This years's Birdathon was April 12 Thru April 27 

      Please help us with our annual fundraiser, Birdathon 2008.  The money is used for
environmental education, to pay for our newsletter, to bring in out-of-town speakers
for special programs.  We place 65 to 80 Audubon adventure kits in local counties
4th, 5th, and 6th grade classes, at no cost to the public schools, and each kit costs
the chapter $45.  Very little of the annual dues paid to the National Audubon Society
returns to the local chapters, so your support of this fundraiser is critical to our
continued success.  Please help the volunteers who work so hard year round to
make this chapter's efforts a success.


     You may pledge to one of our teams or to the chapter as a whole.  Your pledge can
be a fixed dollar amount, or based on the number of species recorded by your team,
or to the chapters species total.  Teams will have a 24 hour period in which to record
avian species (no one has yet birded the entire 24 hours!).  Some teams have recorded
close to 150 species (not mine! we're closer to around 100), the chapter lists and  totals
for the years 1998 though 2006 can be viewed at     http://www.apalachee.org/birds.shtml


Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc  Birdathon Pledge Card

__  I am happy to pledge $_____________      From:_____________________________________________
    per species in support of Birdathon.          Name
                                                  ______________________________________________
__  My tax-deductible gift of $__________         Address             
    is enclosed payable to Apalachee              ______________________________________________
     Audubon Society, Inc.                        City                           State       Zip
                                                                          
      Birdathoner:_____________________           ______________________________________________          
      Apalachee Audubon Society, Inc.             e-mail
      Post Office Box 1237                        ______________________________________________
      Tallahassee, FL 32302-1237                  telephone

THANK YOU FOR SPONSORING AAS BIRDATHON!
Every dollar you give will go toward AAS programs to protect
birds, other wildlife, & habitat here in North Florida.

Birdathon 2008

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Upcoming Events: Thursday May 15, 2008   Annual Banquet & Membership Meeting Osprey Diary: Wildlife & People of Pelican Island NWR Presented by Bob Montanaro, Pelican Island Audubon Society 6:00 PM at the United Church in Tallahassee, 1834 Mahan Drive Enjoy delicious homemade Greek dinner for only $10/person Tickets can be purchased at Native Nurseries & Wild Birds Unlimited thru May 14. Or contact the cook, Tim Smith, at 850-933-5979 Tickets also available at the door on May 15. Bob Montanaro's presentation uses a combination of still and video photography to tell the story of the 2007 Osprey nesting season at Florida's Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). He also introduces us to some of the staff and volunteers who work at the Refuge; they describe from first hand knowledge some of the challenges now facing Pelican Island NWR and America's refuge system as a whole. Highlights of the program include dramatic still and video footage of the Osprey young learning to fly, a very inquisitive Great Horned Owl nestling, contentious Bald Eagle/Osprey encounters, heated Osprey sibling rivalry, and other wildlife found elsewhere in the Refuge. Pelican Island NWR was America's first Wildlife Refuge, established in 1903 by President Theodore Roosevelt. Two Floridians approached President Roosevelt with the need for creating this Refuge. Their request followed a successful campaign two years earlier by the American Ornithologists' Union and the Florida Audubon Society to pass legislation in Florida calling for the protection of non-game birds. Bob Montanaro's presentation is a perfect opportunity to learn more about how we can continue the rich Florida tradition of protecting our birds. Please join us for this special occasion and bring a friend or family member with you! Saturday May 17, 2008 9 AM to 1 PM   Field trip: Spring Butterfly walk, with Dean & Sally Jue Walk along the trails at the Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park to search for butterflies with our local experts Sally and Dean Jue.   Meet at 9 AM at the Forest Meadows Athletic Club, on Meridian Road