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'The best it's been': 12 sea turtle nests spotted in Destin and Okaloosa Island this year

The Destin Log

Jessica Valek, Coastal Resource Coordinator of the Destin-Fort Walton Beach team, digs up the remaining eggs from a recent loggerhead turtle nest. George Gray said there were 133 eggs in the nest and about 52 percent made it. The ones displayed here didn't hatch and the ones to the far left were half hatched. Why didn't all the eggs hatch? "It just happens sometimes," said George Gray, who's been on turtle watch for 29 years.

Some have already hatched, and others are just weeks away.

In the past few days, a loggerhead turtle nest near Destiny by the Sea at the east end of Destin hatched, according to George Gray of Emerald Coast Turtle Watch.

There were 133 eggs in the nest and about 52% hatched, Gray said.

From 2021:It's sea turtle nesting time along the Emerald Coast! Watch for the signs

More:Claudette washes over turtle nests along Emerald Coast, but still intact

Gray, who has been the turtle watch guy for the area, has been doing it for 29 years. His area is from the east jetty in Destin to the Walton County line. He also checks for nests on Okaloosa Island.

Gray said either he or his daughter Sara go out every morning, from May 1 until Oct. 31 to check for tracks and nests.

This year they have identified 12 nests, nine in Destin and three on the island.

“This is the best it’s been in the four or five years,” Gray said, noting last year Destin only had three turtle nests.

Out of the nine identified in Destin, seven are west of the Aegean Condominiums on Holiday Isle.

“I’ve never had that many in that area before,” Gray said.

From 2018:Rare Kemp's Ridley nests in Destin

About four years ago, the beaches behind the Aegean and others underwent renourishment when East Pass was dredged making for a wider beach.

Is that the reason for more nests? Gray was not sure, but it does give more area for turtles to nest.

Gray said he and his daughter check every nest every time they go out. They start their travels aboard an ATV a little after 5 o’clock, starting at the east jetty and going east to the Walton County line. He also checks for turtles at Henderson Beach State Park.

Gray said they spotted a green turtle last week at Henderson.

“She nested up in the dunes … that’s really good,” he said.

How did he know it was a green turtle that nested?

“You can tell by the way they crawl … by looking at the tracks,” Gray said.

He explained that a green turtle uses both her front flippers at the same time when crawling up, while a loggerhead will use alternating flippers when she climbs up beach.

All the other turtle nests in Destin are loggerhead turtles.

Gray said it usually takes 60 to 70 days from the time they lay their eggs until they hatch.

Loggerhead sea turtle hatchlings photographed during a nest evaluation on Eglin Air Force Base, Fla.

“One out of 1,000 survive to come back and nest,” he said.

In the next couple of weeks, Gray hopes to see a couple of the other nests hatch.

In the meantime, stay away. All turtle nests are marked off with four stakes and orange flags with signage identifying what it is and what the penalties are for messing with them.