Coming Ashore

Sea turtles swim thousands of miles from feeding areas to reach the nesting beach. A special part in their brain, like a magnetic compass, helps them to find the same beach where they were hatched or laid nests last nesting season.

Before a turtle can lay her nest, she first has to drag her heavy body up the beach slope. Now she has to use her flippers for pulling and dragging instead of for swimming and steering! She leaves a clear track, like a footprint, that researchers can use to find out to what species she belongs. Females mostly nest at night to escape the heat of the sun. Also the tide is higher at night so the turtle doesn’t have too far to crawl to a nest site up the beach slope. What makes a good nest area?

Different sea turtles like different nesting areas. For instance hawksbills like to dig their nest around beach vegetation. The roots help to protect the eggs and make sure enough air can get into the nest. Even though some turtles prefer different kinds of nesting areas, there are general characteristics the nest site must have.

The beach is the nursery for the eggs so the female needs to be able to reach to it easily. The beach must be high enough so that the high tide won’t wash out the nest. Females leave their eggs in the sand which has to be moist enough so it doesn’t cave in while the female is building the nesting chamber. The sand must also be porous. This means it must be able to let air in while the eggs are incubating.

CONTINUE: Making the Nest »