It’s hatch time!
The first sea turtle hatchlings of the season for Anna Maria Island entered the Gulf of Mexico July 6 from a nest near 74th Street in Holmes Beach.
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteer Bob Haynes was first on the scene of the hatched nest.
Nesting season runs May 1-Oct. 31, and nests typically start hatching July-October.
The nest was to be excavated July 9, AMITW volunteer Pete Gross said.
Excavating involves removing eggs from the nest and determining the number hatched, non-hatched and pipped eggs.
A pipped egg is an egg that contains a turtle — living or dead. Those that contain live sea turtles are left in the clutch with the assumption the sea turtles will emerge.
After excavating a nest, volunteers rebury the remains. — Kelsey Mako
