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Tag: Anna Maria Island sea turtle nests

Turtle Watch completes post-storm assessment

Turtle Watch completes post-storm assessment

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Outdoors, Sea turtles.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring has completed a post-storm assessment of the turtle nests remaining on the beach after what was then Tropical Storm Debby passed by, and they are still hopeful for a near-record season.

The final tally was 479 nests still incubating on the beach at the time of the storm. Of the total 683 nests that were laid, 202 had already hatched. Turtle Watch volunteers documented 182 nests washed out, and 68 nests that are possibly still viable were restaked, according to Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella in an Aug. 17 email.

“Prior to the storm, we secured the nest stakes and made sure that all nests were marked with a special GPS that we received funding for from an anonymous donor,” Mazzarella wrote. “The GPS documented the location of the nest with high accuracy which makes it very easy to accurately refind and repost nests that lost their stakes in the storm. After the storm passed, we picked up approximately 1,000 nest stakes that were pulled out from the heavy surf.”

Nest inventories are conducted three days after a hatch. Turtle Watch volunteers count the eggs inside the nest to determine the hatch success.

“Having missed two days of patrol, on 8/7 we had 27 inventories to complete – 19 were completed and eight were unable to be found,” Mazzarella wrote. “We used the new GPS’s to locate nests and determine which ones were washouts and which ones could be reposted.”

In the past week, Turtle Watch documented one new nest and three false crawls, along with 31 nest hatches.

“We are hopeful that we will still have a near record season, with 255 nests still incubating on the beach, combined with the 202 nests that have already hatched, we will have more nests than last year (2023 had 404 nests)” she wrote. “However, to make this a successful season, we will need the help of the public and visitors to ensure that hatchlings make it safely into the Gulf.”

Sea turtle nests disturbed at Coquina Beach

Sea turtle nests disturbed at Coquina Beach

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Outdoors, Sea turtles.

BRADENTON BEACH – Upon seeing a group of six people digging around a marked turtle nest at the south end of Coquina Beach on Saturday, two early morning walkers did exactly what they were supposed to do – contact authorities.

“We saw a group of people digging with their hands into the nest. They were laughing and taking selfies and when we told them that it was illegal they became really rude,” one of the observers said.

The observers, Charlotte and Teri, contacted the Bradenton Beach Police Department non-emergency line.

“If they would have said, ‘Sorry, we didn’t know,’ I would have walked away, but instead they continued on to disturb two more nests,” Teri said.

An officer came out and contacted the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

“There were four women and two men,” Charlotte said. “One of the women was put in handcuffs.”

After about an hour, FWC officers arrived, the women said.

“FWC showed up and I showed them the nests and he said he wanted me to sign the report,” Teri said. “When the other FWC gentlemen came over, they had a conference and said I didn’t need to sign a report, because there was no wet sand, even though you can clearly see the nest they disturbed.”

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella was notified of the incident and sent a volunteer out to check the nests.

“What that tells me about the wet sand is that they didn’t dig too deeply because the sand below the surface is wet,” she said. “But you should never put your hands inside a turtle nest enclosure.”

Sea turtles are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act and Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act. According to Florida law, no one may harass, disturb, take, move, sell, damage, destroy, injure or kill any marine turtle, hatchling, egg or nest.

In an email request by The Sun for comment on the incident, FWC Public Information Officer Bradley Johnson wrote the following:

“On July 13, 2024, The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Bradenton Beach Police Department, and an FWC biologist responded to a report of a sea turtle nest disturbance on Coquina Beach. Once on scene FWC officers and biologists surveyed the nests and did not locate any evidence of the nests having been disturbed. FWC officers also spoke to the individuals who were near the nests and educated them on sea turtle nests and their protections.”

Mazzarella said the two women did the right thing by contacting authorities.

“Each of the three cities has a non-emergency telephone line,” she said. “The number for FWC is posted at each nest.”

If you see people disturbing turtles, call the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Alert hotline at 888-404-FWCC (3922), or call:

• City of Anna Maria code enforcement — 941-708-6130, ext. 111.

• City of Bradenton Beach code enforcement — 941-778-1005, ext. 227.

• City of Holmes Beach code enforcement — 941-778-0331, ext. 260.

Second sea turtle nests in daytime

Second sea turtle nests in daytime

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Outdoors, Sea turtles.

ANNA MARIA – More than 100 beachgoers saw an uncommon sight when a nesting loggerhead sea turtle laid her eggs during the day on June 26, the second daytime nesting in a week.

Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers posted photos and the following on its Facebook page: “What an awesome afternoon in Anna Maria Wednesday! We had a day nester loggerhead! She remained on the beach for approximately one hour. Around 100 people of all ages were very respectful and gave her space. Everyone cheered as she returned to the Gulf!”

“It is not very common to see daytime nesting turtles and we did have two in one week,” Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in a July 3 email to The Sun. “I do not know what would cause them to nest during the day either. I just know that it is a rare occurrence.”

Mazzarella speculated that with this being a record year for sea turtle nests on the Island, it may just be a matter of numbers or a reaction to disturbances during typical night nesting.

“If you have that many nests, you may see a few daytime nesters,” she wrote. “If a turtle is disturbed and leaves the beach without nesting, she will have to return another time to lay her nest and that might mean nesting at a time that finds her on the beach in the morning or having to come up during the day.”

She reminded visitors to leave the beach to the turtles at night so that people don’t inadvertently disturb a turtle coming ashore or nesting on the beach. Cell phone lights are especially disruptive to sea turtles.

TURTLE TIPS

During sea turtle season, May 1 – Oct. 31, follow these tips to help turtles:

• 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, lanterns or camera flashes on the beach at night.

• Remove all beach chairs and other 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. You might also accidentally dig into an unmarked nest. To report large holes or other turtle obstacles, call:

• City of Anna Maria code enforcement — 941-708-6130, ext. 111.

• City of Bradenton Beach code enforcement — 941-778-1005, ext. 227.

• City of Holmes Beach code enforcement — 941-778-0331, ext. 260.

• Level sandcastles before leaving the beach; they can block hatchlings from the water.

• Don’t use balloons, wish lanterns or fireworks; they litter the beach and Gulf, and turtles can ingest the debris.

• 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).

Holiday beachgoers disturb turtle nests

Holiday beachgoers disturb turtle nests

Written by Leslie Lake on . Posted in Outdoors, Sea turtles.

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers discovered that multiple sea turtle nests were disturbed over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“I don’t think it was anything malicious,” Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said. “We have had disturbances to nests before, but this weekend was exceptional. I think this was people not realizing and not giving the nests space. I want to make people aware that they need to respect posted nest areas.”

Mazzarella said that issues during the holiday included people walking across nests, knocking over stakes, tearing marker tape, digging in the sand close to nests and planting tents in nesting areas.

Turtle nests on local beaches are clearly marked with yellow numbered stakes and pink caution tape.

“We recommend that people keep their distance from nests, report anyone that is observed disturbing a nest to local law enforcement, and also call 941-301-8434 to report a nest that has not been marked,” Turtle Watch posted on their Facebook page.

Turtle nesting season runs from May through October.

Marine turtles are protected under the Federal Endangered Species Act of 1973 and Florida’s Marine Turtle Protection Act.

“Florida Statutes restrict the take, possession, disturbance, mutilation, destruction, selling, transference, molestation and harassment of marine turtles, nests or eggs,” according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.