And soon there will be none.
With less than 50 sea turtle nests remaining on the shore, the volunteers who monitor the nesting season celebrate each successful clutch.
On Sept. 22, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers excavated a loggerhead sea turtle nest near the 1900 block of Gulf Drive North in Bradenton Beach.
The clutch produced 78 hatched eggs and one unhatched egg. The average sea turtle hatch-year to date is 70, so this is considered a good count.
The season runs through October and began in May.
The volunteers will continue monitoring on the shore until the rest of the nests hatch or exceed the period required to hatch, at which time they will be excavated.
The potential for unhatched nests is a concern due to the time nests spent under water during storms.
Sea turtle eggs can survive at least four hours under water and their survival rate decreases as the embryo grows, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Research Institute.
In other news, large human-made holes continue to present potential hazards to sea turtle hatchlings as they make their way to the Gulf of Mexico, according to the volunteers.
A sizable hole, seemingly formed when a sand sculpture was built, was discovered Sept. 22 in the 1900 block of Gulf Drive North in Bradenton Beach.
Turtle hatchlings are about 2 inches long and the clutch works together to dig their way out of a 2-foot-deep nest.
The turtles then travel across the beach to the water.
So holes, furniture, trash and towels — any obstacle — can impede their efforts, sometimes resulting in death due to dehydration.
AMITW stresses the importance of beachgoers filling holes and taking everything from the shore — trash and all — when leaving.