Beachgoers watch Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle lay nest in Destin

DESTIN, Fla. ( WMBB ) – A big surprise for beachgoers in Destin on Sunday as a Kemp’s Ridley sea turtle made its way on shore to lay a nest.

This is the first nest for Okaloosa County beaches this year, three days before the official start of nesting season on May 1st.

The Destin Fort Walton Beach Sea Turtle Patrol said beachgoers saw the marine animal make its way to shore and called it in around 10:30 a.m.

The adult Kemp’s Ridley was a little smaller than a trash can lid and laid its nest in half an hour.

Sea turtles mainly lay their nests at night, however, the Kemp’s Ridley is known to nest during the day. With one official nest on the books, the patrol group said now is the time for people to be vigilant about keeping the beach clear, dark, and flat.

“At the end of the day, remove all of your belongings, your chairs, your umbrellas, your trash, your toys, anything that you brought to the beach, and take it with you. Make sure you fill in those holes and flatten the sand castles. And if you do find yourself on the beach at night, you need to make sure that you are using a red Sea turtle-friendly safe flashlight,” Destin Fort Walton Beach Sea Turtle Patrol Jessica Valek said. “People can come to get free turtle-friendly flashlights from the Destin-Fort Walton Beach Welcome Center on Okaloosa Island. They can just stop in and say, ‘Hey, I would like a turtle light’ and can get as many as they want.”

Kemp’s Ridley are the most endangered sea turtle species making this day very rare for the dozens that go to witness it.

“There were a handful of people around, but everyone was very respectful and kept their distance and gave her her space,” Coastal Resources Coordinator Jessica Valek said. “It took her about 25 minutes to lay her eggs, and then she buried them with her back flippers and camouflaged it a little bit better, and made her way back into the Gulf of Mexico.”

“Once I got on here, I was able to talk to everyone and say, hey, this is really like they’re our most endangered species. This is a very rare occurrence for us here,” said Valek.

Valek said everyone did a great job of staying 50 feet or so away to give the momma turtle her space.

“If someone sees a sea turtle coming up onto the beach, they should call the FWC wildlife hotline. So that number is 888-404-3922. That is the first thing that they should do because a turtle coming up onto the beach, it means it’s either a nesting female or something is very wrong with that sea turtle,” said Valek.

The patrol group said they will also host nest evaluations 72 hours after the egg hatches as an educational lesson.

To learn more about the nesting season, click here .

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.