May 2011

It’s official! “Dr. Beach” has confirmed what we’ve known all along: Siesta Beach was just named the #1 beach in the United States for 2011.

Dr. Stephen Leatherman ("Dr. Beach") is the director of the Laboratory for Coastal Research at Florida International University. He considers 50 different criteria including sand, water quality, facilities and crowds to rank the nation’s beaches in his annual survey. For the past two years, Siesta Key held the #2 ranking. Dr. Beach cited several factors that helped Siesta Key Beach win the top spot for 2011:

• Siesta Key's sugar white quartz crystal sand is considered by many to be the finest and whitest sand in the world.
• Siesta Key blue and turquoise water is clean and clear.
• The waves

Sea turtle nesting season has begun with a record on Anna Maria Island! A volunteer for Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch discovered the first loggerhead nest of the season on April 27th. It is the earliest discovery of a nest since record keeping began. Once the nests are discovered, they are staked off and marked with the date, location of the nest and an estimated hatch date. Did you know that a sea turtles lay an average of 100 eggs per nest?

It is important to keep some things in mind while enjoying the beaches during nesting season (May 1st- Oct 31st):

• Remove all trash, toys and beach furniture from the shore at the end of the day. Turtles and their hatchlings can easily lose their way by bumping into debris.
• Avoid using patio lights and shield