Walkers found October loggerhead hatchlings on a wild Var beach

Walkers on a quiet beach in the Var found loggerhead hatchlings in the middle of October, later than the usual season. France 3 reported on October 23, 2026, that people at Plage des Jardins, also called Grand Jardin, in Bormes-les-Mimosas saw babies heading for the sea on October 15. Sidonie Catteau of the group Émergence told ICI Côte d'Azur it was the first nest ever recorded on that beach and in the town. The sand is about a half-hour walk in, little cleaned by machines, and free of light pollution.

Association Émergence and the French Mediterranean sea-turtle network, RTMMF, took over the nest. The town set a protective cage that still let ready hatchlings leave. Volunteers counted 51 eggs. A typical clutch is about 80 to 120, and this one may have been laid late. Usual laying on this coast runs from mid-June to about August 15, with emergence from about August 20 through the end of September. Patrols had not found the nest. It was the third surprise emergence of the summer, after Martigues and Agay. Morning checks continue. More than a dozen hatchlings were trapped under about 50 centimeters of packed sand. They were dug out, and some were helped through the first waves. The French Mediterranean coast had 11 loggerhead nests in the summer of 2026, after a record 18 in 2025. Researchers plan genetic samples from embryos that did not survive in the nest, to identify the mother. The hatch is a first for this beach, not a full season.