CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — We are just over a month into turtle nesting season --with hatchling releases coming soon.
The Kemp's ridley sea turtles are making their way from the Gulf of Mexico to the sand to find the perfect spot to lay eggs.
Turtle patrols have been busy so far along Padre Island National Seashore spotting, but if you venture out, be on the lookout for yellow or blue flags.
"They will look for the inbound tracks ad they will look for the outbound tracks and where the inbound tracks intersect with the outbound tracks, they’ll place a yellow flag,” said Padre Island National Seashore Public Information Officer Kelly Taylor.
Yellow flags help teams mark where a mother has turned to return to the water or to find a better nesting location.
"That allows them to excavate or basically dig out the nest to remove the eggs,” she said. “When they're done, they will fill the nest cavity back in after having removed the eggs and they'll put a blue flag there to indicate that's where the nest was."
Those excavated eggs are taken to a lab at the seashore where they will incubate for roughly 45-60 days before hatching.
If you see a nesting turtle on the beach, make sure to call 1-866-TURTLE-5.
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