About Us
We are Flagler Turtle Patrol.
Flagler Turtle Patrol is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization supported by dedicated volunteers and committed to safeguarding and preserving Florida's nesting turtles. Our passionate volunteer team is responsible for patrolling approximately 15 miles of shoreline in Flagler county for the duration of sea turtle nesting season.
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The annual nesting season for sea turtles begins May 1st and lasts until October 31st.
During this period, volunteers run daily patrols along our local beaches in search of evidence of a 'turtle crawl.' Turtle crawls are unique track patterns that are left in the sand by a turtle that has come out of the ocean and onto the beach - the same as a dog leaving paw prints or your sandals leaving imprints when you take a stroll on the sand.
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When our volunteers find one of these turtle crawls, they assess it to determine whether a new nest has been laid or whether it is a 'false crawl.' A false crawl is the term for a turtle emergence that does not result in a nest. If evaluation determines that a nest has been laid, the volunteers enclose the nesting area within 4 wooden stakes, connected together with colored survey ribbon. The color of ribbon used to mark each nest actually tells an important story; it helps our team to know in which month the nest was laid. May nests will have PINK ribbon, June nests have BLUE, July have ORANGE, August GREEN, and PINK comes back for September.
As the final step in the nest-marking process, one of the stakes is labelled with the following crucial pieces of information: a unique identification number, and the initials of the volunteers who made the discovery. Volunteers also attach a sign from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC,) which informs beachgoers that disturbing or interfering with a turtle nest is against the law.
The team completes a nesting report and plots the exact location of the crawl on an aerial photo.
Then... we wait for the nest to hatch!
After the nest has hatched, volunteers complete a nest evaluation to collect and record data and to determine the success of the nest.
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