Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring was still awaiting the season’s first sea turtle nest hatch as of July 3.
But a first did arrive by July 4 — the first bayside nest this season on the island’s south end.
“Manatee County staff alerted us to a turtle nesting at sunrise this week near the South Coquina Boat Ramp,” Kristen Mazzarella, AMITW executive director, said in a July 3 report. “This nest has been posted and caged to prevent raccoon predation and will be monitored throughout the season.”
Across AMI, AMITW documented 43 new loggerhead nests and 74 false crawls for the week.
There were 344 documented sea turtle nests on AMI as of July 3, all of them made by loggerheads.
AMITW also continues to monitor a least tern colony on the Gulf shore in Bradenton Beach. There were 32 adult terns, nine young terns and seven nests.
“Unfortunately, the black skimmer colony was deemed inactive this week, with no nests hatched and all the birds have left the enclosure,” according to AMITW.
AMITW volunteers nicknamed the chicks: Persi, Vera, Nancy, Amelia, Charlie, Carlos, Leon, Pearl and Opal.
For the public curious about nesting shorebirds and sea turtles, AMITW continues to host Turtle Tracks & Shorebird Facts.
The free weekly presentation is at 10 a.m. Mondays, May-August, at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
For more information, visit islandturtlewatch.com or call 941-301-8434.
By the numbers
As of July 3, AMITW reported 344 nests, 436 disorientations and 20 false crawls.
Turtle talks with AMITW
AMITW’s Turtle Tracks & Shorebird Facts is a free weekly presentation at 10 a.m. Mondays through August at Holmes Beach City Hall, 5801 Marina Drive. For more information, visit islandturtlewatch.com or call 941-301-8434.
