It is thought that they are also able to absorb oxygen from their skin, mouth and their cloaca. Sea turtles remain in the sea during their entire lives except for adult females who briefly come ashore to nest in the summer months. In the eastern US sea turtles are found mainly along the southern and Mid - Atlantic coasts, Gulf of Mexico and in the Caribbean Sea. During the summer months when the Gulf Stream carries warm water north as far as Canada, sea turtles, with the exception of the hawksbill, roam as far north as Cape Cod near the shore, while the leatherback ranges even further north. There are five species of sea turtle in the North Atlantic Ocean - hawksbill, loggerhead, Kemp's ridley, green and leatherback Of these, the last four regularly inhabit Long Island's waters.
All sea turtles have a similar life history.
Life begins as the males and females mate in spring and early summer in the waters near the nesting beaches. The nest is located in the sand on the upper part of the beach, often at the base of the dunes or vegetation line. After the hot sand incubates the eggs for about two months the tiny hatchlings break through the leathery shell of the egg and scramble out of the nest to head for the water. Although this usually occurs at night, these tiny creatures are prey to many predators such as ghost crabs, dogs, foxes, raccoons, opossums and gulls. If they make it to the sea another set of predators, fish and seabirds, are waiting to pick them off.