In a first, olive ridley turtles spotted nesting on California’s beaches

An olive ridley sea turtle was observed laying eggs near Seal Beach in California on 16 September 2026. Photograph: City of Huntington Beach via Facebook An olive ridley sea turtle was observed laying eggs near Seal Beach in California on 16 September 2026. Photograph: City of Huntington Beach via Facebook California In a first, olive ridley turtles spotted nesting on California’s beaches Scientists are questioning whether the nestings on Seal and Huntington Beach were freak occurrences or start of a trend

Prefer the Guardian on Google A sea turtle crawled out of the surf in southern California last weekend around sunset and started laying eggs in the sand.

People on Huntington Beach who saw the female olive ridley sea turtle were shocked and excited. And they weren’t the only ones freaking out, said Justin Viezbicke, the California stranding coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (Noaa).