Protected species spotted on AMI

The Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird

Monitoring director reminds beachgoers to watch protected species from a distance.

BY LESLIE LAKE SUN CORRESPONDENT | llake@amisun.com

ANNA MARIA

ISLAND – While monitoring sea turtle nests last week, Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch and Shorebird Monitoring volunteers spotted several protected species.

They were especially pleased to see a piping plover and a snowy plover on their monthly shorebird survey.

In a departure from the norm, there was no documented shorebird nesting on Anna Maria Island in 2022. In June this year, a black skimmer colony in Holmes Beach disbanded after humans disturbed it. It was the only shorebird nesting observed in 2023.

Volunteers also recently saw manatee mating herds in the Gulf of Mexico and gopher tortoises in the dunes on the beach.

The snowy plover, piping plover, black skimmer, gopher tortoise and manatee are classified as threatened species.

“All these species are either federally or state protected or both,” Turtle Watch Executive Director Kristen Mazzarella said. “Please remember to watch them from a distance and do not approach, touch or harass any of these animals in any way.”

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