The Hawksbill Turtles

Barbados holds one of the largest hawksbill nesting populations in the wider Caribbean, and it is a genuine conservation success: when the Barbados Sea Turtle Project started in 1987 the numbers were very low, and decades of nest monitoring, hatchling rescue and public engagement have brought them back substantially. Females nest on beaches around the island from around May to October, and green turtles nest less commonly. Hatchlings emerge about two months later and are frequently disoriented by hotel and street lighting, which is why the project runs a twenty-four-hour hotline that anyone finding a nest or a stranded hatchling can call.

The landscape

• Nesting females - hauling out on beaches from May to October.
• Hatchlings - emerging from around July, often at night.
• Feeding turtles - in the shallows off the west coast year-round.
• The sea turtle project - the monitoring effort behind the recovery.

When to go

Nesting runs roughly May to October with hatchlings from July onward. Turtles feed in the west coast shallows year-round and are seen while snorkelling. The project's hotline handles reports at any hour.

Practical notes

Do not use lights or flash near nesting turtles or hatchlings; artificial light is the main cause of hatchling deaths here and hotels along the coast are a documented problem. Touching, riding or chasing turtles is illegal. Boat trips that feed turtles to guarantee sightings alter behaviour and concentrate animals unnaturally; choose operators that do not.

Nearby

West coast beaches for feeding turtles; nesting happens island-wide.