Painted Buntings are home for the holidays! Photo: Lorraine Minns
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Castellow Hammock Preserve & Nature Center Bird Walk
Saturday, December 7, 7:30-9:30am
As part of Butterfly and Bird Day festivities (see details further below), TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza will lead a bird walk through the park 7:30-9:30am. Meet in front of the Nature Center. Bring binoculars! No fee. No pre-registration required.
South Florida Young Birders Club Bird Walk
@Gardens of Crandon Park
Sunday, December 8, 9:30am-noon
South Florida Young Birders Club will host a free walk through the Gardens of Crandon Park for youth ages 12-18 and their parents. The site is an important refueling “island” for migratory birds stopping over (or wintering) on Key Biscayne. Look for warblers, shorebirds and more. Enter Crandon Park via the South entry gate. Meet at 9:30am at the pond at the entrance to the Gardens near the parking lot (
6747 Crandon Boulevard, Key Biscayne, FL
). Parking fee.
Bring water, snacks, sunscreen and insect repellent. Pack a picnic lunch for a post-walk gathering in the Gardens’ grove.
Flamingo Area Birding
Sunday, December 22, 7:30am-4pm
Luis Gonzalez will lead this full-day trip to the Flamingo area in Everglades National Park. Flamingo is 38 miles west of the Everglades National Park entrance station in Homestead (entrance fee). Meet at 7:30am in the Flamingo Visitor Center parking area. Bring lunch. No pre-registration required.
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120
th
Annual Christmas Bird Count
Various Dates & South Florida Locales
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Saturday, December 14
Miami-Dade County Christmas Bird Count
Monday, December 16
Long Pine Key Christmas Bird Count
Thursday, December 19
Crocodile Lake NWR Christmas Bird Count
Friday, December 20
Key-Largo-Plantation Christmas Bird Count
Kendall Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, December 21
Coot Bay/Everglades Christmas Bird Count
Saturday, January 4
To learn more about this annual Community Science effort — from which hundreds of scientists around the world draw the resulting data —
click here
.
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Spain: Birding Extremadura, Doñana and Sierra de Gredos
April 27-May 11, 2020
Spaces Available
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European Roller. Photo: Stefan Schlick
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TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza and Stefan Schlick will co-lead this two-week trip to Spain, considered by many to be Europe's "birdiest" country. Timed for spring migration, the tour will include visits to Monfrague and Doñana National parks, the Cáceres Plains, Salinas de Bonanza and the Sierra de Gredos. Some of the many species we'll target include White-headed Duck, Black-bellied and Pin-tailed Sandgrouse, Great and Little Bustard, Slender-billed Gull, Spanish Imperial Eagle, European Bee-eater, European Roller, Black Wheatear, Spectacled and Subalpine Warbler, Iberian Magpie and Citril Finch.
Fabulous birding, excellent food, spectacular scenery and the ease of logistics adds up to an amazing, not-to-be-missed trip! Fee: $2,950 per/person double occupancy, $630 single supplement. Fee includes lodging, local transportation, guides and park fees. Not included is round-trip airfare to Madrid, Spain, any meals, tips, laundry costs or other incidental expenses.
For a detailed itinerary, click
here.
Email TAS Field Trip Coordinator
Brian Rapoza
for an application or additional information. $500 deposit due at time of booking, balance due by January 27, 2020.
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Keep the Redland GREEN & the Everglades Flowing
DEC. 18 Deadline!
Sign the Petition & Contact Your County Commissioner
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Your voice is urgently needed! Please stand up for our Everglades wetlands and the Redland Agricultural buffer that protects the River of Grass! Miamians MUST maintain the long-ago-established Urban Development Boundary (UDB), which was drawn up to protect these precious areas, our natural resources and our quality of life.
On December 18
the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners will vote on amendments to the Comprehensive Development Master Plan (CDMP), a long-range planning tool
.
Developers and builders are lobbying to push incongruent development further west into the Redlands Agricultural Area buffer zone and potentially beyond farmlands into environmentally sensitive wetlands.
Please Take Action!
It is imperative that the Redland Agricultural Area be protected and preserved from development. Along with Homestead farmlands, the Redland acts as a Green Space buffer between the Everglades and urban/suburban development. Ag's role is crucial to maintaining the UDB, restoring the Everglades and protecting our drinking water and adjacent habitat for birds and other wildlife.
Contact
your
County Commissioner
and urge him/her to reject the developers' Minority Report recommendations and vote in support of the Miami-Dade County staff recommendations that honor the UDB. Upholding the UDB, preventing sprawl, protecting the Redland and supporting Everglades Restoration are also crucial components of Sea Level Rise resilience!
Sign the Petition NOW
and urge the Miami-Dade County Commissioners to keep the Redland green and the Everglades flowing!
Attend
the Board of County Commissioners Meeting, December 18, 9:30am, Stephen P. Clark Center, 111 N.W. First Street, 2
nd
Floor Commission Chambers, Miami, FL 33128
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Butterfly and Bird Day
Castellow Hammock Preserve & Nature Center
Saturday, December 7, 9:30am-3:30pm
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Explore Castellow Hammock Preserve & Nature Center and the birds and butterflies that call it home. Take a bird walk, attend informative lectures about Florida butterflies and birds, take a nature walk, explore exhibits, partake in children’s activities and browse the plant sale. Food and drinks will be available for purchase. (Earlybirds can opt for a 7:30am bird walk with TAS Field Trip Coordinator Brian Rapoza. Bring binoculars!) Then join Brian 10:30-10:45am for a talk on Bird Migration in South Florida.
This free event is presented by Miami Blue Chapter, North American Butterfly Association, Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation & Open Spaces and Tropical Audubon Society.
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Doc Thomas House Guided Tours @TAS
Saturday, December 7, 1 & 3pm
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Visit our historic Doc Thomas House headquarters and enjoy a captivating, 45-minute guided tour led by a Tropical Audubon Society docent. Learn about our society’s benefactor Arden Hayes “Doc” Thomas and Robert Fitch Smith, the architect he commissioned to design the house. Explore the distinctive, wood-and-limestone structure with its numerous ornamental and built-in features. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, named a Florida Heritage Site and designated a Miami-Dade County Historic Site, the charming 1932 cottage is a Florida vernacular architectural gem.
Visitors are also encouraged to take a self-guided tour of our near-native Steinberg Nature Center grounds, which showcase pollinator gardens and tropical hardwood and pine rockland habitats.
Save the dates: First Saturdays of the month February through June 2020. (Note: There will be no tours in January)
Times: 1pm & 3pm Tours / House and Grounds Open 12:30-4pm.
Admission FREE. Donations Welcomed!
Parking options:
Limited on-site parking via the 55th Avenue entry gate; nearby metered, garage and valet parking options within 1-3 blocks; Metrorail service to South Miami Station.
Tropical Audubon Society: 5530
Sunset
Dr., Miami, FL, 33143
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Birds 'n' Brews: Christmas Bird Count Primer
& Long Pine Key Count Retrospective
w/ Everglades Biologist & Birder Raul Urgelles
@Leica Store Miami
Wednesday, December 11, 7-9pm
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To set the stage for the 120
th
Annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC), the nation's longest-running community science project, Everglades National Park Biologist Raul Urgelles will share the history, stories and significant findings of the CBC from the perspective of the Long Pine Key Count, which has taken place in the heart of the Everglades since 2000. Because it tracks the park’s avifauna in unique habitats, including the critically imperiled pine rocklands, the LPK CBC has provided invaluable data over the years. Equally important, the count monitors the changes in the avian community within the footprint of one of the most ambitious restoration efforts the park has ever undergone: “The Hole-in-the-Donut.”
Whether you’re a first-time South Florida CBC participant, a group leader or simply want to soak up Raul’s colorful insights, join TAS and Leica Store Miami for this illuminating retrospective and CBC primer.
To make your CBC experience as rewarding as possible, Leica Store Miami will provide loaner binoculars for fledgling CBC-ers, or for those in need of an upgrade. So, plan to wing by, chill with a Brooklyn Brew, brush up on CBC and bird IDs, meet and greet other counters and sign-out the world’s finest binos and scopes while they last courtesy of Leica Store Miami.
More About the Guest Host:
Raul Urgelles has been working as a biologist specializing in Everglades ecosystems for more than 20 years, the last twelve with the National Park Service. He has lived in the Miami area since age 1, where his interest in natural history took root during early childhood; a trip to Everglades National Park at age 10 stoked what would become a lifelong passion for wild Florida. The avid birder often leads bird walks for TAS (check our
Bird Board
frequently!) and takes great joy in sharing his knowledge of and love for the natural wonders of the world.
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Holiday Happy Hour & Open House @TAS
Thursday, December 12, 6-8pm
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YOU’RE INVITED!
On your way home or on your way out, alight at our historic Doc Thomas House for a festive Holiday Happy Hour & Open House mixer. Mingle with friends and neighbors, TAS members, board and staff. Enjoy complimentary spiked punch and
Gringo Oyster Bar
bites, donation Bird Bar libations and seasonal music.
Escape the holiday hustle-bustle and unwind beneath an “enchanted forest” of Florida live oaks; follow the twinkle-lit trail through the hardwood hammock to our iconic chickee. Experience unfettered Nature under the stars on our Old Florida campus.
Bonus:
Shop our inspired selection of bird- and Nature-themed gifts — greeting and holiday cards, eco-conscious coffees, ceramics, jewelry and Dade County Pine seedlings!
Pot Luck Finger Food contributions:
If you'd like to contribute to the festivities, bring some little bites for easy snacking. (We have a microwave and serving platters.) Please be mindful and refrain from using disposable items to make, carry or serve your dish. No plastic bags, single-use plastic or styrofoam, please.
Parking options:
Limited on-site parking via the 55th Avenue auto entry gate; metered, garage and valet parking options within 1-3 blocks; Metrorail service to South Miami Station.
Tropical Audubon Society, 5530 Sunset Drive, Miami 33143 | @tropicalaudubon
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Birdiful Pins, Tiles, Cards & Gift Tags
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Stuff stockings with birdiful enamel pins featuring Florida birds — Great Blue Heron, Roseate Spoonbill, Brown Pelican, Florida Scrub Jay, Snail Kite — $15 each or collect all five for $60. These unique pins were custom-designed for TAS by artist Kate Dolamore,
The Little Nuthatch
blogger. Also on offer are ceramic bird tiles by artist David Schaffter ($25 each) and bird holiday cards, notecards and gift tags by artist Louise Gardner Schwartz starting at $4. These gorgeous gifts are available for purchase at our historic Doc Thomas House headquarters. A portion of all sales benefits TAS. Shop by appointment only.
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#GivingTuesday!
Support clean water and habitat for birds
and
people
Tuesday, December 2
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If you missed gifting TAS on Give Miami Day, you can help "feed the birds" tomorrow on #GivingTuesday, a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. Your timely gift will help support our efforts to protect and restore our precious Aquifer, our beautiful Bay and our fragile Everglades — the Birds will thank you!
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Relax with Yoga Nidra under our Chickee
Tuesdays, 9:15-10:15am
NO CLASSES in December, resuming in January.
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Join Hridayam Yoga instructor Carol Jamault for outdoor Yoga Nidra, a guided practice that leads to a state of deep relaxation and increased awareness. Yoga Nidra is considered a great tool to manage stress, improve sleep quality and regenerate the nervous system. Classes include gentle asanas, pranayama and exercises for the joints. Prices: $20 per class. Packages available.
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Cooking for Health @TAS
No December Classes; Stay tuned for the January Curriculum
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Learn the principles of Ayurveda and how to apply them to make delicious, plant-based healing meals. Explore simple techniques that will help you shift to a healthier diet.
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Miami Pine Rocklands Coalition Meeting @TAS
Thursday, December 5, 7-8:30pm
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Federally Endangered Pine Rockland Resident: Bartram's Hairstreak Butterfly
Photo: Al Sunshine
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Get the latest information surrounding the Walmart/Coral Reef Commons Development plans now set in motion at the former University of Miami South Campus.
Learn about how to better protect the region’s remaining Pine Rocklands and how you can participate.
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Photography Exhibit by Subrata Basu
Wirtz Art Gallery
Opening Night Reception
Friday, December 6, 6-8pm
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Great Egrets. Photo: Subrata Basu
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South Miami’s elegant Wirtz Gallery will showcase a solo Photography Exhibit by Tropical Audubon Society Board Member Subrata Basu, who seeks to document those things — including birds — that we experience in our daily lives in such a way that the viewer takes time to pause and reflect on the essence of the image. “Photography is not just about documenting what we see, it’s also about telling a story,” says Basu, an architect and urban planner whose keen eye is evident in his broad body of work. He invites the community to join him on Friday, December 6, for the exhibit’s Opening Night Reception.
In addition to his affinity for fine art photography, Basu is an accomplished painter whose favored medium is watercolor. In both disciplines he is inspired by nature and South Florida’s rich, vibrant environment. Through his work he enjoys exploring the relationship between nature and the man-made world, and attempts to capture the emotion, harmony and balance that exist all around us.
Basu’s photographs will hang from December 2-27, Monday to Thursday, 9am-4pm and Fridays 9am-6pm.
Located within the First National Bank of South Miami lobby,
The Wirtz Gallery
is a distinguished public art space featuring month-long exhibits by local, national and international artists. It opened in 1983 in memoriam to Arthur M. Wirtz, a past bank chairman of the board and a patron of the Arts. 5750 Sunset Drive, South Miami, 33143.
Limited free parking directly behind the bank on S.W. 73
rd
Street.
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Climate Change Effects & Sea Level Rise
Scientists & Designers Panel
The Barnacle Historic State Park
Friday, December 6, 7:30pm
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Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce’s Sustainability and Resilience Committee will present a panel on Climate Change Effects & Sea Level Rise. The featured speakers are TAS Executive Director Paola Ferreira; TAS Board Member and FIU Associate Director of Science, Sea Level Solutions Center, Southeast Environment Research Center, Institute of Water and Environment Tiffany Troxler; Director of Resilience Design at Curtis + Rogers Design Studio Mariana Boldu; Landscape Architect/Principal at Curtis + Rogers Design Studio Inc. Jennie Rogers. Suggested donation, $10.
The Barnacle Historic State Park, 3485 Main Highway, Coconut Grove, FL 333133
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Florida Trail Association Meeting @TAS
Tuesday, December 10, 6:30-9pm
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Join the FTA for an evening with Director of Our Better Places Diana Perez, who runs a collaborative program between Our Better Places and the non-profit organization Connect Outdoors. Her organization, based on the three tenets of education, conservation and outreach, strives to educate people via first-hand experience about the impacts of climate change in the most susceptible areas around the world, and also addresses how to help mitigate the detrimental impacts.
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Rise Up Florida Environmental Committee Meeting @TAS
Thursday, December 19, 6:30pm
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Rise Up Florida! is a grassroots group of engaged citizens whose goals are to mobilize people, activate them to protect our community from unfair and unjust policies, and work toward electing representatives who reflect the core values of equal rights and opportunity for all.
Potluck — bring something delicious! Please be mindful and refrain from using disposable items to make, carry or serve your dish. No plastic bags, single-use plastic or styrofoam, please.
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Eco-Restoration Day @TAS's Steinberg Nature Center
Saturday, December 21, 8:30-11:30am
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Learn about indigenous plants and help TAS maintain the near-native landscape at our Steinberg Nature Center campus. We need you! Restoration Days are held on the 3rd Saturday of every month. We're flexible — show up between 8:30 and 11:30am — you will meet conservationists, birders, plant lovers and gardeners just like you lending a hand.
Please bring sunscreen and your refillable water bottle; wear closed-toe shoes. We will provide water.
Eco-restoration days take place on the third Saturday of every month. Groups welcome!
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Create & Restore Crucial Habitat in your Yard!
Join Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's Connect to Protect Network
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Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden's
Connect to Protect Network
enlists South Florida residents (Miami & The Keys) interested in restoring native plants to their yards, thereby helping connect our region's few remaining isolated fragments of Pine Rockland
—
a globally critically imperiled plant community. Installing native Pine Rockland plants increases the probability that bees, butterflies and birds can find and transport seeds and pollen across developed areas that separate Pine Rockland fragments, improving gene flow and genetic health of native plant species.
Joining the Connect to Protect Network of citizen scientists is easy! You need only live in Miami-Dade or Monroe County, have an e-mail address and be willing to maintain Pine Rockland plants on your property for at least two years.
Click
HERE
to share with your peeps on Facebook.
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Go Solar!
Join a Solar Co-op Information Session Near You
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Miami-Dade residents have come together to form a neighborhood-centric Miami-Dade Solar Co-op with the help of Solar United Neighbors of Florida. The co-op makes it easier to save money on the purchase of solar panels, while building a community of local solar supporters. Attend an information session in your neighborhood to learn more about how the Southern Miami-Dade Solar Co-op is streamlining the going solar process and is earning a discount through bulk purchase power.
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Wake in the Woods
Celebrating the Life of Lewis "Brother" Milledge
Saturday, January 4, 3:30-5:30pm
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Lewis De Blois Milledge Jr.
January 6, 1940 – October 25, 2019
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Members, friends, neighbors, volunteers and the conservation community are invited to gather for a memorial "Wake in the Woods" to celebrate the extraordinarily well-lived life of beloved TAS board member Lewis "Brother" Milledge, who died October 25, 2019. The birds and all wild inhabitants of Miami-Dade County were blessed to have this kind, gracious, giving Southern gentleman in their midst and perched for the past dozen-plus years in the proverbial TAS nest.
Join Brother's family for stories of remembrance, a bird walk, music and refreshments. A 2 p.m. church service at First United Methodist of Coral Gables (to which all are also invited) will precede "Wake in the Woods."
Parking options:
Limited on-site parking via the 55th Avenue auto entry gate; metered, garage and valet parking options within 1-3 blocks; Metrorail service to South Miami Station.
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… Honeybee Doughnuts, our local award-winning artisanal doughnut shop and near-neighbor for always being there for the Birds! Founder Karen Muirhead generously contributes doughnut gift certificates to our “Walk in the Woods with Wine & Whisk” hostess gift bags every Spring & Fall, and also participates every March at our annual signature BEE-cause Flea event that supports the pollinators who feed our planet (buzz by on March 20, 2020).
Karen’s darling honeybee-themed South Miami location is our go-to for delicious, protein-packed, gluten-free “beehives,” cake doughnuts and bubble teas. She uses the best local and organic ingredients whenever possible. A new Honeybee Doughnuts location at The Falls is expected to open before Christmas. You can also find Honeybee Doughnuts at the Sunday Pinecrest Farmers Market.
Supporting those vendors who support TAS is an easy way to contribute to our Mission. The Birds will thank you!
Hours vary by location | The Falls Shopping Center, Unit 280 (next to Chico’s) 786.732.7292 | 7388 Red Road, South Miami, 786.773.2770
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