Friends of the Tampa Bay National Wildlife Refuge

We have great news! Your little Loggerhead sea turtles have hatched on Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge! They are safely out in the Gulf.

Your nest was laid on April 29, 2023 and hatched on June 22, 2023. There were 98 eggs in the nest and 91 of them hatched successfully. This is very good news. Seven eggs didn’t hatch (not unusual).

The little turtles waited in the nest ‘til all their brothers and sisters came out of their eggs and then, under the cover of darkness, they all dug their way out of the nest together. This made it easier to dig their way out of the sand and increased their chances of survival. They headed for the brightest light they saw which was the reflection of the moon and stars over the Gulf of Mexico and scurried to the water. As each wave came in they started to swim out to their new life. They swim and swim to get offshore to floating rafts of Sargassum seaweed for safety.

They are very hungry and look for mollusks, crustaceans, hydrozoans, seaweed, jellyfish, and fish eggs to eat.

It will be many years until the female hatchling reaches maturity. She will return to Egmont Key National Wildlife Refuge to lay her own eggs and start the cycle over again. The male hatchlings will remain offshore their entire lives.

We wish them farewell on their journey and thank you for adopting their nest to help keep them safe before they hatched.

We will send your sea turtle plaque that hangs in the sea turtle room of the Egmont Key Guardhouse soon with all your nest information.

Your Egmont Key Sea Turtle Survival Team