Sea Turtles Nesting on the West Coast of the U.S.

On September 16, 2026, it was reported that an Olive Ridley sea turtle dug a nest and laid eggs near Seal Beach and Huntington Beach in Orange County, California. This is the first time ever recorded for any sea turtle species to have a nest discovered on the U.S. West Coast. The nesting sea turtle was discovered at approximately 3 p.m. by a beachgoer who alerted the Huntington Beach life guards. These eggs will now be under the care of the aquarium staff during their incubation period. If these eggs successfully hatch, the turtles will be released on the beaches where the eggs were first laid to hopefully support their journey across the sand over to the sea.

  This event is really important for the Olive Ridley sea turtle species because they haven't been documented to nest in the United States until now so this is truly a very fascinating event for wildlife. According to NOAA Fisheries, “The closest nesting site is in the western Cape region of Baja California, Mexico, near Todos Santos. A few scattered nests occur near Magdalena Bay on the Pacific Baja coast but nothing further has been recorded until now.” For Ridley sea turtles, this is the peak of their nesting season in Mexico, which usually runs from July to December. It's very common for Ridley sea turtles to nest in groups of approximately 1,000 turtles at a time. Moreover, the typical incubation period for a nest will be about 45-60 days which means that the caregivers taking care of these eggs will have to fulfill their needs during this time period.

It was reported that an Olive Sea turtle was seen digging a pit in the sand, depositing a clutch of eggs, then returning to the sea. The life guards were left stunned as this was the first known natural sea turtle nest that has ever been recorded on the U.S west coast. Shortly after, they asked for help from lifeguards and caregivers to support this event. According to NOAA Fisheries, “A large team—local, state, and federal agencies, alongside public aquariums, local community organizations and educational groups— worked together.” This was done to ensure the Sea turtles safety and to make sure that they can be monitored safely for their development in the hatching process. Moreover, the caregivers are also on the lookout for any additional nesting events because Olive Ridley sea turtles will typically nest 2–3 times during the season, about 2 weeks apart, and in the same general area. 

Finally, we can see this is not only an event of the Olive Ridley sea turtles being nested in a new area, but it also represents evolutionary growth of wildlife. In addition to this, this event has not only impacted the Olive Ridley sea turtles, but humans as well. This is because we can see all the effort these caregivers are showing to be able to create a safe hatching development for these eggs. All the care these caregivers are sharing will hopefully support the hatching of the eggs. To conclude, we hope this event isn’t only a one time occurrence but that hopefully more sea turtles will be able to nest in the U.S west coast, this will allow more variety in their species and hopefully the caregivers will understand the species better and obtain experience to take care of them in a more beneficial way.

Image Courtesy of Charles J. Sharp on Wikimedia Commons.