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The Limpkin Times
Apalachee Audubon Society Mission Statement:
Protecting the rich biodiversity of the Florida Panhandle through education, appreciation, and conservation.
August 2022
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Gila Woodpecker, Arizona photo by Don Morrow
In This Issue:
August 4, BBEF August 4 Candidates Forum
Aug. 7, Chapter Field Trip: J.R. Alford Greenway with Juli DeGrummond
Aug. 27, Swift Night Out, 7:30-8:30 PM
Sept. 17, Coastal Cleanup
Report from Rose Canyon, Arizona, by Don Morrow
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AAS Lake Elberta Park coordinator Alexis Smith and other volunteers removing nest gourds for cleaning and storage
President's Message
I have sad news to report in this message—Ben Fusaro has passed away. For many of us who are long-time members of the chapter, he was an ardent conservationist and a good friend with an inquiring mind and a hearty laugh. Ben was a longtime member and Past President of Apalachee Audubon, and he served as a board director through 2016. He was also a chapter liaison between AAS and the Big Bend Sierra Club chapter. He and his wife, Beth, who passed away November 2021, lived at Westminster Oaks. Our condolences to their daughter Amelia Fusaro, also a former AAS board member, and her husband Bill Everitt on the loss of both parents.
Request for Volunteers: Many hands make for light work, and right at the moment, we are in dire need of more helping hands in our chapter. If you have special skills or talents that you could offer, or you're willing to offer your time and effort, we would love to have you join one of our teams! Ash Eggers, our new Membership Chair, found a place for her skills and talents on our volunteer web page. Click to learn more about how you can help. Or email [email protected] and we’ll work with you to find a task for you.
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Purple Martin gourd with nest, constructed from mud, sticks, and leaves
Lake Elberta Park Update: Happy news about the Chimney Swift tower we installed January of this year. We inspected it on July 22 and, while we didn’t find any nests, there was ample evidence of birds roosting there—namely a whole pile of Chimney Swift poop! (See on video link below.) We’re thrilled that birds are using it and hopeful that we’ll get a nesting pair there next spring. A number of us met up with volunteer Alexis Smith, who is taking over as AAS coordinator for Lake Elberta Park. She will be monitoring the park, updating AAS information in the park’s kiosk, monitoring nests, and helping us to organize clean-ups and invasive plant removals. Thank you, Alexis! On this visit, she took charge of removing the Purple Martin nest gourds for cleaning and storage. She also checked the Eastern Bluebird nest box for cleaning only to find that there was a clutch of nestlings still present!
Sincerely,
Kathleen Carr
President, Apalachee Audubon
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The Big Bend Environmental Forum for Primary Candidates will happen on August 4, at the City Commission Chambers, 300 South Adams Street.
Citizens will be able to suggest questions covering environmental, energy, sustainability, and growth management issues. An open house prior to the forum will include displays by candidates and BBEF member organizations, and will provide an opportunity for voters to meet the candidates in person. The pre-event meet and greet starts at 5:15 and the event begins at 6:00PM.
We have a strong environmental movement in the state of Florida – and YOU helped make it that way. It is crucial to send a strong message to our candidates and elected leaders that we show up on environmental issues. Please plan to attend.
If you cannot attend in person, you can livestream it on your computer or mobile device. For information about accessing the meeting virtually, visit the Big Bend Environmental Forum webpage.
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August Chapter Field Trip (Guided) |
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J.R. Alford Greenway is one of Tallahassee’s most popular parks, with more than 17 miles of multi-use trails
J.R. Alford Greenway
2500 Pedrick Rd, Tallahassee, FL, 32317
Sunday, August 7, 8:00 - 10:30 AM ET (Sign-in starts at 7:45 AM)
No registration necessary. We will meet in the parking lot at 8:00 AM and walk about 2.5 hours round trip at a leisurely pace. The trail covers grassy, somewhat uneven terrain, but is suitable for beginner hikers. Please bring water, snacks, sunscreen, bug spray, binoculars, a hat, and a camera if you'd like. Sun protective clothing is highly recommended as a portion of the hike will be in exposed fields.
When you get to the park, you will need to check in with an Audubon representative to sign a liability waiver. We ask that you not attend if you have had any symptoms associated with COVID-19 two weeks before the field trip, or have been in direct contact with anyone who has had any symptoms associated with COVID-19.
Please arrive by 7:45 AM to sign in so the walk can start on time.
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Swift Night Out at Wakulla Springs State Park |
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Chimney Swift
Saturday, August 27
7:30 - 8:30 PM ET
Free with Park Admission
Meet at the Lodge Entrance
Description: During Swift Night Out people all over the country stand beneath chimneys to watch and count chimney swifts enter their roost. The Lodge at Wakulla Springs has a large flock that roosts in one of its inactive chimneys. Come to witness the “flying cigar” shaped birds perform their swirling aerial dance prior to their descent into the chimney. Be part of a nationwide program to estimate their numbers. Enjoy this unusual ranger-led program to see firsthand one of nature’s amazing spectacles.
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International Coastal Cleanup in Franklin County |
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2021 Coastal Cleanup team |
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Saturday, September 17, 9:00 AM
Meet at the Ochlockonee Bay Boat Ramp
Apalachee Audubon volunteers will once again be participating in Coastal Cleanup this year along the shores of Ochlockonee Bay. Leaders Donna Legare and Jody Walthall will pick up supplies at the Leonard’s Landing ICC Sign-in at 8:30 and then meet our volunteers at the boat ramp just beyond the Ochlockonee Bay Bridge on the right as you are heading south on Hwy. 98 at 9:00 AM. There is a portable potty on site.
We will work the shore and into the woods to collect trash which we will haul back to the boat ramp in a canoe. The Bluffs of Saint Teresa is a tract of Bald Point State Park and is a truly beautiful area in which to work.
Call Donna at (850) 386-1148 if you plan to volunteer so we can collect the proper number of supplies. Wear or bring sunscreen, bug spray, protective clothing (hats, long pants, long-sleeved shirts), work or close-toed water shoes, water bottle. I like to bring my own work gloves, but plastic gloves will be provided. If you want, bring a picnic lunch, and relax along the shore after the cleanup. .
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Report from Rose Canyon, Arizona
By Don Morrow
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Yellow-eyed Junco, photo by Don Morrow
We were dog sitting at my son’s place in Tucson while he was in Iceland. Behind his house there’s a desert wash full of mesquite and desert hackberry. On a July morning at first light, his back porch is a good place to enjoy a cup of coffee in the temporary coolness of a desert morning.
The wash is a bit of wild desert in suburban Tucson. It has Gambel’s quail, desert cottontails and javelinas, along with the bobcats and coyotes who hunt them. Costa’s Hummingbirds like to perch on the tallest hackberry stems, while Verdins and Lucy’s Warblers seem to prefer the mesquite. There’s a lone saguaro that is favored by a Gila Woodpecker. Everywhere there are White-winged Doves, flying, sitting or calling. Cooper’s Hawks frequently sweep through looking for them. I get to enjoy all of this from my son’s porch while drinking my morning coffee. Click for the rest of the story and more photos . . .
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Costa's Hummingbird, photo by Don Morrow |
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