Tag: Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association

Predators increasing their attacks on sea turtle nests

BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY The good news is we have seen our first hatchlings this past week. The bad news is that they hatched and emerged from their nest, but unfortunately a coyote dug...

Right place at the right time in this turtle nesting game

Volunteers at the toll booth BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY Don’t you just love it when the timing of something works out perfectly? Being in the right place exactly at the right time gives...

High dunes, nesting loggerheads and a somersault back after hatching

Here and below, ‘cliffs’ of Boca Grande. BGSTA photos BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY A couple of weeks ago I wrote about the need to keep the beaches flat, filling in holes and...

Behind in nests, ahead in false crawls, first green turtle activity

BY ARLENE HALL,BGSTA SECRETARY Month one of sea turtle nesting season is in the books – and more importantly, on the beaches. The season officially began for BGSTA on May 1 and we documented...

First hatchlings to come; big nesting females still get stuck in holes

BY ARLENE HALL,BGSTA SECRETARY This week, our loggerhead turtle mothers laid their 100th nest of the season. It will be interesting to see how May 2025 compares to May 2024’s activity. Final...

Loss of landscaping makes for challenges for residents, turtle nests

BY ARLENE HALL, BGSTA SECRETARY Sea turtle nesting activity on the island is picking up as we progress further into May. With this increase in activity comes the BGSTA’s annual reminder about...

Nesting season began in May; zones modified with Florida state approval

BY ARLENE HALL,BGSTA SECRETARY The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association (BGSTA) is back out patrolling the beaches of Gasparilla Island for sea turtle nesting activity, and we didn’t have long to...

Donated ATV will help Boca Grande Sea Turtle nest protection

The Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association recently received a $15,000 donation to purchase a utility task vehicle, or UTV, for turtle patrols this season. Arlene Hall of the Association wrote...

The rains came, the island got quieter

This Tuesday, the first rain of the season arrived. It was a real rain, too, precisely at 2:29 p.m., and resulted in some “nostalgic” puddles on the sides of the roads, ably slurped up by the...

Letters: Appreciation for Gasparilla Island sea turtle

To the Editor: On behalf of our permit holder, Denise Juergens, I am writing this letter from the Boca Grande Sea Turtle Association (BGSTA) to acknowledge and thank the generous individuals,...