0 in 2017)

– West End: 1 (0 in 2017)

– Captiva: 0 (0 in 2017)

– Total: 1 (0 in 2017)

The counts for false crawls are as follows:

Loggerhead

– East End: 78 (140 in 2017)

– West End: 274 (278 in 2017)

– Captiva: 66 (86 in 2017)

– Total: 418 (504 in 2017)

Green

– East End: 0 (0 in 2017)

– West End: 0 (5 in 2017)

– Captiva: 0 (0 in 2017)

– Total: 0 (5 in 2017)

Tips to help keep keep the beaches sea turtle friendly:

– Turn off or shield all lights that are visible from the beach. Do not use flashlights or cell phone lights on the beach. If necessary, use amber or red LED bulbs.

– Do not disturb the screens covering nests. They prevent predators from eating the eggs and the hatchlings emerge through the holes without assistance.

– Remove all beach furniture and equipment from the beach at night.

– Dispose of fishing line properly to avoid wildlife entanglement.

– Fill in large holes that can trap hatchlings and nesting sea turtles.

– Do not disturb nesting turtles – please do not to get too close, shine lights on or take flash photos of nesting sea turtles.

– Pick up litter.