ANNA MARIA – Make way for sea turtles in Anna Maria Island.
Nesting may have slowed, but hatchlings are springing forth from the sand.
As of July 5, five nests had hatched on island beaches.
Female loggerhead sea turtles will still crawl ashore to nest — at least through July — so people must be careful, according to Suzi Fox, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring executive director.
“We’ve had about two dozen adult disorientations this season,” Fox said.
Turtle watch reported nine such disorientations in 2019 and one in 2018.
Mature female sea turtles mostly nest at night and only leave the water to nest. So any distraction on land, including lighting visible to sea turtles on their path to nest and people who come too close, could lead to a failed nesting attempt or endanger the turtle.
Fox said June 30 that her day began with a call for help from turtle watch volunteers who came upon a loggerhead, which had nested and entered the back gate to a building on the beachfront at the Coquina Beach Club, 1906 Gulf Drive N., Bradenton Beach.
The turtle should have crawled directly back to the Gulf of Mexico.
Fox said the turtle looped the area and eventually made its way back through the gates and into the Gulf without assistance, as AMITW volunteers observed.
“They do have some lights on the roof over the stairwells that are not turtle-friendly,” Fox said of the resort. “So I suspect she couldn’t figure out how to get back to sea.”
She said she was working with the resort to resolve any problem areas.
AMITW and code compliance in Anna Maria, Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach conduct lighting inspections May-October to ensure that lights visible from the water’s edge are sea turtle-friendly, and help correct those that are not.
This means the use of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission-approved bulbs in outdoor fixtures, low to the ground and shielded, and indoor lights, including TVs, are either turned off or blocked from view on the beach by curtains or blinds.
Following the call June 30, Fox continued her morning nest survey and observed tracks heading north to south along the beach. The crawl ended at a large human-made hole in the sand where she found the trapped loggerhead, which had not nested.
A beachgoer, Kevin Breheny, and AMITW volunteer Skip Coyne created a ramp in the sand to free the turtle from the deep hole.
“We know people are out here having fun, but they need to take responsibility to fill in these holes and clean up after themselves at the end of the day,” Fox said.
She also shared concerns about people walking near nesting sea turtles and taking photos, as well as shooting brightly lit video with cellphones.
FWC regulations require people stay 100 feet from any sea turtle and, while nesting, remain quiet and not use lights, including cellphone lighting.
“If people are going to explore the beach at night, when the turtles are active, they must learn to stand back and let them be,” she said. “Especially as nests start hatching.”
Fox said AMITW is working on a public service video on digging holes and turtle-friendly beach practices to be posted to their website at islandturtlewatch.com and posted to its Facebook page.
“We are hoping this video really gets the word out about beach behavior during nesting season,” Fox said.
For more information
For more information about Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch, people can visit the AMITW website or contact Fox at 941-778-5638 or suzilfox@gmail.com.
Report sick, injured, entangled or dead sea turtles or birds to the FWC Wildlife Alert Hotline at 1-888-404-3922, #FWC or *FWC on a cell phone or text tip@myfwc.com.