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May Monthly Board Meeting CANCELLED
Due to Covid-19, we have decided to cancel our May board meeting. Thank you for everyone's continuous support!
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Upcoming Events Dates:
May 11th @ 3pm-
Facebook Premiere of Lisa Palombo Sea Turtle Art Auction (See Details below)
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Nesting Season 2018/2019 Report
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Nesting Season 2018/2019 was a record-breaking season for sea turtles in the state of Florida! Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission has released the of
ficial statistics for the entire state of Florida. These numbers are comprised from reports and data from all the dedicated nesting volunteers and researchers throughout the state of Florida. This information teaches us so much about our sea turtle population and how it changes year to year.
Check them out!
2019 Nesting Season Stats-
- 229 Beaches
- 846 Miles
- 2,900 Volunteers- Wow!!
- 160,793 Total Nests
- 106,656 Loggerhead Nests (2nd Highest nesting since 1996)
- 53,015 Green Nests (112 short of current record)
- 1105 Leatherback Nests
- 11 Kemps Nests ( 6 DNA tests still pending)
- 0 Hawksbill Nests
2018 Hatchling Data-
- Loggerhead- 5,325,290 / Nests- 68,081
- Green- 217,566 / Nests- 3,075
- Leatherback- >29,000 / Nest- 469
What exciting numbers!!! Thank you to all of our Florida Keys S-A-T Volunteers for a great season! Let's hope 2020 is even better! For more information about sea turtle nesting stats, please visit:
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Save-A-Turtle Beach Shoreline Clean-ups
With Nesting Season here, Save-A-Turtle wants to do what we can to help keep our beaches and shorelines as clean as possible so that sea turtles don't have
trash and debris as an obstacle to encounter when making their way on to land to lay their eggs.
We will be primarily
targeting nesting beaches throughout the middle and lower Keys! Suggestions for poorly maintained areas are appreciated!
We will also be looking for potential sponsors who would be willing to provide supplies for all the volunteers and participants. E-mail us for more information.
Ideally, we would like to organize one clean-up every month in a different location! (Dates & Locations TBD due to Covid-19).
Stay Tuned!!
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2020 Nesting Season is Here!
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We are just a little over 2 weeks into Nesting Season 2020 and all signs already point in the direction of hopefully a very busy year!! Sea turtles have started nesting on our Florida Keys beaches and are being monitored on a safe basis as to Covid-19 issues. Presently, permitted volunteers have no interaction with the public, they are wearing masks, and practicing social distancing!
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Our permit holders reported one confirmed Loggerhead nest on April 19th, 2020 (pictured above) and three Loggerhead "false crawls", when Mama sea turtle makes her way onto the beach but does not successfully lay her eggs for whatever reason. This is a lot of activity for being so early in the season! Check back with us as we keep everyone updated on our sea turtle Mama's & our babies!
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Lisa Palombo Sea Turtle Facebook Art Auction- May 11th, 2020 3pm EST
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Join us on Facebook on May 11th at 3pm for the premiere of a one-of-a-kind piece of art painted by the talented artist Lisa Palombo. Lisa is a contemporary American impressionist known for her expressive brushwork and fearless use of color. The sea turtle painting she will debut on Facebook will be an original acyrlic on watercolor paper of a sea turtle hatchling. Viewers will be able to watch Palombo create her masterpiece in a pre-recorded video she will premiere on her page and will have the ability to bid on the painting until May 13th. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Save-A-Turtle. You can find more information about this upcoming art auction on Save-A-Turtle's Facebook page!
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"While being quarantined here in the beautiful Florida Keys, I have kept very busy getting ready for this years nesting season; advising beachfront homeowners that nesting is beginning and reminding them to keep their beaches dark at night amongst other turtle "rules" to keep in mind so that we provide a safe habitat for our mamas. I've also been working with my amazing team of S-A-T volunteers Turtle Nest Surveyors to work out our daily schedule and training of our new volunteers. Normally, this is an easy task. However, Covid-19 protocols have complicated some of these tasks. But together we are working it out and hoping for the best season yet. The winter winds have finally died down and the water is warming up. Flat seas and sunny days have provided for some amazing snorkeling adventures off shore from my boat."
Sherri Crilly Save-A-Turtle Vice President
Click here
to see a video of one of Sherri's dives on a patch reef
in the Lower Keys.
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Help support our 2020 Nesting Season by Sponsoring a Beach Walker!! Only $25! click the link below to learn more.
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Why do baby Sea Turtles like
Red Light
?
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Artificial Lighting and Sea Turtle Hatchling Behavior
Disorientation from artificial lighting causes thousands of hatchling deaths each year in Florida and is a significant marine turtle conservation problem. Long-term monitoring of this threat involves an annual statewide effort to gather...
Read more
myfwc.com
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"With Covid going on, my family is spending all our time in the yard and in the woods. We have been cleaning up trails so we can ride them and we like checking the wildlife cameras! We have captured on video many squirrels and deer but also we have two videos of a bear and a video on a bobcat! We have been excited to learn about the animals that live around us now and capturing these animals on camera. (We have not come acorss the bear in person but I would be excited to observe him from a safe distance in person). I will say that if Covid was not going on the only thing that would be different is that we would have some family and friends over as well but we are outside in the woods as much as possible. I am missing walking the beaches but happily following social media and getting excited each time a new photo is posted with a crawl. So excited for this season and its off to a great start!"
Kelley Porter Save-A-Turtle Secratary
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Caretta Caretta
by Melissa Goldblatt
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Loggerhead photo at Looe Key by NSU Coral Researcher Emily Hower
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Loggerhead sea turtles have a large skull with an incredibly strong beak that they use to crack open their food such as conchs & crabs!
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With jaws just as strong as a great white shark, the Loggerhead sea turtle is a species not to mess with! Loggerheads are the 3rd largest species of sea turtle in the world and the 2nd most common species that lives in the Florida Key's water. They are one of the easiest species to identify. They are the only sea turtle that range in colors of yellow, orange, red and brown. They do not having overlapping scutes on their brownish colored carapace or shell. They grow to an average of 200-400 lbs. But the easiest way to identify any sea turtle (in my opinion) is simply by looking at the skull or head of the turtle. On a Loggerhead, their skull is very large and also very square in shape. They look much different from the smaller, oval-shaped heads of many other species of sea turtles. Their name "Loggerhead" comes directly from their log
-like appearance.
While big and strong, these animals are quite elegant. They are often found swimming alone feeding in coastal bays and estuaries, as well as in the shallow water along the continental shelves of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. They are mostly carnivores with a diet that consists of shellfish and hard-shell invertebrates that they break open with their strong jaw muscles.
Sadly, Loggerhead sea turtles are classified today as a Threatened Species (likely to become endangered; in danger of extinction, within the foreseeable future) under the U.S. Federal Endangered Species Act and International listed as Vulnerable (facing a high risk of extinction in the wild in the near future).It is almost impossible to know the exact population of any sea turtle. However, NOAA Fisheries records show that the total estimated nesting in the U.S. is approximately 68,000 to 90,000 nests per year. They nest every 2-4 years primarily along the Atlantic coast of Florida, South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina and along the Florida and Alabama coasts in the Gulf of Mexico.
The biggest threats facing loggerhead turtles are getting caught in fishing gear, loss of nesting habitat, boat strikes, and entanglement in marine debris which are all human-related. There are so many things we can do to
help these beautiful creatures survive. Participating in local beach cleans-ups and practicing the three R's (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) is vital to sea turtles existence as well as respecting them in the water by giving them space and always distancing yourself from any marked nests on beaches during nesting season! It is up to us to help save the turtles, after all!
To learn more about Loggerhead Sea Turtles, make sure to check out our Species page on our website.
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"I am still working at the Turtle Hospital, just behind-the-scenes since we're obviously still closed to guests. I am spending a ridiculous amount of time with my pets. They are, as always, very entertaining. And Thomas the cat is learning to walk on a leash so he can go outside with his BFF, Milo the dog!"
Tammie Anderson Save-A-Turtle Board Member
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Show Los Cayos Apparel Your Support!
Learn about our new sponsor, Los Cayos Apparel. An incredible business based out of the Florida Keys dedicated to giving back to the Keys Community!
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"During this 'pause on life' since work is off the table, I've been busy continuing with beach restoration. Only after a beach is patrolled for sea turtle nests is any activity for the day considered. Then, if appropriate, presently dune building is the focus especially since we will soon find ourselves in the midst of 2020 hurricane season. The sea oats are growing well from our project back in November 2019 and will stabilize the dune where they were planted. It took years of work to get to the time when planting was possible and appropiate."
Harry Apel Save-A-Turtle President
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Virtual Learning is the new thing!
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Our friends at The Turtle Hospital are staying busy taking care of all of their sea turtle patients during Covid-19!
Don't forget to tune in Live on their Facebook page every Wednesday & Friday at 2pm for their Sea Turtle Education Presentation as well as "Turtle Tails" Storytime Fridays at 7pm. Fun for turtle lovers of all ages!
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"I broke my foot 3 days before Covid-19 hit the Keys. Some say good timing...I haven't decided yet. Quarentining and bed rest are very similar! I've been watching a lot of Tiger King and Scandal while on my couch recovering. In my home, playing evening games of Scrabble with my roomates has become a new fun activity to pass the time! The best part of all of this has been becoming a foster failure and offically adopting my foster pup for the last 7 months, Xena! Xena was a bait dog found living on the streets of Homestead and was rescued by MarrVelous Pet Rescue in Key Largo. She was very ill when we first met. Now she's incredibly healthy and spoiled rotten living the life of luxury here in the Keys with me!
Melissa Goldblatt Save-A-Turtle Board Member
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We are looking for pictures & photos from our Save-A-Turtle Volunteers! Do you have any pictures in your S-A-T gear, marking off nests or working one of our events? If so, please e-mail them to: Melissa_goldblatt@yahoo.com
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STAY HOME, STAY SAFE & FLIPPERS UP!
Report Sick, Injured or Dead Sea Turtles in Florida- Call FWCC at 888-404-FWCC
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