Diane Hextall and Suzie Hiles walk zone 4 as representatives of the Highland Beach turtle program. On mornings that they do not find any turtle nests from the previous night, they collect rubbish and assess beach conditions. Hextall has worked for
sea turtles (59)
Staff and volunteers at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center had to move nine sea turtles to other facilities because Gumbo Limbo no longer had a license to treat them. Photo provided
By Steve Plunkett
Gumbo Limbo Nature Center’s injured and recuperating sea
The first sea turtle of the summer has nested — a huge, awe-inspiring leatherback. Our volunteers are out again at dawn looking for the V-shaped trails in the sand that show the arrival of our ancient, reptile visitors.
These leathery ladies are the
March brings five minutes of spring to subtropical South Florida.
It also heralds eight months of sea turtle nesting season, which usually draws more than 20,000 female loggerhead, leatherback, Kemp’s ridley and hawksbill turtles to Palm Beach County
LEFT: A temporary sign blocks the hallway to the turtle rehabilitation portion of the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. RIGHT: The large plastic holding tanks have been drained and the sea turtles taken to other facilities. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
By Rich Pollack
With sea turtle nesting season now under way, Highland Beach is moving forward with steps to keep nesting females and their hatchlings in the dark.
This month, members of the town’s Planning Board will review a proposed ordinance desi
Dr. Maria Chadam checks the eyes of one of the 12 Kemp’s ridley turtles that were flown from Cape Cod for treatment at Gumbo Limbo. Andrea Jelaska, a sea turtle rehab technician, holds the turtle.
By Tao Woolfe
Dr. Maria Chadam peered into the eye
By Rich Pollack
Sea turtle hatchlings in Highland Beach may soon have an easier time waddling their way to the ocean if a draft ordinance introduced last month becomes a reality.
The proposed ordinance focuses primarily on reducing bright lighting fa
Winds from the east this summer have pushed a nearly constant supply of sargassum onto the beach, challenging beachgoers like Debby Belmonte of Ocean Ridge. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Seasonal inundation is here to stay, scientists say
By Larry Ba
A leatherback hatchling makes its way into the ocean in Boca Raton after a release by Gumbo Limbo Nature Center. Photos by Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Joe Capozzi
Walk along the beach at Red Reef Park in Boca Raton and it’s hard to miss evidence
A loggerhead hatchling trapped in a plastic cup nestled in sargassum. Photo provided by Sea Turtle Adventures
Every season has its heroes. In the South Florida fall, public safety and tree removal workers should get medals for cleaning up after the i
Joanne Ryan stands on the fresh tracks of a loggerhead in Highland Beach. Ryan manages the collecting of sea turtle nesting data and is an avid photographer. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
By Jan Engoren
Even before sipping her first predawn coffee eac
Educational events at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center are back after COVID-19 precautions kept the center closed to the public for two years. Archelon, a 25-year-old loggerhead turtle, was released in front of a crowd of more than 100 on March 1 at Spanish
FAU student Chase Donaghy enjoyed an afternoon of surfing at Red Reef Park. Tao Woolfe/The Coastal Star
By Tao Woolfe
Boca Raton’s Red Reef Park is a busy place in the late afternoon as beachgoers scoop up kids, towels and folding chairs for the trek
By Joe Capozzi
Briny Breezes is about to replace all 69 light fixtures in town with new energy-efficient LED lights.
The Town Council on Dec. 9 approved a plan to have Florida Power & Light replace the fixtures sometime in 2022.
The new fixtures, pa
Children play in the Sea Turtle Garden. These life-size sculptures were created over several years by artist Colin Christian. The garden is dedicated to Gordon Gilbert, the nature center's founding director. Tim Stepien/The Coastal Star
After almost
By Jane Smith
Before the next sea turtle nesting season, the busy beachside intersection of State Road A1A and Atlantic Avenue will be lit with amber LED lights that can stay on throughout the year, even during the turtles’ eight-month nesting season
The team at Gumbo Limbo Nature Center treats a rescued Kemp’s ridley flown in from Massachusetts. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Stunned reptiles arrive for treatment at Gumbo Limbo
By Larry Keller
Quarterback Tom Brady isn’t the only New Englander w
Beachgoers rinse their feet near the sea grapes that form a canopy along the shore in Delray Beach. Jerry Lower/The Coastal Star
Consensus emerges that
trims are better for dunes
By Larry Barszewski
When it comes to managing sea grapes at the beach,
A late green sea turtle laid this nest Sept. 24 on the beach in Gulf Stream. The eggs were expected to hatch in about 60 days from then. Sea turtle season officially ends Oct. 31 and begins again March 1.
Photo courtesy of Sea Turtle Adventures
By L
