Fall 2007 Sanibel Captiva Audubon Society Newsletter

8/9/2019 Fall 2007 Sanibel Captiva Audubon Society Newsletter

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The Pileated WoodpeckerThe Newsletter of the Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society

Distributed toall members.

Non-members, 50

PO Box 957, Sanibel, Florida 33957-0957 Fall 2007, Volume 32, Number 4

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

Our Mission: Promoting interests in Wildlife on Sanibel and Captiva Islands, and fostering the Causeof Conservation with emphasis on Birds and their Habitat.

Greetings to all after my summer away in Maine. I returned to Sanibel and my first flyoveron the Causeway Bridge a few days before our osprey couple (Martha & Lane) returned tothe nest in our yard. Good news was our nest produced 2 successful fledglings out of thetotal of 30 or so this past season. They seem to be preparing for another successful breed-ing season in spite of our latest water woes in and around our Conde Nast top ten rated is-lands of Sanibel and Captiva.

Having just finished Mirage by Cynthia Barnett and observing reminders of our nextwater wars while driving thru the Carolinas/Georgia and Florida, I had a visual image. Since

the average Floridian uses 124 gallons of water per day and dumps 50% outside thehouse. Picture a drive to Publix (or Baileys) each day to purchase 125 jugs of water packing them in your SUV or Hybrid vehicle and dumping 60 gallons next to your drivewayand lugging your 60 gallon-sized containers up to the living spaceif you dont live alone,addx# of trips for each additional household member. Does it sound like the good old daysof pumping and hauling from the well? We seem to take our cheap and easy water accessin stride unless you live in Atlanta or [fill in the blank later]. Our local Audubon will be join-ing Audubon of Florida in the work to protect water for the 5 million south Florida residentsduring record setting droughts. Conservation and alternative water supplies are the key toprotecting water for humans and the Everglades Restoration project is the key to protectingwater for nature and aquifers from salt water intrusion. Stay tuned for more water topics

This weekend is our annual Audubon Assembly and Audubon of Florida board meet-

ing. Both Chris and I plan to attend and report back our regional conservation priorities for 2008. CarlHiassen is slated to be our guest speaker and I hope to have some new one liners to share during theyear. See you on the birding trails,

Paul

P.S. We had a conflict and were unable to attend the Schoodic Education Bioblitz however, DanJennings (Maine spiderman) was on hand and is credited with identifying 603 species of spiders in thePine Tree State. Its unfortunate that most people are anti-spider, the 72 year old scientist explained, ifwe didnt have spiders as predators of insects, our world would be overrun with insects .

BoardMembers

Paul Andrews,Pres.

Jim Griffith, VicePres.

Susan Harpham,Sec.

Tom Rothman,Treas.

Chris Andrews

Kevin Bowden

Malcolm Harpham

Elaine Jacobson

Dale McGinley

Brian Mishell

Dolores Mishell

Jean Reuther

Hugh Verry

COCONUT ROAD INTERCHANGE by Chris Andrews

A drama is unfolding that involves our community and

merits your attention. Long range planning in our area isconsiderably determined by the Metropolitan PlanningOrganization (MPO), ably chaired by Sanibels formermayor Carla Johnston. Increased development hasresulted in pressure to increase lanes on Interstate75. Development interests in SW Florida would also liketo add an interchange at Coconut Road. The MPOvoted down the interchange, preferring to allocate fund-ing to the I-75 expansion project. In addition, many inour community are concerned that the interchangewould lead to further development in wetlands and in the

water recharge area east of I-75. Congress signed a

transportation bill that did not include an earmark for theCoconut Road exchange, yet $10 million in funding forthe exchange was penciled in before the Presidentsigned the bill. Out of 6,000 earmarks, only this onewas changed. The FBI is investigating connections be-tween Representative Don Young (Alaska) and a localEstero developer and several other agencies are pursu-ing actions on this issue. How does this concernus? We are going to continue to face increasing pres-sure for development of wetlands east of I-75 and we

Continued on page 2


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The Pileated Woodpecker, fall 2007 page 2

need to educate ourselves on the needs of our naturalsystems and participate in the conversation. This area isa key groundwater resource and part of the infrastructureof our state, providing water for people and for wildlife inSW Florida. One of the greatest threats we face is theconversion of tree tops to roof tops. Our thanks go to

Carla Johnston for her leadership and foresight.

COCONUT ROAD, continued

The current water crisis in Georgia may offer us a vividpicture of what we may be facing as a country and planetin the very near future. In preparation for decisions thatwe all need to make personally in our homes, locally inour communities as well as regionally and nationally, weall need to increase our understanding of how water sys-tems work. Im reminded of this quote by Kristie Andersof Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation, Water

knows no boundaries. The assault on our coastlinesprovides us with ample evidence. Sanibel-Captiva Audu-bon is going to work on improving all of our understand-ing of water beginning with the definition of Groundwa-ter. Chris

WHERE DOES GROUND WATER COME FROM?

Ground water is precious. If it becomes contami-natedwe cant use it. If it is over exploited we losethe opportunity to achieve sustainability by balanc-ing use and natural replenishment. Knowing whereit comes from is an important first step. Thismonths ground water topic is a basic education

building block that explains the origins of groundwater. Questions often asked are: How old isground water? Where would it go if we didnt use it?How far does ground wa-ter travel beneath thesurface? The basiccross-section drawing,showing the hydrologicsystem can help answersome of these questions.

The hydrologicsystem (sometimes

called the hydrologic cy-cle or water cycle), con-sists of a series of trans-fers of water involving theatmosphere, soils, plants,rocks, rivers, lakes,oceans and glacial ice.Water may occur as aliquid, a solid (ice) or agas (water vapor). Water

Water 101

drops are made up of thousands of water mole-cules, two atoms of hydrogen and one of oxygen,(H20). An individual water molecule may move rap-idly through the hydrologic system in the space of afew days or may be in storage (i.e. as ice or groundwater) for hundreds of years.Ground water can occur in pore spaces in somesedimentary rocks (and in sediments such as sandsand gravels) and in cracks and fissures in any typeof solid rock. Aquifer is the correct technical word todescribe water saturated rock formations. Someground water is tens of thousands of years old, butmost ground water used for drinking supplies in theU.S. has only been underground for a few monthsor years. Some ground water may be rechargedfrom leakage through rivers and lakes, but rainfalland snowmelt soaking into the ground is the princi-pal source of recharge. However, not all rainfall re-charges ground water. Water from light rain is likelyto be evaporated from soils or used by plants beforeit has a chance to soak deep underground.Virtually all ground water is slowly on the move andwill eventually reach the ocean or a wetland streamor lake. Most rivers receive about half their flowfrom ground water. How else can rivers flow afterweeks and weeks of no rain? In some geologicsituations, ground water may move hundreds ofmiles from the point of recharge to where it eventu-ally reaches the surface. It is possible to have rocklayers with ground water of recent origin overlyingrock layers containing much older ground water. Awell drilled in such geologic situations will contain aCocktail of ground water of different ages.

Source: American Ground Water TrustWww.agwt.com


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We Americans, with our drive for innovation and con-sumption, are global leaders in releasing into the atmosphere

carbon or CO2. Experts believe this CO2 release is related toglobal climate change. Despite seeing much more whacky

global weather these days, I wonder if changing my home ther-mostat will make any difference years from now. At least I cansave money now.

Americans are reported to demand the most heatingand cooling in--of course--the largest homes on the planet. If

we want to reduce this demand, the use of fresh air or ceilingfans is the best; otherwise, we could try re-setting thermostatsboth winter and summer several degrees from our normal set-

ting. Power plants chugging away night and day are consid-ered major polluters, so our using less power could improve air

pollution whether or not it will alleviate global climate catastro-phes. For every power plant we cap or forbid in America,China builds a new one burning coal for Chinese peasants get-

ting their first electricity.Regardless, decreasing light and other electrical usage

is prudent. To monitor, and hence reduce, home electricityuse, we can install indoor usage meters to indicate excessive orpeak consumption. One is just a globe that glows red to alertover-usage. Other devices are electronic screens that recordour power usage and cost every minute.

OF course those funny-looking fluorescent bulbs withdimmers and recycling directions are considered vital if wewant to feel green. Supposedly if every US household switchedto them, a gazillion fewer tons of carbon would go into the at-mosphere. Despite their initial investment, the bulbs are

supposed to last longer and use less energy. Even though they

do not fit in my favorite lamps, changing the three bulbs I usethe most might help. However, I wonder about my efforts inthe face of all the homes and offices that will not switch untilthe regular bulbs are no longer made.

Also replacing aging appliances that are not labeledenergy-efficient is useful, if we do not think about landfill prob-lems. Once again, we lead the world, this time in the size andnumber of our appliances, good for our comfort but maybe notfor pollution. Although I do have trouble believing that mymodest microwave contributes to global warming, I realize toomany of my gadgets have stand-by power running up my elec-

Books and Paper

MacIntosh Books and Papers is honoredTo support

The Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society.

Best Sellers Local Interest books:Birding, Gardening, Shelling

Fishing, Boating

Fine Custom Stationery, Boxed NotecardsGreeting Cards, Gifts

2365 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL 33957239-472-1447

Reducing our global footprint by Unplugging the TVNo. 2 in a series

by Candice Ethridge

tric bill. After a power outage, I need a day to re-set

all those blinking red numbers on devices devouringpower. Still, when I leave a room, I only turn off

the TV because I cannot yet make myself unplug it.Besides re-setting thermostats and changing

bulbs, we could reduce our home square footage, atough one for many of us on Sanibel with twohomes. Maybe we could move another family in

with us! Sadly, most new homes built green or envi-

ronmentally sound, average about 6000 square feetbecause in America Small Is Not Beautiful. Wantingto reduce my footprint is quite different from actuallydoing so. Still each of us could tackle an area where

we feel less than prudent. None of my individualefforts guarantee to make life better for future gen-

erationsbut I can save money in the meantime.

Does reading articles in the newsletter make youwant to add your thoughts? An addition, criticism,(gulp) or comment? Or perhaps you have a subjector thought on which you would like to write. Maybeyou have a picture youd like to share. Or a relevantcartoon. We would like to hear what you might wishto say. IfTime and Smithsonian can have their in-boxes, so can we!

Send any contributions by mail (address fornewsletter replies on front banner) or e-mail:

[email protected]. Were listening.

Whats that you said?

Sanibel-Captiva Audubon Society has receiveda most generous gift from Mr. Rawson Woodand Ms Marsha Kimball. We are extremelyhonored and will use this gift to support thecontinuing success of our outreach work.

Thank you Mr. Wood and Ms Kimball.


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Complete supermarket GiftsTrue Value Hardware PropaneDelivery Services Beach ItemsDeli & Bakery Online OrdersParty Trays HousewaresFine Meats Fishing TackleWest. Union Gift Fruit ShippingGift Baskets Organic/Natural Foods

Homemade Fudge

Open 7 days a Week

7AM to 9PM

Corner of Tarpon Bay Road

and

Periwinkle Way

In honor of SCCFs 40th

Anniversary & as a

kickoff for our new landscaping services

Win a Native Landscaping Makeoverfrom the Native Plant Nursery

Do you cringe at the sight of your yard? Is it full of non-native, invasive plants, devoid of wildlife, and excessive in its waterconsumption? If you answered yes to these questions, a landscapingrenovation may be in order.

In celebration of SCCFs 40th anniversary and as a kickofffor our new landscaping services, including native plant design and

installation, the Native Plant Nursery is holding a contest to win aNative Landscaping makeover! The winner will receive a consulta-tion with nursery staff, design and planting of a front yard using Flor-ida native plants, as well as environmentally friendly maintenance ofthis area for one year, worth approximately $5000. The contest detailsare just now being worked out, but we can say that the deadline forentries will be no later than late February, and the Makeover will oc-cur this season, (before June, 2008). Keep your eyes peeled for entryforms in local papers, at SCCF and the Native Plant Nursery, or onSCCFs website at www.sccf.org.

We all need a friendly reminder to keep ourdistance from these beautiful animals, no mat-ter how much we want that perfect shot. Any-time our actions cause any sort of behaviorchange it means we are too close. We aredrawn to places like these to find peace andrenewal from our hectic lives. Lets be sure

we observe ethical behavior so the Ding re-mains a refuge for all creatures, us included.

* * * * *And speaking of photography, the "Ding" Dar-ling Wildlife Society hosts a "Ding" Darlingphotography contest each year at the Refuge.All photos must be taken in the J.N. "Ding"Darling National Wildlife Refuge and thedeadline is August each year. Guidelines willcome out January 2008 on their websitewww.dingdarlingsociety.org or can be pickedup at the "Ding" Darling Education Center. Anawards ceremony is held in conjunction withtheir annual "Ding" Darling Days every Octo-ber.

Toni Westland, a Park Ranger and Environmental Educa-tion Specialist at Ding Darling Wildlife Refuge, notes

that, as almost everyone knows, Wildlife Observation andWildlife Photography canbe done to near perfectionon the Refuge. These arecalled priority public usesand there are six of them,the others being Hunting,Fishing, Environmental

Education, and Interpreta-tion.However, it must be re-membered that we are en-tering the homes of our

wildlife friends. It is more than the negative reaction wewould have if someone came down our street, peering intoour homes; this activity, when we get too close to these wildsubjects, actually disrupts their lives and can be fatal.

Ethical bird watching and wildlife photography at

the refuge

Bob Chamberlain


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2008 SANIBEL-CAPTIVA AUDUBON PROGRAM SCHEDULEHeld at the Sanibel Community House

2173 Periwinkle Way, Sanibel, FL

Suggested donation $5.00

Start Time 7:30PM - Doors open at 6:30PM

January 3---Eric Milbrandt, Ph.D.---New Approaches to Water Quality Monitoring in the Ca-

loosahatchee Estuary--SCCF Marine Lab Director will introduce the preliminary results from theLOBO, (Land Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory). The first of 9 instruments purchased with pro-ceeds from the SCCF 2007 Fund Raising Campaign to determine water quality in the Caloosahatcheeand San Carlos Rivers

January 10---Frank and Sue Moore---The Wilderness of Denali ---Photographers Frank and SusanMoore will provide history and a photographic tour of this majestic Alaskan 6,000,000 acre Park andPreserve originally created to protect the Dall Sheep.

January 17---Pamela Hallock Muller, Ph.D.---Decline of Coral Reefs in the Florida Keys--CoralReefs are among the most productive communities on earth and are indicators of the state of land andsea. Oceanographer Pam Hallock Muller will explain the creation of coral reefs and what servicesthey provide.

January 24---Jerry Jackson, Ph.D.---Bird Banding: It's History, Promises, Practices, Problems

and Payoffs---Preeminent author, ornithologist, educator and North American Bird Bander, Dr. Jack-son explains the procedures of bird banding and the valuable information the process can provide.

January 31---David S. Addison---Life History and Nesting Biology of the Sea Turtles of South-west Florida --Learn the physical characteristics, nesting habitat, behavior, diet, nurturing and the fu-ture of our beloved sea turtles.

February 7---John Hicks---Exploring Sanibel Skies... and the Rest of the Universe---Explore theatmosphere of the sun, visit sun spots and solar eclipses and the aurora borealis. Then learn about theGreen Flash and it's history and pointers on how to photograph these splendid occurrences.

February 14---Kevin Karlson---Birding Simplified: Learn to Bird by Impression Utilizing The

Shorebird Guide . One of the three authors of the best selling book by the same name, The ShorebirdGuide, will demonstrate just how simplified birding can be. Using his superb photos and behavioralobservations will intrigued both the seasoned birder and the newcomer.

February 21---Dr. Tom and Mrs. Rosalie Kreulen---Africa: The Beauty and the Beast.---TheKreulens will provide a photographic tour and historical overview of South Africa, Botswana, Zim-babwe, Kenya and the amazing Maasai with partial focus on the magnificent beauty of African wild-life.

February 28---Gregory Sweeney and Karen Keberle---Manatees: The Gentle Giants.---Theaward winning underwater photographers and naturalist authors of the book of the same title will de-liver a brilliant underwater photographic essay about our treasured manatees, their family history,their daily lives and their future.


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SANIBEL-CAPTIVA AUDUBON SOCIETY 2007-2008 BIRDWALKS

SATURDAYS, 8:00 AMSUGGESTED DONATION $ 2.00 / PERSON

DIRECTIONS

DING DARLING REFUGE: Meet in overflow parking

lot near trolley stop. Free parking.

BAILEY TRACT: South on Tarpon Bay Rd from Bai-

leys Store about mile. Free parking; lot entrance

on right.

FT MYERS BEACH LAGOON: Approx. 5 miles on

Estero Blvd after the Matansas Bridge to Ft Myers

Beach, meet at Villa Santini Plaza diagonally across

from the Holiday Inn. Free parking.

BUNCHE BEACH: Across causeway approx. 2.5

miles. Right on John Morris Rd to free beach parking.

Waterproof shoes a must.

SANIBEL LIGHTHOUSE: Meet in the beach parking

lot at the end of Periwinkle Way. Non-Resident park-

ing $2.00/hour.

LEADERS: Paul and Chris Andrews, Kevin Bowden, Jim Griffith,

Malcolm and Sue Harpham, Bill Jacobson, Harold Johnstone, Dale

McGinley, Brian and Dolores Mishell, Hugh Verry

Questions, please contact Hugh Verry, 395-3798

Cut this page for convenient copy of both this page and program schedule on the back

Dec 22 DING DARLING REFUGE

Dec 29 BAILEY TRACT

Jan 5 DING DARLING REFUGE

Jan 12 FT MYERS BEACH LAGOON

Jan 19 BAILEY TRACT

Jan 26 BUNCHE BEACH

Feb 2 DING DARLING REFUGE

Feb 9 BUNCHE BEACH

Feb 16 BAILEY TRACT

Feb 23 DING DARLING REFUGE

Mar 1 BAILEY TRACT

Mar 8 BUNCHE BEACH

Mar 15 DING DARLING REFUGE

Mar 22 BUNCHE BEACH

Mar 29 DING DARLING REFUGE

Apr 5 SANIBEL LIGHTHOUSE


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Christmas bird count

You may have noticed that the suggestedadmission to Thursday programs has risento $5 a person. We wish that we could keepit from going up, but prices of everythinghave increased this yearpolice, chair set-ting, room fees, sound system. We hopethis will not discourage or inconvenience

anyone.SAC Board of Directors

bird patrol tours offered

It is not too early to think about the an-nual CBC for our chapter on Saturdaymorning, Dec 15. Bill Jacobson will notbe here, but will be organizing fromNew Hampshire. The folks here willabsorb many responsibilities, making ita group effort. VOLUNTEER COUNT-

ERS ARE NEEDED. If you wish to participate in thisfun event, please call Sue or Malcolm Harpham at395-3804, or Jim Griffith at 472-3744. Birding skillswould be helpful but are not essential.

Several interesting tours are at Lakes Park:

1st Saturday of every month, i.e. Dec 1, Jan 5, etc, the BIRD

PATROL offers a canoe tour of the rookery or a walking tour along

the railroad tracks into the newly opened northeast corner of the

park. Reservations for the canoe tour are necessary as space is

limited, and are recommended for all tours. Meet at the locomotive

at 8 AM.

Birding in alberta

David McIntyre writes about the Livingstone Ridge

area of southwestern Alberta, Canada. He sent hislatest work, headed for a Canadian publi-cation, and gave permission to use anypart of it. It is so beautiful I wish it couldbe reprinted in full, but it gives the flavor

of what birders in that part of NorthAmerica experience.Its autumn. Im standing in the cold,crystal-clear current of the Castle River,one of North Americas most beautifulwaterways.

Goldlen leaves are in the air. Theyre also floating past me

on the rivers surface and tumbling slowly through its emer-ald depths.

Deep within the translucent magic of a downstream pool,torpedo-like forms take shape and glide forward. Shivering, I

brace against the rivers flow and stand still. The trout, en-chanting and mysterious, advance slowly.Nestled within the breathtaking expanse of Rocky Mountain

scenery between Banff and Waterton Lakes national parks is

The Great Unknown. I call this lost territory the land be-tween studied landscapesThirty years ago I had the opportunity to throw more lucra-tive offers aside in order to stepbackwards some would

sayinto the headwaters of a landscape that fascinated andintrigued me. Immersed in the captivating land, I found hid-

den treasure. I walked the ridges dividing the Castle, Crows-nest and Oldman rivers. I floated these rivers in spring andsummer, and I skied [the ridges] when they were covered

with fresh snow.The Livingstone Range ...defines the corridor for Canadaslargest golden eagle migration. Last fall, more than 4000golden eagles and thousands of additional birds of prey flewsouth along the serrated, tsunami-like crest. This spring theyretraced that route.

And to us, he writes this:Its a calm, atypically worm morning here on the easternslopes of the Rockies. Today and tomorrow were forecast tohave temperatures in the 70s. Then comes Thursday, whenthe forecasted high is 38. The word snow is also men-tioned for that day. Were used to these ups and downs,assuming that people are really capable of being flexible inthe face of schizophrenic shots of lifes extremes. Yester-days up-on-the-Livingstone report from Peter Sherrington

exactly three miles due west of my keyboardserves as anexample:October 22 [Day 55] The temperature rose from 0C at0800 to a high of 4.5c late in the afternoon and the windswere westerly gusting between 45 and 60 km/h. Cloud wasa constant mix all day with snow squalls to the north andwest. The peaks of the Livingstone Range were in cloud most

of the time and conditions for migration appeared to be poor.Raptor movement, however, started at 0828 and birds movedsteadily all day along a narrow track between the squalls.When the last bird moved south at 1812, 120 migrants hadpassed, 113 of which were golden eagles. The only otherraptors were 5 bald eagles, an adult dark morph Harlans red-

tailed hawk and an adult male columbariusMerlin. Becauseof the high winds, passerine movement wasmuted with the exception of a single flock ofabout 120 Bohemian waxwings that perchednear the site before flying south.Notable among the numbers for the season:

bald eagle 247; sharp-shinned hawk 1186;Coopers hawk 188; red-tailed hawk 183;golden eagle 4251; osprey 17; Americankestrel 37; northern harrier 53, northerngoshawk 89.Photo by David McIntyre


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The Newsletter of the Sanibel-CaptivaAudubon Society

P.O. Box 957 Sanibel, Florida 33957

Fall

2007

Newsletter reply only:14720 Lake Olive DrFort Myers, FL 33919

[email protected]

239-415-0935

Non subscribers

50

In This Issue.

.Coconut Road controversy

.Water 101

.Global Footprint

.SCCF contest

.Ding Bird Watching

.Christmas Bird Count

.Bird Patrol

.Birding in Alberta

Documents

Fall 2007 Sanibel Captiva Audubon Society Newsletter