On Thursday, July 9 we had a momma turtle come up on our beach and lay her eggs during daylight hours, about 7 p.m. It is very unusual for them to come onto the beach during the day, but this is the third one this year. The other two did not lay their eggs, they just came up onto the beach and then back in the water. This is called a “false crawl”.
Female loggerheads reach maturity at about 35 years of age. Every 2-3 years, they mate in coastal waters and then return to nest on the very same beach where they were hatched, called the “natal” beach. The nesting season begins in April and ends in September, with the peak in June. They emerge onto the beach at night every 14 days, laying an average of 4 clutches containing roughly 100 – 120 eggs in each. Sex of hatchlings is determined by incubation temperature. Warmer temperatures result in the great majority being females and cooler temperatures produce mainly or only males.