November 2010 Scrub Jay Newsletter, Audubon of Martin County
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On Thursday, Nov. 18, Drs. Richard and Juanita Baker will present their award winning book, Reflections on Blue Cypress, Photographs, History, and Poems , with their exqui- site pho tograp hs and her ev ocativ e poetry. At over 6500 ac res, Bl ue Cypre ss Lake is the largest lake on the T reasure Coast. It derives its name from the blue appearance of the cypress trees as the rising rays of the sun reflect off the water. After a career of teaching, writing and directing medical research centers, Richard is President of Pelican Island Audubon Society. He and Juanita, a Professor Emeritus of Psycho logy at Flori da Tech, enjoy art, canoeing, traveling, photography and writing. More inside about the field trip 11-20. Back in 2007 Audubon of Martin County embarked on an ambitious project to rid its Palm Beach Road property in Stuart, known as Possum Long Nat ure Center , of a 30 year tangle of non- native invasive plants, including mahoe, peppers, and air potato and to create a more hospitable habi- tat for birds and other wildlife. A $125,00 0 grant fr om the St. Luc ie River Issues Team administered by the South Florida Water Management District was obtained. RFPs went out in 2009. Removal of the invasive plants began in early 2010. The 50-50% matching fund requirement was met through a combination of in-kind services pro- vided by thousands of hours of work by Audubon volunteers and members of the community and grants from the City of Stuart and the Florida Division of Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry program. After contouring of the pond and rerouting of overhead electrica l lines, the planting of thousands of plants was recently completed . Wildlife has already found the enhanced habi- tat. Pam Hopkins, PLNC Director, notes the osprey were not disturbed, small herons showed up to see what was in the pond, and small fish were noticed in the water. NOVEMBER PROGRAM MEETING @ AoMC Meeting Room November 18, 11 am -12:30 pm Drs. Richard and Juani ta Baker “Blue Cypress Lake” and Welcome Back Social FIELD TRIP November 20 Kayak trip on Blue Cypress Lake RSVP DECEMBER PROGRAM MEETING @ AoMC Meeting Room December 16. 11 am - 12:30 pm Dallas Shaun, Park Naturali st SeaBranch and St Lucie Inlet Preserves FIELD TRIP December 18 STA Birding 7:30 am Pontoon Taxi to Inlet Beach Preserve 9 am Maggy Hurchalla on native plants Picnic noon RSVP JANUARY 2011 STUART CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT Jan uary 2 Liz Hailman, 561-746-7293 PROGRAM MEETING @ AoM C Meeting Room Januar y 20, 11 am - 12 :30 pm “The Wonders of STA 5” Margaret Englan d, Hendry-Glades Audubon FIELD TRIP January 22 STA 5 south of Clewiston RSVP DEDICATIO N and OPENING Januar y 23, 2 pm Wildlife Sanctuary , the new wetland, Possum Long Nature Center BIRDATHON BLAST! Apri l 8-9, 2011 CALENDAR Possum Long Nature Center’s Watershed Improvement Project creates a new wetland sanctuary for wildlife Vol. 21 No. 2 audubonmartincounty.org 772-288-2637 NOVEMBER 2010 Nov embe r Prog ram Mee ting , “Bl ue C ypr ess Lake” - Kaya k tri p Nov 20 All are welcome to attend the Opening and Dedication of the new Sanctuary for Wildlife Possu m Long Natu re Cente r Sunday , January 23 2 pm photo cr edit: Dr Richa rd Baker Standing water after contouring the pond to reach water the table.A string of pearl ponds are sure to be a draw for wading birds. Photo courtesy of Greg Braun
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Transcript of November 2010 Scrub Jay Newsletter, Audubon of Martin County
8/8/2019 November 2010 Scrub Jay Newsletter, Audubon of Martin County
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8/8/2019 November 2010 Scrub Jay Newsletter, Audubon of Martin County
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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS!
M e s s a g e f r o m o u r P r e s i d e n tby Lisa Fiore
STAFF MEMBERS
Managing Director Pam Hopkins 772-285-1445
Volunteer Coordinator Debbie Clark 772-545-2404
BOARD MEMBERS
President Lisa Fiore 772-528-9707
Vice President Fran Stewart 772-245-8180
Treasurer Robert Gordon 772-546-2206
Secretary Carol Newton 772-209-0789
Past President Laurie Odlum 772-486-2837
Director Curt Wood 772-546-5435
Director Susan Whiting 772-220-1992
Director Susan Smyth 772-692-3489
Director/Garden Louise White 772-283-4416
Conservation Tony Chatowsky 000-000-0000
Education Linda Wishney 772-486-1935
Field Trips Mary Starzinski 772-221-9953
Legal Bob Matheson 772-485-0944
Membership Bev Poppke 772-286-0061
Programs Ed Fielding 772-286-6131
Properties Greg Braun 561-575-2028
Possum Long Nature Ctr. Pam Hopkins 772-285-1445
Publicity Joan Bausch [email protected]
Resource Dev. Debbie Clark 772-545-2404
Youth Liason Jessie Green
OTHER IMPORTANT CONTACTS
Bluebird Coordinator/ Librarian Bev Poppke
Eaglewatch Coordinator Jim Kearman
Cranewatch Coordinator Pam Hopkins
Jaywatcher Coordinator Pam Hopkins
Christmas Bird Count Liz Hailman
Webmaster Jim Kearman
AUDUBON HOUSE DOCENTS
Dina Allison, Ed Fisher, Dawn Hutchinson, Bev Poppke, Linda Wishney
Contact Your U. S. Senators
Bill Nelson 202-224-5274Second seat is up for election November 2.
A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Division of
Consumer Services toll-free within Florida 800-435-7352. Registration does not imply endorsement,
approval, or recommendation by the state.
The Scrub Jay is published seven times a year
on recycled paper
Saturday, November 20, 2010. Blue Cypress LakeRegister early, as this sunrise birding/paddling trip is limited to 12
lucky participants. We will launch at 6 am from the Middleton FishCamp at Blue Cypress Lake with our guides, Dr. Richard Baker, presidenof the Pelican Island Audubon Society and Dr. Juanita Baker.
At over 6500 acres, Blue Cypress Lake is the largest lake on theTreasure Coast. It derives its name from the blue appearance of thecypress trees as the rising rays of the sun reflect off the water. Expect tosee hundreds of osprey in the cypress trees.
There is a charge of $20/person in addition to our regular $5 fee formembers. This is Dr. Baker’s requested contribution to the Pelican Islan Audubon Society.
Please bring your own boat. Dr. Baker will provide canoes if you donot have access to a boat but please let us know ahead of time. There
will be no extra canoes unless requested.Consider staying at the Middleton Fish camp (800-258-5002 or
772-778-0150) as the put-in time is early. Toilet and showers are avail-able.
The Bakers will be in a van on site during the night. We will meetat the Middleton Fish camp at Blue Cypress Lake at 5:30 am. Directionswill be provided to participants.
We would love to get to know you! Please join us on November 18 after our regular pro-
gram meeting for coffee and dessert to welcomback our members who fly north for the sum-mer.
Also, please stop by for a visit and get toknow us! There's a lot of work being done atPossum Long to make it an even more beautifuplace. The Stormwater Retrofit Project is near-ing completion and progress is being madedaily.
Our Ospreys should be returning any day,if not already, and Belted Kingfishers have beenspotted, among others.
Remember to save this date: January 23rd
2011! We'll be having the dedication of theStormwater Retrofit Project and we would lovefor you to be there.
Many, many thanks to the Cancer BiologyGroup at Scripps for their hard work clearinginvasives at Possum Long on October 2nd.
Lisa
Field Tr ip Informat ion (cont inued)
BOARD MEMBERS 2010-11
Executive Director - Greg Braun
561-575-2028 Office
561-575-0042 Fax
The fee for trips is $5 for Audubon members; $10 for non-mem-bers. Proceeds go to our local chapter. Sign up and reserve your fieldtrip space by emailing Mary and Kathy at [email protected] or calling 772-221-9953 (home) or 772-233-2820.
Patricia Neidhart
Randy Swaringen
Harris & Kathy Schulman
Norma Patel
Garry Gardner
Terry Rauth
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Bird watchers often overlook common birds,such as the Boat-tailed Grackle, when out in the field.‘Tis a shame as the behavior of all birds is interestingand, of some, mind boggling.
We were birding at a Stormwater Treatmentfacility near Manatee Pocket in eastern Martin
County one day and observed a Boat-tailed Gracklestanding in the marsh. The grackle would cock itshead to one side, look down and then probe into themarsh. This behavior caught our attention as the birdcontinued the combined moves for five minutes. Atthe end of this time, the grackle hauled a fresh watermussel out of the marsh. We figured the gracklecould never open the mussel. We were provenwrong. A few moments of bill manipulation and theshells were split and the mussel meat had been eaten.
Research led to the discovery that Common andBoat-tailed Grackles are fitted out with a hard keel onthe top of their upper mandible (bill) with which
they crack open nuts, egg shells and shellfish-includ-ing fresh water mussels!
Floridians have Boat-tailed Grackles all over theState near fresh, brackish or salt water. If you arelooking for Boat-tailed Grackles in the rest of thecountry you will have to look in the tidewater areas.
These grackles love the mudflats where they can foage for shellfish, catch aquatic insects, frogs, shrimpand small fish. A truly omnivorous bird, the gracklwill also eat seed and grain, as well as fledgling birdKenn Kaufman in his Lives of North American Birds ,notes that Boat-tailed Grackles will go into heron
colonies and eat eggs out of nests.The female Boat-tailed Grackles are the star of
the family. Not only do they build the nest, lay andincubate the eggs, but are the only ones to feed theyoung until they fledge. It seems the male of thespecies exerts so much energy in finding a mate hecan’t deal with raising the family. To give the male alittle credit, his courtship routine is quite a show. Hfinds a perch in the open and then proceeds tospread the keel-shaped tail, flutter his wings, bob hhead up and down in the light to show off his glossplumage at the same time utter harsh and gutturalsounds as well as whistles that can actually sound
like a wolf whistle.Bird behavior is what makes bird watching suc
a wonderful hobby. So don’t just mark off the birdson your checklist as you see them, take some time study and enjoy their behavior.
Howard Petrie
Carol Newton
in recognition of
her mother
Betty McLure
BIRD OF THE MONTH
By Susan B. Whiting
THANK YOU
SPONSORS
Boat-tailed Grackle(Quiscalus major)
hoto credit: Lanny McDowell
AoMC Education Coordinator, Linda Wishney,announces “Birding Adventures for Children” willtake place Saturday, November 20, 2010, from 9 amto 12 pm, at 621 SE Palm Beach Road, Stuart,Florida, 34994. Children in grades 6, 7, 8 (MiddleSchool) are invited to attend.
All children will need permission to attend andmust be accompanied by an adult.
The event includes: Introduction to the worbirding, bird ID, and habitats; Hiking our trails tsee birds, including our new osprey nesting site newly created pond; Powerpoint presentation of birds; Sketching of birds and journal entries of obirding encounters; Demonstration and discussioenvironmental issues. The event is free. Pick up istration and permission forms at the office.
Birding Adventures for Childrenat Possum Long Nature Center November 20
New member Howard Petrie brings Scripp’s colleagues to PLNC Oct 2 to assist with land stewardship in the hammock just east of the chickee. Invasive plants
removed and hammock friendly species were planted. Joining the crew are Lisa Fiore,AoMC president; Pam Hopkins, managing director and members of her
Creation Team, Jim Stewart and Ralph Mallory.
Photos courtesy of Dean Smith
Newport Storm:
Gigantic waves
riptides
no surfers out -
except sanderlings,
running the wash.
Tony Chatowsky
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Non-profitOrganization
U. S. Postage PaidPermit #57
Stuart, FL 34994
621 S.E Palm Beach Road
Stuart, FL 34994
Logo design by Shark River Creative,
Jensen Beach, Florida. 772-232-1384
photos courtesy of Dean Smith
Thank you Partners!
City of Stuart
Eddie Huggins Land Grading
Evergreen Engineering
KLS Earth Concepts
Florida Pole Setters
Frenchy’s Crane Service
Lucido Associates
National Resources
Conservation Service
SFWMD
St. Lucie River Issues Team
and
Our Many Volunteers,
and Board MembersPartners pictured left to right, front row: Karen Sjoholm of KLS,
Kevin Henderson of Evergreen Engineering, Shannon Martin of
Eddie Huggins, Donna Smith of NRCS. Second row left, Kathy
LaMartina of South Florida Water Management District, and Scott
Wolfe of Lucido and Associates.
Board members pictured left to right, front row, Doug Warns, Greg
Braun, Pam Hopkins, Joan Bausch,Louise White, Bob Matheson.
Second row, left to right, Carol Newton,Curt Wood,Lisa Fiore, Ed
Fielding, Linda Wishney, Bev Poppke, Debbie Clark.
Missing from photo: Susan Smyth,Tony Chatowsky, Mary Starzinski,
Fran Stewart, Soo Whiting, Bob Gordon,Laurie Odlum, Dan Roberts and
Jessie Green.
