Exciting Events Planned for 2012-2013

By Dee Fairbanks Simpson, SCAS Vice President and Program Director

Welcome back to Space Coast Audubon, and thanks so much for joining us for what is sure to be an exciting year. We have some exciting meetings, field trips and other events coming up this year, and we hope you will join us for all of them!

We will start off our year in September with our annual potluck and member slide show. Be sure to show up with a dish to share and your own slides.

Among our many exciting speakers this year, we are very pleased to be welcoming Dr. Rachel K. Wentz, RPA. Dr. Wentz will be talking to us about her latest book, “Life and Death at Windover: Excavations of a 7,000-year-old Pond Cemetery” which examines the discovery, excavations, and analyses of one of the most important archaeological sites in the world, Windover. This fascinating site produced the well-preserved remains of 168 individuals along with hand-woven textiles, a beautiful assemblage of artifacts, and ancient soft tissue. Dr. Wentz graduated from Florida State University with a PhD in Anthropology and specializes in the analysis of human remains with foci on ancient disease and population health. She has taught courses in physical anthropology, human osteology and forensic anthropology at Florida State University and serves on the Brevard County Historical Commission.

As usual, we will also have lots of field trips this year, but one that I am very excited about and honored that we were able to schedule it, will be led by wildlife biologist Maria Zondervan with the St. Johns River Water Management District. On this rare weekday field trip, on Friday, March 8th, Maria will lead a trip to Lake Apopka Restoration Area Field Trip. I’m sure you all remember Lake Apopka as the home our our beloved barn owls.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, Maria explains,

Lake Apopka Restoration Area encompasses 19,825 acres on the northwestern shore of Lake Apopka, in Lake and Orange counties, northwest of Orlando. Lake Apopka is in the headwaters of the Ocklawaha River and was targeted for cleanup under the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act of 1987. Major activities include marsh and floodplain restoration and the creation of a marsh flow-way system that filters Lake Apopka’s waters by circulating lake water through restored wetlands. In 1996, the Florida Legislature passed Chapter 96-207, Florida Statutes, furthering its previous mandate to clean up the lake by providing funds to buy additional agricultural lands north of the lake. Restoration of these farmlands to functioning wetlands is expediting cleanup efforts and provides excellent wildlife habitat. 

A 1998 Christmas bird count (CBC) identified 174 species of birds, the highest species total for an inland count in the 100-year history of the annual CBC. Bird diversity is extraordinary in this area, and the bird list, which continues to grow, now includes more than 270 species. Some of the birds we expect to see include a multitude of sparrows, including vesper and savannah sparrows; nearly all Florida wading birds, including herons, egrets, ibis and roseate spoonbills; lots of raptors such as bald eagles, cooper’s hawks, great-horned owls, and Northern harriers; a multitude of shorebirds such as greater and lesser yellowlegs, black-necked stilts, avocets, sandpipers, Wilson’s phalarope and dunlin; waterfowl such as gadwall, black-bellied whistling-ducks, American widgeon, and northern shovelers.  Other commons sights include sandhill cranes, white pelicans, warblers, grosbeaks, and occasional buntings. With some luck, we may  also see Florida scrub-jays and whooping cranes.  Some other rarities that appeared last year include the Say’s Phoebe, horned grebe, white-faced ibis, and many more.

There are 20 barn owl boxes on the property that were built by the Space Coast Audubon Society.  These boxes will likely have nesting barn owls in March, so there should be an opportunity to see them up close. Other wildlife includes alligators, turtles, otters, and coyotes.”

This will be a guided vehicle trip with very little walking required, so it should be suitable for most people. We will meet at the Lake Apopka Field Station. Contact Dee Fairbanks Simpson to arrange carpooling from Brevard county.

We hope you will join us for what is sure to be a very exciting year in Audubon!  Please see the calendar of events in this issue of the Limpkin and check our web site online frequently for up to the minute information about  meetings, field trips and added events.