Quivira's Record Turtle Year Is Still Hatching

On August 17, Grupo Pueblo Bonito's Sea Turtle Conservation Program had recorded 807 nests and protected 86,679 eggs for the 2026 season. At the same point in 2025 it had 529 nests, so this year was running 53 percent ahead. On that same date, only 63 of those nests had hatched. Most of the record season was still underground when summer ended. For anyone who owns at Quivira or is hosting guests there this fall, that means the hatchling releases on the Pacific side are not just a summer souvenir. This year they run well into the cooler months.

More Than Nine in Ten Nests Were Still Incubating

Sixty-three hatched nests out of 807 is under 8 percent of the season's recorded nests. Those 63 nests had put 5,732 hatchlings into the Pacific by August 17, about 91 per nest. Run that same rate across the 744 nests still incubating at the time and the Pueblo Bonito program's release volume after mid-August would reach the tens of thousands. That is an estimate drawn from the program's own early pace, not a count the program has published.

Nest size matches what the federal biologists expect. Dividing 86,679 eggs by 807 nests gives about 107 eggs per nest. The olive ridley species sheet from CONANP, Mexico's national protected-areas commission, puts the average clutch at around 109. The olive ridley matters here because it accounts for about 99 percent of the nesting recorded in the municipality of Los Cabos.

Veronica Sánchez, who leads Grupo Pueblo Bonito's conservation program, credits the jump to two things. One is a strong nesting year. The other is ongoing improvement in how her team locates, collects and relocates nests under current species protection rules. The team patrols more than five kilometers of beach day and night, tracking incubation conditions and sand temperature. The busiest stretch came in the El Médano area. Over three days there, the team helped receive and protect 105 nests holding 11,515 eggs. The program's tallies therefore cover more than Quivira's own sand, and the release calendar on Quivira's beach draws on that whole effort.

September Added More Nests to the Count

The mid-August count was a snapshot of a season that was still building. On September 11, Análisis BCS reported that Jorge Armando López Espinoza, the municipality's director general of Ecología y Medio Ambiente, said turtles were arriving on Los Cabos beaches at up to 350 a night. The municipality stepped up patrols of nesting areas in coordination with ZOFEMAT, the federal beach zone office, and public safety.

Incubation time is what moves those September nests into the fall release calendar. CONANP says olive ridley eggs incubate in the sand for about 45 days. It also says nesting across most of the Mexican Pacific runs from July to January and can happen at any time of year. A nest laid in mid-September would hatch around the end of October, and one laid in late September around mid-November. Visit Los Cabos describes the local nesting season as running from June to December, with hatching peaking from August through October. Neither Quivira nor Pueblo Bonito has published an end date for the 2026 releases. Going by the incubation math, early November sits inside the window rather than after it, though the turtles set the actual schedule.

One Beach, Seven Release Nights

Two programs share the release evenings, and they split the week between them. Q Life, Quivira's resident program, holds complimentary releases for Quivira residents and their guests on Mondays and Thursdays at the Beach Club, booked through Quivira Concierge. Pueblo Bonito hotel guests take the other five nights at the Sea Turtle Conservation Camp. They book through the hotel concierge or their butler, and a shuttle runs from the hotels.

Both programs run the same timed evening and both are free. Both also say the days and times can change with hatching activity and weather. For an owner planning around visiting family, this sets the calendar. A houseguest who arrives on a Friday and leaves on a Wednesday has one Q Life evening during the stay, the Monday. If the guests are staying at a Pueblo Bonito resort instead, they book through the hotel and any night but Monday or Thursday is theirs.

A Q Life Evening, Step by Step

The Quivira program page sets out the logistics:

1. Reserve with Quivira Concierge. Releases are complimentary for residents and their guests. Reservations go through the concierge, and release days and times can shift with hatching activity and weather.
2. Park at the golf course. Residents arriving by private vehicle or rented golf cart are asked to park there. A staff member then directs them to the beach access point.
3. Allow for the walk. Getting to the release area takes about five to fifteen minutes on foot along the beach. That is worth planning for if anyone in your group needs more time or help.
4. 6:30 p.m., presentation. The conservation team gives a short talk, with time for questions and photos.
5. About 6:45 p.m., release. The hatchlings head down to the Pacific.
6. About 7:00 p.m., finish at the Beach Club.

The 6:30 start holds even as sunset comes earlier. In late fall, guests walking the beach at release time will see less daylight than they would in August. The municipality's request applies on every Los Cabos beach. As Análisis BCS reported, the Ecología y Medio Ambiente office asks anyone who comes across a turtle on the sand not to approach, touch or move it. People are also asked not to use the flash on cameras or phones, because the light can disorient turtles. Take photos during the 6:30 presentation, while the team is inviting them, and keep the flash off once the hatchlings are on the sand.

December 11 at Quivira Golf Club

The next fixed date on Quivira's calendar comes after the hatchlings are expected to taper off. According to Pueblo Bonito's announcement, published October 22, the Letty Coppel Foundation presents This Is Michael, a live Michael Jackson tribute, at Quivira Golf Club on December 11. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show starts at 8:00 p.m. The musical lead is Lenny Jay, and the show features musicians who performed with Jackson.

Booking fees are not included in those prices. Food and drinks are sold at the event, and parking is free. The show is billed as family-friendly, but anyone under 18 needs a full ticket. The Letty Coppel Foundation was founded in 2004 and works in health, social care, education and local culture, and Pueblo Bonito supports it through its Every Stay Gives Back program. The VIP tiers are sold as tables of ten, which suits a group of owners and guests booking one table together, the same way the Monday and Thursday release nights suit guests staying in a residence.

Grupo Pueblo Bonito has run this conservation program since 2003. Next door, The St. Regis Los Cabos at Quivira is still described as forthcoming. As of March 2026, TravelMole reported a late-2026 target.

Whether you are planning a fall visit around a Thursday release or looking for a Quivira residence where the Beach Club is part of your week, the team at Christie's Real Estate Cabo knows how this community runs through the year. Start Your Cabo Search with us.