Join SCAS on February 21 for "Iceland!"

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:   February 21, 2014 at 7:30 p.m.

 

This presentation will highlight Paul Cooper’s June 2013 trip to Iceland and will also include a few of his favorites from Florida.  Paul Cooper, "Coop" to his friends, grew up in the foothills of the Adirondack Mountains in New York where he enjoyed fishing, hiking and just being outdoors. After college, Paul moved to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains in North Carolina. There he was introduced to birding, by good friend and wildlife artist, Tim Larson.  

In 2003, Paul’s southerly migration finally brought him to Merritt Island, a mecca for birders and fishermen as well as home to Kennedy Space Center.  While kayaking, fishing and birding along the Space Coast of Florida, Paul realized he was experiencing many things that most people never get to see or do.  In November 2008 he bought his first DSLR (digital single lens reflex) camera and started to use digital photography as a way to share these sights and experiences, from rocket launches, beautiful birds & wildlife, nature scenes and anything else he thought was interesting. 

Unfortunately with the end of the shuttle program, like many others in Brevard County, Paul was laid off from Kennedy Space Center.  He is now using this situation as the push he needed to go full time as a photographer.  Although, for Paul’s business he is capturing people and events, he will always make time for what his first love – Nature Photography.

We are looking forward to another great turnout!

South Brevard Christmas Count Results

By Dee Fairbanks Simpson, SBCBC Compiler

Better late than never, you can view the summary report of the South Brevard Christmas count here:

http://www.spacecoastaudubon.org/CountSummaryRpt.pdf

In general, we had 152 countable species, with the highlights including a Pomarine Jaeger and a Black-legged Kittiwake.

Shiloh Marsh Launch Complex by Jen Cenker

There will be two public hearings on Feb. 11 and Feb 12 concerning the proposal to develop launch pads at Shiloh.  New Smyrna Beach High School will host the first forum on Feb. 11, and the Titusville campus of Eastern Florida State College the second on Feb. 12. Both are scheduled from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., starting with an open house workshop followed by an FAA overview of the environmental study process and a public comment period. Public comments may also be submitted by mail, e-mail and fax through Feb. 21.

PLEASE make plans to attend one of them and let your voice be heard that we are concerned about the massive impact this will have on the Mosquito Lagoon and MINWR. Here is the story that was posted to Florida Today - please share this and get the word out so that we can have a huge crowd to voice our opinions.

Important Announcements from SCAS Board of Directors

• Want to keep up to date on all things Space Coast Audubon Society and know it as soon as it happens?  Go to http://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/SpaceCoastAudubon/info and enter your email address and you can join our email list.  Get up to date news, sightings, events, and more.
• Are you on Facebook?  So are we, like us at www.facebook.com/pages/Space-Coast-Audubon/125683777485043
• Do you love wildlife photography?  Do you want to show off your photos?  Do you want to see other great local photographer’s work?  Check us out at www.flickr.com/groups/spacecoastaudubonsociety
• Meetup.com.  We’re on it, and it’s a great place to find out about recently added field trips.  Just enter Space Coast Audubon, and sign up.  It’s easy, and very convenient, and so far 48 members are taking advantage of this free service.  Go to www.meetup.com/Space-Coast-Audubon-Meetup
• Board of Directors opening.  Board positions are important, and do involve work.  So, if you have strong feelings about our chapter, and can play an active role, now may be the time.  We have a great board, and they work well together.  Please contact our President, Mark Wallace.  For a list of board members visit our website at www.spacecoastaudubon.org and click on “Contact Us”  
• Our chapter needs a new newsletter editor and web designer. Dee Fairbanks Simpson has been a huge asset to this chapter while taking on these positions and her professional life at the same time. Dee and David have moved to the Indian River county border and this makes keeping in touch with Brevard county happenings difficult. We would like as many people as possible with some experience in newsletter publishing and/or web design to help take over this project.
• We also need some article writers. What is the purpose of a newsletter with out any content? Have you been on a birding trip lately and would like to share it? Got a story about a great bird? Please, let us know.
• The chapter also needs the assistance of teachers or retired teachers that would like to help out our education department. Non-teachers are needed as well, so please contact us if you are interested.
• There will be a wildlife handling course in February.  If you are interested, please contact Jason Frederick at heyyoukidd@yahoo.com or 321-449-9678 to sign up for it.  Because of county and agency financial cuts, volunteers are needed to rescue and transport injured birds to the Florida Wildlife Hospital.  A person from the Florida Wildlife Hospital will be on hand for the training.
• We’ve received some wonderful news from Amazon.com this month!  They have a new charitable giving program that Space Coast Audubon is eligible for.  Amazon will now donate 0.5% of a customer’s purchase to a charity of the customer’s choice.  This is even better than matching donations because it doesn’t require you to make a contribution.  There is no cost to you at all!  If you would like to donate money to Space Coast Audubon this way, all you have to do is go to “smile.amazon.com” and select Space Coast Audubon as your charity of choice.  Then, when you shop with Amazon, go to “smile.amazon.com” instead of “amazon.com” and shop as usual.  The best way to remember to do this is to go to “smile.amazon.com” and create a bookmark.  We’d really like to encourage you to do this.  We’re working on building a boardwalk at the Port Canaveral locks.  We think this will be a great attraction for birders, nature lovers, school children and tourists alike.  We’ve been working on getting the boardwalk built for over ten years and we’re getting close.  This is a no cost way for you to help with the boardwalk and all of our other activities.

Audubon's Groundbreaking Science on Climate and Birds

Lynn Tennefoss, Audubon VP, State Programs and Chapter Services

As many of you have heard, Audubon scientists have been working on a detailed scientific study which clearly illuminates the risk that climate change poses to North America’s birds. We already know climate change is a very serious threat to our birds; the results of this study will show which birds are most threatened by climate change and where.

The research results will be submitted to peer-review science journals over the first half of 2014.  The scientific publishing process doesn’t always move quickly, so it’s hard to pin down the date just yet. Depending on the review process, publication could come as early as February, or it could be as late as June.

Numerous studies by the world’s top climate scientists and biologists indicate that climate change poses an extremely dire threat to birds and biodiversity--the greatest threat since humans have been on the planet, as David Yarnold said in his column this fall in Audubon magazine (www.audubonmagazine.org/articles/climate/audubon-view-0). Here are four links with more information:

• www.epa.gov/climatechange/impacts-adaptation/ecosystems.html#Extinction
• www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v3/n7/full/nclimate1887.html
• www.theguardian.com/environment/2013/may/13/animals-species-climate-change
• eprints.whiterose.ac.uk/83/1/thomascd1.pdf

In the first half of 2014, Audubon is submitting a paper for publication that quantifies the specific risk to North America’s birds in a greater level of detail and clarity than has been available so far; we’ll know which birds are most threated by climate change and where.

With that knowledge in hand, it’ll be our responsibility to figure out what to do about it--how to protect our birds today and tomorrow as climate changes. But then, we already know the basics: We’ve got to protect the habitats birds need, and we’ve got to do everything we can to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This new information about the threat climate change poses to birds will add urgency and clarity to our work in a way that few other things have before.

We are very excited about this report and the opportunities it offers to galvanize Audubon’s work around protecting birds and habitat from climate change.

Introducing Merlin Bird ID: A New Kind of Birding App

Reprinted from the Cornell Lab eNews

Information overload is the bane of the beginning bird watcher—as anyone knows who has ever flipped through 40 species of sparrows in a field guide. What if an app could quickly tell you which birds are most likely based on your location, date, and a brief description? Not just which birds theoretically could occur near you, but which birds are actually reported most often by other birders. That’s what Merlin Bird ID does. And it's free—because we want to make bird watching easier for everyone.

Merlin Bird ID covers 285 of the most common birds of North America (with more on the way). In addition to help with ID, it contains expert tips, more than 1,400 gorgeous photos, and sounds for each species. It’s available now for iPhone and other iOS7 devices, and it's coming soon for Android.

• Download Merlin Bird ID from the App Store 
• Get more details at our Merlin website 
• Android user? Sign up for notification when it's ready 

Your Actions at Work

Reprinted from the January Audubon Advisory

Last month, the Department of Interior announced a misguided new rule that would allow the wind industry to get 30-year permits to kill Bald and Golden Eagles. Although we had worked with the wind industry to come up with a better solution that would protect eagles while allowing wind energy to be developed, the Interior Department ignored our collaborative, negotiated solution. We asked you to write to Secretary Sally Jewell, urging her to reverse this terrible eagle-killing rule, and boy, did you ever. Over 26,800 of you have sent letters. Keep them coming! If you haven't already, you can take action at www.audubonaction.org/SaveEagles. We are exploring all options to get this decision reversed and we'll keep you updated on our progress.

Audubon Florida: Water for the Environment

Eric Draper, Eric Draper, Audubon Florida Executive Director        

With all the discussion about water this year I want to take a minute of your time to call attention to the considerable effort that the Audubon family is putting into water policy and protecting specific waterways. I have asked our staff to compile a short list of priority efforts – please see the attached document. This is in addition to everything that local Audubon organizations are doing and the products of coalitions we are in such as the Florida Conservation Coalition, the Florida Forever Coalition, and the Everglades Coalition.

Also in this document you will find our water policy declaration as it was approved at the 2013 Audubon Assembly.  Each year our chapter leaders set and the board approves our priority workplan. Please feel free to share these materials at your next chapter meeting or community gathering.

The document can be found on our website: http://fl.audubon.org/sites/default/files/documents/audubon_waterforthe_environment_december2013_0.pdf

Stay Connected and Informed with Audubon Bill Tracker

Reprinted from the Audubon Advocate

To get the latest on the legislation Audubon is tracking this Session, be sure to bookmark our 2014 Bill Tracker web page (http://fl.audubonaction.org/site/R?i=5tsjCQmKXNCxEHkzZVu8QA). Check back often, the page will be updated constantly from now until the end of the 2014 Florida Legislative Session. For the very latest breaking news, follow Audubon Florida's Capitol Policy Team on Twitter:

• Eric Draper: @EricDraper
• Mary Jean Yon: @MailiTatu
• Jane Graham: @EvergladesJane
• Audubon Florida:@AudubonFL

Calling All Young Birders: Birding Scavenger Hunt

In conjunction with the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in Titusville on Saturday, January 25th, Space Coast Audubon Society & Young Birders of Brevard will be presenting a birding scavenger hunt.

Stop by the Space Coast Audubon Society booth, pick up a bird checklist and search for bird photos randomly placed at assorted booths throughout the exhibit hall. Have fun and see how many birds you can locate and identify. Check off the bird and write the booth number on your list and return your completed checklist to the Space Coast Audubon Society booth. Each family will receive a gift for their participation. Limit to 20 families.

MI Refuge CBC Info By Ned Steel

First, a big thank you to Nancy Corona & the Refuge staff for making another smooth CBC possible. With much of our Count Circle being within the NASA Security Area, it would be impossible to conduct this count without help-providing us with badged drivers, government vehicles, access to otherwise closed areas & coordination with NASA & Refuge Security etc.  It’s a pleasure to work with Nancy & all the other Refuge staff.

We observed 154 species, which is about average for recent MI Refuge counts.

Some notable bird sightings on our Count this year: (I don’t have a writeup on the Stilts yet-only one team reported this)

• Cinnamon Teal
• Black-bellied Whistling Duck
• White-winged Dove
• Wilson’s Phalarope
• Common Goldeneye
• Greater Scaup 
• Long-billed Dowitcher
• Black-necked Stilt 
• Sharp-tailed Sparrow

Thanks to all!

Interesting Wildlife and Conservation Links

• Bald Eagles Are Mysteriously Dying in Utah, But No One Knows Why
• Host Your Own Great Backyard Bird Count Event
• Summer 2014 Hog Island Camp Sessions
• Petition: Help Us Protect the Arctic from a Dangerous Chemical That Killed Over 2,000 Birds
• Bottlenose dolphins off US coast hit by measles-like virus
• Biggest new animal discoveries of 2013 (photos)
• Would you believe that crows can sled?
• Identifying Florida’s Wrens

Important Meeting Announcement

Join Space Coast Audubon Society January 17th for: Owls of North America

• WHO:  Space Coast Audubon Society (SCAS)
• WHERE:  Rockledge Presbyterian Church, 921 Rockledge Dr, Rockledge, FL.
• WHEN:   January 17, 2014 at 7:30 pm

 Our meeting this month will be unique as we will be featuring dual presenters that will include live owls.  Susan Boorse & Sam Fried will be presenting "Owls of North America".  Owls are some of the most mysterious and little seen family of birds in North America.  The owls hold our fascination, as they have for thousands of years.  Learn about all 19 species that inhabit our continent and listen to their eerie calls.

Susan Boorse is an Environmental Program Supervisor for Brevard County Parks & Recreation at Rotary Park Nature Center on Merritt Island.  Her love of owls started as a teenager and has blossomed into the majority of her programming.  Susan obtained State and Federal Permits that enabled her to have and use live owls in her presentations.  Dora an Eastern Screech-Owl and Boots a Great Horned Owl are both rehab birds and are not releasable back into the wild. They are on display, most times, at Rotary Park Nature Center whenever Susan is there.

Sam Fried has just recently moved to the Space Coast and will soon become involved with Space Coast Audubon.  Sam has had numerous photographs and featured articles published in a variety of birding and golf magazines as well as the Insight Guide on Birding in North America for the Discovery Channel.  He is the founder of Flights of Fancy Adventures offering small group, low cost, trips throughout the Americas and now Africa.  He is past president of Hartford Audubon Society.

Everglades Birding Festival, January 16-20, 2014

By Jim Eager

You are invited to join Paddy Cunningham, Jim Eager and David Simpson for the 2014 Everglades Birding Festival, January 16-20, 2014. We will be looking for South Florida specialties, wintering species and some awesome birding venues.

Check out the website at www.evergladesbirdingfestival.com for registration information as well as the schedule which includes programs and field trips.  Contact Paddy Cunningham at birdpaddy@yahoo.com or 954-926-5458.  The festival is headquartered at the LaQuinta Hotel, 8101 Peters Rd, Plantation, FL 33324, 954-476-6047.  Hope to see you there.

Orlando Wetlands Festival

Come and enjoy the Orlando Wetlands Festival on Saturday, February 15, 2014, from 9am-3pm at Fort Christmas Park.  The Orlando Wetlands Festival is an opportunity to celebrate the City of Orlando’s Wetlands Park, the City’s 1,650 acre wetland oasis. The event is sponsored by: City of Orlando, Atkins, Orange Audubon Society, and Orange County Parks & Recreation.

On February 15, 2014, come and experience this unique wetland treatment system with the entire family.  Event co-sponsor, Orange Audubon Society, will lead guided bird-watching excursions.  The Florida Native Plant Society will lead native plant identification hikes; while, the Florida Trail Association will be providing wilderness hikes. Guided photo hikes will also be available and led by nature and wildlife photographers.

Guided bus tours will travel along the wetland berms, giving riders a chance to experience firsthand, the City’s incredible water reclamation project.  Hay rides will also tour the wetlands.

In addition to the guided tours, there will be bird-banding and mist-netting demonstrations as well as live folk music.  This year, renowned comedian and magician Brian Staron will be performing.  Featured in the wildlife shows, many different live animals will be present such as alligators, snakes, bald eagles, and many others.  Also, the City’s Families, Parks & Recreation Department will be giving away free backyard trees in celebration of Arbor Day. Better Homes & Gardens radio talk show host, Tom Maccubbin, will be on hand to answer your horticulture questions.

There will be interactive children’s activities (like Out-On-A-Limb kids tree climbing), a bounce house and much more!  So bring the whole family and invite your friends to this fun, free educational festival.  Bring your cameras, and prepare for an adventure in the wilderness.  Please leave your pets at home; there are wild animals.  Food will be available for purchase.  Free admission and free door prizes!  For more information: call Orlando Wetlands Park 407.568.1706.

Event Website:  http://www.cityoforlando.net/public_works/wetlands/festival/index.htm

The Friends of the Orlando Wetlands have a website which provides updated information on activities at the park http://www.orlandowetlands.org and are also on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/OrlandoWetlands.

Directions to Fort Christmas Park:
From Orlando, take S.R. 50 East to Christmas, Florida. Turn left onto C.R. 420 (Ft. Christmas Rd.), continue north 1.8 miles. Fort Christmas Park will be on your left. Free parking will be located on your right across from the Park.  The address is 1300 North Fort Christmas Road, Christmas, FL 32709.

Win Binoculars in Contest About Feathers!

Cornell Lab of Ornithology News Release

Rumpled or resplendent, how a bird’s feathers are displayed can be an indication of how its day is going. The Celebrate Urban Birds citizen-science project is looking for entries to its “Fascinating Feathers” challenge—entries may be photos, artwork, videos, poems, or stories and must be submitted to www.CelebrateUrbanBirds.org by January 15, 2014.

Some birds, like the Black-capped Chickadee shown above, have an abnormal amount of  white in their feathers. Photo by Luke Berg. Birds with tufts or crests can raise or lower them at will, indicating everything from interest to irritation. Their feathers may be ruffled by the wind or because they see another bird trespassing on their territory. They may spread their wings or tails. And birds spend a lot of time preening to keep their feathers clean and can twist themselves into some strange positions.

"Consider the ordinary city pigeon," says project leader Karen Purcell. "This gray and white bird may be quite boring to some, but a closer look reveals stunning iridescent purple and green feathers on its neck and upper chest. That’s the goal of this challenge: to get people of all ages outside looking at birds more carefully and finding beauty in even the most common birds."

To learn more about the Fascinating Feathers challenge and contest rules, visit www.CelebrateUrbanBirds.org. Winners will be posted on the Celebrate Urban Birds website. Prizes include Pennington bird feeders, Opticron binoculars, bird sound CDs, and much more.

Celebrate Urban Birds is a free citizen-science project of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Participants collect information about birds in cities and get communities involved in nature through science, gardening, and the arts.

Audubon Restoration Work in the Gulf Gets $5 Million Boost

Reprinted from the Audubon Chapter Leader Update

Last week, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and the Gulf Coast states announced $113 million in funding for environmental restoration projects from NFWF’s Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund, created as part of the criminal settlement between the U.S. Department of Justice, BP and Transocean.  The money is intended to restore natural resources that were harmed by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Of those funds, Audubon Florida is receiving $3.2 million to create a comprehensive Panhandle coastal bird conservation program, while Audubon Mississippi will receive a $1.6 million grant to do coastal bird stewardship, and an additional $200,000 as part of a $2.6 million coastal stream and habitat program that is being done in conjunction with The Nature Conservancy, for a total of $5 million in funding for Audubon projects in the Gulf.  In addition, in Louisiana, $40.4 million is going toward a diversion project on the Mississippi River, a longstanding goal that begins to restore the natural flow of America’s river.

A strong endorsement of our work along the Gulf Coast, this is a great new beginning – and it’s also really great news for birds.

Audubon and Pew: Florida’s Coastal Birds Could Face Threat to Food Supply

From Audubon Florida

Already pressured by a steady loss of habitat, many of Florida's imperiled and iconic coastal waterbirds are vulnerable to declines in small fish that are necessary for their survival, according to a report by Audubon Florida and The Pew Charitable Trusts.

"Fins and Feathers: Why little fish are a big deal to Florida's coastal waterbirds" (http://fl.audubonaction.org/site/R?i=0HoW2NScQhEWIe-97JtZhw) examines the crucial link between birds and the diverse array of small fish that are a critical food source. Declines in the populations of these fish, known alternatively as forage fish, prey fish or baitfish, could threaten imperiled birds such as Brown Pelicans, Roseate Spoonbills, Black Skimmers and Reddish Egrets, according to the report.

"In Florida, our environment is directly linked to our quality of life and our economy," said Julie Wraithmell, Audubon Florida's Director of Wildlife Conservation. "This report shows how important baitfish are to Florida's coastal birds, environment, communities and economy. Fisheries policy must consider the ecological and economic vitality that hinges on these smallest of fish."

Few regulations limit the amount of forage fish such as sardines and herring that are hauled out of Florida's coastal waters each year. Fishery managers can help conserve Florida's forage fish and its natural resources by accounting for the needs of predators such as seabirds when setting fishing rules in Florida's coastal waters. Bird conservation efforts historically have focused on other threats such as habitat loss, with less emphasis on ensuring prey abundance and availability. With many birds already pressured by a steady loss of habitat, this report reveals a new and critical conservation gap at a time when leaders can act before it's too late.

In light of the report's analysis, Audubon Florida and Pew encourage the state to:

• Account for the forage needs of coastal waterbirds before expanding current forage fisheries or allowing the development of new forage fisheries.
• Ensure sufficient abundance, variety, and sizes of forage fish species to meet the needs of coastal waterbirds and other marine wildlife when setting management limits on forage fisheries.
• Identify and map foraging areas for nesting coastal waterbirds and areas subject to forage fisheries; analyze potential overlap of these areas and activities; and consider conservation and management options to avoid or minimize potential conflicts.
• Protect forage fish habitat such as mangrove and seagrasses, as well as water quantity and quality in the estuaries.

Coastal development in Florida directly harms seagrass beds, mangrove forests and salt marshes, all of which serve as critical nursery habitat for forage fish. Similarly, changes in the quantity, quality and timing of freshwater that flows into estuaries threaten to degrade and diminish the quality of these important places for fish. At the same time, habitat loss and coastal development also pose risks to many of Florida's bird populations.

For additional information, including details on specific species, see the full report here: http://bit.ly/FinsandFeathers (16mb)

Crow Kills

Author Unknown, emailed to Dee Simpson by her in-laws

Researchers for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority found over 200 dead crows near greater Boston recently, and there was concern that they may have died from Avian Flu.  A Bird Pathologist examined the remains of all the crows, and to everyone's relief, confirmed the problem was definitely NOT Avian Flu. The cause of death appeared to be vehicular impacts.

However, during the detailed analysis it was noted that varying colors of paints appeared on the bird's beaks and claws.  By analyzing these paint residues it was determined that 98% of the crows had been killed by impact with trucks, while only 2% were killed by an impact with a car.

MTA then hired an Ornithological Behaviorist to determine if there was a cause for the disproportionate percentages of truck kills versus car kills.


The Ornithological Behaviorist very quickly concluded the cause:  when crows eat road kill, they always have a look-out crow in a nearby tree to warn of impending danger. They discovered that while all the lookout crows could shout "Cah", not a single one could shout "Truck."