Tybee Island logged a record 59 loggerhead nests

Loggerhead sea turtles nested on Tybee Island in numbers the island had not recorded before. The Savannah Morning News reported on October 7, 2026, that counters logged 59 nests, above the previous high of 35 in 2022.

Allison Williford, program director at the Tybee Island Marine Science Center, linked the rise to a long recovery along the Georgia coast. The state recorded 4,292 nests this year, compared with an all-time low of 384 in 2004. Her team moved 23 nests that sat too close to the water, including three emergency moves after erosion uncovered eggs. The count itself is the good news: more mothers came ashore, and years of protection are showing up in the sand.