AMITW Weekly Nesting Numbers 8/29/2025
| 8/23/2025 – 8/29/2025 | Loggerhead | Green | |
| Nests this week | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| False Crawls this week | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 Total Nests | 541 | 526 | 15 |
| 2025 Total False Crawls | 828 | 797 | 31 |
| 2025 Hatched Nests | 358 | 350 | 8 |
| 2025 Nests Inventoried | 352 | 344 | 8 |
| 2025 Hatchlings Produced | 25,750 | 25,301 | 449 |
| 2025 Adult Disorientations | 30 | 28 | 2 |
| 2025 Hatchling Disorientations | 128 | 127 | 1 |
| Nests remaining on the beach | 154 | 147 | 7 |
High Tides and Nests
This week started with thunderstorms, rain, strong winds, and heavy surf that overwashed and inundated many sea turtle nests. When nests are laid, we collect high accuracy GPS coordinates for each one so that we can refind and restake nests that lose their stakes. AMITW Turtle Patrollers were busy refinding and reposting nests in the rain this week. A couple of nests were washed out and others were impacted by the tides which may have drowned eggs and hatchlings waiting to emerge. Fortunately, some of the eggs and hatchlings survived these conditions and those are the strong ones with good genetics that we hope survive to adulthood!
Nesting is nearly done
It has been about 2 weeks since we saw our last adult turtle crawl on the beach, but we are still on the lookout for holdouts that might have one last nest before they depart the nesting area for their foraging grounds.
Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts
AMITW presented their last Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts FREE talk on Monday 8/25. It has been a great season and we are happy to have educated 434 visitors and locals about how to protect sea turtles and shorebirds on Anna Maria Island.
Hatchlings!
This year we are happy to report that nests have been incredibly successful in hatchling production – with over 25,000 hatchlings produced from 352 nests! This exceeds the number of hatchlings produced in either 2023 and 2024 and we still have 154 nests remaining on the beach to produce even more!
Record breaking Disorientations 🙁
Sadly, we are also breaking records with the number of disorientations this year with a 36% (128 nests disoriented of 358 hatched nests) hatchling disorientation rate. This means not all those hatchlings we are producing are making it to the water, but rather ending up in the road, swimming pools and parking lots because they are following artificial light instead of the night sky. So far this year, 128 nests have disoriented when hatching, involving a minimum of 3,602 hatchings, 187 of which were found dead. If they are found alive and reported to AMITW’s 24/7 Hotline 941-301-8434, they have a chance of surviving but have used up a lot of their energy. The loss of dunes in last year’s hurricane have increased the risk of disorientation because the dunes and vegetation used to block much of the artificial light. Please remember to keep the beach turtle friendly so hatchlings can safely find their way to the water:
- No cell phone or flashlights (even red lights) on the beach at night
- Close blinds so interior lights cannot be seen from the beach
- Use turtle-friendly lighting (red or amber LEDs) with shields or turn off lights that can be seen from the beach.
- Report any non-turtle friendly lights that can be seen from the beach to your local code enforcement.
If you find a hatchling in danger, in the road, in a pool, or just off the beach, here’s what to do:
- Pick up the hatchling to get it out of danger
- Place it in a bucket/container (you can put a little sand in the bucket but NO WATER!)
- Call AMITW’s Hotline 941-301-8434 for more instructions
- Please do not release hatchlings on your own. If they are sick or injured, they may not be able to swim.
Photos:
TTASF: AMITW Volunteer Karen Anderson shows visitors a sea turtle carapace after presenting the last Turtle Tracks and Shorebird Facts presentation of the 2025 nesting season. Credit: Cindy Hodge
Nest Excavation: AMITW Turtle Patrollers, Debbie Basilius and Jerry Miller conduct a nest excavation on a nest that did not hatch. Nest excavations provide important data about how many eggs sea turtles lay and how successful the nests are by comparing the number of hatched shells to the total eggs in each nest. Credit: Andrea Cramer
Green Hatchling: A green hatchling makes it way to the water after being found inside the nest during a nest excavation. Nest excavations are a nice way of getting to learn about the biology of sea turtles and sometimes you even get to see hatchlings! Credit: Amy Waterbury
NestStakesWashedOut: This was the scene on the beach early this week as nest stakes washed away on several nests due to heavy surf and high tides. Volunteers use high accuracy GPS to refind and repost the nest sites after the storms subside. Credit: Maureen Richmond
Loggerhead Hatchling: This loggerhead hatchling was found in a parking lot mid-afternoon. Fortunately, the finder called AMITW’s 24/7 Hotline and we were able to recover the hatchling, allow it to rest during the heat of the day and release it that evening. Credit: Jeff Richmond