More than 30 people filled the Annie Silver Community Center, 103 23rd St. N., Bradenton Beach, June 16 for the Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Turtle Tuesday Talk.
The program focused on providing attendees with basic information about the nesting turtles and shorebirds on Anna Maria Island and how the public can help provide a safe environment.
AMITW volunteer Glenn Wiseman discussed the island’s shorebirds, the snowy plovers, black skimmers and least terns.
Wiseman said AMITW became involved with protecting shorebirds after an incident where some of the birds were trapped in a net and died. Now the organization’s volunteers serve as bird stewards, watching over the nesting shorebirds and their habitat.
According to Wiseman, several things can stress nesting birds and potentially kill chicks. He advises people to not feed birds on the beach. Feeding birds can bring in predators to nesting areas that would potentially destroy eggs and chicks. And while bread is a common item humans feed to birds, it can bleach the calcium from the bird’s bones, causing them to be rubbery and unable to fly.
Wiseman said one reason dogs are not allowed on county beaches is the nesting birds. One dog could potentially decimate an entire colony by running through, scaring birds away from the area and destroying eggs and young chicks.
The same principle applies to people who would chase birds. The stress scares the adult bird that, in turn, leaves the chicks and eggs vulnerable to being trampled. Birds who feel threatened by people coming too close to the nesting area will squawk at intruders and brandish wings in a threatening manner.
The curious can observe the nesting birds and chicks in a safe manner by meeting up with bird stewards during nesting season from 5:30 p.m. to sunset on weekends near the 27th Street beach access in Bradenton Beach.
AMITW volunteer Karen Anderson discussed sea turtles with the Tuesday Turtle Talk guests, pointing out the differences between land and sea turtles.
Sea turtles have flippers to aid in swimming, while land turtles have short legs, toes and toenails and can retract into their shells. Though some land turtles grow to a large size, they’re smaller than a full-grown sea turtle, which can grow to several feet in length.
Land turtles cannot survive in saltwater. Anderson urged anyone who spots a turtle and worries that it’s a displaced sea turtle, to contact AMITW before attempting to place the turtle in the Gulf of Mexico.
According to Anderson, a female sea turtle can carry up to three clutches of 100 or more eggs in a nesting season. The turtle comes on the beach and digs a nest about 24 inches deep and spends about two hours laying eggs before covering the nest with sand and returning to the gulf. The turtle may lay up to three nests per year, but does not return to its nest to check on the eggs. Approximately one out of 1,000 hatchlings survives into adulthood.
Sea turtle nests typically hatch at night. Hatchlings spend a few days in the nest, awaiting the majority to hatch before digging their way up and out of the sand — to make the long crawl toward the horizon.
During the 50-60 days of incubation, the nest and hatchlings are at a high risk from predators such as raccoons, fire ants and poachers.
Nests that wind up near the water’s edge also are vulnerable. Sea turtle eggs are water permeable and the hatchlings can drown if the nest becomes flooded. Anderson said sea turtle nests can survive some wave washovers, but AMITW seldom relocates a nest.
“Results are terrible when we move them,” AMITW executive director Suzi Fox said. “Hatch rates are low. We just need to let it be a natural cycle.”
Sea turtle nests are available for adoption through AMITW for a $100 donation. People who adopt a nest receive a plaque after the nest has hatched, along with a DVD of a sea turtle nest hatching.
Turtle Tuesday Talks continue weekly at 10 a.m. through July at Annie Silver Community Center. For more information on turtle talks, adopting a nest or reporting potentially distressed wildlife, contact AMITW at 941-778-5638.