ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Sea turtle nesting season comes to an early close due to the remaining nests being washed out by Hurricane Helene.
“We had eight nests left prior to Hurricane Helene and it’s likely that all eight washed out in the storm,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in an email. “I was able to conduct a survey on the beach on Wednesday, Oct. 2 from Bean Point down to the Beach House restaurant; however was unable to traverse the beach any further. Six of the eight remaining nests were south of the Beach House, so I can only presume that they washed out due to the extent of the damage on that part of the Island.”
She issued the following nesting numbers for the 2024 nesting season:
4/15/2024 – 9/24/2024 Total nests: 685
Total false crawls: 835
Hatched nests: 303
Hatchlings produced: 20,557
Adult disorientations: 36
Hatchling disorientations: 54
Nests remaining on the beach: 0
“We will be spending the next few months reviewing the data for accuracy so that we can report our final numbers to FWC and Manatee County,” she wrote. “We are grateful to our volunteers and community members who helped us prepare for the storm such that our equipment and UTVs were safe during the storm. We are now focusing on helping our volunteers, assisting in beach cleanups, and doing what we can for the community of AMI.”
Turtle Watch’s major fundraiser, Suzi Fox Turtle Watch Wednesday scheduled for Oct. 23 at Hurricane Hank’s, has been postponed and a new date will be announced.
“Our hearts go out to our sponsors and volunteers that have sustained damage from the storm,” Mazzarella said. “We will let you know more when the Island is further along with cleanup efforts and rebuilding.”
BRADENTON BEACH – As hundreds of delighted onlookers gathered to see a publicized turtle release at Coquina Beach, loggerhead sea turtle “Suzi” made a grand entrance from the sand to the water.
She hesitated several times walking on the beach, appearing to look at the crowd that had gathered, but once she reached the water she was in her element and took off swimming.
The June 27 release, however, won’t be the last time Suzi’s whereabouts will be known. Just after nesting in Bradenton Beach, she was outfitted with a satellite monitor and is the latest turtle to join the Tour de Turtles race. Her location will be monitored for several months via satellite.
“She nested right here and we boxed her up. We dedicated the nest that she laid to Suzi Fox, so we have a plaque here,” said Kristin Mazzarella, executive director of Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring. “She’s now part of the Tour de Turtles race.”
Turtle Watch volunteer Barbara Riskay praised the naming of the loggerhead in commemoration of Suzi Fox, the late executive director of Turtle Watch.
“It was a no-brainer to name her ‘Suzi,’ ” Riskay said.
Within three days of her release, loggerhead Suzi had traveled 16 miles at an average speed of .25 mph.
The release was sponsored by the non-profit Sea Turtle Conservancy, along with Turtle Watch and Waterline Resort.
“Started in 2008, the Tour de Turtles is a fun, educational journey through the science, research and geography of sea turtle migration using satellite telemetry,” according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy website. “Created by Sea Turtle Conservancy, with help from sponsors and partners, this event follows the marathon migration of sea turtles, representing four different species, from their nesting beaches to their foraging grounds.”
By tracking sea turtles, scientists have learned a lot about them.
“We now know that sea turtles are highly migratory, often traveling hundreds or even thousands of miles between the beaches where they lay their eggs and the foraging (feeding) grounds where they spend much of their time at sea,” according to the Sea Turtle Conservancy website. “Since most research conducted on marine turtles has been carried out on nesting beaches and well over 90% of a sea turtle’s life is spent in the water – feeding, mating, migrating and doing whatever else a sea turtle does when no one is watching – we are missing important information that can help us better protect sea turtles.”
Check the Sun’s Facebook page for weekly updates on Suzi’s location in “Where’s Suzi?”
BRADENTON BEACH – Sea turtle nesting season is in full swing on the Island, and while some locals and visitors have been lucky enough to get a glimpse of newly-hatched babies heading from their nest to the Gulf of Mexico, it doesn’t always go as planned.
That was the case on Aug. 24 when someone reported they saw turtle hatchlings in the storm drain on Bridge Street.
Bradenton Beach Police Officer John Tsakiri arrived on the scene and knew they needed to act quickly to rescue the turtles.
West Manatee Fire Rescue opens the storm drain on Bridge Street to rescue seven newly-hatched sea turtles that had become disoriented. – Submitted
“They probably hatched the night before, got disoriented and came across Gulf Drive where they fell in the storm grate,” Tsakiri said. “Somebody saw them and told the manager of Island Time, who was looking for me, so I called the fire department and asked if they could come and open up these big metal grates. They came down, we got a big box, and lifted the two grates up where we got three (turtles) out of one drain and four out of the other one.”
The drains the turtles fell into were located in front of the Daiquiri Deck on one side of Bridge Street and in front of the Bridge Walk Hotel on the other side. Tsakiri says this isn’t the first time the turtles have lost their way and ended up on Bridge Street.
“We’ve already seen a bunch of them in the Circle K parking lot and on Bridge Street,” Tsakiri said. “None of those pipes lead out to the ocean, so they’re not crawling through the pipes, they have to be crossing the streets.”
While at least 30 people gathered to watch the rescue effort and take pictures, Tsakiri said that he and the fire department were the ones who picked up the turtles and placed them in the box. Both departments have dealt with lost turtles on many occasions, and have considerable experience in doing everything possible to get them to safety. The hatchling sea turtles were released into the Gulf of Mexico.
Newly-hatched sea turtles were rescued from a storm drain on Bridge Street in Bradenton Beach. – Submitted
Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring says there are many things people can do to minimize the chances of newly-hatched turtles being disoriented, but the three most important things are to keep the beach clean, dark and flat:
CLEAN: Keep the beach clean by picking up litter and removing tents, chairs and belongings at the end of the day. Sea turtles can get entangled in junk left on the beach.
DARK: Sea turtles nest in the dark. Lights disorient nesting sea turtles and distract hatchlings on their way to the ocean. Turn off flashlights, cell phone lights and porch lights. Hatchlings follow the natural light from the moon.
FLAT: A flat beach is a safe beach for nesting sea turtles, hatchlings and visitors as well. Fill in holes and knock down sandcastles before leaving the beach.
It’s not just turtles that find themselves needing rescue. Tsakiri said just a couple of days before the turtles became trapped, he found a seagull he thought had been killed.
“I picked it up on the street and it wasn’t moving, so I brought it to my patrol car and as I was walking it just came back to life,” Tsakiri said. “I took it up to Ed Straight’s place, Wildlife Inc., and he said it was doing really well. I think they’re going to let it go today.”
Tsakiri has also rescued a raccoon stuck in a car engine bay, a large lizard that somebody had as a pet and let go, and while admittedly not a fan of snakes, he recalled a time recently when he had to wrangle a pet boa constrictor someone released. It wound up in a woman’s laundry room on Bay Drive.
On Anna Maria Island, police officers’ jobs entail much more than just helping the public and fighting crime, they are often the first ones, and sometimes the only ones, available to save the wildlife that is part of what makes the Island such a unique place.
Anyone that comes across an animal in distress or observes a non-native species such as a constrictor snake should contact the local police department or wildlife experts such as Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Inc. at 941-778-6324. Do not attempt to assist wild animals without consulting a professional. Even animals that may appear docile or look like they are dead, may not be, and bites from many animals can carry diseases such as rabies, or even be venomous.
A crowd gathered on south Coquina Beach Monday morning to cheer on Esther the loggerhead sea turtle as she made her way back to the Gulf of Mexico after being tagged with a satellite transmitter by volunteers from Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring and the Sea Turtle Conservancy.
The tagging helps the organizations gather valuable data about sea turtle migration habits. The oldest sea turtle conservation organization in the world, the Sea Turtle Conservancy has tagged hundreds of turtles. According to the organization, being tagged and sur- rounded by people for a few minutes has no negative impact on their health.
Esther swims into the Gulf of Mexico after being tagged. – Submitted
The Sun will share weekly updates on Esther’s whereabouts and whether she returns to AMI to nest. For more information on sea turtle conservation, visit Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Sea Turtle Conservancy online.
