Green-ing the beach

The Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring team reports documenting a green sea turtle nest on an island beach during the week ending May 28. “Green turtles tend to nest on AMI during odd years, so we’re hoping to get more in the coming weeks,” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella wrote May 27 in an email to The Islander. For the week ending June 4, Mazzarella said AMITW expects to have documented 100 sea turtle nests. Nesting season continues through October. Islander Photos: Courtesy AMITW

Crawl tracks show the movement of a nesting green sea turtle on the beach on Anna Maria Island. Most nests on the island are made by loggerheads. “Notice that the tracks are parallel while loggerhead tracks are alternating,” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella told The Islander May 27 via email.