Great Backyard Bird Count Sets New Species Record

 Nearly half the world's species identified in four days

 

New York, NY, Ithaca, NY, and Port Rowan, ON–Participants from more than 100 countries submitted a record 147, 265 bird checklists for the annual Great Backyard Bird Count and broke the previous count record for the number of species identified. The 5,090 species reported represents nearly half the possible bird species in the world. The four-day count was held February 13-16, the 18th year for the event which is a joint project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society with partner Bird Studies Canada.

The information gathered by tens of thousands of volunteers helps track the health of bird populations at a scale made possible by using the eBird online checklist program. A sampling of species found by intrepid counters include Ibisbill in India, Bornean Bistlehead in Malaysia, and Magellanic Plover in Chile, complete with amazing photos. GBBC participants even reported two species, Millpo Tapaculo and Santa Marta Screech-Owl that have not yet been described in the official scientific literature.
 

Northern Flicker by Linda Izer, Arkansas, 2015 GBBC. Click to download a high resolution version of the image for print.

Bitter Weather
The bitter cold, snowy weather in much of the northeastern United States and much of Canada was a major factor in this year's count. In much of the Northeast, Sunday was particularly frigid and windy, and the number of reports showed an obvious dip as some counters were forced indoors. As one participant in Quebec noted, watching birds came with a price as wind chill temperatures rarely topped -20 degrees Celsius (zero degrees Fahrenheit).

For those who did brave the cold, the GBBC data will help to better understand the impact of the cold on birds and bird populations. For example, scientists will be able to compare the abundance of some so-called “half-hardy” species, such as Carolina Wren and Yellow-rumped Warbler, to see if this cold winter has affected their populations.

Snowy Owl Echo
Snowy Owls are one of the most charismatic and emblematic birds of winter. They breed in Arctic regions worldwide and drop south in some winters ("irrupt"), depending on food supplies and their breeding success in the previous summer. The winter of 2013-14 was a huge year for these owls which appeared in amazing numbers across the Great Lakes states, Northeastern U.S., Atlantic Coast, and southern Canada. GBBC reports for 2015 also show a surge in Snowy Owl sightings across the same range, though the frequency of reports is about half of last winter's. This is a well-known phenomenon with Snowy Owls, with the year after a very large invasion often being referred to as an “echo flight.”

Winter Finches
Winter finches—such as Evening Grosbeaks, Pine Siskins, redpolls, and crossbills—are popular among GBBC participants. These birds also "irrupt" south of their usual haunts depending on food supplies, so their numbers in a given region may change widely from year to year.

2015 was a banner year for Pine Siskins which are reported on 10.5% of GBBC checklists so far. Compare that to 1.2% of checklists in 2014 when most siskins stayed far north in Canada. Siskins will likely be hanging around through April and May, especially if the feeders are stocked with their favorite nyjer (thistle) seed.

Indian Golden Oriole by Sumit Sen, West Bengal, India, 2015 GBBC. Click to download a high resolution version of the  image for print.

GBBC  Top 10 Lists
Surprisingly, a Eurasian species, the Brambling, appears on the Top 10 list of most reported species for the first time ever. Since November, some of these birds have been spotted on the West Coast and others strayed even farther by turning up in Montana, Wyoming, and Ontario, with one 2015 GBBC record in North America from Washington state. But the Brambling's appearance among the Top 10 can be traced to one checklist from Germany reporting a flock estimated at one million birds. Up to three million Bramblings have been known to gather at that site.

In North America, California sits atop the leader board with the most checklists submitted and the greatest number of species, followed by Pennsylvania and New York. Ontario, Canada, is in the Top 10 for the second year in a row, nudging past Ohio and Georgia.

Outside of the U.S. and Canada, India was once again a star performer, nearly doubling the number of checklists submitted to more than 6,800 and reporting the greatest number of species so far with 717.

Top 10 most frequently reported species (number of checklists reporting this species):

Species	Number of Checklists
Northern Cardinal	59,083
Dark-eyed Junco	59,074
Mourning Dove	48,313
Downy Woodpecker	45,399
Blue Jay	41,671
American Goldfinch	39,880
House Finch	39,241
Tufted Titmouse	38,191
Black-capped Chickadee	36,363
House Sparrow	34,564

* All Top 10 species are North American, reflecting high participation from this region.

 Top 10 most numerous species (sum of how many individuals were observed across all checklists):

Species	Number of Individuals
Snow Goose	1,494,937
Canada Goose	1,110,946
Brambling	1,000,047
European Starling	630,610
Mallard	579,330
American Coot	501,152
American Robin	488,063
Dark-eyed Junco	465,939
Red-winged Blackbird	432,513
American Goldfinch	364,963

* All Top 10 species are North American, reflecting high participation from this region.

Top 10 states/provinces by checklists submitted

State/Province	Number of Species	Number of Checklists
California	376	8,453
Pennsylvania	141	7,120
New York	163	6,615
Florida	309	5,478
Texas	366	5,256
Virginia	180	4,672
North Carolina	201	4,497
Ontario	137	4,216
Ohio	125	4,190
Georgia	200	4,017

Top 10 countries by checklists submitted

Country	Number of Species	Number of Checklists
United States	671	108,396
Canada	241	10,491
India	717	6,810
Australia	524	812
Mexico	653	425
Costa Rica	559	303
Portugal	197	193
New Zealand	126	161
Ecuador	784	138
Honduras	353	133

Explore what’s been reported on the Great Backyard Bird Count website. See what species are being reported and how many checklists are being turned in at the county, state/province, and country levels. Check out a sampling of the photos submitted for the GBBC photo contest.

The GBBC is made possible in part by sponsor Wild Birds Unlimited.

HB 7003 Passes, Falls Short on Protecting Florida's Water

Reprinted from the Audubon Advocate

House water bill falls short on springs protection, conservation, and Lake Okeechobee cleanup. 

Audubon worked to educate legislators and to improve HB 7003 before it was rushed through the House earlier this week. But the bill is favored by legislative leaders who claimed it was “modernizing” water law. In fact, it continues the decades long practice of dumping polluted water into the Caloosahatchee and Indian River Lagoon estuaries. 

The bill also has springs provisions that fall short of a better bill (SB 918) in the Senate.

Audubon will work in the Senate to fix the problems listed below:  

HB 7003 Weakens and Delays Lake Okeechobee and Estuary Cleanup

Florida’s largest lake suffers from decades of pollution and neglect. The lake also discharges polluted water to the Everglades and to coastal estuaries. State agencies committed 2000 to clean up Lake Okeechobee by 2015, but little has been done little to meet water quality standards. The bill:

• Deletes an existing 2015 deadline for meeting water quality standards and offers no deadline for meeting the cleanup goal.
• Repeals and existing law that requires that discharge into the Lake Okeechobee at 35 different points including from sugarcane farms meet water quality standards.    
• Sets aside an existing rule that allows state agencies to require that discharges meet water quality standards and adopts an ineffective plan.
• Adopts a phosphorous pollution control program that relies on activities (BMPs) that have not been shown to meet water quality standards.

HB 7003 Does Not Advance Real Springs Restoration

Many of Florida’s world class springs are suffering from reduced flows and excess nutrients. This bill:

• Lacks deadlines for the adoption of minimum flows and levels (MFLs) for Priority Florida Springs.  Without MFLs water management districts lack the ability to gauge the cumulative impact of water withdrawals.
• May delay adoption of MFLs by requiring that recovery or prevention strategies be adopted at the same time.        
• Lacks deadlines for achieving water quality goals for impaired springs.
• Lacks deadlines for restoring spring flows that have fallen below MFLs.
• Allows pollution to continue to be introduced in springsheds from sewage sludge, hazardous wastes, new septic systems and wastewater disposal facilities which only treat effluent to minimum standards and animal feedlots.

Please stay tuned next week for opportunites on how you can take action. 

Merritt Island NWR Christmas Bird Count Results

The Merritt Island Christmas Count, held on December 15, 2014, had 27,408 total individual birds, and 155 total species. Thanks to all of the volunteers who pulled it together!

Species/Number  Seen

Species/Number Seen

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 115 Muscovy Duck 6 Wood Duck 1 Gadwall 2 Eurasian Wigeon 1 American Wigeon 180 Mottled Duck 5 Blue-winged Teal 280 Northern Shoveler 35 Northern Pintail 25 Canvasback 3 Redhead 2,100 Ring-necked Duck 16 Greater Scaup 6 Lesser Scaup 5,300 Black Scoter 11 Bufflehead 3 Hooded Merganser 60 Red-breasted Merganser 25 Ruddy Duck 4 Northern Bobwhite 1 Common Loon 25 Pied-billed Grebe 300 Horned Grebe 75 Northern Gannet 95 American White Pelican 200 Brown Pelican 320 Double-crested Cormorant 1,030 Anhinga 110 Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 180 Great Egret 285 Snowy Egret 290 Little Blue Heron 80 Tricolored Heron 200 Reddish Egret 13 Cattle Egret 70 Green Heron 30 Black-crowned Night-Heron 10 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1 White Ibis 1,250 Glossy Ibis 410 Roseate Spoonbill 130 Wood Stork 60 Black Vulture 365 Turkey Vulture 275 Osprey 167 Bald Eagle 28 Northern Harrier 15 Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 Cooper's Hawk 6 Red-shouldered Hawk 48 Red-tailed Hawk 3 American Kestrel 35 Merlin 3 Peregrine Falcon 3 Black Rail 1 Clapper Rail 1 King Rail 2 Virginia Rail 1 Sora 8 Common Gallinule 92 American Coot 4,900 Sandhill Crane 1 Black-bellied Plover 65 Piping Plover 25 Killdeer 150 Black-necked Stilt 1 American Avocet 4 Spotted Sandpiper 2 Greater Yellowlegs 20 Willet 75 Lesser Yellowlegs 33 Ruddy Turnstone 85 Red Knot 12 Sanderling 31 Western Sandpiper 3 Least Sandpiper 32 Dunlin 355

Short-billed Dowitcher 1 Long-billed Dowitcher 2 Wilson's Snipe 7 Laughing Gull 630 Bonaparte's Gull 2 Ring-billed Gull 1,070 Herring Gull 32 Great Black-backed Gull 15 Caspian Tern 45 Forster's Tern 75 Royal Tern 185 Sandwich Tern 3 Black Skimmer 170 Rock Pigeon 130 Eurasian Collared-Dove 5 White-winged Dove 5 Mourning Dove 65 Common Ground-Dove 57 Eastern Screech-Owl 7 Great Horned Owl 3 Barred Owl 2 Belted Kingfisher 120 Red-bellied Woodpecker 61 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 11 Downy Woodpecker 12 Hairy Woodpecker 1 Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker 24 Pileated Woodpecker 15 Eastern Phoebe 62 Loggerhead Shrike 18 White-eyed Vireo 47 Blue-headed Vireo 14 Blue Jay 15 Florida Scrub-Jay 60 Fish Crow 180 Tree Swallow 75 Tufted Titmouse 6 Carolina Wren 120 House Wren 37 Sedge Wren 7 Marsh Wren 5 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 16 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 23 Hermit Thrush 4 American Robin 420 Gray Catbird 220 Northern Mockingbird 55 European Starling 160 American Pipit 2 Cedar Waxwing 50 Orange-crowned Warbler 7 Northern Parula 2 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 830 Black-throated Green Warbler 2 Yellow-throated Warbler 3 Pine Warbler 12 Prairie Warbler 3 Palm Warbler 370 Black-and-white Warbler 2 Ovenbird 1 Northern Waterthrush 2 Common Yellowthroat 275 Eastern Towhee 32 Chipping Sparrow 14 Savannah Sparrow 150 Swamp Sparrow 70 White-throated Sparrow 1 Northern Cardinal 72 Painted Bunting 7 Red-winged Blackbird 165 Eastern Meadowlark 7 Common Grackle 170 Boat-tailed Grackle 570 Brown-headed Cowbird 6 Pine Siskin 38 American Goldfinch 20 House Sparrow 35

Cocoa CBC Results

The Cocoa Christmas Count, held on December 20, 2014, had 151,032 total individual birds, and 148 total species. Thanks to all of the volunteers who pulled it together!

Species/Number  Seen

Species/Number Seen

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 200 Greylag Goose 1 Muscovy Duck 20 Mallard     50 Mottled Duck 110 Blue-winged Teal 90 Northern Shoveler 5 American Green-winged Teal 4 Redhead 6 Ring-necked Duck 25 Greater Scaup 3 Lesser Scaup 70,000 Black Scoter 175 Bufflehead 12 Hooded Merganser 15 Red-breasted Merganser 25 Ruddy Duck 1 Mallard X Mottled Duck (hybrid) 10 Common Peafowl 75 Common Loon 45 Pied-billed Grebe 65 Horned Grebe 90 Northern Gannet 15 American White Pelican 200 Brown Pelican 750 Double-crested Cormorant 1,600 Anhinga 185 Magnificent Frigatebird 2 Least Bittern 3 Great Blue Heron (Blue form) 165 Great Egret 700 Snowy Egret 950 Little Blue Heron 140 Tricolored Heron 630 Reddish Egret 1 Cattle Egret 375 Green Heron 10 Black-crowned Night-Heron 15 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 1 White Ibis 1,700 Glossy Ibis 825 Roseate Spoonbill 85 Wood Stork 500 Black Vulture 750 Turkey Vulture 2,200 Osprey 170 Northern Harrier 4 Cooper's Hawk 3 Red-shouldered Hawk 60 Broad-winged Hawk 1 Red-tailed Hawk 6 Crested Caracara 4 American Kestrel 35 Merlin 1 Peregrine Falcon 1 Clapper Rail 2 King Rail 30 Virginia Rail 8 Sora 35 Common Gallinule 90 American Coot 1,300 Limpkin 4 Sandhill Crane 45 Black-bellied Plover 28 Killdeer 120 Spotted Sandpiper 5 Greater Yellowlegs 6 Willet 2 Lesser Yellowlegs 1 Ruddy Turnstone 45 Red Knot 1 Sanderling 60 Least Sandpiper 7 Wilson's Snipe 5

Laughing Gull 33,000 Bonaparte's Gull 2 Ring-billed Gull 17,500 Herring Gull 2,200 Lesser Black-backed Gull 360 Great Black-backed Gull 35 Caspian Tern 2 Forster's Tern 35 Royal Tern 500 Sandwich Tern 230Black Skimmer 165 Pomarine Jaeger 1 Parasitic Jaeger 2 Rock Pigeon 500 Eurasian Collared-Dove 225 White-winged Dove 1 Mourning Dove 300 Common Ground-Dove 20 Eastern Screech-Owl 8 Great Horned Owl 9 Barred Owl 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1 Belted Kingfisher 55 Red-bellied Woodpecker 120 Yellow-bellied Sapsucker 10 Downy Woodpecker 12 Northern (Yellow-shafted) Flicker 3 Pileated Woodpecker 17 Eastern Phoebe 70 Western Kingbird 5 Loggerhead Shrike 57 White-eyed Vireo 15 Blue-headed Vireo 5 Blue Jay 155 Florida Scrub-Jay 27 Fish Crow 3,500 Tree Swallow 250 Tufted Titmouse 9 Carolina Wren 30 House Wren 40 Sedge Wren 4 Marsh Wren 14 Ruby-crowned Kinglet 10 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 20 Hermit Thrush 1 American Robin 230 Gray Catbird 140 Northern Mockingbird 175 Brown Thrasher 5 European Starling 300 Orange-crowned Warbler 11 Northern Parula 1 Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler 1,300 Yellow-throated Warbler 11 Pine Warbler 35 Prairie Warbler 6 Palm Warbler 480 Black-and-white Warbler 7 Ovenbird 1 Northern Waterthrush 4 Common Yellowthroat 80 Eastern Towhee 6 Chipping Sparrow 70 Savannah Sparrow 55 Swamp Sparrow 30 Northern Cardinal 120 Painted Bunting 11 Red-winged Blackbird 185 Eastern Meadowlark 2 Common Grackle 1,400 Boat-tailed Grackle 1,700 Brown-headed Cowbird 150 House Finch 1 American Goldfinch 10 House Sparrow 70

March 20, 2015 Meeting

Join Space Coast Audubon Society for our March 20th Meeting

“Central Florida Butterflies”

WHO:  Space Coast Audubon Society (SCAS)

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

WHEN:   March 20, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Space Coast Audubon board member Jim Stahl will be our speaker and will be presenting Central Florida Butterflies

Jim Stahl is the retired natural areas manager from the Columbus, Ohio park system of over 20,000 acres and a retired adjunct professor/senior lecturer at Otterbein College and Capital University.  He is an eco-tourism guide taking cruise ship passengers on nature outings, an active volunteer at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and the Enchanted Forest.  Those of you that attend the Space Coast Birding & Wildlife Festival hopefully have joined Jim on his guided field trips showcasing the flora at Dicerandra Scrub Sanctuary and the North Brevard Area.

Butterfly watching, scientifically known as Lepidoptry, is a rapidly growing hobby among nature lovers.  On sunny days around noon when birds are least active, butterflies are most active; providing birders a good alternative.  Over 185 species of these winged jewels occur in Florida. We'll look at some of the more common species from around Central Florida along with their caterpillars and host plants.  Those wanting to attract butterflies to their yard will definitely get some great ideas from Jim on what the best plants would be. 

Visit the Space Coast Audubon Society website at www.spacecoastaudubon.org

We look forward to another great turnout.

Jim Eager

Space Coast Audubon Society

Vice President

Program/Publicity Chair

Florida Scrub-jay Festival Saturday February 28, 2015

We hope you can attend this festival to celebrate Florida's only endemic bird the Florida Scrub-jay.  Stop by and visit the Space Coast Audubon booth at the Merritt Island NWR visitors center while you're enjoying the festival.  Festival hours are 10:00-3:30.

6th Annaual Florida Scrub-jay Festival at MINWR

Florida Scrub-Jay Festival
Saturday, February 28, 2015
Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

The 6th annual Florida Scrub-Jay Festival will be at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on February 28, 2015. The refuge harbors one of the largest populations of scrub-jays in the state.

The Florida Scrub-Jay Festival celebrates the only bird species unique to Florida as well as the scrub-jay’s unique and interesting habitat. The Florida scrub-jay currently is federally listed as a threatened species.  Scrub-jays are bold, curious, charismatic and true Florida natives.

Scrub-jay populations are thought to have declined by as much as 90 percent since the late 1800s due to habitat loss.  More recently, scrub-jays have continued to decline even on protected lands due to inadequate habitat management.  Historically, periodic wildfires maintained the shrubby, open habitat that scrub-jays need to survive.  Now scrub-jays and other plants and animals rely on agencies like the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to use prescribed fire and other methods to maintain the shrubby habitat they need.

The 2015 Florida Scrub-Jay Festival is free and will be held from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The festival will include guided walks, rides around the refuge, kids’ activities, entertainment, and a Scrub-Jay Q&A with a panel of experts.

As the date approaches, you will find more information at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge website. 
The Florida Scrub-Jay Festival moves around the state from year to year. The Florida Scrub-Jay Festival is a collaborative effort of multiple conservation partners, including the FWC.

Jim Eager
Space Coast Audubon Society
Vice President
Program/Publicity Chair

South Brevard Christmas Count Results

The following are the results for the 2014 South Brevard Christmas Bird Count.  Highlights included a Great Cormorant, an American Woodcock, and a Hairy Woodpecker. Many thanks to all of the volunteers who helped make it a success!

Species/Number of birds seen

Species/Number of birds seen

Muscovey     39 American Wigeon    50 Mallard    4 Mallard X Mottled Hybred    26 Mottled Duck    87 Blue-Winged Teal    10 Northern Shoveler    7 Green-Winged Teal (American)    2 Greater Scaup    1 Lesser Scaup    176 Bufflehead    1 Hooded Merganser    25 Red-Breasted Merganser    15 Peafowl    1 Wild Turkey    63 Common Loon    3 Pied-Billed Grebe    40 Northern Gannet    18 American White Pelican    495 Brown Pelican    450 Great Cormorant    1 Double Crested Cormorant    691 Anhinga    78 Magnificent Frigatebird    101 American Bittern    2 Least Bittern    5 Great Blue Heron (Blue)    74 Great Egret    139 Snowy Egret    85 Little Blue Heron    67 Tricolored Heron    41 Cattle Egret    418 Green Heron    19 Black-Crowned Night Heron    19 Yellow-Crowned Night Heron    2 White Ibis    577 Glossy Ibis    2 Roseate Spoonbill    3 Wood Stork    48 Black Vulture    426 Turkey Vulture    255 Osprey    110 Bald Eagle (ad)    10 Bald Eagle (im)    9 Bald Eagle (uk)    1 Northern Harrier    6 Sharp-Shinned Hawk    1 Cooper's Hawk    6 Red-Shouldered Hawk    42 Red-Tailed Hawk    11 Crested Caracara    2 American Kestrel    85 Merlin    2 Sora    1 Common Moorhen    24 American Coot    7 Limpkin    9 Sandhill Crane    309 Black-Bellied Plover    3 Killdeer    230 American Oystercatcher    4 Spotted Sandpiper    3 Greater Yellowlegs    5 Willet    27 Lesser Yellowlegs    7 Ruddy Turnstone    53 Sanderling    270 Long-Billed Dowitcher    2 Wilson's Snipe    62 American Woodcock    1 Laughing Gull    135 Bonaparte's Gull    2 Ring-Billed Gull    486 Herring Gull    69 Lesser Black-Backed Gull    10

Great Black-Backed Gull    25 Caspian Tern    16 Sandwich Tern    4 Forster's Tern    63 Royal Tern    458 Black Skimmer    300 Rock Pigeon    70 Eurasian Collared Dove    29 White-Winged Dove    4 Mourning Dove    402 Common Ground Dove    37 Eastern Screech Owl    15 Great Horned Owl    2 Barred Owl    5 Ruby-Throated Hummingbird    1 Belted Kingfisher    31 Red-Bellied Woodpecker    89 Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker    6 Downy Woodpecker    16 Hairy Woodpecker    1 Red-Cockaded Woodpecker    9 Northern (Yel-sh.) Flicker    2 Pileated Woodpecker    21 Eastern Phoebe    78 Great Crested Flycatcher    1 Loggerhead Shrike    26 White-Eyed Vireo    22 Blue-Headed Vireo    6 Blue Jay    48 Florida Scrub-Jay    37 American Crow    1 Fish Crow    136 Tree Swallow    3,473 Brown-Headed Nuthatch    15 Carolina Wren    37 House Wren    34 Marsh Wren    3 Ruby-Crowned Kinglet    7 Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher    37 Eastern Bluebird    5 Hermit Thrush    1 American Robin    4,219 Gray Catbird    120 Northern Mockingbird    70 Brown Thrasher    1 European Starling    251 Cedar Waxwing    23 Orange-Crowned Warbler    3 Yellow-Rumped (Myrtle) Warbler    284 Yellow-Throated Warbler    5 Pine Warbler    260 Prairie Warbler    2 Palm Warbler    204 Black-and-White Warbler    3 Ovenbird    1 Common Yellowthroat    29 Eastern Towhee    26 Bachman's Sparrow    8 Chipping Sparrow    36 Vesper Sparrow    1 Savannah Sparrow    147 Grasshopper Sparrow    3 Song Sparrow    1 Swamp Sparrow    10 White-Throated Sparrow    0 Northern Cardinal    105 Painted Bunting    13 Red-Winged Blackbird    17 Eastern Meadowlark    18 Common Grackle    227 Boat-Tailed Grackle    114 Brown-Headed Cowbird    21 American Goldfinch    2 House Sparrow    12 Egyptian Goose*    6

* Non-countable species

February 20, 2015 Space Coast Audubon meeting

Join Space Coast Audubon Society for our February 20^th Meeting

“Brevard Zoo's Role in Florida Scrub-jay Conservation”

WHO:  Space Coast Audubon Society (SCAS)

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

WHEN:   February 20, 2015 at 7:30 pm

Jonny Baker, Conservation Coordinator at Brevard Zoo, will be our speaker and will be presenting Brevard Zoo's Role in Florida Scrub-jay Conservation.

As the newest member to the conservation department at Brevard Zoo, Jonny is eager to spread his passion for wildlife. Although new to the department, he has been a member of Brevard Zoo's conservation team for the past 5 years during which he was employed as the lead animal keeper in the Wild Florida section. Jonny also co-stars in The Rob and Jonny Show produced by Brevard Zoo through which he and Rob hope to spread their love for conservation to all types of audiences. He is also the treasurer for the Brevard chapter of the American Association of Zookeepers which is dedicated to zookeeper professional growth, enhancing animal care, promoting public awareness, and contributing to conservation.

Not only does the Brevard Zoo contribute to conservation of Florida’s only endemic bird species they also assist in outreach and education.  They lead a team to translocate families of Florida Scrub-jays. Translocations are a tool used by biologists to benefit this species in many ways, and Brevard Zoo has perfected their technique. He will touch on previous translocations as well as the one carried out this past January.

Visit the Space Coast Audubon Society website at www.spacecoastaudubon.org

We look forward to another great turnout.

Jim Eager

Space Coast Audubon Society

Vice President

Program/Publicity Chair

Bioblitz at the Enchanted Forest Santuary

On behalf of the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program and the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary Management & Education Center , I would like to invite you to participate in a bioblitz to be held May 23^rd, 1:00pm - May 24^th, 1:00pm at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary in Titusville , Florida .

A bioblitz is a 24-hour survey of the biological diversity in a specified area.  The purpose of this event is to catalog the species positively identified within a 24-hour period at the Enchanted Forest Sanctuary, increase the public awareness of the biological diversity in Brevard County, provide a fun and educational recreation activity to the general public, for field experts to have the opportunity to share their passions and knowledge with each other and the general public, and to celebrate International Biological Diversity Day.

We are seeking scientists, experts, and naturalists that would be interested in participating by leading surveys of a specified taxa, helping in the identification of species, and/or hosting talks/tables to educate the public on the species and biodiversity of Brevard County .

Saturday night dinner and Sunday breakfast will be provided to participating scientists, as well as snacks, water, and coffee throughout the 24-hour period.

The Enchanted Forest Sanctuary (EFS) was the first property acquired by the Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program.  Located in southern Titusville , EFS protects 472-acres, consisting of 7 different habitats, including oak-saw palmetto scrub, mesic and hydric hammocks.

If you are interested in participating please fill out the attached registration sheet and return to Sarah Kraum by mail ( 444 Columbia Blvd. , Titusville , FL 32780 ) or email (sarah.kraum@brevardparks.com) by February 20^th.

Also, if you know of a scientist, expert, or naturalist that would be interested in participating, please feel free to forward this to them.  We would be happy to answer any questions you may have!

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Thank you,

 

 

 

Joanie G. Faulls

Sanctuary Steward

Enchanted Forest Sanctuary

Brevard County Environmentally Endangered Lands Program

321- 264-5185

web: www.eelbrevard.com

Please find us on facebook @ Brevard County Enchanted Forest Sanctuary and on Twitter @BrevardEFS