What is Turtle Friendly Lighting?

Turtle Friendly lighting has become more popular and even more important in recent years. Continue reading on as we explore it’s benefits on Turtle biology and behavior.

When are Sea Turtles Born?

Depending on the species, Female Sea Turtles can lay anywhere from 40 to 200 eggs per nest. This usually takes place during the summer or late fall, but the eggs are always laid and buried in sand near the shoreline. And if that didn’t sound cold enough, The Mother never revisits the nest once it’s been covered.

About 2 months later, the Turtles begin to hatch and dig themselves out of the nest. Before the Hatchlings travel to the surface, they make sure the sand above them feels cool. This signals to them that the sun has set, protecting them from the many predators that would otherwise be active.

As I’m sure you can already gather by their name, Sea Turtles don’t prefer to spend a whole lot of time on land. It’s because of this that their first objective as hatchlings is to army crawl their way to the water as quickly as possible. This is where turtle friendly lighting comes into play.

How Does Light Affect Turtles?

Sea Turtle Hatchlings, like many animals, rely on their instincts to make it to the ocean. After hatching, they will purposefully look for the downward slanting paths which naturally lead towards the water. More importantly, they also seek out brightest light they can find. Usually, the most prominent source of light is the ocean’s reflection of the night sky. Seems like a solid system, right? The problems arise when they hatch near cites.

The glaring brightness of artificial light of cities and other urban areas can easily trigger their light-seeking instinct, misdirecting them away from the water. Sadly, this will often result in a confused hatchling being lost to dehydration, overheating, or the many predators that find them as an easy meal.

Millions of Sea Turtles are estimated to die every year due to light pollution in the US. It’s because of this that implementing turtle friendly lighting is crucial for their survival.

Types of Turtle Friendly Lighting

Luckily, there are many ways that we can still enjoy our outdoor lighting without bringing harm to the local wildlife. 

We’ve discovered that the sea turtle’s light-sensing ability is less sensitive to Warmer, amber colored light. Particularly, light with a wavelength of around 560 nanometers or more seems to be the safest range for them. Any bulb or light fixture Labeled as “Turtle Friendly” will usually fit within these parameters and are a great choice for anyone who lives near a beach.

Another way to avoid distracting Hatchlings is to lower any outdoor lights to ground level. This Prevents the light from being viewed from anywhere sea turtles might be nesting.

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