Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers had only one loggerhead sea turtle nest remaining Oct. 21.
High tides and a hurricane impacted many nests but the 2022 turtle nesting season was still successful, exceeding a record set in 2018 for hatchling counts by more than 1,200.
As season ends, we wonder: What happens to the hatchlings?
The volunteers often are asked, do the females come back to their hatchlings?
No.
They lay their eggs and return to the sea. The nest incubates and the hatchlings emerge on their own.
Where do the hatchlings go when they crawl into the Gulf?
The hatchlings swim to the area where sargassum seaweed floats and many hatchlings will catch the Gulf Stream to the Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic Ocean.
Hatchlings spend years evading predators from above and below.
Males never return to land while females return to the area of the beach where they hatched after 30 to 35 years to lay their own eggs.
AMITW volunteers count eggs and rescue stranded hatchlings because their lives are precious, with only one in 1,000 living to adulthood.
And they encourage people to stop by their booth at the Anna Maria Farmers Market at City Pier Park, 101 N. Bay Blvd., 8:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesdays to gather information on protecting sea turtles and their habitat and support the nonprofit’s mission.
In other news, Debbie Basilius, AMITW board treasurer, said Oct. 19 there were no updates from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about the process for replacing executive director Suzi Fox, who died Sept. 30, on the state permit.
Meanwhile, Fox’s family is planning a celebration of life for friends and AMITW volunteers, most likely to be held in January.