Amelia Island Sea Turtle Season Ends With 298 Nests and a Record 23,440 Hatchlings, Plus 17 Disturbed Nests

FERNANDINA BEACH, Fla. - Amelia Island's 2026 sea turtle nesting season ended with 298 recorded nests, a record 23,440 hatchlings and a record 17 disturbed nests, according to a Nov. 1 report by the Fernandina Observer. Volunteers also counted a record 29,076 eggs and excavated 265 nests, exceeding the previous excavation record set in 2019. The season, which runs from May through October, concluded after a late-October storm destroyed the final nest, while the island's sea turtle monitoring organization also reported a change in leadership.

The 298 nests recorded during the season were well above the approximately 200 typically documented in a year, according to the Fernandina Observer. The total also exceeded the 294 nests recorded in 2019 by four. The report described several records from the 2026 season, including hatchling production, egg counts, nest excavations and nest disturbances.

298 nests recorded across Amelia Island

Volunteers recorded 298 sea turtle nests during the 2026 nesting season, according to the Fernandina Observer's Nov. 1 report. The total was 98 nests above the approximately 200 typically recorded in a year. Using that typical annual figure as a comparison, the 2026 count was about 49% higher.

The report also compared this year's nesting activity with 2019, when 294 nests were recorded. The 2026 total exceeded that figure by four nests. The two years therefore had similar nesting totals, although the 2026 count was slightly higher.

The Fernandina Observer identified the 298 nests as one of the season's principal results. The report also documented records in other measurements associated with nesting and hatching activity. Those figures provide separate ways to examine the season rather than describing the nest count alone.

Amelia Island's nesting season runs from May through October, according to the report. The 2026 figures reflect monitoring conducted during that seasonal period. The final nest of the season was destroyed by a storm in late October, the Fernandina Observer reported.

Record 23,440 hatchlings documented

Volunteers recorded 23,440 sea turtle hatchlings during the 2026 season, according to the Fernandina Observer. The newspaper identified that total as a record for the island's monitoring program. The hatchling figure was reported alongside the season's 298 nests and 29,076 counted eggs.

The hatchling total is a different measurement from the number of nests recorded or excavated. Each figure describes a separate part of the nesting season documented by volunteers. The Fernandina Observer reported the hatchling total as a record without providing a previous record hatchling figure.

The season's record hatchling count was accompanied by a record number of counted eggs. Volunteers documented 29,076 eggs, according to the Nov. 1 report. That number was also identified as the highest recorded in the monitoring information described by the newspaper.

The reported hatchling count equals approximately 80.6% of the reported egg count when the two totals are divided. That calculation compares 23,440 hatchlings with 29,076 eggs, but it should not be interpreted as a verified hatching success rate. The Fernandina Observer's reported figures do not establish that the two counts represent an identical set of eggs and nests for purposes of calculating such a rate.

Volunteers excavated a record 265 nests

The 2026 nesting season also produced a record number of nest excavations, according to the Fernandina Observer. Volunteers excavated 265 nests, exceeding the previous high of 232 established in 2019. The increase from that earlier record was 33 excavated nests.

The 265 excavated nests represented approximately 89% of the 298 nests recorded during the season. That percentage is calculated by dividing the excavation count by the total nest count. It describes the relationship between the two reported totals without establishing additional details about nests that were not excavated.

The Fernandina Observer identified the excavation count as a separate seasonal record. The report also identified records for hatchlings and eggs, placing the excavation total among several measurements that reached new highs in 2026. The figures were gathered as part of the monitoring work performed by the island's sea turtle volunteers.

The earlier excavation record provides another comparison with the 2019 season. Volunteers excavated 232 nests that year, according to the Fernandina Observer. Although the overall nesting totals for 2019 and 2026 were close, the 2026 excavation count exceeded the previous high.

79 nests found between Sadler Road and Main Beach

One area of Amelia Island accounted for 79 recorded nests during the season, according to the Fernandina Observer. The section extends from Sadler Road north to Main Beach. The newspaper identified it as an area affected by a sand renourishment project in 2025.

The 2025 project had involved moving nests from that section of the island, according to the report. The Fernandina Observer reported that turtles returned to the area during the 2026 season. The 79 nests documented there formed part of the islandwide total of 298.

The location-specific count represents approximately 26.5% of all recorded nests when divided by the islandwide figure. That calculation uses the 79 nests reported between Sadler Road and Main Beach and the 298 nests recorded overall. It does not establish how nesting was distributed across other individual sections of the island.

The Fernandina Observer's account connects the section's recent history with the 2026 nesting results. The newspaper reported both the prior relocation of nests during the sand project and the return of turtles to that area. It did not establish a separate long-term nesting trend for the Sadler Road-to-Main Beach section in its seasonal figures.

Record 17 nests disturbed during the season

Alongside the records for hatchlings, eggs and excavations, volunteers documented a record 17 disturbed nests during 2026, according to the Fernandina Observer. The newspaper described that total as the highest recorded. The disturbances occurred at night, according to the report.

Volunteers repaired each of the 17 disturbed nests, the Fernandina Observer reported. The newspaper identified those repairs as part of the response to the disturbances documented during the season. The report did not provide a breakdown of the individual disturbances by location.

The 17 disturbances were reported separately from the 298-nest total. The overall nesting figure measures nests recorded during the season, while the disturbance count measures documented incidents involving nests. The Fernandina Observer identified the disturbance figure as a record even as several other seasonal measurements also reached record levels.

The reported figures show that the 2026 season included both increased recorded nesting activity and the highest reported number of disturbed nests. The newspaper documented the volunteers' repairs of all 17 affected nests. Those facts form part of the season's overall monitoring results.

Late-October storm destroys final nest

The 2026 sea turtle nesting season concluded after a storm destroyed the final nest in late October, according to the Fernandina Observer. The storm occurred near the end of the May-through-October nesting period. The report identified the nest as the last one remaining in the season.

The late-October event was reported alongside the final season totals. By the end of the monitoring period, volunteers had recorded 298 nests, 23,440 hatchlings and 29,076 eggs. The Fernandina Observer also documented 265 excavated nests and 17 disturbed nests.

The report did not establish a separate storm-related loss total beyond the destruction of the final nest. The overall seasonal results therefore remain the reported figures for nests, eggs, hatchlings, excavations and disturbances. The final nest's destruction marked the closing event described in the Nov. 1 season report.

New leadership follows decades of monitoring

The Amelia Island sea turtle monitoring organization also underwent a leadership transition, according to the Fernandina Observer. Bill Bokram became president, while Ronda Bokram became vice president. They succeeded Mary Duffy, an original founder who had led the organization for approximately 40 years.

The Fernandina Observer quoted the line "It was time to pass the torch" in its account of the leadership change. The tenure extended across much of the organization's documented history. The transition was reported as part of the newspaper's account of the 2026 nesting season.

The organization was established in 1985 under Greenpeace's direction at the request of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, according to the Fernandina Observer. It began collecting sea turtle data in 1986. The group now has almost 150 volunteers, the newspaper reported.

That monitoring history provides the context for the records reported in 2026. The organization has collected data since 1986, and the Fernandina Observer identified new highs in hatchlings, counted eggs, excavated nests and disturbed nests this season. The leadership transition comes as the organization completes another year of documenting sea turtle nesting activity on Amelia Island.