BROWN PELICAN MONTHLY NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 2022

FEBRUARY 2022

Message from the BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dear Auduboners,

Well, we have decided to Zoom our next meeting (Feb 14, 7pm) - we thought we could hybridize it, but people are still wary of being in a crowd, so it's better to be safe. Check out the speaker - the amazing Scott Weidensaul - and the registration link following this letter.

The Quad Parcels at the Celery Fields

We are finally at the stage when we can share some of our ideas with you. We'd love to see and hear what you have to say. The event at the Nature Center on Feb 19 starting at 9am will be outside on the patio for Covid safety. See you there!

Sarasota Audubon - Certified Audit

We've just completed a certified audit for the period ending May 31, 2021. If anyone would like a copy of the report, please contact [email protected] No surprises; everything is in apple pie order.

Bobby Jones Golf Course

Now Under Conservation Easement

We were thrilled to learn that the Bobby Jones GC is now under conservation easement, thanks to the City of Sarasota Commissioners and the Conservation Foundation of the Gulf Coast. Of the 281 acres, 27 holes will be dedicated to golf (down from 45) and the remaining land will be devoted to nature trails and vegetated stormwater ponds - perfect for attracting and retaining birds and other wildlife. Another win for the environment!

As always, take care and be safe,

Jeanne Dubi and the Sarasota Audubon Board of Directors

MONTHLY MEETING INFORMATION

General Meeting Monday Feb. 14, 2022

7:00pm on ZOOM

A World on the Wing:

The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds

Yellow Sea Shorebirds

Pulitzer Prize Finalist

Scott Weidensaul

Even as scientists make astounding discoveries about the navigational and physiological feats that enable migratory birds to cross immense oceans or fly above the highest mountains, go weeks without sleep or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch, humans have brought many migrants to the brink.

Based on his newest book "A World on the Wing," author and researcher Scott Weidensaul takes you around the globe -- with researchers in the lab probing the limits of what migrating birds can do, to the shores of the Yellow Sea in China, the remote mountains of northeastern India where tribal villages saved the greatest gathering of falcons on the planet, and the Mediterranean, where activists and police are battling bird poachers -- to learn how people are fighting to understand and save the world's great bird migrations.

Scott Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books on natural history, including the Pulitzer Prize finalist "Living on the Wind" and his latest, the New York Times bestseller "A World on the Wing."

Weidensaul is a contributing editor for Audubon, a columnist for Bird Watcher's Digest and writes for a variety of other publications, including Living Bird. He is a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society and an active field researcher, studying saw-whet owl migration for more than two decades, as well as winter hummingbirds, bird migration in Alaska, and the winter movements of snowy owls through Project SNOWstorm, which he co-founded.

Black History Month

New Museum in New Town

Due to the vision of the Sarasota African American Cultural Coalition, and the perseverence of President Vickie Oldham, the City of Sarasota will have a physical space to tell the stories of Black history with the upcoming Sarasota African American Art Center and History Museum.

Located in Newtown, the historical Black community of Sarasota, the center will be the site of historical exhibits, talks from authors, cooking demonstrations and youth mentorship programs. But most importantly, Oldham will tell the story of Sarasota’s African American residents.

READ ENTIRE Sarasota Magazine Article HERE

Bird Watcher's Digest

Ceases Publication

In 1978 Bill and Elsa Thompson sat around their kitchen table discussing the dearth of magazines devoted to birding. So they decided right then and there to launch Bird Watcher’s Digest. Their son, Bill Thompson III, took over the reins some years later. In March, 2019 we lost Bill to pancreatic cancer. There were other deaths in the family, and though a team of very dedicated professionals took over the publication they couldn’t survive the losses in revenue due to Covid. Bill and his wife, Julie Zickefoos, made huge contributions to birding and eco tourism. Bill’s book, “The Young Birder’s Guide” is the best book on birding for kids. Julie continues to contribute to the birding community through her excellent books and speaking engagements. We just won’t find her monthly column in BWD any longer. It’s yet another institution lost to the ravages of this plague that has changed our lives.

David Hartgrove, Pelican Island Audubon

Editor's Note: Bill spent a day birding with us at the Celery Fields in 2018 and loved it, and Julie Zickefoos gave a fab presentation to SAS back in 2017.

Notes from the NATURE CENTER

OPEN DAILY 9am - NOON

Beginning February 1, 2022

Big thanks to Barry Gerber and the youth group from Temple Emanu-El for spreading pine straw on our paths again this year. Also to the dedication of Andy Schneider, Courtney Milton and Lynn Jakubowicz for finishing the trail and edging through the Mary Jelks Butterfly Garden on the sunny south side of the Nature Center.

We have added some beautiful boxes to secure the fountain timers from weather and vandals. The main fountain outside the Nature Center sports a Purple Gallinule and the Gazebo fountain has a Male Painted Bunting. Artist Jim Crawford built the boxes and installed the artwork, he displays (and sells) his ceramic beauties at Sweet Bay Nursery in Parrish.

Remember: Nature is always open! Come on out and enjoy the gardens.

Karen Willey

SAS Nature Center Manager

CONSERVATION

Saving the Black-capped Petrel

Jordan Rutter, American Bird Conservancy

The Endangered Black-capped Petrel, in flight. Photo by Kate Sutherland

The Endangered Black-capped Petrel is a seabird so secretive that ten years ago, only one active nest had ever been located and monitored.

The Black-capped Petrel is the rarest nesting seabird in the Caribbean, with only an estimated 2,000 breeding pairs remaining worldwide. Conservationists have now located more than 100 nests on the island of Hispaniola, and have found evidence of smaller populations possibly breeding on Dominica, Guadeloupe, and Cuba. Once common in the Caribbean, the species' population was decimated over the past two centuries by overhunting, the introduction of mammalian predators, and the destruction of its forested nesting habitat.

Read entire story about the new Conservation Action Plan and other fascinating details from the American Bird Conservancy. FULL STORY HERE

CLIMATE CORNER 🌎

Watch Short Video Now

Call for Volunteers

Need: Assist with bringing down the Purple Martin houses and data collection.

When: Sunday at 11am

or Thursday at 11am

Click Here to Contact Sue G

Bird of the Month:

Rufous Hummingbird by Pam Koepf

We currently have another unusual wintering visitor to Sarasota – a female Rufous Hummingbird. She has been seen at the Twin Lakes County Park, feeding on flowers in the native plant garden around the UF/IFAS Extension building. Her fast chip calls often announce her presence before being seen.

First observed on December 29^th, she will probably remain around as long as there are flowers to provide nectar, or until it is time to return to her breeding grounds in northwestern U.S. & far western Canada.

Photo Credit: Linda Gammello

The female Rufous Hummingbird is greenish above with rusty-washed flanks and rusty patches on their green tail and often a spot of orange on the throat.