JEKYLL ISLAND, Ga. — It's almost May and that means it's almost sea turtle nesting season.
The season officially kicks off Monday, but you can get a head start in supporting the First Coast's wildlife this weekend in Georgia.
More than 240 sea turtle nests were counted on Jekyll Island last year, which the director of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center says is a record. Nearly 100 nests were counted last year in the Jacksonville area by Beaches Sea Turtle Patrol.
Before the little guys start their crawl to the ocean this year, you can do your own crawl (or run or walk) to help them at the annual Turtle Crawl on Jekyll Island. Money raised from it supports the sea turtle center but Director Michelle Kaylor says it's mostly about education.
"They say about one in 1,000 little sea turtle hatchlings like Lil' Diggity might make it to an adult," Kaylor said standing next to Lil' Diggity, a baby loggerhead, inside the sea turtle center.
Kaylor says 30 to 40 percent of their case load is boat strike injuries. Kaylor showed First Coast News a turtle named Bandit that was hit by a boat and another turtle that had a debilitating number of growths on its shell.
The Georgia Sea Turtle Center has cared for more than 3,000 animals. A loon was getting blood drawn during First Coast News's visit.
"That's really the one thing that I love about this place is it's not just rehabbing sea turtles, it's actually telling the patient's story so that you can connect with that story and understand really what these guys face out in the wild."
Kaylor says loggerheads become teenagers at 30 years old, which means efforts put in place to help them now may not be seen for decades. Seeing generations of little guys like Lil' Diggity make it to the ocean is what it's all about.
"The feeling of seeing a little baby sea turtle going into the ocean is excitement and awe of nature, really," Kaylor said. "This little bitty thing going into this vast amount which is the ocean is just something to see for yourself if you haven't ever seen it before."
The Turtle Crawl has a 5K starting at 7:25 a.m., a 10k at 7:45 a.m. and a fun run at 9:45 a.m. Saturday morning on Jekyll Island. The start line is near the intersection of Shell Road and Beachview Drive adjacent to the Jekyll Island Mini Golf. The finish line is in Beach Village. The Fun Run will start and finish in Beach Village.
Parking is available in public lots including Beach Village and Great Dunes Beach Park.