Celebrate Endangered Species Day

Reprinted from Audubon Chapter Leader Update


Audubon Chapters do their bit for endangered species every day. But on May 17, Endangered Species Day (ESD) offers a special opportunity to promote your Chapter's goals and celebrate successes relating to species protection. Consider weaving the ESD theme into already-scheduled programs that week, including bird walks, nature center tours, monthly meetings, or other activities.

For free publicization of your ESD events, register on the Endangered Species Coalition's ESD website at http://bit.ly/XH577S. You'll also find ideas and resources for your ESD activities at http://www.stopextinction.org/esd.html.

Nature Connection Contest By Lora Losi

MISSION IMPOSSIBLE: How do you get today’s children to get unplugged and go outside to experience and value nature? Space Coast Audubon and Merritt Island Wildlife Association actually managed to do this with their Nature Connection Contest.

The contest involved Brevard School students getting outside and then creating art, a poem, short essay or photograph. Students in grades Kindergarten through 12 submitted hundreds of great works. The Judges had a difficult time narrowing the entries down to the best which were displayed from April 1 to 10 at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge’s visitor center.

The winning students, parents and teachers attended an award ceremony April 6 at the Visitor Center. The top 3 entrants in each category received gift certificates to the Bookery where they could choose from a great selection of nature related objects. The prizes were supplied by both Space Coast Audubon Society and Merritt Island Wildlife Association.

NEXT MISSION? Get students outside on the refuge to experience and celebrate 50 years of Space for Wildlife!!

Hummingbirds at Home has Fledged!

Reprinted from Audubon Chapter Leader Update


Audubon’s first all-digital, mobile citizen science program will build a continent-wide network of citizen scientists to help uncover how hummingbirds are affected by climate change. Using a mobile-optimized web portal and smartphone apps, people from across the U.S. can report their hummingbird sightings. The data collected will guide Audubon in devising actions to help hummingbirds thrive despite climate change and other threats. Please visit www.hummingbirdsathome.org for more information and to start logging your sightings!

Resources to help spread the word about this exciting initiative—including press release templates, posters, video and PowerPoint presentations—are available at http://bit.ly/WNN151.

Experiencing any issues with the hummingbirds website or app (http://www.hummingbirdsathome.org/)? We want to know about it. Please email hummingbirds@audubon.org. Kathy Dale and the science team are responding to all inquiries and helping to troubleshoot technical issues.

New SCAS Officers Elected By Matthew Heyden

The following slate of officers have been elected to the SCAS board of directors:

• Mark Wallace; President
• Jason Frederick; Vice President
• Deborah Longman-Marien; Secretary
• Elizabeth Bishop; treasurer

This is wonderful news for our chapter. I want to thank the new candidates for recognizing the importance of what we do, and their willingness to help our chapter move ahead. This slate of candidates is everything we could have asked for.

We also want to thank the outgoing officers for all their hard work, and being so professional, competent, and easy to work worth. We are always in need of board members; if you are interesting in becoming a voting board member, please contact one of the new or current members for details.

Join SCAS for: The Unique Florida Scrub-jay Presented by Wildlife Biologist Maria Zondervan

Join SCAS on April 19th, when we will welcome wildlife biologist Maria Zondervan, who will talk about the Florida Scrub Jay.

Come learn about this unique family-oriented bird.  Florida scrub-jays can only be found on dry scrubby areas of Florida, nowhere else on earth. They live in close family groups, never migrate and are very reluctant to leave the area where they grow-up, even if the habitat deteriorates (even if it is bulldozed!). These jays are naturally very friendly and curious, but are in serious trouble. Come learn why their numbers are dropping at alarming rates, what is being done statewide, and what you can do to help stop this decline. The presentation will be given by wildlife biologist Maria Zondervan with the St. Johns River Water Management District.

Please join us at the Rockledge Presbyterian Church on the evening of April 19th at 7:30 for a unique and fascinating presentation.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all general meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. in Calvin Hall at the Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Drive (on the corner of Orange Ave) Rockledge, FL.

4th Annual Viera Wetlands Nature Festival

By Rosemary Webb

The Friends of Viera Wetlands will be helping put on the 4th Annual Viera Wetlands Nature Festival April 12, 13, 14. In addition to our traditional outdoor events on Saturday, 4/13, we will also have a keynote speaker Friday night (Tim Gallagher, editor of _Living Bird_ and author of several books); various speakers on Sunday; and one or more tours each day. We are also hosting a traditional photo contest, as well as soliciting photographs for a photo loop to showcase the diversity of species that live in or migrate through the Ritch Grissom Memorial Wetlands at Viera. The photo loop will be shown before the speakers on Friday and Sunday.

For tickets to the events, or details on how to submit photographs, visit our website: fovw.org.

Rockledge Fertizer Ordinance Passes

By Deborah Longman-Marien

On March 20, the Rockledge City Council, by a vote of 5-2 passed the Fertilizer Ordinance they had been considering, making them the first in Brevard to pass an Ordinance, and a stricter ordinance than the County! This is the first community to pass stricter rules than the county did.

Rockledge city council orders restriction of fertilizer use
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20130321/NEWS01/303210048/Rockledge-city-council-orders-restriction-fertilizer-use

Great news for the lagoon, for water quality, and quality of life in Rockledge. These reasonable requirements will begin to help staunch the long term decline of the lagoon. More is needed to be done county wide to address the lessening of the water quality in the county through various pollutants. Algae in the lagoon and other bodies of water, exacerbated by fertilizer and other nutrients becomes smelly, is actually a health hazard. It is unattractive, lessens the appeal of waterfront properties and parks and discourages recreational activities in these areas. Wildlife that make the area appealing to residents and tourists alike are at risk of dying off from problems associated with too much nutrient in the water. This includes loss of seagrass which feeds manatees and harbors baby sports fish, sea turtles, mollusks and other lagoon creatures which feed wintering ducks and some of our beautiful wading birds.

Hummingbirds at Home to Launch April 10

Reprinted from the Audubon Chapter Leader Update


Audubon’s newest Citizen Science program, Hummingbirds at Home, will be launching April 10! This accessible and family-friendly new program seeks to gather data documenting hummingbird migration and feeding habits nationwide.

A toolkit to help Chapter leaders explain and publicize the new program is available at http://bit.ly/WNN151. Photo resources are available online at http://bit.ly/WVM8Z5, and we will be creating an online press kit that we will share closer to launch.

And as part of the promotion, all Centers and Chapters are welcome to host screenings of the NATURE film “Hummingbirds: Magic in the Air” at no charge. We will be making copies of the film that includes a welcome from David Yarnold available beginning April 10th – copies can be requested from Lynne Hoppe, lhoppe@audubon.org.

FNPS: A Friendly reminder to register for our 33rd Annual Conference in Jacksonville

Cathi Rodgers, FNPS Administrative Services


FNPS Ixia Chapter presents the Florida Native Plant Society's 2013 conference. The theme, "Celebrating La Florida; the Land of Flowers," is to commemorate Ponce deLeon's naming of this region when he landed in NE Florida 500 years ago.

The conference will be held May 16th through May 19th at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. Field trips will be held on Thursday May 16th and on Sunday May 19th. Field trips are filling up fast! Two of them only have one spot left! Our evening social are fantastic this year. We have added a St. Johns River Boat Dining experience with the St. Johns Riverkeeper, Lisa Rinaman. In addition to the spectacular ambiance on the water, the river cruise offers a cash bar and a DJ.

There is a special 2-hour Home Landscape Design Workshop which will be presented by two landscape architects on Saturday afternoon from 12:50pm until 2:45pm. To register for this workshop, please visit https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010289. The cost is just $25!

Please visit our conferences website http://fnps.org/conference for all the details.

Space is limited on the field trips, workshops, and the socials, so don't delay. Register today online at https://www.eventville.com/catalog/eventregistration1.asp?eventid=1010214. EARLY BIRDS: Save $25 each for Friday and Saturday programs when you register by April 15.

Brevard Wildlife Corridor Expedition - Registration is Open

Registration has opened at ExpeditionBrevard.com for the Brevard Wildlife Corridor Expedition.  Join the 74 mile, six day kayaking trip in the Indian River Lagoon that passes Ulumay Wildlife Sanctuary en route to Sebastian Inlet.  Participate in almost 100 events that will help you FIND YOURSELF IN NATURE.  Attend the keynote presentations by members of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition that trekked 1000 miles in 100 days.  Eat well as a Spring Seafood Jubilee at Fox Lake Park hosted by Laurilee Thompson of Dixie Crossroads.

South Brevard CBC Results

Sorry it has taken me so long to compile these results, January was a tough month for me. We had a total of 157 species. Write ups included red-breasted nuthatch and fulvous whistling duck. Here are the total numbers:

Species / number seen

Species / number seen

Graylag Goose 1  Muscovey  13  Wood Duck 10  American Wigeon 40   Mallard 5  Mottled Duck 173  Gadwall 24  Blue-Winged Teal 3  Northern Shoveler 3  Northern Pintail 1  Green-Winged Teal (American) 68  Ring-Necked Duck 9  Greater Scaup 9  Lesser Scaup 5  Bufflehead 5  Hooded Merganser 73  Red-Breasted Merganser 7  Rudy Duck 2  Wild Turkey 82  Northern Bobwhite 10  Common Loon 9  Pied-Billed Grebe 23  Northern Gannet 2  American White Pelican 288  Brown Pelican 479  Double Crested Cormorant 1,104  Anhinga 73  Magnificent Frigatebird 10  American Bittern 1  Great Blue Heron (Blue) 115  Great Egret 137  Snowy Egret 104  Little Blue Heron 96  Tricolored Heron 52  Reddish Egret 2  Cattle Egret 286  Green Heron 12  Black-Crowned Night Heron 27  Yellow-Crowned Night Heron 6  White Ibis 429  Glossy Ibis 21  Roseate Spoonbill 12  Wood Stork 69  Black Vulture 597  Turkey Vulture 392  Osprey 131  Bald Eagle (ad) 13  Bald Eagle (im) 4  Northern Harrier 9  Sharp-Shinned Hawk 2  Cooper's Hawk 5  Red-Shouldered Hawk 45  Red-Tailed Hawk 13  Crested Caracara 2  American Kestrel 109  Merlin 13  King Rail 1  Sora 1  Common Moorhen 37  American Coot 26  Limpkin 8  Sandhill Crane 149  Black-Bellied Plover 11  Semipalmated Plover 2  Killdeer 142  American Oystercatcher 2  Spotted Sandpiper 2  Greater Yellowlegs 15  Willet 16  Lesser Yellowlegs 15  Ruddy Turnstone 82  Sanderling 149  Western Sandpiper 30  Least Sandpiper 70  Dunlin 213  Short-Billed Dowitcher 9  Wilson's Snipe 22  Laughing Gull 410  Bonaparte's Gull 6

Ring-Billed Gull 590  Herring Gull 33  Lesser Black-Backed Gull 4  Great Black-Backed Gull 22  Black-Legged Kittiwake 0  Caspian Tern 35 Sandwich Tern 1  Forster's Tern 131  Royal Tern 363  Black Skimmer 180  Rock Pigeon 85  Eurasian Collared Dove 55  White-Winged Dove 39  Mourning Dove 541  Common Ground Dove 31  Barn Owl 4  Eastern Screech Owl 5  Great Horned Owl 5  Barred Owl 5  Whip-Poor-Will 1  Ruby-Throated Hummingbird 1  Belted Kingfisher 41  Red-Bellied Woodpecker 89  Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker 5  Downy Woodpecker 17  Hairy Woodpecker 2  Red-Cockaded Woodpecker 2  Northern (Yel-sh.) Flicker 8  Pileated Woodpecker 9  Eastern Phoebe 80  Myiarchus Species 1  Loggerhead Shrike 23  White-Eyed Vireo 13  Blue-Headed Vireo 5  Blue Jay 73  Florida Scrub-Jay 51  Fish Crow 137  Tree Swallow 814  Tufted Titmouse 1  Brown-Headed Nuthatch 8  Carolina Wren 31  House Wren 31  Sedge Wren 1  Marsh Wren 1  Ruby-Crowned Kinglet 24  Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher 37  Hermit Thrush 3  American Robin 20,867  Gray Catbird 75  Northern Mockingbird 108  European Starling 90  Cedar Waxwing 1  Orange-Crowned Warbler 5  Northern Parula 1  Yellow-Rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 948  Yellow-Throated Warbler 3  Pine Warbler 87  Prairie Warbler 5  Palm Warbler 244  Black-and-White Warbler 4  Northern Waterthrush 1  Common Yellowthroat 65  Eastern Towhee 34  Bachman's Sparrow 7  Chipping Sparrow 25  Savannah Sparrow 92  Grasshopper Sparrow 1  Swamp Sparrow 5  Northern Cardinal 92  Painted Bunting 9  Red-Winged Blackbird 170  Eastern Meadowlark 22  Common Grackle 614  Boat-Tailed Grackle 343  Brown-Headed Cowbird 30  American Goldfinch 49  House Sparrow 16  Red-breasted Nut Hatch 1  Fulvous Whistling Duck

This Is What Progress in the Everglades Looks Like

From Audubon of Florida

New restoration project delivering needed freshwater to Florida Bay.

Audubon's Everglades Science Team was on hand at the January 11 ribbon cutting ceremony for the C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project in the Southern Everglades where it became the first Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan project to be completed.

Using detention basins and pumps, this new project will increase freshwater levels near Everglades National Park and help retain water in Taylor Slough, where it will flow to parched Florida Bay rather than seeping out of the park to the massive C-111 canal.

Since 1938, researchers at Audubon's Tavernier Science Center in the Florida Keys have collected data to help understand the decline of wading birds like the Roseate Spoonbill. The research collected over the decades helped bring the C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project to life.

Special thanks must go to the South Florida Water Management District for recognizing Audubon's calls to expedite and fund this critical Everglades restoration goal ahead of schedule.

Over the years, Audubon's Tavernier Science Center has evolved to study not only birds, but also the submerged grasses and water quality affecting their food supply of prey fish. Now under the leadership of Dr. Jerry Lorenz, Audubon’s research program has led to the scientific understanding necessary to make restoration progress like the C-111 Spreader Canal Western Project possible.

The remarkable wildlife of the Southern Everglades - including iconic Roseate Spoonbills and other wading birds - will benefit from the improved conditions made possible by the completion of this new project. Now that the pumps are turned on, Audubon will be working to ensure this project delivers the ecosystem benefits it is capable of producing.

Amazing Wildlife Sounds For All Ears: World’s Largest Natural Sound Archive Goes Digital

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

"In terms of speed and the breadth of material now accessible to anyone in the world,  this is really revolutionary," says audio curator Greg Budney, describing  a major milestone just achieved by the Macaulay Library archive at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. All archived analog recordings in the collection, going back to 1929, have now been digitized and can be heard at www.MacaulayLibrary.org. "This is one of the greatest research and conservation resources at the Cornell Lab," said Budney, "and through its digitization we’ve swung the doors open on it in a way that wasn’t possible 10 or 20 years ago."
It took archivists a dozen years to complete the monumental task. The collection contains nearly 150,000 digital audio recordings equaling more than 10 terabytes of data with a total run time of 7,513 hours.  About 9,000 species are represented. There’s an emphasis on birds but the collection also includes sounds of whales, elephants, frogs, primates, and more.

"Our audio collection is the largest and the oldest in the world," explained Macaulay Library director Mike Webster. "Now, it’s also the most accessible. We’re working to improve search functions and create tools people can use to collect recordings and upload them directly to the archive. Our goal is to make the Macaulay Library as useful as possible for the broadest audience possible."

The recordings are used by researchers studying many questions, as well as by birders trying to fine-tune their sound ID skills. The recordings are also used in museum exhibits, movies, and commercial products such as smartphone apps. For example, a reserve manager in Africa could use the recordings to train staff to conduct an acoustic survey. A teacher could pull out the sounds of ten birds found on the school grounds and create an interactive learning tool for her students. And a sound engineer working on a movie could find just the right sound to create that proper mood.

"Now that we’ve digitized the previously archived analog recordings, the archival team is focusing on new material from amateur and professional recordists from around the world to really, truly build the collection," Budney said. "Plus, it’s just plain fun to listen to these sounds. Have you heard the sound of a walrus underwater?  It’s an amazing sound!"

Sample some fascinating Macaulay Library sounds:

• Earliest recording: Cornell Lab founder Arthur Allen was a pioneer in sound recording. On a spring day in 1929 he recorded this Song Sparrow sounding much as they do today. (http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=783b2d45b7&e=d865a97cb3)
• Youngest bird: This clip from 1966 records the sounds of an Ostrich chick while it is still inside the egg—and the researchers as they watch. (http://cornell.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=cda0cadd80&e=d865a97cb3)
• Liveliest wake-up call: A dawn chorus in tropical Queensland, Australia is bursting at the seams with warbles, squeals, whistles, booms, and hoots. (http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=bf38dd2d0f&e=d865a97cb3)
• Best candidate to appear on a John Coltrane record: The indri, a lemur with a voice that is part moan, part jazz clarinet. (http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=3e3bc3fce2&e=d865a97cb3)
• Most spines tingled: The incomparable voice of a Common Loon on an Adirondacks lake in 1992. (http://cornell.us2.list-manage2.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=9ed6ea1575&e=d865a97cb3)
• Most likely to be mistaken for aliens arriving: Birds-of-paradise make some amazing sounds—here’s the UFO-sound of a Curl-crested Manucode in New Guinea. (http://cornell.us2.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=895e5d7621&e=d865a97cb3)
• Most erratic construction project: the staccato hammering sounds of a walrus under water (http://cornell.us2.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b35ddb671faf4a16c0ce32406&id=0a349761da&e=d865a97cb3)

Journal of North American Herpetology Call For Papers

From the Center for North American Herpetology


The Center for North American Herpetology (CNAH) is proud to announce the launch of a new open access, online journal – The Journal of North American Herpetology (JNAH). With an impressive cadre of Associate Editors from all herpetological disciplines, we are now officially soliciting authors for manuscripts and expect to publish the premiere issue by June 2013.

The Journal of North American Herpetology provides an open access online venue with the use of all modern digital technologies for peer-reviewed contributions of all aspects of North American herpetology within the geographic boundaries of the United States and Canada. Because of its digital nature JNAH should be able to incorporate relevant video and sound media as well as high resolution images into articles.

A brief and simple set of instructions to authors as well as a list of topic headings and Associate Editors can be viewed on the JNAH web page (JNAH.CNAH.org). Questions can be addressed to JNAH.editor@cnah.org. We look forward to your submissions.

Actions by Feds Cut Annual Bird Deaths in Oil and Gas Fields by Half, Saving Over One Million Birds from Grisly Death

Reprinted from the American Bird Conservancy Updates

According to a recently released policy document from the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), migratory bird deaths at oil and gas operation waste pits have been reduced by 50 - 75 percent in the last 15 years, saving an estimated one to one and a half million birds from grisly deaths caused by their landing in chemical-laden waste water pits associated with oil and gas operations. The policy document says that bird mortality has been reduced from about two million per year in 1997 to between five hundred thousand and one million per year today.

“Seeing this downward trend in bird mortality is great news. Enforcement of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act by dedicated staff of the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and implementation of Best Management Practices by BLM is obviously making a difference. And the willingness of the Department of Justice (DOJ) to prosecute offenses clearly provides the needed incentive to make sure that the industry shows diligence in following the law,” said Dr. George Fenwick, President of American Bird Conservancy, one of the nation’s leading bird conservation organizations.

Fenwick said further that “I have every reason to believe that with continued persistence by federal agencies, that this downward trend in the oil and gas industry will continue. In the meantime ABC is still deeply concerned about birds killed by the fast-growing wind power industry, as it continues to rely on unenforceable voluntary guidelines for its operations.”

The reduced bird mortality for traditional energy developers was reported in BLM Instruction Memorandum -- IM 2013-033 -- which establishes policy for reducing preventable causes of direct wildlife mortality associated with fluid mineral facilities authorized by the agency. Fluid mineral facilities include oil, gas, and geothermal facilities and associated structures authorized by the BLM. The IM also addresses Best Management Practices (BMP) for reducing the risk of direct wildlife mortality from various fluid mineral practices on public lands.

The policy seeks to establish a consistent approach to management practices designed to ensure BLM and operator compliance with wildlife protection laws and regulations. Toward that end, the IM directs that all BLM field offices will ensure that new fluid mineral-related permit approvals contain appropriate BMPs for reducing the risk of harm to wildlife species protected under law, regulation, or BLM policy.

During inspections and site visits, BLM will ensure operator implementation and maintenance of effective wildlife protection measures. The operator is expected to notify the nearest FWS law enforcement office upon discovery of a dead or injured migratory bird, bald or golden eagle, or Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA)-listed or other species protected under Federal statute. If the BLM becomes aware of such mortality or injury, the BLM will contact the operator. If the operator is unable or unwilling to make the notification, the BLM field office will notify the FWS Law Enforcement office or the nearest FWS Ecological Services office. The BLM field office and the FWS, will attempt to determine the cause of mortality and the BLM, in coordination with the FWS, will evaluate and identify appropriate mitigation measures to avoid future occurrences.

The IM targets a common bird mortality threat in oil and gas operations – open, fluid-filled pits. It references the Wyoming Ecological Services Field Office of the FWS who states that “Deterrents (to birds landing in these deadly, chemical-laden pits) such as flagging, strobe lights, metal reflectors and noise makers are not effective at preventing bird mortalities from occurring in oil pits.”

The FWS office has stated further that “Oil industry regulators that recommend flagging to oil operators as a bird deterrent for oil pits place the oil operators at risk for prosecution under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.” The FWS recommends solutions to the open pit problem and states that “…netting appears to be the most effective method of keeping birds from entering wastewater evaporation ponds and skim pits.”

Just last month, because of efforts by BLM, FWS and DOJ, a Denver-based oil and gas company was fined $22,500 in connection with the deaths of birds at the company’s drilling facilities in Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. The fine was imposed after SM Energy Company pled guilty to three misdemeanor violations of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. In addition to the fine, U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn S. Ostby placed the company on probation for one year and ordered it to pay $7,500 toward improvement of migratory bird habitat. Ostby also ordered the company to continue implementing a $300,000 remediation program intended to prevent future bird deaths at the company's facilities.

New Young Birders Network Aims to Fledge Teen Birders

From the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

Online info hub connects young birders with peers and resources across country

Teen birders now have a place to go online to connect with peers and drill down into a wealth of birding resources, as well as explore college and career opportunities. The Young Birders Network (www.youngbirdersnetwork.net), launched by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Ohio’s Black Swamp Bird Observatory, serves as a hub for the many young birding clubs sprouting up across the country, while providing an online community for teens to share information and learn more about birding.

"Teen birders are often unsure of how to turn their hobby into a meaningful career," said Cornell University biology junior Hope Batcheller, who is also a Young Birders Network coordinator. "This site answers many of their frequently asked questions."

The Young Birders Network aggregates everything a teen needs to plug into their local birding scene, meet their birding peers, and delve deeper into the world of birding:
A directory of young birding clubs, blogs and Facebook groups, events, and conferences across the country;
Articles and links to resources about the many ways a passion for birding can turn into a college major and career, from ornithology and conservation biology to art and computer science; and,
A custom eBird portal for easy online management of birding checklists and access to all the birding tools eBird offers.
Articles on the Young Birders Network home page are written by a mix of middle school and high school students, Cornell University students, and eBird and Black Swamp Observatory professionals, creating a forum for teens to interact with college and adult birders.  And for teens who don’t find a birding club near them, the Young Birders Network offers a toolkit for starting their own club.

"Since Black Swamp Bird Observatory launched the Ohio Young Birders Club in 2006, much of our efforts have focused on providing information and assistance to other groups interested in starting a similar program for youth," said Kimberly Kaufman, executive director of the Black Swamp Bird Observatory. "The opportunity to work with the  Cornell Lab of Ornithology on the Young Birders Network (YBN) is a dream come true. Our combined knowledge, enthusiasm, and additional resources will allow us to encourage, educate, and empower more young people than we could have ever reached on our own. These are exciting times for anyone with an interest in getting more young people outside and connected with birds!"

"I certainly wish I had a central resource hub like this during high school. Until now there was really nowhere to find all this information about young birder happenings in one place," said Batcheller. "I’m excited to share this site with new birders and introduce them to the awesome world of birding and ornithology."

The Alarming Truth About Florida's Wading Birds

Jonathan Webber, Conservation Campaign Manager Audubon of Florida


Audubon Florida has released their 2012 Wading Bird Nesting in the Everglades Fact Sheet:(http://audubonoffloridanews.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Audubon_Everglades_WadingBirds_JAN2013.pdf)

The South Florida Water Management District’s annual South Florida Wading Bird Report (http://bit.ly/ZcUStU) provides an overview of wading bird nesting efforts across the Greater Everglades Ecosystem. An indicator of ecosystem health, wading bird populations are a central component of evaluating Everglades restoration efforts. Numerous ecologists contribute data from all corners of the ecosystem, which is compiled to evaluate overall nesting effort with notes on long and short-term trends.

Audubon’s 2012 Wading Bird Nesting in the Everglades Fact Sheet outlines their summary of a few report components, including a status of nesting Roseate Spoonbills in Florida Bay and Wood Storks at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary provided by Audubon scientists. January to December 2012 was the third consecutive year of relatively poor nesting effort across the Everglades, with success better in some regions and among certain species than others.

Restoration projects currently under construction or in the planning phase are urgently needed to reverse ecological declines in the Everglades and enable wading birds to return historical nesting locations and to nest in greater abundance.

Stay engaged with Audubon’s Everglades Conservation Team and help protect one of Florida’s gems, our famed River of Grass.

Download Fact Sheet: http://bit.ly/ZcUKdQ

Join SCAS for: David Simpson Presents the Second Florida Breeding Bird Atlas Project

Join SCAS on February 15, when we welcome bird expert David Simpson, who will give us a presentation about the second Florida Breeding Bird Atlas project. The first Atlas project recorded the breeding distributions of all bird species in the state during 1986-1991. The Atlas project is a collaborative effort of Audubon of Florida, the Florida Ornithological Society, and the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. Many participants, most of them volunteers, are involved in conducting surveys and compiling data.

Please join us at the Rockledge Presbyterian Church on the evening of December 21 at 7:30 for this interesting and informative meeting!

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all general meetings are held at 7:30 p.m. in Calvin Hall at the Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Drive (on the corner of Orange Ave) Rockledge, FL.

Join SCAS For Our January Meeting!

Join Space Coast Audubon Society on the evening of January 18, at 7:30 when we welcome Tom Hoctor from the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning and the Conservation Trust for Florida. Tom will give us a presentation about the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

The Florida Ecological Greenways Network (FEGN) is a part of the Florida Greenways Program and identifies the opportunities to protect functionally connected landscapes of conservation significance across the state, with the highest FEGN priorities named Critical Linkages.  The Florida Wildlife Corridor is an outreach and education campaign to promote this vision of an ecologically-connected network of public and private conservation lands, which was conceived by Carlton Ward from the Legacy Institute for Nature and Culture and developed in collaboration with Tom Hoctor from the University of Florida Center for Landscape Conservation Planning and the Conservation Trust for Florida. 

In 2012, after two years in planning, the project debuted in the form of a 1000-mile, 100 day expedition from Florida Bay in Everglades National Park up the peninsula to Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge in southern Georgia. The trek was carried out by four Florida-based conservationists: photojournalist Carlton Ward, Jr., biologist Joe Guthrie, nature filmmaker Elam Stoltzus, and conservationist Mallory Lykes Dimmitt.   Their route mimicked the path a wide-ranging animal like a panther or a bear might use to move through the landscape, by sticking to large natural and rural landscapes and utilizing existing highway wildlife crossings or underpasses.  The expedition touched virtually all of the large publicly-owned conservation landmarks on the Florida peninsula, such as Everglades National Park, the Big Cypress National Preserve, Ocala National Forest, and Osceola National Forest. 

But a large proportion of the south-central Florida peninsula is held by private landowners, and their participation in conservation programs is vital to protecting focal species habitat and water quality and quantity in the upper reaches of the Everglades and St. Johns River watersheds.  The Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition visited and highlighted these properties, seeking to advance the conversation between the agricultural interests and the conservation community.  There is an urgent need to build support for funding voluntary programs that can help compensate landowners for putting their land into conservation including Florida Forever, which is Florida’s premier conservation land acquisition program that has been lagging in the last several years due to severe budget cuts. 

To help do this the group invited politicians, policy makers, and stakeholders to hike or paddle with them.  The group used a variety of outreach tools, like social media, weekly videos and radio reports from the field, and blogs to communicate with the audience their trek attracted.  A film about the expedition by Elam Stoltzfus will air on PBS in April 2013 in Florida and in June 2013 nationally, and the education and outreach effort will continue through publications, presentations, and social media. 

For more information, go to http://www.floridawildlifecorridor.org/.

Satellite Beach Recreation Department January Events

Wed Jan 16 - Affordable Surf Fishing Clinic A-to-Z  - 8am-12:30pm
Here’s an excellent opportunity for you to increase the affordability and ease of every surf fishing trip you take the rest of your life. This $40 clinic will not only cover the surf fishing fundamentals and skills needed to improve one’s catching, it will also detail the areas were you can save money and time while pursuing this outdoor activity. John Detmer & Rodney Smith will share the knowledge needed to catch pompano, whiting, drum, flounder, mackerel, and a host of other surf species. Attendees will receive a Surf Fishing Tackle bag.
Location: Pelican Beach Clubhouse  1495 Hwy A1A Satellite Beach
Registration: Contact John 777-5554 jdetmer@cfl.rr.com or Rodney Smith at rodney@coastalanglermagazine.com

Beachlovers (and trash haters)
Beachlovers & Trash Haters are gathering at Pelican Beach Park, at the crossover behind the restroom at 8am on the second Saturday monthly. Keep Brevard Beautiful will supply trash bags and gloves, volunteers should bring their own drinking water. No need to rsvp, just show up! Questions? Call Judy, 960-0436 or judy@mitchrealty.com

Samsons Island Volunteer Program
Samsons Island Nature Park is a 52 acre island owned by the City of Satellite Beach located in the Indian River Lagoon. Since 1991, city volunteers and staff have worked diligently to re-vegetate this spoil island so local flora and fauna can enjoy a small piece of open land. The Samsons Island volunteer program recruits individuals, families and local organizations to lend a hand with park duties that suit their ability level. You can volunteer any Sunday, 1-4pm during our regular park work day. Those interested in volunteering on Samsons Island can contact Kerry Stoms, 773-6458 kstoms@satellitebeach.org

Boating Classes
A listing of Boating Education classes for adults can be viewed at http://bananariversps.org/Education.aspx