TAMPA AUDUBON SOCIETY

Volume XXII. Issue 3 www.tampaaudubon.org June 2010

“To conserve and re-store our ecosystems,

focusing on birds, wildlife, and their habitats, through

education, advocacy, and community in-

volvement.”

NEW MEETING PLACE

Hillsborough County Extension

5339 CR 579, Seffner

1/2 mile south of I-4, exit 10

Three spaces Remaining

Holiday Birding in Costa Rica

November 26 - 30, 2010

Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve, Santa

Elena Reserve and Palo Verde National Park

$895 pp double occupancy SS $100 plus air

(about $400) and lunch & dinner

Daily breakfast buffet, try local cuisine for

lunch and dinner

Dragonflies,

Damselflies and Butterflies!

Thursday, June 10, 7:00 PM.

Have you noticed the banner year we're hav-ing with Dragonflies? Find out about their beauty, behavior and benefits when Jo Anne Hartzler, Tampa Audubon Board Member, ex-plains how to recognize these native insects that share our yards. See what a young Dragonfly looks like--a spider you say? Learn how Damselflies hold their wings differ-ently and why. Identify these flying jewels by their big eyes up close. See the larval plants your favorite butterflies enjoy so they'll stick around.

OFFICERS/DIRECTORS FOR 2010-2011

President: Pat Lewis 1st VP: Tammy Lyons 2nd VP: Bill Lamoureux Treasurer: Roger Sheets Secretary: Sherry Keller Directors: Joel Cleveland Tim Bonsack JoAnne Hartzler Mary Keith Mark Rachal Jason Guerard

Costa Rica Itinerary

Day 1 - Arrive in San Jose and drive 5 hours to Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Day 2 - Monteverde Cloud Forest Preserve. Centered atop the continental divide this region fea-tures many birds that we are unlikely to see elsewhere in Costa Rica. In the afternoon enjoy some free time exploring Santa Elena’s butterfly garden, cheese factory, coffee plantation, orchid garden, ranarium (frogs!) serpentarium, Insect World, or canopy tour. Day 3 - Santa Elena Reserve. Continue exploring Costa Rica’s cloud forest by visiting this exqui-site reserve where wildlife viewing is plentiful. Day 4 - Palo Verde National Park. This park has the greatest concentration of waterfowl and shorebirds in Central America, and over 300 different species. Specifically, herons like Black-crowned night heron, storks like jabiru stork, spoonbills, egrets, ibis, grebes, ducks, scarlet ma-caws, keel-billed toucans, and parrots. Day 5 - Return home.

Conservation Chair: Mark Rachal Fieldtrip Chair: Bill Lamoureux ARC Director: Mike Mullins Web Master: Nan Murrah

TAMPA AUDUBON SOCIETY FIELD TRIPS www.tampaaudubon.org

All bird-watchers, beginners to expert, free and open to the public

Some Hillsborough County parks are charging a $2 entrance fee

Saturday May 1 - Lake Park, Discover your Tampa Parks! JoAnn Hartzler, usarealty@msn.com 9 am, visitor

Saturday June 12 - Lettuce Lake Beginning Birders, Pat Lewis, 907-6542 or plewis8216@aol.com. 9 am, visitor Center. Saturday June 26 - Lowry Park (not the zoo) and Hammer Tower, Carolyn McKinney, 884-0578 or cmckinney47@tampabay.rr.com. Meet at 8:30 am, turn north onto N Boulevard from Sligh (at Lowry Park) take first street on right to parking lot. Bring water. Saturday July 10, Lettuce Lake for Beginning Birders, Pat Lewis, 907-6542 or plewis8216@aol.com. 9 am, visitor center. Sunday July 18 - Fort DeSoto, Bill Lamoureux, 839-2742 or wlamoureux@aol.com. 8:00 am, Visitor Center at the park, or contact leader to carpool. Bring hat, water, snacks. Done by noon. Saturday August 14 - Lettuce Lake Beginning Birders, Pat Lewis, 907-6542 or plewis8216@aol.com 9 am, visitor center. ALWAYS SOMETHING DIFFERENT! Usually finished by 11:00.

AUGUST - WATCH FOR FROG LISTENING PROGRAM!

Flatwoods Bluebird Hike April 17 By Mary Miller

Perfect weather, clear and breezy. We saw newly hatched bluebirds and Carolina chickadees and bluebird eggs in 3 of the 45 boxes on the 7 mile trail. We walked about 2 miles on and off the trail and saw blue- birds, vireos, catbirds, cardinals, titmice, carolins chickadee as well as deer, quail, pigmy rattlesnake and turkey. It was a great trip and we accomplished my goal of seeing bluebirds.

June 2 - Weekly Bluebird Report from Mary Miller Second nesting is in full swing with 14 second nests. If even half of those have fledglings, it will be a record year. We have a total of 116 fledglings (72 bluebirds, 26 titmice, 18 Carolina chickadees), and 49 eggs and 23 babies. In addition to the bluebirds, I saw several deer and one black racer crossed my path. It was a hot one today.

ARC at the Park

Visitor Center at Lettuce Lake

Volunteer training is available for those who are willing to invest four hours a month to

staff the Visitor Center. The only skills needed are a love of the environment and a

friendly smile.

ARC Family Nature Programs at Lettuce Lake Park June - Aug 2010

Join Nature Girl Diana at Lettuce Lake County Park at 10am, the second Saturday of each month. Enjoy a monthly Family Nature Program sponsored by Tampa Audubon! E-mail me: fortkyle@aol , the names AND ages of those who plan to attend. Programs are geared towards elementary age all the way up to adults. 6/12/2010 - Spring has Sprung - Come rub with me! 10:00am-11:00am Document Lettuce Lake flora and habitats with nature rubbings. Learn bark and leaf identification and take home samples. Come join the fun as we SPRING outside and rub those trees. We will make art master pieces from what we find in the woods! 7/10/2010 - Life beneath our Feet! 10:00am-11:00am Let's take a walk on the WILD side. We don't have to go far to discover soooo much. Mosses, Ants and Lions, Oh My!!! What is moss and what is not! We're going on a Lion hunt! What is that cone shape in the sand? Who done it? And Why? What do they turn into next? Metamorphosis' into a scientist for an hour or two and wear your walking shoes.

8/14/2010 - Bugs and Butterflies! 10:00am-11:00am Lets walk the park and collect bugs. There's a whole world of tiny critters which are so much fun to find. Bring your magnifying glass and be ready to sleuth around. We'll look up, we'll look down, we'll look ALL around! I'll bring the containers. Wear real shoes, no flip flops. It's a LOOK and RELEASE type of day.

Audubon Academy 2010

The theme of this year’s Academy was “Possibilities Through Partnerships”. In the workshop, Planning Wildlife-Friendly Florida Communities, we learned about two web-based resource tools, from 1,000 Friends of Florida and Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission, to find the critical information, guidelines, figures, and maps when we need it. Does Your Chapter Need a Makeover? #2 urged us to look at chapter planning from a new perspec-tive—the characteristics of your community. Hometown Democracy, Constitutional Amendment #4 on the November, 2010 ballot, was discussed by chapter leaders as the issue applies to their communities. The Changing Dynamics of Water Management addressed the future of water management in Florida, and how can be involved in determining that future. How can high water use areas achieve reductions in water use, as some areas of Florida have already achieved? How can we balance between protecting na-ture and providing water for people? Membership, Technology and You suggested that if we are going to remain competitive in the techno-logical age, fulfill grant requirements and build conservation communities, we are going to have to be willing to try new things, such as using social networking. Free-Ranging Cats – Why Should We Care? discussed resources available to help educate our decision makers who are promoting TNR and the licensing of feral cat colonies. American Bird Conservancy promotes keeping cats indoors. Ecology of Backyard Landscaping: Understanding Why Going Native Is The Key emphasized that it is critical that our backyards be the kind of change we want to have in restoring biological diversity-a must if we expect to protect species. It’s not enough to feed birds and have nest boxes. The foundation for a healthy ecosystem begins in the ground. Your chapter can propel a huge restoration effort, even in an urban setting. Our partners in this effort are garden clubs, native plant chapters, water management dis-tricts, and many others. Teacher Ecology Workshops: St. Petersburg Audubon, partnered with Sensing Nature, a conservation education business to provide a “summer camp” – a series of classes, field trips, and other experiences for elementary school teachers. Teachers received in-service credits, along with invaluable knowledge that will enable them to become more effective science teachers in their classrooms. The field trips were wonderful! Friday we kayaked on the Ichetucknee – the springs are beautiful, crys-tal-clear water, accompanied by three manatees. Saturday we birded along the Hawthorne Trail over-looking the Payne’s Prairie basin. A group of six White-crown Sparrows kept us entertained for some time. Sunday we enjoyed a beautiful sunrise over Payne’s Prairie, where we saw three American Bit-terns. Later we hiked through the woods of Bolen Bluff, where we were surprised by the number of Vir-eos along the way. It was a great weekend! Submitted by Carolyn McKinney

Collage by Jason Guerard, photos by Joel Jackson, Roger Sheets & Jason Guerard

Eden The scene recalls

some ancient place, still untainted.

Wild, bathed in early spring, with clean, bright air

as though seen through a polished lens.

The small and lovely lake is alive with ducks and

water birds of all kinds – preening, honking, squawking

or just gliding along the glassy surface, unaware of their

heartbreaking beauty. Over there, on a log near the shore

lies a sunning gator – ten foot long at least.

And, everywhere, everywhere, the tree swallows;

wheeling and turning, swooping and diving,

lacing the air with their dizzy play. By Ceci LaDuca

Written after a fieldtrip to

Circle B Bar Preserve in Lakeland

April at Ft. DeSoto

Photos by Roger Sheets

Need help with bird Identification?

e-mail Bill Lamoureux at:

wlamoureux@aol.com

Donation of $50 by the Young at Heart group of the Palma Ceia United Methodist Church in the name of Miss Cozee Smith.

Ronald Veller

John D. Darsey, Jr.

Jason & Laura Guerard

Mark Rachal

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