Turtle nesting season 2026

Written by: Lauren Billodeaux Mowbray, Supervisory Wildlife Biologist, Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge

Crawl just north of the Dune Trail at Back Bay NWR

Yesterday, July 9, 2026, morning around 6:30 we detected a crawl just north of the Dune Trail at Back Bay NWR.  Upon the team’s arrival we noted that it was a green sea turtle crawl.  The turtle crawled all the way up to the dunes, so we were hopeful of a nest.  In the first spot where she hit the dunes, she seemed to turn around pretty quickly in grass and on a steep slope.  Then she looped down and went back up on the dunes in a second location, and we hoped that was going to be a nest.  It was a larger dig area, and it looked like she started to dig a body pit but after lots of digging we found no nest cavity.  We also noted that there was no thrown sand and coyote tracts all over the area as well as coyote marking.  Our hypothesis is that she was digging a body pit and was interrupted by coyotes and headed straight back to the water.  

We did leave a post at the site in case we get indications later in the year of a hatching. Unfortunately, today we got no signs of another crawl so she may have gone south the attempt a nest.  

Nest #3 for VA Beach located on False Cape State Park

Once the turtles got started, they continued.  Last Thursday, July 2, 2026, we had nest #3 for VA Beach and it was located on False Cape State Park.  I was actually on the patrol that morning and found a smaller loggerhead crawl 0.8 miles south of the Wash Woods beach ramp on False Cape SP.  This momma did a nice long crawl over a wide beach and up into the dunes.  She managed to tuck her nest right in the grass so once the eggs were located we were able to put in a sensor and cage in place.  

With the nest being up in the dunes, I’m expecting an earlier hatch and maybe we will see hatchlings around the 55-day mark.   We have no concerns with lighting or public at this site so we will not be nest sitting this nest.