Nesting Statistics

2018	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	226	1	13
North Mile	1326	179	14

2017	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	288	67	8
North Mile	1,120	1,279	8

2016	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	359	4	15
North Mile	2,385	222	19

2015	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	181	44	20
North Mile	1,373	889	21

2014	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	215	5	8
North Mile	1,393	229	18

2013	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	226	95	12
North Mile	887	654	16

2012	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
South Mile	293	5	7
North Mile	1,361	223	15

* South Mile is from Ocean Mall’s southern border up to the Martinique stairs.
* North Mile is from the Martinique stairs up to MacArthur Beach State Park’s southern border.

2011	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	982	434	27
First Nest	April 29	May 25	April 4
Last Nest	Aug 21	Sept 1	July 12

2010	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	1,327	344	20
First Nest	May 5	June 15	April 4
Last Nest	Sept 9	Oct 2	June 12

2009	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	884	140	28
First Nest	May 14	July 1	March 22
Last Nest	Sept 9	Sept 9	July 11

2008	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	1,004	187	11
First Nest	April 27	June 17	March 26
Last Nest	Sept 2	Sept 20	July 4

2007	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	924	371	23
First Nest	April 20	June 8	March 16
Last Nest	Sept 5	Sept 14	June 25

2006	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	892	223	12
First Nest	April 21	May 24	March 21
Last Nest	Sept 8	Sept 11	July 11

2005	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	1,098	388	29
First Nest	April 7	May 23	April 11
Last Nest	Aug 28	Sept 9	June 7

2004	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	764	69	7
First Nest	April 21	June 2	April 16
Last Nest	Aug 26	Sept 2	June 29

2003	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	905	81	18
First Nest	April 28	June 12	April 8
Last Nest	Aug 28	Sept 16	July 13

2002	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	873	106	16
First Nest	April 20	May 24	March 1
Last Nest	Aug 30	Aug 25	July 5

2001	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	701	21	35
First Nest	April 26	May 18	March 28
Last Nest	Aug 27	Aug 28	July 1

2000	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	949	166	21
First Nest	April 20	May 5	April 6
Last Nest	Aug 28	Aug 23	July 8

1999	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	723	22	20
First Nest	April 26	May 20	March 17
Last Nest	Sept 1	Aug 31	June 15

1998	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	1,244	93	7
First Nest	May 2	June 4	April 19
Last Nest	Sept 10	Sept 22	May 25

1997	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	1,187	10	21
First Nest	April 25	June 2	March 11
Last Nest	Sept 9	July 16	June 9

1996	Loggerhead	Green	Leatherback
Total Nests	1,051	31	13
First Nest	May 3	June 21	April 11
Last Nest	Aug 26	Aug 30	June 26

Loggerheads

The reddish-brown loggerhead turtle is the most common sea turtle found in the southeastern United States. 90% of the estimated 14,000 female loggerheads can be encountered in Florida. These turtles, named for their disproportionately large heads, have powerful jaw muscles which enable them to feed on a variety of heavy shelled mollusks and crustaceans in addition to jellyfish. Loggerhead turtles range in size from 33-40 inches shell length and 150-400 pounds. They reach maturity between 20-30 years of age and will be able to reproduce over a period of approximately 30 years. Loggerheads nest between late April and October prior to swimming off to feeding grounds throughout the Caribbean, northeast along the U.S. coast to New Jersey, southeast through the Florida Keys, and west to the Gulf of Mexico.

Greens

Green turtles, named for the greenish color of their body fat, are medium to large reptiles. Their shells are distinguished by a mottled or radiating pattern of markings. Green turtles differ from other members of the sea turtle family because of the single pair of scales on the front of their smallish heads. Greens can be between 36-43 inches long, weighing between 200 and 300 pounds. Green turtle nesting shows a clear pattern of alternating high and low years. The years 1999 and 2000 give a good indication of this high/low pattern with 479 reported green turtle nests in 1999 and 8,404 green turtle nests reported in Florida in 2000, this according to data collected by the Florida Marine Research Institute. Greens are primarily a tropical herbivorous species most at home in areas of shallow, sandy flats abundant with seagrasses. Their low protein vegetarian diet causes green turtles to grow and sexually mature slowly. Greens will reach maturity anywhere between 15-50 years of age.

Leatherbacks

Leatherback turtles are highly specialized and the largest and deepest diving of the sea turtle family. Individual leatherbacks range in length between 4 and 8 feet, and can weigh anywhere between 700-2,000 pounds. Unlike other species of sea turtle, leatherbacks are scaleless, covered instead with a firm, rubbery skin lined with 7 longitudinal ridges. Leatherbacks may travel up to 3100 miles from their nesting beaches which are found on tropical and subtropical shores. They will visit Florida’s beaches to nest between April and August each year. In 2000, 453 nests were counted in Florida and 35% of those were in Palm Beach County.