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Tag: sea turtle hatchlings

Despite tropical storm, Turtle Watch reports successful year

Despite tropical storm, Turtle Watch reports successful year

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Despite the loss of 200 loggerhead sea turtle nests due to flooding caused by Debby, which passed by Anna Maria Island as a tropical storm on Aug. 4-5, it has been a successful nesting year so far with numbers surpassing those of 2023, and, in some cases, record high numbers.

“It’s been a busy week with a lot of nest excavations – where we count the eggs in the nest to see how well the nest did after it hatched or is overdue,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in an Aug. 30 email. “We’ve had a few hatches this week and we excavate hatched nests three days after the hatch is observed – to allow all the hatchlings to emerge from the nest on their own. However, due to the Tropical Storm Debby, most of our excavations continue to be 70-day (overdue nest) excavations.”

Mazzarella wrote that 135 nests are still incubating on Island beaches.

With a total nest count of 685, there were 200 complete washouts of nests this year, compared to 82 washouts in 2023, when 404 nests were produced.

A new loggerhead nest was found on the Island last week, and volunteers continue to look for new nests and false crawls as well as checking the remaining nests until they hatch and are excavated.

LIGHTING IMPROVEMENTS

Florida Power & Light (FPL) has started installing shields on several streetlights along Gulf Drive in Bradenton Beach. The streetlights could be seen from the beach, and may have led to the death of an adult female sea turtle that nested nearby, wandered into the road and was struck by a car in June.

“These shields will direct the light onto the road and make the lights less visible from the beach, creating a more turtle-friendly environment and helping save sea turtle hatchlings,” Mazzarella wrote. “We thank FPL, City of Bradenton Beach, Manatee County and FWC for their help in making this possible.”

Loggerhead killed by car leaves behind 84 hatchlings

Loggerhead killed by car leaves behind 84 hatchlings

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

BRADENTON BEACH – The nest laid by a loggerhead sea turtle that was struck and killed by a car on Gulf Drive in June hatched earlier this week, producing 84 hatchlings.

“When we conducted the nest excavation, we found one live hatchling in the nest, which was released immediately,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella wrote in an Aug. 23 email.

Mazzarella said it was a great hatch success and is hopeful that the turtle’s legacy will continue.

“At this nest, which was situated in the picnic area of Coquina Beach near lifeguard tower 6, we placed a dedication plaque to let people know how, thanks to the awareness this turtle brought about lighting issues, many more turtles were saved from her fate,” she wrote.

After her death, the streetlights that led the turtle into the road were turned off until a turtle-safe solution could be put in their place.

MANY NEST EXCAVATIONS

There have been no new crawls this week, but Mazzarella said they are possible at this time of year.

“What we have been doing a lot of is nest excavations on nests that should’ve hatched around the time of Tropical Storm Debby,” she wrote. “When nests reach 70 days, they are considered overdue and we try our best to do an inventory on them. This is sometimes a difficult task because we don’t know exactly where the nest is without the benefit of a depression from a hatch.”

Volunteers must dig the area within the nest stakes to find the nest chamber. Sometimes, Turtle Watch volunteers may find unhatched eggs that have stopped developing or hatched shells indicating that a hatch occurred but went unnoticed due to inundation from the storm.

“The good news is that we are finding that many of these nests did indeed hatch,” she wrote. “This is reflected in the increase in hatched nest numbers over last week.”

HATCHLING RESCUE

Turtle Watch volunteer Kathy Noonan found and rescued two loggerhead hatchlings that had fallen into a hole left on the beach.

“One of the many hazards we educate the public about is holes dug in the sand,” Mazzarella wrote. “These holes can entrap hatchlings on their way to the water and, unless they are found by someone, they may perish in the hole from dehydration or be picked up by a predator.”

With the loss of more than 180 nests to Tropical Storm Debby, it is even more important to make sure the remaining hatchlings make it to the Gulf, she said, reminding beachgoers to fill in holes in the sand before leaving the beach for the day.

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.”

Storm washes out more than 160 turtle nests

Storm washes out more than 160 turtle nests

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – Following Hurricane Debby, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers have been assessing the damage to turtle nests on local beaches.

Of the 479 nests that were incubating at the time of the storm, volunteers reported 227 remain staked and are likely still viable, 44 have been restaked and are likely still viable, 169 have been confirmed as complete washouts and 39 nests are yet to be assessed.

Due to Debby, which was a tropical storm while passing AMI, Turtle Watch volunteers were unable to patrol the beaches on Aug. 4-5 but were back on the beaches on Aug. 6.

“We knew we were going to lose some nests, but we were happy to report that we documented many hatched nests on Sunday morning before the storm, and a couple more hatches were reported by the public on the days we were unable to survey,” according to an Aug. 9 press release from Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella. “There may be even more hatches that we don’t know about, so we are glad that hatchlings got out!”

Volunteers have collected more than 1,000 loose nest stakes, which will be repainted and reused next year.

Mazzarella expressed gratitude to those who placed stakes in piles at the dunes.

“We hope to complete our assessment and restake all viable nests by early next week,” she wrote.

Volunteers are continuing to conduct daily patrols looking for new nesting crawls, documenting new hatches and nest disturbances and conducting an inventory of nests that have hatched or reached an overdue date.

“While we are saddened by the loss of so many nests, we are encouraged by the number of nests still left on the beach,” Mazzarella wrote. “As high as our nesting numbers were this season, we still may have a record number of successful nests before the season is over.”

So far this year, a record number of nests were laid on the Island – 683 – which broke the 2019 record of 543.

If you see a sea turtle or hatchling in distress, please call the Turtle Watch 24/7 hotline at 941-301-8434.

Turtle Watch marked nests with GPS before Debby

Turtle Watch marked nests with GPS before Debby

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

ANNA MARIA ISLAND – In advance of Hurricane Debby, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers secured stakes at the 682 nests on the Island.

“Thanks to a generous anonymous donor, we have been using a special GPS to mark our nests, which means that if the nest loses stakes, we will be able to repost the nest in nearly the exact location it was originally posted,” Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said.

Volunteers will be documenting any overwash or inundation that occurs as they check every nest after the storm.

“Our FWC Marine Turtle Permit gives us permission to work with and make informed decisions about sea turtle nests. However, it does not allow us to relocate nests or excavate nests early due to storms,” she said.

“These eggs that are outside the nest are likely already compromised and will not hatch, but with your report, we confirm and document the loss,” Mazzarella said. “Eggs that are exposed but remain in the nest are safest if they are not moved. The important thing to remember is that each nesting female deposits several nests in the season, essentially ensuring that at least some of her eggs will survive.”

Turtle Watch marked nests with GPS before Debby
Many sea turtle nests were inundated by Hurricane Debby on Sunday and Monday, likely making them unviable. Many nests lost stakes, but were marked by GPS before the storm. – Submitted

If you find eggs that are washing out, or uprooted stakes, please note the number on the stakes and report it to Turtle Watch at 941-301-8434.

Hazards impede turtle hatchlings

Hazards impede turtle hatchlings

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

HOLMES BEACH – Four turtle hatchlings that had fallen into a hole on the beach were found by Holmes Beach Code Enforcement staff on the morning of July 16.

While entrapped, the turtles were using up energy they needed for their long swim to the floating sargassum line where they will spend the next few years.

“You can prevent this,” Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring posted on its Facebook page. “Fill in your holes and spread the word that by filling our holes and leaving the beach flat, we can all help share the beach with sea turtles!”

A code enforcement officer called Turtle Watch at 941-301-8434 to report the hatchlings, which were later safely released to the Gulf of Mexico.

“We’ve had at least two nests this season that have had hatchlings trapped in holes on their way to the water,” Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said.

Besides unfilled holes in the sand, another ongoing hazard to turtles is beach furniture that is left out overnight.

“We are in contact with all (three) municipalities on the Island,” Mazzarella said. “We let them know when we see beach furniture left out overnight and they usually come to attend to it – either remove it or speak to the folks that left it out.”

She said all of the municipalities are very responsive when they hear from Turtle Watch volunteers.

“We do not tag or remove furniture that’s been left out,” she said. “We leave that to code enforcement. Beach furniture has definitely been a problem on the entire Island, but since hatching season started, our focus has been primarily on lighting and disorientations.”

Lights facing the beaches can disorient turtle hatchlings on their way to the water.

Mazzarella said tent canopy structures with sandbags on the legs have been left on the beach often, with the structure left flat on the ground.

“I don’t think people realize that this is still an entanglement hazard for nesting turtles and needs to be removed just like all the other furniture,” Mazzarella said.