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The Limpkin Times
Apalachee Audubon Society Mission Statement:
Protection of the environment through education,
appreciation and conservation.
September 2017
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Programs beginning soon, volunteer events with local under-served youth, field trips to see some of the most treasured landscapes in our area, migration...these are busy times for Apalachee Audubon. And they're times that we want YOU to be a part of.
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September Program:
An Overview of the Condition of the Apalachicola River and Bay and an
Update on the Litigation and Restoration
Dan Tonsmeire, Apalachicola Riverkeeper,
September 21, 2017
Program, 6:30-9:00pm, The King Life Sciences Building
Dan Tonsmeire has served as the Apalachicola Riverkeeper since 2004. He is passionately committed to saving the Apalachicola River, an American treasure, and restoring Apalachicola
Bay, one of America’s last great estuaries. “There are a lot of places in Florida that would be as pretty as Apalachicola; but they’ve all been developed and covered up. People here still make a living from the water. It’s not only a beautiful place; it’s a real place.”
Dan’s talk will touch on the health of Apalachicola Bay which depends on freshwater flow from the Apalachicola River, a resource which is connected to both Alabama and Georgia, and originates in the north Georgia mountains. The Apalachicola River and Bay Ecosystem, an extraordinary ecological system, was one of the most productive estuaries in the northern hemisphere. The Apalachicola River and floodplain was designated as the most biologically diverse river systems in North America. The ecosystem has suffered great damage because of water management practices in Georgia, in part due to the decisions of the Army Corps of Engineers, the population growth of the metropolitan Atlanta area and agricultural growth in Georgia. In 2016
American Rivers
designated the Apalachicola River as the most endangered river in the United States. Today, the seafood industry, and most noticeably oyster production, is a mere shadow of itself.
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Saturday, September 9
Butterfly Tour of Apalachicola National Forest
Meet at 9 a.m. at the Publix at the intersection of Capital Circle SW and Crawfordville Highway. This will be a dual event with the Hairstreak Chapter. The butterfly folks tend to stay all day to seek, so there will be 2 choices of the tour: 1/2 day and full day. We need vehicles with 4WD and will be carpooling, so please indicate if you are a willing driver. Also please indicate if you desire to do the 1/2 or full day tour. The full day tour requires that you bring a picnic lunch.
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Sunday, September 24
Restoring the Apalachicola River Ecosystem: Program Field Trip
Meet at 9:00 AM (Eastern) at the Bristol Boat Ramp. We will explore about 8 miles of the beautiful Apalachicola River and its side channels. The trip is capped at 12 people and snacks will be provided.
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Friday, September 29
Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines
Meet at 7:30 a.m. at the Pilot Gas station at the intersection of US90 West and I-10. There should be some good Fall wildflowers to see and our guides, the Schmidts are always so helpful. We will be carpooling, so please indicate if you are a willing driver. We will finish early afternoon, and some may want to eat lunch on the way home.
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Please email Helen Jelks King at
[email protected]
if you plan to attend or want more information.
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Ruby in the Rough
by Don Morrow
Follow Apalachee Audubon member Don Morrow as he searches for specialty birds in the unique, isolated canyons of Southeast Arizona off a road legendary in birding and herping circles: Ruby Road. Does Don find the elusive five-striped sparrow?
Read more
to find out!
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Join Apalachee Audubon Society Volunteers for Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, September 16
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by Harvey and Judy Goldman
International Coastal Cleanup takes place this year on Saturday, September 16
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. Participating coastal sites in our area (from 8 – 11:30a.m.) include Bald Point State Park, Shell Point, Mashes Sands, San Marcos State Park, TNT Hideaway, Lanark Beach, and the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.
Apalachee Audubon members historically have cleaned the Bottoms Road area. This road passes through refuge property in coastal Panacea marshes. It is off of U.S. 98 Highway (Panacea, 32346) (watch for it as you are going south on U.S 98, shortly after the U.S. 319 cutoff). Some volunteers will walk along the road, picking up empty bottles, empty cricket/worm containers and flotsam and jetsam, all the while listening to the tinkle of marsh wrens, and seeing some shore birds. Intrepid volunteers can also walk along the coastline bordering Bottoms Rd dragging out flotsam and jetsam, including light bulbs, old rafts, toilet seats, and boaters' debris.
We meet at 8:00a.m about 1 -2 miles in from U.S. 98 on the north side of Bottoms Road. Watch for Judy and Harvey Goldman, who are coordinating our effort and will have plastic bags. Wakulla County picks up the filled bags left along the road. After a couple of hours we are pretty well pooped out. Wear old shoes or boots, old jeans, yard gloves, bug spray, sun screen and bring a trash picker stick if you have one.
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A Swift Night Out
Saturday, September 9
7:30 - 8:30 PM
Wakulla Springs State Park Lodge
FREE!
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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Wanted! Binoculars and/or field guides you're no longer using
We are beginning a big initiative to give more kids from under-served communities the chance to discover birding, and the many benefits that come with it. Help us accomplish that goal by donating any extra pairs of binoculars or field guides you no longer use to Apalachee Audubon. You'll be making a huge difference with these kids!
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We want to hear from you! Send us your reports from the field, your photos, and birding/conservation related events in the community.
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