Join Space Coast Audubon Society for our November 15th Meeting “See You Out There”

By Jim Eager, Space Coast Audubon Society Publicity Chair

• WHERE:  Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Dr, Rockledge, FL.
• WHEN:   November 15, 2013 at 7:30 pm

Tom Dunkerton of Thomas J. Dunkerton Photography will be our speaker and will be presenting See "You Out There"

Tom is a birding and photography fixture locally here along the Space Coast in Brevard County and around Florida.  Anyone who goes to Merritt Island NWR on a regular basis has undoubtedly crossed paths with Tom.  Throughout his childhood, Tom was always involved in the arts and nature. Growing up in New York he had the best of both worlds.  Having always been a casual birder, upon moving to Florida in 1995, birding became a more serious hobby.

Tom started photographing birds and wildlife in 2003 as it seemed a natural progression, to couple photography with birding.  He has worked as a seasonal field research technician for the Florida Scrub-jay Program on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, a Merritt Island National Wildlife refuge volunteer, and has had many images published in various local and national publications.  As a member of the Nikon Pro Staff since 2007 Tom has represented Nikon at various birding events around the country promoting and showcasing Nikon sports optics.  And, I’m sure he has answered his share of photography questions as his photography equipment of choice is also Nikon.

In addition, to leading field trips, he hosts digiscoping and photography seminars.  At the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival he conducts a digiscoping workshop entitled, “It’s a Beautiful Thing”.

Come and join us for an incredible photographic journey into the world of one of the region’s premier nature photographers.  We are looking forward to another great turnout.

September Migration by Helen Cruickshank

Submitted by Jim Eager

This is a short story written by Helen Cruickshank, who as many of you know teamed with husband, Allan, and between them were legends in the field of ornithology, photography, lecturing and field trip leading not only in and around Cocoa, but throughout Florida and North America.  Their contributions were immense.

Helen died in March 1994 at the age of 92.  In 1988, just before the first issue of that year's The Limpkin, the chapter newsletter for Indian River Audubon, Bob Brown asked Helen if she would consider writing a monthly article for publication.  She agreed.  The year after her death Indian River Audubon published  "The Nature of Helen",  a collection of her essays.

Of the approximately 9,000 species of birds in the world more than half make annual migrations. Some species may only drop from a high alpine meadow to the valley below and reverse that brief journey in the spring. Others span the vast seas or the continents. The Arctic Tern is regarded the world champion of migrants. Some nest on open ground within 400 miles of the North Pole and some spend our winter on the Antarctic Sea which is enjoying its summer days.

Scientists speculate that billions of individual birds make annual migrations. By fall much of the fine spring plumage of birds has changed. Peterson's "Guide" even has a section called "Confusing Fall Warblers" to warn us to use caution in identifying birds then. The number of fall migrants is much greater than in spring for the host of adult birds is swollen by young of the year that have survived the dangers of youth long enough to leave their birth place. To me there is an exciting sense of adventure and romance in fall migration for the birds are moving toward strange places I would love to see and they will associate with beautiful and wonderful birds I know only from books.

Though Purple Martin migration begins in July it does not peak until September. In some parts of the country the martins form tremendous flocks. Strangely, this largest and most loved of our swallows often faces great danger when a flock settles in town for the night. Some people are so infuriated by their twittering and numbers men have been known to blast them with shot guns. Many of the martins that successfully complete their dangerous migration will spend our winter scattered widely over the northern half of South America.

Like many insect-eaters, Common Nighthawks feed as they travel and in September flocks of a hundred or more in erratic flight move steadily south over Brevard County. Some of them will travel all the way to Argentina where they may catch insects put to flight by rheas or screamers or long-tailed meadowlarks that have a bright red breast.

Periodic flocks of Chimney Swifts move south over Brevard in September. Their roosting habits are spectacular. Late one afternoon in Tallahassee I watched a loose flock draw together in a compact mass and from it a thin stem of whirling birds began to drop and this grew longer and longer like the funnel of a tornado. Then suddenly the tip of the rope-like group plunged into a tall chimney in the middle of the city. In moments the entire flock had vanished. At dawn the next day they continued on their way, many to spend our winter in the upper part of the Amazon. Would some of them see a cock-of-the-rock? Or even that parakeet so recently discovered by Robert Ridgely that its description has not yet been published?

On some September days I see Black Terns moving steadily down the Indian River. They are cosmopolitan birds occurring in suitable habitat around the world. In imagination they can take us to African lakes such as Nakuru where a million flamingos feed or to the shores of Patagonia where penguins congregate or the coast of Chile where condors drop from great heights to feed on carrion cast ashore by the Pacific.

These are common birds known to all of us. Except for the martin, their voices are not very pleasing. Their plumage is prosaic. Yet what wonderful lives they live! Fall migration, lacking in brilliance of breeding birds, is quite as exciting as the arrival of birds in spring.

St. Augustine Trip Report

Written by David Simpson, photos by Dee Fairbanks Simpson

Dee and I spent the weekend in St. Augustine.  We wanted to show Peregrine falcons to some friends of ours from Gainesville.  Saturday morning, we hit the hawk watch, a week after the watch ended, at the north bach access of Guana River State Park.  The platform on top of the dune is a great spot to watch for hawk migration while also keeping an eye on the lake.  Winds were out of the southwest, probably the worst you could ask for on a fall hawk watch on the east coast of Florida.  A Merlin flew directly over us in the parking lot, giving us a comparison to what we were looking for.  On the platform we spied a distant Peregrine falcon which stayed far off for most of the time we were there.   Eventually, another Peregrine came right off the ocean, over our heads, giving us nice looks.

Later that evening, after finding some good ice cream in St. Augustine Beach, we headed to Vilano Beach to walk the beaches near Porpoise Point.  The tide was rising and the birds on the point across the inlet at Anastasia State Park were retreating and looking for higher beaches.  On our side of the water, we found a nice flock of gulls, terns, and eventually skimmers.  Most of the gulls were Laughing gulls as would be expected.  About 20 Lesser black-backed gulls were across the way at the park.  Other gulls were represented by singles, one Great black-backed, one Herring, one Ring-billed, and one FRANKLIN's.  The Franklin's was a first year bird.  Dee took some shots of the bird, or at least the portion of the flock where the bird was.  Lighting was a bit iffy at this late hour, and we have not looked at the pics to see what we got.

Sunday morning promised to be better for hawk watching.  It lied.  We saw nothing from the hawk watch.  Ducks were in better supply.  Blue-winged teal and Northern shoveler were cruising the lake at Six Mile Landing and near the tower.  Four Northern pintail came in for a landing near the tower.  Six Mile Landing had several birds around including two Swainson's thrushes and several Painted buntings along with several wintering birds including my FOTS Yellow-rumped warbler.

We also ran into James Wheat on both days at the platform.  James helped to point out several of the birds we saw.

New Book: The Unfeathered Bird

Reprinted from The Unfeathered Bird web site (http://www.unfeatheredbird.com)

There is more to a bird than simply feathers. And just because birds evolved from a single flying ancestor, doesn’t mean they are structurally all the same. With over 300 stunning drawings representing 200 species, The Unfeathered Bird is the most richly illustrated book on bird anatomy ever produced and offers a refreshingly original insight into what goes on beneath the surface. Each exquisite drawing is made from an actual specimen and reproduced in sumptuous large format. The birds are shown in lifelike positions and engaged in behavior typical of the species: a fish’s-eye view of a swimming loon skeleton, the musculature of a porpoising penguin, and an unfeathered sparrowhawk plucking its prey. Jargon free and easily accessible to any reader, the lively text relates birds’ anatomy with their lifestyle and evolution, examining such questions as, why penguins are bigger than auks, whether harrier hawks really have double-jointed legs, and the difference between wing claws and wing spurs. A landmark in popular ornithological literature, The Unfeathered Bird is a must for anyone with an appreciation of birds, bird art, or both.

Lagoon Coalition News - Upcoming Events

Inspirational Free Evening of Song and Story to Save the Lagoon

Saving the Indian River Lagoon is a major issue in both Brevard and Indian River Counties, and on Saturday, November 9, at 7 p.m., two major participants in the fight will entertain with songs and stories at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach.  The event – “Healing Our World and Ourselves” – is free, no tickets or reservations required, but donations will be gratefully accepted.

Shyla Nelson, an internationally acclaimed speaker, classical singer, voice trainer, author, environmental advocate and founder of "One Earth. One Voice," will provide the music.  Sr. Pat Siemen, Professor at Barry University Law School, and Director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence – working to save Florida's Springs and all Earth's treasures by giving the Earth a voice – will engage with stories.

This two-hour event is prelude to a February symposium focused on how climate disruption is related to our legal system, food system, water system, rights system, faith practices and our denial system.  The two-day symposium, with 16 inspiring speakers, will be held at UUFVB on February 21 and 22.

The UU Fellowship, offering a liberal religion on the Treasure Coast, has easy parking and is handicapped accessible.  It is located at 1590 27th Avenue on the southeast corner of 27th Avenue and 16th Street.  For more information, call 772-778-5880.
 

Citizens’ Clean Water Summit

• Date: November 16, 2013
• Time: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 
• Location: University of Central Florida - Fairwinds Alumni Center, 12676 Gemini Blvd. North, Orlando, FL 32816 

Here is the idea:  Bring representatives of the many water quality advocacy organizations from around the state together in one place for a day of planning.

The ultimate goal:  Send summit attendees back to their respective organizations with the tools and contacts to organize coordinated regional and statewide action.

We aim to get leaders, like you, from each of 150 different organizations to accomplish the following:

Build solidarity between the state’s independent regional water movements
Create a framework for continued collaboration and mobilization
Plan a progression of concerted activities to bring the full force of the clean water movement directly to decision makers

The Citizens’ Clean Water Summit is a collaborative effort – the Planning Team, growing every day, is comprised of activists from Sierra Club, St. Johns Riverkeeper, Florida Wildlife Federation, Center for Earth Jurisprudence, IDEAS for Us, Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Earthjustice, Mother Ocean, Clean Water Action, Florida Defenders of the Environment, Howard T. Odum Florida Springs Institute Inc., Indian Riverkeeper, League of Women Voters of Florida, Marine Resources Council, Pelican Island Audubon Society, Putnam County Environmental Council, REEF RELIEF, Wakulla Springs Alliance and more.

Please don’t miss this opportunity – we need your group’s participation!

You must register through our Eventbrite link in order to attend: https://www.eventbrite.com/event/8755330429/?ref=estw

DEADLINE to register: Close of business on 11/7/13.

For more info contact:
Macy Zander:  260-450-4946 macy.zander@sierraclub.org
Cris Costello:  941-914-0421 cris.costello@sierraclub.org

$10 includes lunch and admission to the event.  Seats are limited so reserve now!

Parking is free at parking garage H (adjacent to the Alumni Center). View parking map at http://goo.gl/maps/dXhBH

Coffee, tea and networking will begin at 8:30 a.m.

Around the Web

Check out the following interesting stuff we have found on the web recently:

• Watch bats emerge from the Bracken Cave Preserve on a live Bat Cam:
  http://batcon.org/index.php/get-involved/visit-a-bat-location/bracken-bat-cave/bracken-webcam.html
• Subscribe to this newsletter to get the latest updates on birds and wildlife throughout the world:
  http://focusingonwildlife.com/news/
• Interesting article on the psychological effects of listening to birdsongs:
  http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2011/dec/21/scientists-study-psychological-effects-birdsong
• News Article: Invasive Mink Threatens South America's Largest Woodpecker
• News Article:  Owl recorded in Oman could be a new species

Great News - Florida Supreme Court Approves Water and Land Legacy Amendment!

Eric Draper, Audubon Florida Executive Director

Congratulations. The Water and Land Legacy Amendment that so many chapters and members have worked so hard to advance is closer to a reality. The Florida Supreme Court will allow the amendment to go on the ballot. Now all we have to do is get the rest of the signatures. The good news is that we are more than halfway there with more than 385,000 collected.

If you would like to download and print a copy of the petition for yourself or others, please visit: http://4fla.org/AudubonFL.


Thank you to all of you who have collected signatures, contributed funds, and signed the petition. We have just ten weeks to finish the job. I cannot think of anything we can do that will do more good for water and wildlife.

Full article:

Florida Supreme Court Approves Water and Land Conservation Amendment
By Jonathan Webber

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The campaign to place the Water and Land Conservation constitutional amendment to the November 2014 ballot cleared a major hurdle today when the Florida Supreme Court agreed that it satisfies legal requirements for placement on the ballot. The Water and Land Conservation amendment is the first constitutional amendment to be approved by the Supreme Court for the 2014 ballot, according to Florida’s Water and Land Legacy, the amendment’s sponsor.

“This is monumental step as we continue gathering petitions to place this important measure on the ballot. Our campaign is proving that Floridians care deeply about our state’s natural heritage and want to safeguard it for future generations,” said Will Abberger, the campaign’s chair and director of conservation finance for The Trust for Public Land. “With the Florida Supreme Court’s stamp of approval, we can now move forward to asking voters to establish protection of Florida’s water and land as a constant commitment and not something that shifts with the political winds.”

The Water and Land Conservation amendment would dedicate funding for conservation, management, and restoration of Florida’s water and land resources for 20 years. The amendment, which if approved by the voters would take effect July 1, 2015, sets aside one-third of the existing documentary stamp tax (paid when real estate is sold) to restore the Everglades, protect drinking water sources, and revive the state’s historic commitment to protecting natural lands and wildlife habitat through the Florida Forever program.

The amendment will provide more than $10 billion for water and land conservation in Florida without any tax increase.

“The Supreme Court’s approval is a huge milestone and sends a clear signal to Floridians that now is the time to step forward to sign the petition and contribute generously to our campaign,” said Pegeen Hanrahan, the Legacy coalition’s campaign’s manager.


The Florida’s Water and Land Legacy is the campaign working to qualify the amendment for the ballot and win voter approval in November 2014.  Florida’s Water and Land Legacy is supported by almost 4,000 dedicated volunteers and more than 330 conservation and civic organizations from across the state. More than 385,000 Florida voters have already signed petitions.  The amendment’s sponsors are urging all Florida voters to sign a petition if they have not already done so. The campaign is also actively fund raising to complete its signature collection and welcomes all contributions.  To down-load a petition and learn more about the Water and Land Conservation amendment please visit FloridaWaterLandLegacy.org.

Brochures to Prevent Bird Collisions Available for Distribution

Reprinted from the American Bird Conservancy News

Collisions with glass constitute a huge source of bird mortality, as many as one billion each year. To help homeowners prevent birds hitting their windows by using a variety of treatments to the glass ABC has produced a flyer that can be downloaded at:

www.abcbirds.org/abcprograms/policy/collisions/pdf/collisions_flyer.pdf.

We have printed flyers available for distribution in boxes of 3,600 or lots of 1,000. If your organization is interested, please contact Christine Sheppard, csheppard@abcbirds.org with the amount you wish to distribute and a mailing address. The only cost to your organization is shipping $10 for 1,000 or $30 for a box of 3,600. Thanks for helping to spread the word!

For more information about ABC’s collisions program see:
http://www.abcbirds.org/newsandreports/releases/130912.html

Join Space Coast Audubon Society for our October 18th Meeting: The History of Merritt Island NWR

By Jim Eager, Space Coast Audubon Society Publicity Chair 

WHO:  Space Coast Audubon Society (SCAS)

WHERE:  Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Dr, Rockledge, FL.

WHEN:   October 18, 2013 at 7:30 pm

Charlie Venuto will be our speaker and will be presenting The History of Merritt Island NWR

The refuge traces its beginnings to the development of the nation’s Space Program.  In 1962, NASA acquired 140,000 acres of land, water, and marshes adjacent to Cape Canaveral to establish the John F. Kennedy Space Center.  NASA built a launch complex and other space-related facilities, but development of most of the area was not necessary.  In 1963, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service signed an agreement to establish the refuge.

Charlie Venuto was the Environmental Manager, at Kennedy Space Center, for the contractors who operated, maintained and prepared the space shuttle, for more than 30 years.  He is now with Siemens Wind Power and has corporate responsibility for creating and implementing environmental programs at the factories where the turbine blades and engine housings are produced as well as the wind turbine project sites.  He also teaches several environmental science courses at American Public University System, an online university that caters to military personnel.  Charlie has also taught Environmental Science and Biology at Brevard Community College (renamed as Eastern Florida State College).  He is a past president of Space Coast Audubon from 1998-2000 and is currently on the board of directors of the Merritt Island Wildlife Association (MIWA) and has serve on several boards of local nature based organizations.  He enjoys nature and spending time with his wife Barb, who is the Speaker Coordinator for the Friends of Ulumay.
                                                                   
Looking forward to another great turnout.