The number of sea turtle nests on Anna Maria Island is running below average this season.
There were 235 sea turtle nests on the island as of June 28, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring executive director Suzi Fox said. The 20-year average for the first two months of the season is 259.
Nesting season runs May 1-Oct. 31, with eggs laid May-August and hatchlings emerging July-October. AMITW monitors and collects data throughout the season.
In 2020, there were 237 nests on the island two months into the season. However, nests in the city of Anna Maria, which makes up 2.5 miles of 9 miles of AMI habitat, were not counted last year due to the coronavirus pandemic and a beach renourishment project.
The lower number of nests this season is not the lowest number recorded in the past 20 years.
There were as few as 47 nests recorded for an entire season in the 1980s, Fox said.
Nesting also is below average statewide.
“The last week is the first time that I have felt warmth in the air in the morning,” Fox said, suggesting temperatures are a factor.
Meanwhile, the number of false crawls is above average on AMI.
In the past, the number of false crawls was similar to the number of nests, varying by about 10. But as of June 28, there were 283 false crawls recorded.
“That’s significant,” Fox said.
She added that the number of false crawls was larger in each of the three sections of beach monitored on the island.
As of June 27, the area from the Longboat Key Bridge to Manatee Public Beach had 108 nests and 130 false crawls, Manatee Public Beach to Poinsettia Road had 109 nests and 129 false crawls and the bayside of the island had seven nests and 14 false crawls.
Fox suggested false crawls are higher because there are more people on the beaches.
“We have 30 people in a house compared to two to four like we used to have. There’s just a lot more people here,” she said.
More people can add up to more activity in the sea turtle’s habitat on the beach, which may be what deters the females from coming ashore.
For more, go online to islandturtlewatch.com or call Fox at 941-778-5638.