Thunderstorms wash out sea turtle nests

The rain cut sideways, thunder burst over the Gulf of Mexico and turtle watch’s patrol worried July 8 about the dozens of nests on Anna Maria Island beaches.

The worries remained July 9, with Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring executive director Suzi Fox still calculating the damage caused by a heavy rain system that moved in early July 8 and remained over the Island long into the night.

“It was bad,” Fox said July 9. “We’ve even got nests washing out this morning, with those shore breezes.” She said she hoped a later survey of the beaches would change her assessment.

The cutting rain came with driving winds and waves. Combined with a high tide, water washed over nests and washed out five nests.

She said eggs were literally blown out of one nest onto the beach.

AMITW volunteers could not conduct their regular walks July 8 because of threatening thunder and lightning, and because in some locations water on the beach was as far back as the dunes and the grass. They had nowhere to walk.

Later that day, AMITW teams were on the beach at locations where they could salvage nests. Fox said eight nests were relocated.

“When we started going, we were going all day,” she said, adding that the teams worked quickly in the rain to move the eggs to higher sand.

The director also praised the beachgoers who telephoned AMITW to report threatened nests and stood by in the rain to observe the volunteers at work.

“We have a lot of turtle-lovers here,” she said.

While the water pooled high on the beach, Fox said she didn’t think the Island lost a lot of sand. Because AMITW triangulates the locations of every nest, they should still be able to locate nests even though stakes washed away.

The weather system also impacted the nesting black skimmers and chicks on the beach in north Anna Maria.

“It’s pretty water logged up there,” Fox said. “And we need to shore up the buffer.”

She said the skimmer chicks found some protection and the colony continues to thrive, but 12 chicks died in the July 8 rain.

AMITW, on July 11, reported a count of 373 adult skimmers and 28 chicks. Fox said she is expecting a second round of nesting for the birds.

The rain, wind and waves caused trouble for nesting programs on other west coast beaches. Other organizations also reporting the wash out of turtle nests and, in some cases, devastation in skimmer nesting areas.