If you have walked our beaches this summer, you have probably seen tracks in the sand that look almost like tire marks. Those are not vehicles. They are the trail a nesting sea turtle leaves dragging her body up the beach and back to the ocean. It has been an active season for Loggerhead Marinelife Center (LMC), the Juno Beach nonprofit that has monitored and protected sea turtles along our coastline since 1983. LMC is an active player not only in the science of sea turtles, but in the education and outreach that raise awareness of these remarkable animals and the role they play in our ecosystem.
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Nesting Season So Far (2026)
LMC has recorded 15,308 total nests this season:
- Loggerhead: 12,812 nests. Named for their oversized head and powerful jaw, built for crushing crabs and shellfish. Reddish-brown, heart-shaped shell. By far the most common nester on our beaches.
- Green sea turtle: 2,185 nests. A smaller, rounder head than the loggerhead, since they graze on seagrass rather than crush shellfish. Smooth, olive-toned shell.
- Leatherback: 310 nests. The giants of the group, sometimes over 6 feet long. No hard shell; instead, a rubbery, ridged black carapace, often with pale spots. The deepest divers of any sea turtle.
- Rare species: 1 nest. An unusual visitor this season, a reminder that not every nest on our beach belongs to the “big three.”
That number is already close to matching some entire past seasons, with more than two months of nesting left before the season closes on October 31. For context, LMC’s season totals have ranged widely:
- 2021: 15,018 nests
- 2022: over 18,000 nests
- 2023: an all-time record of 25,025 nests
- 2024: 14,951 nests
- 2025: 20,871 nests
LMC’s researchers note that nesting is naturally cyclical, so any single season’s pace is worth watching rather than reading too far into.
A Remarkable Journey
Some leatherback sea turtles migrate about 12,000 miles round-trip between the cold Atlantic waters off Canada and the warm Caribbean. Loggerheads make their own version of this journey too. Some swim thousands of miles between nesting beaches and feeding grounds before returning to the very stretch of sand where they hatched, 20 to 30 years earlier.
Current Rescue Patients
LMC is currently caring for 15 sea turtles in rehabilitation: 14 green sea turtles and 1 loggerhead.
Turtles Being Tracked
Through satellite tagging, LMC is following 26 turtles’ journeys after release: 11 loggerheads, 9 leatherbacks, 5 greens and 1 Kemp’s ridley.
Community Impact
LMC’s conservation efforts have also removed 1,784 pounds of trash from local beaches and waterways so far this year (January through June).
If you would like to see this work firsthand, LMC’s Turtle Walks and Hatchling Release programs run through September, and you can follow individual tracked turtles on the LMC website.
I walk my dog at sunrise most days and have some videos of turtles on our beaches. If you would like to see one, just email me and I will send it over.
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