INDEX

• President's column
• Bird Talk
• The Florida Burrowing Owl Project needs your help
• The Galapagos Islands
• Leave No Trace
• Election of officers

See also :  Results of the Birdathon

The Apalachee Audubon Chapter wants to recognize and thank Buckeye Florida for its generous contribution in support of publishing this Newsletter.

We also have a group of capable and energetic volunteers.  They have pledged dollars and worked the phones for the Birdathon, brought food for our chapter programs and dinners, led bird walks at the Welcome Back Songbirds Festival, picked up trash at the Coastal Cleanup and manned our display at events like Earth Day. A special thanks goes to Beth Nichols for her tireless efforts to organize and manage the Birdathon for the past two years. Thanks Beth, you did a great job!  The example these volunteers exhibited is inspiring to others and we should be proud of all of them.  Thanks, we couldn’t do it without you.

I would also like to thank the chapter officers, board members and committee chairpersons.  Their support, advice and hard work are a vital part of this year’s success.  As space does not allow me to mention each and every one of you who have served our chapter during the year please know that each of you are an indispensable part of our team and I thank you one and all.  One person stands out as an example to us all for his dedication to Audubon and the chapter: Harvey Goldman.  He is the true backbone of our chapter and its hardest working member.  We can’t thank you enough Harvey.  Lastly, I wish to thank you the members, for your support and hope you will express your gratitude to those who work so hard for you.  See you in September.
-- Jim Shelton

Index

Finally, a Spring with a good number and variety of birds.  The past few weeks have seen the arrival of waves of returning migrants, particularly at some of the coastal barrier islands.

On 4/11, along the Black Swamp power line easement, Mel Bolinder (visiting birder from California) and I saw a male WILSON'S WARBLER in tall weeds and a MISSISSIPPI KITE soaring overhead.  Black Swamp is located across from the FSU Golf Course/Landscaping area on Lake Bradford Road.  This is an excellent birding site for the Tallahassee area.

Two male SCARLET TANAGERS visited Fran Rutkovsky's yard (Tallahassee) on 4/16. Also on 4/16, at the St. George Island State Park youth camp area, Mich Coker saw 16 species of warbler, including CHESTNUT-SIDED, BLUE-WINGED, PRAIRIE, PROTHONOTARY, HOODED, BAY-BREASTED, CERULEAN, BLACKBURNIAN, and TENNESSEE.  He also observed 3 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS roosting around the bathrooms, VEERY, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEES, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, BLUE GROSBEAKS, and INDIGO BUNTINGS.  Other birders saw CAPE MAY and BLACKPOLL WARBLERS earlier in the day.  This proved to be the start to a great weekend of birding at St. George Island.  The next day Paul Conover witnessed incoming migrants approaching from the Gulf and landing at St. George Island.  While at the youth camp, Paul saw or heard 4 RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRDS, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, 2 WOOD THRUSHES, 3 YELLOW-THROATED VIREOS, 15 TENNESSEE WARBLERS, 2 BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLERS, 12 PRAIRIE WARBLERS, 9 PALM WARBLERS (western race), 5 CERULEAN WARBLERS, 8 BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, 3 PROTHONOTARY WARBLERS, SWAINSON'S WARBLER, 10 SUMMER TANAGERS, 2 SCARLET TANAGERS, 4 ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS (all male), PAINTED BUNTING (male), 40(!) INDIGO BUNTINGS, 8 BALTIMORE ORIOLES, and a MERLIN.

On 4/18, Fran Rutkovsky birded Phipps Park in north Tallahassee and found COMMON GROUND-DOVE, EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, WHITE-EYED VIREO, RED-EYED VIREO, BLUE-HEADED VIREO (split from the old "SOLITARY" complex), KENTUCKY WARBLERS, BLUE GROSBEAK, and INDIGO BUNTING.  For those of you who haven't visited Phipps Park, it is a great place to bird.  Phipps Park is located next to Forest Meadows Sports Complex off north Meridian Road (turn left onto Miller Landing Road and drive to parking area near Phipps Park sign.
 

Mich Coker headed down to St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge on 4/19.  It turned out to be a great day for rails.  Mich saw a VIRGINIA RAIL and 2 SORAS foraging in the open for an extended period, and then watched a CLAPPER RAIL feeding within 5 feet of him.

The next day (4/20), Jack Dozier observed the following at his feeder and water sprinkler at Alligator Point: EASTERN WOOD-PEWEE, WORM-EATING WARBLER, BLUE GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTING, PAINTED BUNTING, ORCHARD ORIOLE, SUMMER TANAGER, and a relatively late SWAMP SPARROW.  He also saw 2 BROAD-WINGED HAWKS soaring over Crawfordville.  Farther north in Myers Park in Tallahassee, Jeff Birdsley observed AMERICAN REDSTART, HOODED WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER, and NORTHERN PARULA.

Scott Borderieux birded an area at Longleaf Road (Tallahassee) on 4/22 and found 3 SPOTTED SANDPIPERS (breeding plumage) as well as 2 MISSISSIPPI KITES soaring overhead.  That same day, Mich Coker visited St. Marks NWR and saw BLACK-NECKED STILTS, OVENBIRD, WORM-EATING WARBLER, ORCHARD ORIOLES (pair), 3 CAPE MAY WARBLERS, BOBOLINK (male), 6 WHIMBRELS, and BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER.  Amazingly, Mich re-found the VIRGINIA RAIL and 2 SORAS he observed earlier in the week.  Also on 4/22, Dave Harder heard a WOOD THRUSH singing at Black Swamp.  Several days later (4/27), Gail and Larry Thompson also heard a WOOD THRUSH at Black Swamp.

On 4/24, Mich Coker birded St. George Island and observed 12 species of warbler, including LOUISIANA WATERTHRUSH, AMERICAN REDSTART, OVENBIRD, CAPE MAY, BLACK-THROATED BLUE, WORM-EATING, and BLACKPOLL, as well as COMMON NIGHTHAWK, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, INDIGO BUNTINGS, and lots of PAINTED BUNTINGS (campsite #35).  That same day, Jack Dozier saw a pair of WHITE-WINGED DOVES at Bald Point.  The following day (4/25), Dave Harder birded San Luis Mission Park (Tallahassee) and saw 4 SOLITARY SANDPIPERS, YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO, 2 nesting RED-HEADED WOODPECKERS, VEERY, ~50 CEDAR WAXWINGS, 2 male ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAKS, and PALM WARBLER.

Also on 4/25, Harry Hooper saw 60+ LEAST TERNS flying around and roosting at a Tallahassee shopping center on Kerry Forest Parkway.  Gail Menk is collecting information on other roof-nesting colonies and is particularly interested in location, species present, and estimated number of birds.  If you cannot pass the information on to Gail directly, send it to me (email: eshaw@rocketmail.com) and I will give it to him.

On 4/27, Paul Conover observed the following at St. George Island: DICKCISSEL (female), 3 CAPE MAY WARBLERS, 2 BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLERS, 5 AMERICAN REDSTARTS, PRAIRIE WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, 2 YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOOS, ROSE-BREASTED GROSBEAK, and BALTIMORE ORIOLE.

On 4/29 a BUFF-BELLIED HUMMINGBIRD was observed for several hours visiting a feeder at a residence off Apalachee Parkway in Tallahassee.  This hummingbird is normally found in the U.S. only in the extreme southern tip of Texas.  Rare vagrants are occasionally seen along the Gulf coast.

Fran Rutkovsky and Sally Jue visited St. George Island on 4/29 and found 10 warbler species, including BLACK-THROATED BLUE, BLACK-THROATED GREEN, PRAIRIE, and CAPE MAY, as well as VEERY, SCARLET TANAGERS, SUMMER TANAGERS, 2 female PAINTED BUNTINGS, BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER, PIPING PLOVER, SEMIPALMATED PLOVER, SNOWY PLOVER, and WILSON'S PLOVER.  They also saw a BLACK-WHISKERED VIREO at the youth camp area.   They met another birder from Jacksonville who had seen a MAGNIFICENT FRIGATEBIRD earlier.  The same day (4/29) Jack Dozier had a male and female SHINY COWBIRD at his house on Alligator Point.

Several birds of note have been recently reported from around the state.  On 4/12, a KEY WEST QUAIL-DOVE was first seen at Hugh Taylor Birch State Park in Ft. Lauderdale.  This secretive species is only rarely observed in the U.S.  It was even more surprising when a second KEY WEST QUAIL-DOVE appeared at Bill Baggs/Cape Florida State Recreation Area near Miami on 4/19.  Both birds are still being seen (4/29).  On 4/20 a male STRIPE-HEADED TANAGER was found at Coquina Beach (Manatee County).  This bird was still being seen as of 4/28, but was becoming less predictable.  This species is expected to split in the future into 3 species.  This particular bird is a "WESTERN" STRIPE-HEADED TANAGER.  A BELL'S VIREO was also found on 4/21 near the tanager.

Good birding! – Eric Shaw

Index

Did you know that the Burrowing Owl was listed as a “species of special concern” in Florida in 1979?  Did you know that since then, a statewide population survey of the Burrowing Owl has never been done?  Did you know that in 1987 Florida was estimated to have between 3,000 and 10,000 pairs of Burrowing Owls?

If there are only 3,000 pairs of Burrowing Owls in Florida, that would be less than the number of breeding endangered Wood Storks, 5,523 pairs surveyed in 1995, and less than the number of threatened Scrub Jays, 4,000 pairs estimated in 1992.  But if there are 10,000 pairs of Burrowing Owls, which would be close to the number of Brown Pelicans, a species of special concern, with 9,950 pairs breeding in Florida in 1995.  Like the Wood Stork and Scrub Jay, work needs to be done to learn more about Florida’s current Burrowing Owl population.

Pam Bowen, a University of Central Florida graduate student, is coordinating The Florida Burrowing Owl Project, a statewide population survey of the Burrowing Owl.  The survey will be conducted during the 1999-breeding season and will begin in the Keys in April and end in the Panhandle in July.  If you know of a Burrowing Owl site, please contact Pam with information about that site.  She is also looking for volunteers who want to help with the survey; surveying owls in their own county or monitoring a known Burrowing Owl site close to home.  If you have information on Burrowing Owl sites or want to take part in the statewide population survey, please contact Pam Bowen, 3068 Whisper Lake Ln #F, Winter Park, FL  32792, phone (407) 677-8595, or by e-mail: PJBowen@aol.com.
 

Index

We flew from Miami to Quito and spent a day being tourists.  The cathedrals and historic structures in colonial Quito are magnificent to see.  A giant copy of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception towers over the city and the view from its base is spectacular.  A short drive from Quito is La Mitad del Mundo (the middle of the world).  This location provides a marking of the exact location of the equatorial line and visitors to the site can have the unique experience of placing one foot in each hemisphere.

A two-hour flight from Quito, with a stop in Guayaquil, delivered us to the airport on Baltra, GI.  A short bus ride had us at dockside where a panga (dingy) transported us to the boat that would be our home for the next seven nights.  We began the cruise immediately.  The first stop was North Seymour Island and a walking tour to see the vegetation, wildlife, and landscape.  It wasn’t long before the birding enthusiasts were seeing life birds and enjoying an abundance of wildlife.  AUDUBON SHEARWATERS flew around the boat. LAVA HERONS, SWALLOW-TAILED GULLS, WANDERING TATTLERS, and BLUE-FOOTED BOOBIES marked the shoreline.  MAGNIFICENT and GREAT FRIGATEBIRDS hovered overhead.  After enjoying North Seymour, the boat headed for the next destination – another island and more viewing of nature.

The Galapagos Islands are made up of 13 major and 8 smaller islands.  Our trip took us to 10 islands where we could disembark and enjoy the natural environment.  We also stopped at Puerto Ayora to enjoy the cultural life and to visit the Charles Darwin Research Station.  The Research Station is breeding and repatriating giant tortoises and iguanas.  Man’s abuse of the natural environment has driven some tortoise species to extinction and others are endangered.  The Research Station was set up on 1959 in an attempt to reverse the trend toward lost species and to repopulate some of the islands’ with their natural wildlife.

Ninety-seven percent of the archipelago is now in a national preserve and restricted so tourists can only visit the preserve while in the company of a licensed guide.  The guide keeps the visitors within clearly marked and highly restricted areas of the preserve.  The visitors get to see examples of the landscape, wildlife, and terrain, but do not have the freedom of trampling over all of the preserve.  There is a lesson to be learned from this balance between preservation and the desire to enjoy the natural environment.  The balance is a very good one in the Galapagos Islands.  The tourists have their space and the natural species have their space unencumbered by the tourists.

Although we were restricted to a very small portion of the natural preserve, we saw lots of birds and other creatures, snorkeled a lot, ate too much, and got too much sun.  Every day we took one or two walks to view the habitat and the natural environment.  The animals are so tame it is unreal.  I stood within an arm’s length of a GALAPAGOS HAWK and had my picture taken.  I was about the fiftieth person to have done so within a 15-minute period.  The hawk just sat there.  We swam among Lion Seals and White Tipped Sharks.  Walked through MASKED BOOBIE colonies and viewed dozens of tropical fishes in the water.

The crew of the boat would fish while we hiked the nature trails, so we had fresh fish every night for dinner.

Charles Darwin visited the Galapagos Islands before he penned his famous thesis on evolution.  There are 13 species of endemic finches on the Islands called Darwin finches in honor of the scientists.  We saw some but not all of them.  Some are rare and have been driven to extinction on the islands we visited.  We particularly liked seeing the WOODPECKER FINCH that uses straw as a tool.

The Islands have four endemic species of MOCKINGBIRDS.  We saw two of the species.  Standing near the GALAPAGOS HAWK was an experience, but there were other species just as unafraid.  We were within an arm’s reach of Sea Lions, Land and Marine Iguanas, MASKED BOOBIES, and OYSTERCATCHERS.  The GALAPAGOS PENGUIN is a fun species to see.  ELLIOT’S STORM-PETREL is delightful as it dances across the water as it feeds.  We saw some bird species that were familiar to us: YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, GREAT BLUE HERON, GREAT EGRET, RUDDY TURNSTONE, and YELLOW WARBLER, but they were still enchanting when viewed with the Galapagos Islands as the backdrop.  We would recommend the trip to the Islands to everyone.

After eight days in the Galapagos Islands, under the relentless equatorial sun, it was time to leave for home.  After an all-time party sponsored by the crew, we retraced our steps from the port to the airport and back to Quito.  The next day we headed for Florida -– Spring Break was over.

Index

We Americans love to travel.  We enjoy the freedom of mobility – to go where we want, when we want.  However, with this freedom comes the responsibility to protect the environment, and in the process, also to protect each person’s ability to travel freely in the future.

This spring AAA anticipates that some of the most popular activities will involve the outdoors.  Visiting a beach or ocean, sightseeing, and sporting activities such as hiking or rock climbing are just a few of the activities Americans will be enjoying.

With recreational use of the outdoors escalating each year, we must all learn to reduce our impact on the outdoors, so that we don’t literally “love our parks to death.”

Approximately 273 million people visit our country’s national parks annually.  As the number of park visitors continues to grow, so does the potential for irreversible damage to our natural lands and wild places.  By educating travelers and promoting ways to lessen the impact on our environment, we can start reversing the current trends of damage to our precious natural lands.

An organization called “Leave No Trace” is working to protect our parks and natural areas.  Leave No Trace believes that while the problem is widespread and complex, the solution is simple: change behavior through education – one user at a time.
The Leave No Trace program partners with the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and U.S., Fish and Wildlife Service to promote six principles of Leave No Trace:

Plan Ahead and Prepare: Be prepared for your trip before you go.  Anticipate weather conditions and bring clothing and supplies that protect you from the elements.  Learn about the area that you’ll visit before you go.

Camp and Travel on Durable Surfaces: Choosing the right path is important to protect nature and keep track of where you are.

If You Can It In, Please Take It Home: It’s important to put your litter (even cigarette butts) in trash cans, or carry it home with you.  Animals are attracted to food scraps and litter.  Help protect wildlife from human contact by securing your food and storing it tightly.  Carry leftover food with you when you leave, or make sure that it is secured in trash cans.

Properly Dispose of What you Can’t Pack Out: Help keep water clean by avoiding putting soap, food or human waste in streams, rivers, lakes or oceans. Use bathrooms and outhouses if they are available.

Leave What You Find: Historical remnants can be found on national, state and private lands.  Enjoy and learn from these sites, but respect them.  Federal law prohibits disturbing historical and archeological sites or removing artifacts.  Good naturalists learn by quiet observation.  Listen to nature and respect those around you.  If you pick edible plants, pick only those that are abundant.

Minimize Use and Impact of Fires: Most forest fires are started by careless use of fire or improper disposal of cigarette butts.  A cigarette butt flicked carelessly is more than a forest-fire hazard, it is an eyesore.  According to one study, it is not uncommon to find more than 6000 cigarette butts in a one-mile area of our national seashores.

By practicing these six principles of outdoor ethics offered by Leave No Trace, you can help ensure that what’s here today will be here tomorrow for future generations to enjoy. – Robert R. Sharp, President AAA Auto Club South

Index

The May meeting is the Chapter’s annual meeting at which officers for the coming year are elected. Most officer and board positions are for a two–year period, but due to turnover, many positions need to be filled yearly.  The following is the slate of officers for the coming year.  Nominations from the floor will be accepted, if you have permission of the nominee to put his or her name on the ballot.

President:  Jim Shelton (Fulfilling a second year of the two year term); Vice President: Jim Crews (To be elected to fulfill an unexpried term); Secretary:  Ellen Shelton (to be elected)  Board Members (all to be newly elected)  Bob Cross, Mary Blakslee, Hans van Tol, and Robin Will.

Index

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