Sea turtle hatchlings disorient, tagged loggerhead makes 3rd visit

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Loggerhead hatchlings race from the nest to Gulf of Mexico. Islander Photo: Courtesy FWC
A screenshot taken July 16 shows Eliza Ann headed to the beach in Anna Maria. The female loggerhead sea turtle is wearing a satellite tracking device, part of the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s 10th annual Tour de Turtles, including turtles from Costa Rica, Panama, Nevis and Florida. The turtles compete in a “marathon” to see which turtle swims the farthest during a three-month review. Islander Screenshot

When a turtle nest hatched at Avenue F during the overnight hours of July 15, all the hatchlings didn’t head for the Gulf of Mexico.

Some hatchlings were disoriented, according to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring.

AMITW volunteers rounded up the hatchlings and debated their disposition, either a night release or delivery to Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.

AMITW reported July 16 that five nests have hatched so far on the island in 2017 from the 411 nests laid thus far on Anna Maria Island.

Volunteers calculated that 96 hatchlings have successfully returned to the Gulf of Mexico after emerging from the nests.

Female sea turtles nest mostly at night and only leave the water to lay eggs on beaches. Otherwise, their lives are spent in the sea.

With more and more of a human footprint, hatchlings can easily become confused by artificial light.

All of the hatched nests thus far this year have been in Holmes Beach between 26th Street to the south of the Manatee Public Beach and 66th Street to the north. Fourteen of the 411 nests have been deemed as “no hatch,” meaning they were washed over by storms and may not hatch. The others may produce hatchlings 45-70 days after the nests were laid.

And the sea turtles aren’t done nesting yet, including Tour de Turtle Eliza Ann, the island’s “player” in the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s 10th annual tagging and tracking event.

The 300-pound loggerhead was captured after nesting June 19 at Coquina Beach in Bradenton Beach. Volunteers tagged and released the turtle with a satellite tracking device.

Eliza Ann returned overnight July 3-4 and nested on the north end of Anna Maria.

Now, tracking reveals Eliza Ann returned to Anna Maria July 15, again near the north end.

Suzi Fox said in an email July 16 that AMITW could not confirm a third nest from Eliza Ann.

“We had no nesting in the sections around the track on the map, only false crawls,” Fox said. “There is no way to tell if Eliza Ann was one of those unless we had a visual, which we did not.”

“If Eliza Ann makes a third nest, AMITW and her sponsor, Waterline Resorts, will be over the moon with excitement,” Fox said.

“We would now have proof that not only west coast girls are west coast girls but that Anna Maria Island girls are Anna Maria Island girls,” Fox continued.

“With the hits from her satellite tag, we can see the connection that she loves our island and calls Anna Maria home.”

Eliza Ann was tracking well offshore by July 16, due west of the island.