A nesting beach may report many turtle nests during a season, but that number cannot automatically be read as the number of females that visited. The unit being counted matters.
Follow one nesting season carefully
The NOAA Fisheries loggerhead profile explains that a female can lay multiple clutches in a nesting season. One animal can therefore contribute more than one nest to a seasonal count.
When reading a monitoring summary, look for definitions of nests, nesting attempts and identified individuals. A track on the beach may also require interpretation by trained surveyors; a visitor’s photograph is not equivalent to a verified record.
Preserve the survey’s language
If the report says a certain number of nests were recorded, keep that wording in your summary. Do not quietly rewrite it as that many turtles returning. Add the surveyed beach and season so the count has a clear scope.
For your own interest, use published monitoring material instead of approaching a nesting animal or disturbing sand. The most valuable question is often about the recording method: what exactly did the team count, and what additional information would be needed to estimate the number of individual females?