Experts invite public to turtle nest dig

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. July 16, 2026

About 120 people attended an evening sea turtle nest excavation on Longboat Key conducted by permitted experts.

Longboat Key
Neighbors

For the first time this sea turtle nesting season, members of the public could peer inside a mound for an educational event.

Permitted experts conducted an evening nest excavation on Sunday on one of Longboat Key's beaches. Last year was the first time in years that Longboaters got to witness an evening excavation, during which certified personnel carefully dig up what remains from an already hatched nest.

The dig contributes valuable data on how many eggs the mother laid and how many hatched, while also giving the public a rare, up-close look at this natural phenomenon.

Turtle expert Brenda Jameson said approximately 120 people witnessed the special event. The nest showed evidence of earlier coyote predation, and permitted volunteers documented 31 destroyed eggs, 39 hatched eggs, 23 unhatched eggs, three dead hatchlings and one living hatchling safely released after sunset.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.