Nov 2007 Wingspan Newsletter St. Petersburg Audubon Society

8/9/2019 Nov 2007 Wingspan Newsletter St. Petersburg Audubon Society

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Tropical Mayan Paradise in January

The November 15 deadline is fast approaching!

Spend the start of the new year with St. Pet

Audubon in Belize. World famous and luxuriouChanChich Lodge is located within a vast jungl

setting. Spend six days and five nights (Jan. 15-20

seeking rare avian species, monkeys and jaguars o

foot or by vehicle, canoe or horseback.

Only a few spaces remain. First-come, first

served. Please, don’t miss out. You do not have t

be a member of St. Pete Audubon to go.

Visit www.stpeteaudubon.org for details.

See info inside this newsletter.

Conservation Celebration

December 5th, 6:30pmat the Pinellas County Extension

headquarters (See info inside)

Tuesday, November 20th, 7:00pm at the SCIENCE

CENTER, 7701 22nd Avenue N., St. Petersburg

727-384-0027

Florida's Imperiled Birdlife -

Julie Brashears Wraithmell, Audubon of Florida Wildlife Policy Coordinator

Calendar of Events -

November 2007 +

Nov. 1-3 - Audubon Assembly - Cocoa Beach. Field trips,seminars, workshops & special speakers. Network with Audubon staff, chapter leaders, scientists, wildlife professionals,environ-mental advocates, agency & elected officials. Learnhow we are making a difference for the environment. Details atwww.audubonofflorida.org/leadership/assembly.htm. $$

Nov. 3-4 - Art Arbor Festival at Boyd Hill Nature Park, 1101Country Club Way S, St. Petersburg. Call Wanda Dean,321-3995, to volunteer at our booth.

Nov. 6 (Tues.) - SPAS Board meeting, 6:30-9pm at the Science

Center, 7701 22 Ave. N., St. Petersburg.nd

Nov. 10 - Boyd Hill Nature Park, 1101 Country Club Way S, St.

Petersburg. Meet at the Nature Center, 8am. Late migrantbirding through oak hammocks and pine flatwoods. Gabe

Vargo, 864-2683. Entrance fee for non-members: $2.

Dec. 5 (Wed.) - Conservation Celebration. See article inside.

Dec. 9 (Sun.) - Scout for Christmas Bird Count. Don

Margeson, 572-0227.

Dec. 15 - 108th Annual Christmas Bird Count. Participate in a

day of full contact birding. Call Don Margeson to volunteer, 572-0227. Countdown dinner 6pm at Panera Bread, 2285 UlmertonRd., in Feather Sound. Dave Goodwin, compiler.

The St. Petersburg Audubon Society

WingSpan November 2007

Printed with soy ink on recycled paper

Come join Audubon’s Julie Wraithmell for a virtual tof the diversity of Florida’s birdlife and the challenfacing some of our most emblematic birds!

From Painted Buntings to Limpkins, RoseSpoonbills to Swallow-tailed Kites, Audubon chapt

across the state are working with Audubon of Floridasave wild places for these signature species as wellourselves!

Julie Wraithmell has been the Audubon of FloridWildlife Policy Coordinator for the past two years and worked with FFWCC as the Wildlife Viewing ProgrCoordinator, creating the statewide Great Florida BirdTrail.

Would You Like to…

T Save trees and reduce waste?T Help defray the cost of printing and mailing

the WingSpan? T Get a color version of SPAS’ monthly news? T Have more of your membership dollars go to

SPAS’ conservation and education efforts?

If so, we’d like to send the monthly WingSpan to you viae-mail instead of “snail-mail!” Just send a note to JoAnnWilson at [email protected] and you will beginreceiving the WingSpan electronically. It’s one way tohelp SPAS extend its outreach efforts.

Thanks for your help!



PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE by Mauri Peterson, SPAS President

IT’S GREAT TO BE GREEN by Barb Howard

SUCCESS! On October 2, 2007

t h e B o a r d o f C o u n t yC o m m i s s i o n e r s ( B O C C )

unanimously passed the revised

management plan for Shell KeyPreserve. The major revisions

include: domestic pets will be banned

from the island, alcohol will not be permitted in the Preserve,camping will be allowed on the south end of the island by

permit only. Boaters, tourists, visitors and volunteers will still be allowed to visit the island despite what the rumors say. But

now it will be a safer and more pleasant place to visit.

All these changes were enacted not for our benefit,however, but FOR THE BIRDS: the birds that use Shell Key

for feeding, nesting and resting. I want to personally thank

Dave Kandz, Monique Borboen-Abrams, and LorraineMargeson for their tireless efforts and constant vigilance

throughout this past year. I recognize that there are countlessothers who wrote letters or e-mails, made phone calls, attended

meetings or spoke at meetings.We are so fortunate to have people like you and I thank

you for your time and efforts.

It is because of you that we can celebrate this victory. Below

are e-mails that I received indicating the broad scope of thiseffort:

Monique and I had a wonderful conversation last night about

this victory in Pinellas Co. A tremendous volunteer effort and

partnership with AOF staff and many other organizations to

provide a management plan for Shell Key with some r

conservation impacts, not just the usual “namby-pamb

compromises we are used to. A model for all project

think. The SPAS volunteers, led by Monique, Dave Ka

as Conservation Chair, and Mauri, deserve high pra

AOF staff -- Julie, the “Anns,” and I’m sure others, w

very helpful and insisted on a high level of protection

the birds. It is so rewarding to know that SPAS has continued

a powerful way to increase protection of the Shell K

ecosystem. Thanks to you for assisting them in th

efforts. Joyce King, Past President of SPAS

Well deserved praise Joyce. Monique, Dave and Ma

are heroes and provide inspiration throughout Flori

Eric Draper, Deputy Dir. Of Policy, AoF

Thank you to Monique and all who worked so hard on

issue. Great news! This is the precedent we need. Margo Zdravkovic, National Audubon Society, Coa

Bird Conservation Program Field Director

We are very pleased with the outcome and I beli

congratulations are also due to Clearwater Audubon.

always so inspiring to see such strong chapter leadersh

Congrats to all the on-the-ground activists who made

victory a reality! I’m already using it as a preced

elsewhere in the state… Julie Wraithmell, Wildlife PolCoordinator, AoF

Solar energy - What are we waiting for?

It’s obvious we need to change. We seesigns of climate change all around us and

dependency on foreign oil puts our countryat unnecessary risk. Many people are still

waiting for the price of solar energy to

drop before they will consider installing asystem. It’s all in priorities. Some folks

with excellent incomes continue to wait for the cost of systems

to drop while claiming the payback is too long to justify buyingthem now. Yet these same folks purchase expensive cars or

power boats and many other products which can’t be justifiedin terms of economic payback. Choices. The cost to the

environment is too great to wait any longer. We live in Florida,

land of sunshine, and there are Federal and state governmentrebates to help defray costs.

One solar system is Photovoltaic or Solar Cells. These

convert sunlight directly into electricity. These systems uselarge panels of many solar cells mounted on the roof working

together. The photovoltaic cells produce direct current (DC)which is converted by an inverter to alternating current (AC)

that you can use in your home. The system canconnected to your existing power from the elec

company which will supply power to your home whthere is no sunshine. This avoids having large batt

systems to store energy in your home. Companies h

been coming up with great new systems to make photovoltaic cells more appealing - colored skylig

awnings and even roof shingles are now incorporat

photovoltaics.

Progress Energy (PE) will allow your photovoltsystem to add electricity back into the power grid wheis producing more energy than your home is using. Thi

called “net metering” and your meter will run backwar

reducing your energy bill when you have excess ene production. You must apply for this through PE.

For more information on solar systems, see

consumer guide, Get your Power from the Sun http://www.nrel.gov/docs/fy04osti/35297.pdf and ch

out the website http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/in

homes/usingsolar.html for other solar opportunities l

solar hot water systems.

Make solar a priority in your life!



American Avocet on Shell KeyPhoto by Dave Kandz

CONSERVATION NEWS by Dave Kandz

Conservation Celebration

December 5 , 2007th

Shell Key Preserve

On Tuesday October 2nd, the Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously (6-0,

Commissioner Harris was absent) to approve the revised Shell Key Management plan, as

recommended by Environmental Lands Division staff, the St. Petersburg and Clearwater

Audubon Societies, Audubon of Florida and a host of other conservation groups. Thesignificant improvements to the Plan include:

S Dogs will no longer be permitted in the Preserve at any time. The presence of dogs,

even on a leash, stresses nesting, migrating and wintering shorebirds.

S Likewise, alcohol will no longer be permitted in the Preserve. Excessive consumptionof alcohol in the Preserve creates public safety, sanitary and legal liability issues.

S Camping will be limited to the south end of the island, and a camping permit will be

required.

On behalf of the Board and Conservation Committee, I want to express my personal and heartfelt thanks to everyowho wrote, called, spoke, encouraged, lobbied and advocated on behalf of the Birds who depend on Shell Key for th

survival.But not only Birds benefited from your calls; Shell Key’s natural beauty is preserved for people too, and your voices w

the ones who spoke loudest. I was especially touched by dog owners who realized that taking their dog to Ft. Desoto’s

beach is a worthwhile inconvenience so birds might have a chance to enjoy a sunset meal.There were many, many people involved in the effort for at least the last several months; more and more joined in

the final vote approached. I know some of you, but many more I don’t know, which is my loss. I couldn’t begin to na

all involved, so I won’t begin to try.

The ramifications of what we all accomplished here will resonate for years into the future, and birds and beac

throughout Florida and beyond will benefit.

TheCONSERVATION CELEBRATION of Pinellas County

Native Plant and St. Petersburg Audubon Societies will be

held on Wednesday, December 5, 2007 from 6:30 - 9:30pm

at the Pinellas County Extension in Largo. This promises to be a fun-filled evening with a silent auction, environmental

information from local groups, food and a great speaker:

Terry Tomalin from the St. Petersburg Times.

REFRESHMENTS: Everyone please bring appetizers or finger foods to share - makes for a delicious assortment sure

to please everyone.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Successful events are easy

a little help from a lot of people. Can you help with sefrom 4-6:30pm (room, auction, or refreshment set ups

cleanup at 9:30pm? Contact Barb at 343-1272

[email protected].

AUCTION ITEMS: Silent auction items are needed. items, gift certificates, services - be creative. Weed

handyman, technical help, cookie of the month, dsomeone to the airport… you’re sure to have a skill some

could “purchase.” You will need to send a written des

tion of your donation and its value to Barb (b_howard20

msn.com) or Jeanne ( [email protected]) by Novem

30 . Please bring items to the general meeting on Nov.th

or call Barb, 343-1272, to make arrangements for drop othe Pinellas County Extension in Largo or a locatio

Gulfport. It’s difficult to accept items the day of the ev

so please plan ahead.

FALL SUNSET CRUISE - OCTOBER 28 - 5:30-7PM (Meet 5:15TH

Come and celebrate. We have two celebrations in mind: 1) The passing of the Shell Key Management

plan by the BOCC; and 2) Alva and Barbie’s long time commitment to Shell Key and SPAS. You see,

this could possibly be the last Sunset Cruise offered by Alva & Barbie. At this writing, the Shell Key

Shuttle business is up for sale. It is quite possible that this time next year Alva will be retired and

on his own special cruise.

We’ll leave from the dock at Pass-a-Grille, tour the intracoastal waters, and watch the sunset at Shell Key. If y

haven’t already made your reservations, please call Barbie at 374-7039. Space is limited, but let’s fill up the boat!



The 2007 Beach-nesting Bird Nesting Season by Beth Forys

American Oystercatcher chickPhoto by Thomas Dunkerton

Pinellas Chapter Florida Native

Plant Society Activities

Thanks, Captain Alva!

Shell Key Shuttle

& Sunset Cruises

Shell Out$22/adult

$11/child <1

MERRY PIER 801 P ass-A-Grille W ay St. Pete Beach, Florida

727-360-1348

www.shellkeyshuttle.com

Captain Alva Sholty

The 2007 nesting season was an exciting one! There were 23 rooftops that supporLeast Tern colonies and fledged young. Volunteers worked hard to make sure chick that fell off a roof got a round-trip ticket back. This year we had more colonon larger buildings such as grocery stores, and we also noted that the local av predators are becoming more aware that the terns are on the rooftops. There wfewer Black Skimmers on the rooftops this year (approximately four occuprooftops), but more American Oystercatchers nested on rooftops (six nests).

Volunteers walked all of the beaches three times in Pinellas County and soin Sarasota and Manatee counties. In addition, volunteers spent hours monitorand protecting ground colonies. Probably the most exciting successes of the ywere the municipal beach colonies of Black Skimmers. A colony on Belleair Be

had over 250 nests and fledged many young. A small colony on Indian Shores had only about 20 nests but also fledgyoung. In addition, Black Skimmers did well on Egmont Key where a whopping 550 nests were recorded.

There were seven ground-nesting colonies of Least Terns, and colonies at Anclote Bar and Egmont both did fawell, although they were relatively small. On all of our beaches, a total of 18 American Oystercatcher nests wrecorded and eight of those produced chicks. Seven Snowy Plover nests were seen and eight chicks were recordTwenty Wilson’s Plover nests were seen and these produced 23 juveniles. Overall, most of the nesting was on

Northern Islands and Egmont Key, but some nests were seen elsewhere. Pre-posting efforts at both areas and amazrangers/state & federal biologists produced high nesting success.

Big thanks to all of you who helped monitor, protect and educate! I’m looking forward to next year.

Nov. 7 (Wed.) - Monthly membership meeting; 7pm atMoccasin Lake Nature Park, 2750 Park Trail Lane,

Clearwater.

“Good Bugs” and “Bad Bugs”

Integrated Pest Management - What is itand how do you do it?

Which bugs are good? Which ones

are bad? How can you control the “bad”ones and protect the environment? Cindy

Peacock will present a program aboutIPM that will help you identify beneficial

and harmful organisms by monitoring your plants, and will

give tips on the proper care of your plants that can minimize

the occurrence of insect pests and other problems.

Nov. 10 (Sat.) - Field Trip: Night Hike at Boyd Hill Nature

Park

Discover the mysteries of the night as you search for thecreatures that come to life after dark: moths, bats, owls,

possums, armadillos and raccoons. Boyd Hill Nature Park features 216 acres of natural beauty with six trails that lead

visitors through Florida’s various ecosystems. It will be a

dark and moonless night! Sunset is at 5:41pm, moonset at5:57pm! Meet at 5:30 at the education center. Bring a

flashlight. Boyd Hill Nature Park is located at 1101 CountryClub Way S, St. Petersburg.

Alva Sholty, a SPAS member and Skipper of the ShKey Shuttle, generously provides the Shuttle to ferry uShell Key for bird counts, work days, and much more

Thanks, Captain Alva!



Belted Kingfisher Photo by Nick Dunlop

NATIONAL AUDUBON SOCIETY

MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION

I NTRODUCTORY MEMBERSHIP $20.00 (New membership only)

9 Please enroll me as a member in the National AudubonSociety. Start my subscription to AUDUBON magazine & senmy membership card.

9 I do not wish to receive AUDUBON magazine.

9 I wish to receive the SPAS WingSpan only electronicall

Name___________________________________

Address_________________________________

City ______________ State___ Zip___________

Phone __________________

E-mail address _____________________________

Please enclose a check, payable to the National Audubon

Society , and mail to:

St. Petersburg Audubon Society

Post Office Box 49087

St. Petersburg, FL 33743-9087

9 National Audubon occasionally makes its membership listavailable to carefully selected organizations whose mailings you mafind interesting. To have your name omitted from this list, pleasecheck here.

9 I would also like to help my local chapter. I have a specialinterest and/or skills in:9 Local conservation issues 9 Board of Directors9 Education /Audubon Adventures 9 National Bird Coun

9 Legal 9 Publicity 9 Financial Matters 9 Hospitality - Greeters / Refreshments 9 Insurance 9 Membership 9 Exhibits at fairs and festivals

E06 7XCH

This form is only for new memberships, not renewals.

Here is the final part of “Ten things you can do to

attract birds and butterflies”:• Put up birdhouses for “cavity nesters.”These include purple martins, titmice,chickadees, wrens, sparrows, finches and nut-hatches. Never paint the inside of a bird-

house, and use only nontoxic paints or stainson the outside.

Don’t use bright colors; they can catchthe attention of predators. Keep the outside as

natural-looking as possible.Different birds have different needs, so research to find

out what kind of house local birds might like.• Consider a feeder. Improving the natural landscape ismore desirable than feeding birds outright, but most peoplewant birds in their yard so they can watch them. That’ssomething a feeder provides. Again, do your research tofind out what kinds of foods different birds like.

Make sure the feeder is secure, not too close to placeswhere predators could lurk and protected from squirrels. Itshould be freestanding, not hung in a tree.

Clean it periodically to prevent spread of disease and soyou won’t attract rodents.• Reduce hazards. The National Audubon Society saysthe most common form of death associated with feeders is birds flying into windows. Reduce reflections by closingthe shades or blinds, especially when you’re asleep or away.Window decals work only if there are enough of them andthey are properly spaced to break up reflections. That

generally interferes with people seeing out of the windows.The best solution is to put the feeder at a distance and use binoculars.

And keep your cat indoors. Cats are predators who arehardwired to stalk and kill prey even when they aren’thungry.• Participate in a citizen science project. Join the NationalAudubon Society and Cornell University in the GreatBackyard Bird Count or Project FeederWatch; getinformation at www.birdsource.org . Recent observationshelped scientists at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology discover

a correlation between snowfall and robin distribution: Theydon’t like snow covers of more than five inches.

You can find other citizen science projects atwww.birds.cornell.edu/LabPrograms/citSci/index.html. For more information about birds, the landscape and theenvironment, check outwww.audubonathome.org ,www.epa.gov/owow/birds andthe American Bird Conservan-cy site at www.abcbirds.org .



Male Hooded Warbler

Photo by Lyn Atherton

SPAS LAUNCHES

PHOTO COLLECTION DRIVE

NON -PROFIT ORG

US POSTAGE

PAIDSt Petersburg, FL

Permit #6340

The St. Petersburg Audubon Society P.O. Box 49087 St. Petersburg, FL 33743-9087

www.stpeteaudubon.org 727-384-0027

Chapter RepresentativesPresident: Mauri Pe terson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 398-4124Vice President: Maureen Arnold (Membership) . . 577-0448Treasurer: Rick Potter (Ways & Means) . . . . . . . . 822-9637Secretary: OpenBoard Members and Duties:

Harold A lbers (Educat ion) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864-1113Mary Brazier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867-7151Suzanne Cooper (Newsletter) . . . . . . . . . . . . 813-892-4342Wanda Dean (Special Events) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 321-3995Peter Edmond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593-1796Barb Howard (Programs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343-1272

Dave Kandz (Conservation & Publicity) . . . . . . . . . 471-0699Mark Mueller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 86-3179Jeanne Murphy (Programs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 391-8362Nancy Ogden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 894-5940Lee Snyder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 865-2293Gabe Vargo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864-2683

Neighborhood Outreach: Barb Zias . . . . . . . . . . 521-4997Least Tern Project: Monique Abrams . . . . . . . . . 230-0732Shell Key: B arb Ranck . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374-7039

A H ERON ’ S L IFE BY J OE M AIER

A heron’s life is really a lark Why some of them will not eatuntil it starts getting dark

They have their choice of delicious aquatics

Like fish or frogs or crawfish everydayThat’s a 5-star meal, I’d say

From the great blue to the great whiteThey all have a hearty appetite

A heron reply to the lark remark is “Quark, quark”

(It is best to use your imagination whenattempting an interpretation of a heronreply)

Green Tip:Did you know that just 14 plastic

shopping bags contain enoughembodied petroleum energy to drivea car 1 mile?

With more than a billion plastic bags given away daily, that’s petroleum dependency worth morethan 71 million miles each day. Only3 % of plastic bags are recycled.

Just say NO to plastic bags(urban tumbleweed), and bring your own cloth totes!!!

A collection of photograof all avian species found

Pinellas County is the new

goal for SPAS. The imag

collected from donations

wildlife photographers wil

used in SPAS’s educatio

and promotional literature. But the main purpose i

illustrate the on-line checklist of Pinellas County Bi

found at www.stpeteaudubon.org . When complete,

list will have a thumbnail image which, when clicked, w

forward to the viewer a screen-sized image of the specImages are already being received from profession

and amateurs from across the country. The o

requirement is that the image be of a species found

Pinellas County - it need not have been photograp

there.

Photographers wishing to donate their electro

images should refer to the St. Petersburg Audubon web

(www.stpeteaudubon.org) for instructions. T

photographer retains all rights to the images and e

image, when used, will carry the photographer’s nam

Nov 2007 Wingspan Newsletter St. Petersburg Audubon Society

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Transcript of Nov 2007 Wingspan Newsletter St. Petersburg Audubon Society