April marks the beginning of sea turtle nesting season along the Texas Coast, a stretch that runs through mid-July. For those of us who spend our days on the beach - and for the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research - it’s both an exciting and nerve-wracking time.
Kemp’s ridleys, the most endangered sea turtle in the world, choose our coastline to lay their eggs. It’s a privilege we don’t take lightly. Their survival depends on successful nests, and every nest matters.
Each year, the Gulf Center for Sea Turtle Research trains hundreds of volunteers to patrol an 87-mile stretch of beaches twice a day, six days a week. These teams cover Bolivar Peninsula, Galveston Island, Follett’s Island, Surfside, and parts of the coast all the way down toward the Matagorda Peninsula, watching for tracks or any sign that a turtle has come ashore.
And yet, despite thousands of volunteer hours, it’s often an ordinary beachgoer - someone out for a walk or setting up for a day in the sun - who ends up encountering a nesting turtle first. It can happen anywhere, at any time of day. A turtle might crawl right past your beach blanket on her way to the dunes or dig a nest behind your parked car.
Would you know what to do if you saw one? The actions taken by a surprised beachcomber can mean the difference between a successful nest and a failed one.
A little preparation goes a long way. Seeing a sea turtle is thrilling, but that excitement can easily distract from what needs to happen quickly and calmly.
Nesting females must haul themselves out of the water, find a safe spot, dig a deep chamber, lay a hundred or more eggs, cover them, and return to the Gulf - all in less than an hour. It’s a vulnerable time for them, and our behavior can either protect them or put them at risk.
Before heading to the beach, it helps to be prepared. I always make sure my phone is fully charged and that the emergency sea turtle responder number – 866-TURTLE-5 - is saved in my contacts. That line is monitored around the clock, every day of the year.
I also keep a GPS app handy, whether it’s Google Maps or another mapping tool. Dropping a pin at your exact location can help responders reach you quickly if you ever come across a nesting turtle.
Once you’re on your way to the beach, pay attention to exactly where you are. Galveston has 37 beach access points, and if you’re in a subdivision, it helps to note the name of it.
On Bolivar and Crystal Beach, the blue trash-barrel numbers are the most precise way to identify your location. Surfside uses beach access points along Bluewater Highway and marks its beaches with letters of the alphabet.
Wherever you go, make a mental note of where you parked and the path you took to the water - that information becomes crucial if you need to guide responders to a nesting turtle.
Once you’re on the beach, slow down. Nesting turtles can be surprisingly hard to see from a vehicle, especially in low light or when they blend into the sand.
If you spot something ahead of you, stop immediately. Do not drive closer. Walk only far enough to confirm whether it’s a sea turtle.
It’s completely normal to feel excited - these encounters are rare and unforgettable - but this is the moment to steady yourself and put the turtle’s needs first.
From at least 50 feet away, call 866 TURTLE 5. Keeping your distance helps prevent her from being startled back into the water before she lays her eggs.
She may not have eaten for days while searching for a nesting site, and she won’t eat again until she returns to the Gulf. She needs this chance to finish. The dispatcher will guide you step by step.
They’ll ask for your exact location, so use your GPS app if you can. If not, describe the nearest beach access point or any clear landmarks.
You may also be asked to text a photo of the turtle. If someone is with you, one person can stay on the phone while the other sends the photo to the number provided by the dispatcher.
Use your phone’s zoom - never walk up to the turtle - and absolutely no selfies. The photo helps responders identify the species and assess the situation quickly.
If people begin to gather, you may be asked to help keep everyone quiet and at least 50 feet away. Most beachgoers are happy to cooperate once they understand what’s happening.
If the turtle is in a driving lane or another dangerous spot, you can stand at a distance and gently redirect vehicles, dogs, and curious onlookers. She needs space, calm, and time.
For your efforts, you’ll have an experience few people ever get - one you’ll remember for the rest of your life. And your actions will directly help protect the most endangered sea turtle on the planet. That alone is worth the few simple steps it takes to do the right thing.
Once the turtle has returned to the Gulf, responders will carefully remove the eggs from the nest. They’re packed in a cooler and transported to Padre Island National Seashore in Corpus Christi, where they’re incubated under controlled conditions.
There, hatch rates can reach more than 90 percent - a dramatic improvement over the extremely low survival rate of nests left unprotected on our busy, tide-swept beaches.
This work is one of the reasons the Kemp’s ridley has been brought back from the brink. And for a lucky few beachgoers, witnessing even a small part of that effort becomes an unforgettable day on the Texas coast.