August-September 2007 Avocet Newsletter Tampa Audubon Society

8/9/2019 August-September 2007 Avocet Newsletter Tampa Audubon Society

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Volume XVIIII, Issue 4 August/September 200

2007 - 2008

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

OFFICERS:

President- Ann Paul/Rob Heathmmediate Past President-

Stanley Krohst Vice President-vacantnd Vice President- vacant

Treasurer- Stanley KrohRecording Secretary- Susan BurtnettCorresponding Secretary- MichaelTurrisi

DIRECTORS:

oe Bailey (2007-2009)Michele Northrup (2007-2009)ohn Costin (2006-2008)

Christine Malzone (2006-2008)Velma Knowles (2007-2009)Vacant

COMMITTEES & PROGRAMS:ARC at the Park-Mike & Barbara Mullins

Audubon Adventures- Ann PaulConservation Committee Co-Chair-

Tom RiesConservation Committee Co-Chair-Dave SumpterField Trip Committee Chair-Mary KeithAvocet Editor- vacantPublicity/PR- Michael TurrisiE-Mail Directory- Michael TurrisiMembership Development- vacantFund Raising-vacantWeb Site- Sabina Espinet-ToddRegional Conservation Committee

Representative- Rob HeathChristmas Bird Count- Dave BowmanSpecial Events/Tabling Events-vacantEndowment-vacantPrograms- Ann Paul

INTHIS ISSUE :

Upcoming Programs ........................... 2ARC At The Park News ..................... 2TAS News and Events ........................ 3Announcements ................................... 3Cats Indoors Photos .................. 4.5 & 6Field Trip Report .................................. 7Announcements ................................... 8Membership Application ................... 9

Message from Avocet Edi

After over a year of working onAvocet, I am sad to have to refrom the position of newsletter edMoving to Colorado and stahome with my kids has madharder to find the time to take onduties of putting the newsletogether. It has been fun meeeveryone and I know a great volunteer will step up to the tasstill be maintaing the TAS weand look forward to seeing the fuAvocet issues online! See below

requirements.

Thanks!Sabina Espinet-Todd

NEWSLETTER EDITOR

WANTED:

TAS is in need of a voluntee

take over the duties of assembour bi-monthly newsletter, Avocet. The job only require

few hours every other month.

If you or someone you know

experience with page layougraphic design (Photosh

Pages, In Design, etc.) and wlike to help in this area, plecontact Ann Paul by e-mai

[email protected].

T A M P A A U D B O N S O C I E T Y

www.tampaaudubon.org
http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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Meetings are usually held at the ARCxcept for the May, June and July

programs. Information on the May andune programs can be found below.nformation on the July program will ben the next issue.

rog Listening Network - Meeting and Field

rip

August 31, 2007 (Friday) 7:30 PM. Flat-

woods Park, Thonotosassa, East Hills-

borough County, Highway 301Tampa Audubon Society and the Hills-

borough River Watershed Alliance

See frogs and toads and learn their

ongs and sounds. Learn about our

umpy bumpy toads and shiny singing

rogs along with an understanding of their

ignificance to our well-being. This

meeting/outing fills up quickly so call

arly to be put on the attendee list and

or more details. Contact Jo Anne

Hartzler (813) 310-7676.

ARC AT THE PARKThe Tampa Audubon Society Board ofDirectors supports with appreciation thehanges at the Visitor's Center at Lettuce

Lake Park. It is a great step forward fornvironmental education and access tohe exhibits that the Parks Department isunding staff to support having the Visi-or's Center open every day during the

week. The weekends are "manned" byTampa Audubon Society volunteers, ashas been the case for the last seven years.The exhibits are in a constant state of re-newal and improvement, creating interest

mong our Center visitors. Please wel-

come Jason and his staff and thank the parkrangers and managers for this positivemove. For more information, see below.

"Our Education Program is being continuedunder the able leadership of Mike and Bar- bara Mullins. To contact Mike or Barbara,please call them at 390-4696 or email [email protected]. The Lettuce LakeVisitor's Center is now open 7 days a week.

On Monday - Friday there will be an Inter-pretative Ranger there that may be able toprovide programs or interpretative walks ifscheduled in advance. Please feel free to callor e-mail me if you have any questions orwould like to schedule something. I am alsoin need of volunteers so if you know any-one that may be interested in working at anature center please contact me. We have

made a lot of positive changes out here andI hope you can all make it out to the park.Below are the new hours to our Nature Cen-ter."Visitor Center HoursMonday - Friday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm (Staffedby Hillsborough County Park Rangers)Saturday - Sunday 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm(Staffed By Audubon Volunteers)

ARC REPORT:In June, we had 690 people visiting the

ARC, and in July, 600. It has been a very hot

summer, and seniors, adults, teenagers, and

children have enjoyed the cool temperatures

and the exhibits. During June, training for

the Wetlands Master Naturalist was cen-

tered at the ARC and I have just finished

three days of WET & Healthy Watershed

training this month. The Head Ranger for

Lettuce Lake Park stopped in to let us know

that they will be replacing the old air condi-

tioners soon. During that time, the ARCwill be closed. We don't have an exact date

for that work but one of the contractors was

there taking measurments on Aug 8 during

our WET & Healthy Watershed workshop.

The Park staff are also going to be working

on the boardwalk from the tower to the

building at some point.

Due to Lettuce Lake Park staff cu

the ARC is now closed during the

week. The Park Head Ranger do

that there will be any additional

hired in the near future, so the ga

we made last year in keeping the

Center open every day have been

lost. This is a reflection of the ove

County staff cuts in anticipation o

State Tax Revenue Reductions.

I will be working on a plant ID gu

for the upland species this fall.

Tampa Audubon's purchase of a n

printer for photographs and exhi

should come in handy for that tas

Hope you all have had a great su

mer.Mike Mullins, ARC Environment

Education Director

Audubon Resource Center at Lett

Lake Park

ARC AT THE PARK EVENTS

Photography Club:

The Photography club meets the

third Saturday of each month.1 p.m. Digital and Wildlife Photogra

Class

2 p.m. General Photography Club

meeting

The club is open to anyone intere

in nature photography. The club

schedules outtings and fieldtrips

ing the meetings, so to be in the

know you have to attend.

Speaker Series:

On the 2nd Saturday of each mon

at 11:00 am. Tampa Audubon Soc

holds its monthly general meetin

the ARC. These are free and open

the public.

T A M P A A U D U B O N S O C I E T Y

mailto:[email protected]://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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BLUEBIRD BOXES UPDATE:

We surpassed our first year totals thisweek by 4 and have a total of 115 fledged79 bluebirds, 15 Carolina chickadees, and5 titmice). We have only one nest re-

maining with 4 eggs and two with a totalf 4 chicks, so we are clearly at the end of

he season. And what a great season it'seen.

Mary Miller

Tampa Audubon Society

2007 Field Trips

Frog Field TripRibbit! Ribbit!

f you think thats what a tree frog says,hink again or just come and learn theeal songs during the Tampa Audubon

Society Frog call and identification handsn outing Friday, August 31 at 7:30 PM at

Flatwoods Wilderness Park located at6400 Morris Bridge Road.

Well have Florida native and non-nativefrogs to see up close plus a presentation bya frog expert who will teach us how to rec-ognize the calls of all of the frogs native toour area.

Attendees will also have a chance to par-ticipate in the Frog Listening Network of the

Hillsborough County River Watershed alli-ance.

At the end of the presentations, well takeshort walks to some of the wetlands in Flat-woods to hear the frogs calling and to seesome of them in the wild.

Attendance is free but seating is limited soplease call field trip leader, Jo Anne Hartzlerat (813)310-7676 or Pat Lewis (813)907-6542 to be put on the attendee list. Bring

flashlights. Doors open at 7:00 so comeearly to sign in, and see the frogs, and pickup other information before the meeting.

Directions: Go North on I-75 to the Fletcherexit, then take a left and head East. Thesign is minimal so keep your eyes peeled.

CATS INDOORS POSTER

CONTEST WINNERS :

The Results Are IN!Nearly 200 children in Hillsborough Countypainted and drew creative posters wonder-fully depicting happy safe indoor cats andhappy safe outdoor birds during the 2008Tampa Audubon Society Poster Contest,Cats Indoors!

After weeks of Hillsborough County schoolclasses learning the benefits of keeping catsindoors as well as learning to recognize byappearance, to hear the difference in theirsongs and calls and to understand the dif-ferent behaviors, diets and habitats, severalposter entrants gathered at Lettuce LakePark to participate in a nature walk and thenannouncement of the winners.All of thejudges commented how outstand-ing the posters were and how difficult theywere to judge. Winners received an as-sortment of bird books, bird compact discs,bird feeders, bird beanie babies, and or/birdseed. All entrants won either bird housekits, bird feeder kits, bird whistles, passes tothe Florida Museum of Science & Industry,bird pictures signed by the artist, bird glid-

ers, bird stickers, posters or books. Each school that had a ning poster earned a bird identtion book and a bird CD for thebrary.We really appreciate the participaof an support from the teacherHillsborough County who dedictheir time and energy to help

students participate.Posters can be seen at various ltions around Hillsborough Couincluding Lettuce Lake Park, Hborough County Cooperative Exsion Services and HillsboroCounty Animal Services.

The winners in each age group a

Ages 6-72nd Place: #47 Joyous PodolskyBanda

1st Place #45 (Carrollwood Day

School)

Karianne Buser

Ages 8-9

3rd Place #108 (Essrig ElementaAaron E. Matos

2nd Place #106 (Essrig) HeatherHeadrick

1st Place #31 (Essrig) Alexis Schu

Ages 10-11

3rd Place #97 (Cahoon ) AlexandrBruns

2nd Place #65 (Anderson) JessicaOShaunnessey

1st Place #69 (Anderson) Eliana Rsado

Ages 12-13

3rd Place #39 (Anderson ElementCorey Barandoe

2nd Place #43 (Essrig Elementary

Joshua Menendez1st Place #41 (Anderson Element

Jason Jackso

See the posters, birdhousand winners on the followpages!


http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/


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FIELD TRIP REPORT:

Butterfly Walk at J.B.Starkey Parkby Jo Anne Hartzler

Until the butterflies decided to make their

appearances at J.B.Starkey Park inSouthwest Pasco County, those of us onhe walk had a chance to study someeally unique spiders that made the

woods adjacent to the boardwalk theirome. The tufted legs of the Golden Silkpider contrasted dramatically with the

ong talons at the end of each leg. Eachemales web had at least one small maleangerously waiting only inches from his

mate.

We also saw the Yellow Garden Spider,

Velvet ant and a friendly Robber Fly.

n the silence of the boardwalk came annexpected visitor quietly slipping into aree nearby to check us out. A huge

Barred owl joined us only feet away over-ead watching and studying us with bobs

and turns of his head.

The leps we saw included Cloudless Sul-hur, Dainty Sulphur and Orange Barred

Sulphur,, Horaces Duskywing, WhitePeacock, Harvester, and Common

Checkered skipper, Common Buckeye,Zebra Heliconia, Giant Swallowtail, GulfFritillary and Zebra Swallowtail. Theywere brought in by many of the nativelants of the area such as the climbingutterfly pea, poor mans pepper and the

Common Green Eyes.

During our walk, we also enjoyed theights and sounds of the Great Crested

Flycatchers, Carolina Chickadees, Tufted

Titmouse, Northern Cardinal, Blue-greyGnatcatcher Carolina Wren, AmericanCrow, Pileated and Downey Woodpeckers,Northern Parula Warbler and White-eyedVireo. We finished our walk with a Red-bellied woodpecker feeding her young andreminding us it was time to break for ourown lunch.

Thank you to everyone who ventured out inthe summer heat and sun to share the won-ders of nature.




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SAVE THE DATE!

2007 Audubon Assembly

November 1- 3

Cocoa Beach

Join our state-wide Auduboneaders, chapter leaders, and

Audubon members from all overFlorida in this once-a-year an-nual meeting to share informa-ion, strategies, and conserva-ion initiatives!

Enjoy the information-packed programsand exciting awards when Floridasonservation-minded citizens gather this

November in Cocoa Beach. Join chaptereaders and members, Audubon staff and

cientists, wildlife professionals, environ-mental advocates, agency and electedfficials to network and learn about how

Audubon, through working together, ismaking a difference for the environment.

New location for 2007: Hilton CocoaBeach Oceanfront View HotelKick off the event at a reception on

Thursday, November 1

Assembly registration information andetails about programs, exhibits, and fieldrips to nearby birding hotspots will ap-

ear in the summer Florida Naturalistandwill also be available online in August atttp://www.audubonofflorida.org.

Hotel InformationPlease note, youneed to make your own hotel reserva-

ions -- in addition to your AudubonAssembly registration.550 N. Atlantic Avenue, Cocoa Beach,

FL 32931Reservations: 800-526-2609.Request the Audubon Assembly Rate:119.00/night Audubon Room Rate

Code: AOF. NOTE: Cut off date forSpecial Rates: OCTOBER 2, 2007, SOMAKE YOUR ROOM RESERVATIONSNOW!

Upgrades are available at an additionalost including:

Concierge level - $139

Oceanfront - $219

r. Suite - $229

Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival

January 18-21, 2008

MORRO BAY, CALIFORNIA Come towhere the birds are and join Morro Coast

Audubon Society (MCAS) for our 12th An-nual Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival. Lo-cated on Californias scenic Central Coast,Morro Bay is an important stop on the Pa-cific Flyway and one of the countrys pre-eminent birding spots. The area is recog-nized worldwide for its diversity of bothresident and wintering birds, and at lastyears festival, over 200 species of birdswere identified!The Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival is spon-

sored by MCAS and gives you the chance to join local and national birding experts on avariety of field trips and workshops. Fieldtrip group sizes are limited to maximizespotting and identification opportunities.The Festival also offers workshops aimed atsharpening your birding skills, as well asevening programs with outstanding speak-ers.

For more information about the Festival,

check out our website atwww.morrobaybirdfestival.org, or call (805)772-4677. You can request that your name beadded to the mailing list for our 2008 bro-chure, or register online. Both the brochureand online registration will be available inOctober 2007. The registration deadline is January 4, 2008 and early signups are en-couraged as the most popular events fill upquickly.

Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning

Center's Summer Weekend Turtle

Workshops

Camp Bayou Outdoor Learning Center(Ruskin, Florida) will be offering threeworkshops on the ecology and conservationof Florida's rich turtle diversity.Join turtle

researcher and conservationistGeorge L. Heinrich while exploriFlorida's natural areas in search oimperiled species. Attend one ormore workshops that include a Saurday morning classroom sessionCamp Bayou and a Sunday field to a select off-site turtle habitat.These workshops are designed toboth educational and fun.

1-2 September 2007Gopher Tortoise: Threatened Icothe Uplands(includes field trip: hiking at BalmBoyette Scrub Preserve, southeastHillsborough County)

15-16 September 2007Diamondback Terrapins: Living

the Edge(includes field trip: canoeing at Croach Bay, southern HillsboroughCounty)

29-30 September 2007Florida's Riverine Turtles: Identication, Natural History and Convation(includes field trip: canoeing andsnorkeling on Rainbow Run, Dunlon)

Limited space is available, so regiearly (adults only).

For more information please cont

Heinrich Ecological Services1213 Alhambra Way S.St. Petersburg, FL 33705-4620phone: (727) 865-6255e-mail:[email protected]

website:www.heinrichecologicalservices.


http://www.audubonofflorida.org/http://www.morrobaybirdfestival.org/http://www.heinrichecologicalservices.com/mailto:[email protected]://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.tampaaudubon.org/http://www.heinrichecologicalservices.com/http://www.heinrichecologicalservices.com/mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://www.morrobaybirdfestival.org/http://www.morrobaybirdfestival.org/http://www.audubonofflorida.org/http://www.audubonofflorida.org/


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Tampa Audubon Society is

proud to welcome its newest

members:

Photo Credit: Joe Bailey

Sharon JacobiArt CopekVicki FrenchEleanor Evins

Paul WinchCharles TommelleoMarie PotoAutumn MuellerElinor LeBaronMarie SimmonsChris Rusnak

JOIN TAMPA AUDUBONJoin in on all the good times.Simply fill out the application andmail it along with payment toTampa Audubon Society. Whenyou join Tampa Audubon Society,you automatically become amember of the National AudubonSociety as well.Your membership supports vital conser-vation issues on the national, state andlocal levels. As a member, you will re-ceive the bi-monthlyAudubon magazine,the quarterly Florida Nautralistmagazineand our local, bi-monthly newsletter, The

Avocet.

Introductory Membership $25

(This form is not for renewals)Name: __________________________

Address: ________________________

City: ____________________________State:____________ ZIP: ___________

E-mail: __________________________

Phone (home): ____________________

Phone (work): _____________________

Mail checks (payable to TampaAudubon Society) to:

Tampa Audubon SocietyPost Office Box 320025Tampa FL 33679

Recent Contributors toTampa Audubon

The following have recently

made generous contribution

to Tampa Audubon. Thanks

continued support of our env

ronmental education initiativ

Lois J. ParadiseWilliam & Mary Ann SheppardMr. & Mrs. Frank DupuisRichard RauscherThomas CasperGail B. ParsonsSteven MlynarekMargaret CuttsMarilyn BatchellorWilliam H. Walters IIIRuth Troscianiec

Doris J. KellyJ. Lee BeniceSandra GrantLynn VeltTimothy A. BonsackRich & Ann PaulMary A. KeithRhea HurwitzJon HaaschRichard S. ValentineGerald E. GoebelRuss & Gail KruetzmanJ. Rodgers PadgettMichael & Alicia Le Vine

Jane M. KemererVal CugatMarilyn GroffConstance D. FarnsworthBetty M. DumasPatricia LewisJerry & Joyce TauntJoel P. ClevelandDaniel A. JonesDorothy EbersbachJerry R. MillerMike FiteColin & Deborah GrimesAnn Debaldo

Mary M. FergusonPenny Jean StonerMichael TurrisiLee & Linda ShearCatherine M. CasasBetty WargoPeter ChengJames T. & Doris E. TaylorLorraine GenovarClif Livingston



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August-September 2007 Avocet Newsletter Tampa Audubon Society