Sea turtle season

Sea turtle season started on May 1, and beach patrollers are getting ready for the first nests of the season to pop up soon.

On average, 40,000 to 84,000 sea turtles nest on Florida coastline. Gasparilla Island is host to between 80 and 120 nesting turtles each year. Last year one area of the beach was honored to host six green turtle nests, a species that is becoming more endangered each year.

Grace Harvey, the state permit holder for the island’s sea turtle patrol, said that last year at this time no nests were on Boca Grande beaches. This year is no different.

“This season came upon us so fast,” she said. “Last year the activity started out slowly. We’ll see what happens this year.”

Harvey said that a few sea turtle patrollers got to participate in some early beach action, a unique census study of snowy plovers done earlier this week.

The study is conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Geographical Survey. The objectives are to assess the size of the snowy plover population and distribution of breeding of Florida’s snowy plovers.

Two independent observers will visit each site on the same day within one hour of each other and record all the adult birds and their locations. They are not allowed to speak to each other or record the other’s data until the test is complete. Conditions such as the weather at the time, wind speeds and the type of land being studied are also recorded.

Snowy plover numbers have declined over the last decade and their distribution throughout the country, as well as the world, is patchy. The birds tend to keep to large, flat expanses of sand, and avoid all competition for food in habitats where other birds cannot nest. For a time the birds nested on the gravel roofs that were popular until the last few years. Now that the architectural style has been used less and less, it has also lessened the amount of area where plovers can nest.

The snowy plover’s patchy distribution, not only in North America but elsewhere in the world, is also due to the fact it avoids competition for food in a habitat in which few other birds can exist.

The birds are unique in many ways. The snowy plover frequently raises two broods a year, and sometimes three in places where the breeding season is long. The female deserts her mate and brood about the time the chicks hatch and initiates a new breeding attempt with a different male.

Young snowy plovers leave their nest within three hours of hatching. They flatten themselves on the ground when a parent signals the approach of people or potential predators. They walk, run, and swim well and forage unassisted by parents, but require periodic brooding for many days after hatching.

Nancy Lingeman, a sea turtle patroller for many years, is also a lover of the plovers. She said the birds are currently living in front of The Island House on Gulf Boulevard, in front of the Boca Grande Club, and two other locations on the island.

“The Island House plover and the Boca Grande Club plover are not nesting right now,” Lingeman said. “Out of the four nests we have, three have been gotten into by foxes. We found fox tracks and scat at the scene.”

Lingeman said that one nest, which is located between beach accesses two and three, is due to hatch in the next couple weeks, and requests that if dog owners do let their pets run loose on the beach, they be particularly careful that the animals don’t get into the plover nest or, in the future, sea turtle nests. The plover site, as well as all sea turtle nests, are marked with stakes and sometimes roped off.

“Some nice person found the plover nest before I did and surrounded it with shells,” she said.

Harvey said that while coyotes, foxes and raccoons are some of the biggest sea turtle egg predators on the island, dogs running loose can dig up nests as well, and that the smell of freshly-laid eggs could be enticing.

“Raccoons that raid the nests eat a lot of eggs,” she said. “They have a lot of young to feed. It’s like they’re just sitting there waiting for mama turtle to finish.”

Harvey also said that the stakes that The Island School students artfully decorated have been handed out to patrollers, and will hopefully be put to good use soon. The students have been making the stakes for several years, and learn a little more about sea turtle habits each time.

Lee County residents will now be fined for leaving beach furniture out after dusk from May 1 until October 31. The Lee County code was amended and approved last August to include beach furniture and equipment. Dune vegetation issues and more beach lighting stipulations were also added.

Lee County’s definition of furniture and equipment includes chairs, tables, cabanas, umbrellas, sailboats, tents, bicycles, personal watercraft, canoes, and the like. All beach furniture must be removed from the beach from 9 p.m. to 8 a.m. during turtle nesting season, and to be stored behind the landward edge of dune vegetation.

Violators will be warned first, then cited with a Notice of Violation. The case will go to a hearing examiner, and fines up to $500 a day can be imposed.

Vehicles are also not allowed on the beach, unless driven by researchers, police, fire or EMS. Charlotte County already has these same statutes in effect.

Turtle nesting season along Florida beaches begins May 1 and ends October 31. Here are some do’s and don’t’s that people can remember to help clear the way for nesting turtles:

Do:

• If you encounter a nesting turtle, remain quiet and observe from a distance

• Shield or turn off outdoor lights that are visible on the beach from May through October

• Close drapes after dark and put beach furniture far back from the water

• Fill in holes that may entrap hatchlings on their way to the water

• Place trash in its proper place

Do Not:

• Approach nesting turtles or hatchlings, make noise, or shine lights at turtles

• Use flashlights or fishing lamps on the beach

• Encourage a turtle to move while nesting or pick up hatchlings that have emerged

• Use fireworks on the beach

Sea turtles are protected under federal law and any harassment or interference with a sea turtle, living or dead, is subject to penalty. If you witness anyone disturbing a turtle or find an injured or disoriented hatchling or adult, please notify agents with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at 1 (88 404-FWCC (3922), the local sheriff’s department, and/or Mote Marine Laboratory’s Sea Turtle Program at (941) 388-4331. If you find a dead or injured sea turtle contact Mote’s Stranding Investigations Program at (941) 988-0212.