The Anna Maria Island Sun Newspaper

Vol. 15 No. 38 - July 22, 2015

TURTLES

New decals out for turtles, manatees

Carol Whitmore

Submitted

It’s easy to do something nice for Florida manatees and sea turtles. Check the box for manatees or sea turtles on the form you receive in the mail to renew your annual registration of cars, boats and trucks.

When you check the box, you are donating $5 to the funds supporting conservation of these protected species. You will receive one or both of the new Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) decals featuring manatees and sea turtles, depending on how many boxes you check. The new decals became available July 1.

The donation supports research, rescue, rehabilitation, conservation, management and education efforts on behalf of manatees and sea turtles and are a fun way to display your support of wildlife.

The message of this year’s manatee decal is “Give them space.” It is what you should do when encountering manatees while paddling through Florida waters on a kayak, canoe or paddleboard. You can help conserve them by keeping your distance and giving these large, slow-moving mammals space to surface, breathe and move freely within their habitats, which include shallow areas, seagrass beds and sanctuaries.

The new sea turtle decal features the hawksbill, Florida’s most tropical sea turtle. Hawksbills are found primarily on reefs in the Florida Keys and along the state’s southeastern Atlantic coast. An endangered species, the hawksbill was sought after in the past to use its beautifully patterned shell for jewelry, hair ornaments and other decorative items. Though use of its shell is banned in most of the world, it still is possible to find such goods, so please don’t buy them.

Floridians can donate the $5 to receive a decal when registering a vehicle or vessel or when renewing a registration through the mail, online or in person at county tax collectors’ offices across the state. Visitors or individuals from out of state interested in the manatee decal and sea turtle decal can order them online by going to www.MyFWC.com/Manatee or www.MyFWC.com/SeaTurtle and clicking on “Decals.”

Purchasing the Save the Manatee and Helping Sea Turtles Survive Florida license plates at www.BuyaPlate.com also helps protect these species.

Turtle Tips

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring offers free Tuesday Turtle Talks each Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Annie Silver Community Center, 103 23rd St. in Bradenton Beach.

No reservations are required for the program, which highlights 35 years of turtle and shorebird nesting history on Anna Maria Island.

Free souvenirs include temporary turtle tattoos and the Flippers and Feathers Activity book. Shirts and hats will be available for purchase.

Doors open at 9:30 a.m. so you can visit with the crew that monitors AMI shorelines every morning.

Turtle Tips

During sea turtle season, May 1 – Oct. 31, please follow these tips:

• Turn off lights visible from the beach and close blinds from sundown to sunrise; lights confuse nesting sea turtles and may cause them to go back to sea and drop their eggs in the water, where they won’t hatch. Light can also attract hatchlings away from the water.

• Don’t use flashlights or camera flashes on the beach at night.

• Remove all objects from the sand from sundown to sunrise; they can deter sea turtles from nesting and disorient hatchlings.

• Fill in the holes you dig in the sand before leaving the beach; they can trap nesting and hatching sea turtles, which cannot live long out of the water.

• Don’t use sky lanterns or fireworks; they litter the beach and Gulf.

• Do not trim trees and plants that shield the beach from lights.

• Never touch a sea turtle; it’s the law. If you see people disturbing turtles, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922).

Bird Tips

During bird nesting season, March through August, please follow these tips:

• Never touch a shorebird chick, even if it’s wandering outside a staked nesting area.

• Teach kids not to chase birds – bird parents may abandon nests if they’re disturbed.

• Don’t feed birds – it encourages them to fly at people aggressively and is not good for their health.

• If birds are screeching and flying at you, you’re too close.

• Avoid posted bird nesting areas and use designated walkways to the beach.

• Keep pets away from bird nesting areas.

• Keep the beach clean; food scraps attract predators such as raccoons and crows to the beach, and litter can entangle birds and other wildlife.

• If you see people disturbing nesting birds, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline a

Nesting news

Sea turtles

Nests laid: 260

False crawls: 345

Nests hatched: 2

Hatchlings to Gulf: 0

Nest disorientations: 0

Source: Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring

Adopt a turtle nest

Loggerhead sea turtle nests are up for adoption on Anna Maria Island beaches, to commemorate weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, lost loved ones or just for the love of nature. The 11-year-old program raises funds for Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring. For a tax deductible donation of $100, adoptive parents receive the adoption plaque that was posted on the nest, a video of the nest, data from the nest, such as how many turtles hatched and when, and a letter of appreciation. To adopt, visit www.islandturtlewatch.com.


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