The sea turtle nesting season entered a new phase the week ending July 10, as the island’s first hatchlings emerged from nests.
Some hatchlings, however, became disoriented and at least 10 died.
As of July 10, eight nests had hatched, according to Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring executive director Kristen Mazzarella. The number of hatchlings to emerge was not known because AMITW waits three days to inventory a nest and the first hatched July 8.
Hatchlings from three of the first four nests to hatch became disoriented and “crawled away from the Gulf instead of toward it, drawn, off course, by artificial light,” according to AMITW.
At least 21 hatchlings were recovered from three swimming pools, and 10 dead hatchlings were found on Gulf Drive.
AMITW said streetlights and lights at motels, vacation rentals and businesses caused the disorientations in Holmes Beach and Bradenton Beach. In its news release, AMITW did not name properties.
“We were excited to see that some of our nests have hatched, but we’re also bummed, because three out of the four nests that have hatched so far have disoriented, and we’ve already found hatchlings dead in the road from two of those nests,” Mazzarella said. “That’s avoidable. It’s getting the lights turned off and making sure that people keep their lights off overnight.”
Artificial light can disorient hatchlings and adult sea turtles away from the Gulf of Mexico. Hatchlings and nesting females move by instinct toward the brightest horizon. Under natural conditions, the open water reflects the brightest light, while landward dunes appear as dark, low silhouettes.
AMITW issued a call for people along the shore to turn off or shield lights, use amber-filtered bulbs with shields and close blinds and curtains on Gulf-facing windows.
Beachgoers also should remove gear from the beach at sunset, as well as fill in any holes dug in the sand.
AMITW volunteers are on-call 24/7 at 941-301-8434 to respond to reports of disoriented turtles.
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.
By the numbers
As of July 10, AMITW reported 385 turtle nests, 492 false crawls, 24 disorientations and eight hatched nests.
