Hatching season — as opposed to nesting season — is in full swing, according to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring, the nonprofit team that patrols the beaches May through October to document sea turtle activity.
“Nesting continues to drop as the nesting females leave the nesting beaches to head to their foraging grounds,” AMITW executive director Kristen Mazzarella said Aug. 8. “This is where they will spend the next 2-3 years feeding and resting up before they return for another nesting season.”
For the reporting week of Aug. 2-8, there were just five new nests documented on AMI.
Meanwhile, hatchling emergences are keeping the AMITW team busy as they document hatches and conduct nest excavations.
As of Aug. 8, AMITW had documented 188 hatched nests, inventoried 176 and reported 14,156 hatchlings produced.
Occasionally, AMITW also gets involved in hatchling rescues.
“We have kept quite busy this first week of August,” Mazzarella said, reporting that AMITW volunteers have “rescued multiple birds, been assisted by West Manatee Fire Rescue retrieving disoriented hatchlings from storm drains and been lucky enough to observe a daytime hatch.”
AMITW operates under a state permit and Mazzerella cautioned against members of the public interfering with nesting activity.
“‘Helping’ sea turtles hatch is both illegal and unnecessary,” she said. “Sea turtles have been around since the time of the dinosaurs and know when and how to make it to the water on their own. The only help they need is for us to provide them a dark, flat beach like they would’ve had before humans — free from artificial lights, debris and holes to run into.”
According to AMITW, 355 sea turtle nests remain on AMI beaches — 343 loggerhead nests and 12 green turtle nests.
People who see a sea turtle in distress can call the AMITW hotline at 941-301-8434.
Turtle Talks continue
The city of Holmes Beach is hosting Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring for weekly talks about sea turtle and shorebird nesting.
Sea Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts talks continue most Mondays at 10 a.m. through the month at city hall, 5801 Marina Drive.
For more information, call turtle watch at 941-301-8434 or go to www.islandturtlewatch.com.