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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.
February 2022
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Ducks and More field trip, January 9, 2022. Photo by Phillip Pollock
President's Message
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Dana Bryan, photo by Kathleen Carr
My thanks to Dana Bryan for leading the January Ducks and More field trip to St. Marks NWR. Thirteen of us participated and we had a marvelous drive and stop tour along Lighthouse Road. We saw a good number of duck species and saw the female Vermilion Flycatcher as well as Pinkie, the American Flamingo. (Pinkie has lived at the refuge since October 2018 when it was apparently swept in by Hurricane Michael).
While our February program will be taking place as scheduled, the AAS board has decided to continue holding our programs virtually until our May potluck picnic, when we hope the situation with COVID-19 will be safer for an in person meeting. However, in person field trips are still ongoing, so please consider joining us at Lake Elberta Park this Saturday for our family-friendly birding social; no registration necessary, just show up. Later this month, we will have a 6-mile-long hike to Horn Springs led by Peter Kleinhenz!
After a year off due to the pandemic, this year we are resuming our Wildlife-friendly Yard Tour on Saturday, February 19. I invite you to join us that day. See the article below for information on buying tickets, still $10 per person. That is also the weekend of the Great Backyard Bird Count and the 25th year for this annual global event. If you’ve never participated before, please consider doing so, and invite your friends and family to join you!
We’re also excited to be back at Pineview Elementary, leading their afterschool bird club. Read below about the first session.
Do you have an idea for bird research, habitat improvement projects, environmental education/outreach, or community engagement? We are excited to announce that we’re offering a $500 grant for a qualifying conservation project. Details below. Application deadline is February 15.
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Sincerely,
Kathleen Carr
President, Apalachee Audubon
In this Issue:
Chapter Programs
Upcoming Chapter Field Trips & Birding Social
February 19, Wildlife-friendly Yard Tour
25th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count
AAS Conservation Grant
Pineview Afterschool Bird Club
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Pines and Palmettos in a North Florida landscape
Thursday, February 17, 2022, 7:00 pm: Conservation Lands in Florida and Benefits to Birds: A Panel Discussion
Our February program will feature a panel discussion about how land conservation proceeds in Florida and what that means for our bird populations in the state. This program will be available only online. A recording will be available on the AAS YouTube Channel within 24 hours of the program.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Peter Kleinhenz, Apalachee Audubon conservation committee chair, and the audience will have a chance to ask questions about land conservation, the respective organizations the panelists represent, and ways forward to help our feathered friends in our state.
The panelists are:
- Kent Wimmer - Senior Representative with Defenders of Wildlife
- Jason Lauritsen - Executive Director of the Florida Wildlife Corridor Coalition
- Melissa Hill - Operations Manager of National Wildlife Federation's Gulf Program
Upcoming Programs
Thursday, March 17, 2022, 7:00 pm: Conservation Ecology of Short-tailed Hawks, Swallow-tailed Kites, and Snail Kites with Gina Kent
Thursday, April 21, 2022, 7:00 pm: Declining Insect Populations and the Effect on Birds with Dr. Bob Cooper
Sunday, May 15, 4:00 pm: Potluck Picnic at Tall Timbers: Firebirds and the History of the Stoddard Bird Program with Jim Cox
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Chapter Field Trips and Birding Social |
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Family friendly birding social at Lake Elberta
Saturday, February 5, 2022 - 9:00 AM to 11:00 AM
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Our new Chimney Swift tower is completed!
Join us Saturday for a casual walk at Lake Elberta and invite any young ones that might be interested! We will check out the new Chimney Swift tower, scope out wintering ducks, and welcome back Purple Martins that nest there every year. We will meet at 9:00 AM in the gazebo by the parking lot. There is limited parking at the park, but there is parking available along FAMU Way and you can enter the park from Stearns St.
Address: Lake Elberta Park - 594 N Lake Bradford Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32304
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Volunteers Jody Walthall and Alexis Smith hoist up the Purple Martin gourds at Lake Elberta Park.
Hike to Horn Springs - A Recent Conservation Win
Sunday, February 20 - 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
Join Peter Kleinhenz, Partnership Programs Coordinator for Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy, for a hike to Horn Springs. This third-magnitude spring, and the associated Little Horn Spring, is one of the more remote spring complexes in North Florida, and exists in a property that was only acquired by the state in 2017. Peter led a field trip here in 2018, so this will be a way to see how species have responded to the land management activities that have taken place since.
The hike to the spring is approximately 6 miles round trip, and there is now an established hiking trail to follow. We will bird along the way, while also keeping an eye out for plants, reptiles, amphibians, mammals, and large trees.
Address: Meet at Natural Bridge Battlefield Historic State Park - 7502 Natural Bridge Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32305
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Wildlife Friendly Yard Tour
February 19, 2022 — 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
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Wintering American Goldfinches in a Tallahassee yard. Photo by Tammy Brown
Make plans now to join us for our 13th Annual Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour and fundraiser to benefit Apalachee Audubon. We invite you to take a self-guided tour of five local yards that are wildlife havens. Tickets are still only $10 and go on sale January 29 at Native Nurseries and Wild Birds Unlimited.
Each yard has unique features to attract a variety of birds and other wildlife such as wintering hummingbirds, orioles, tanagers, finches, and pine siskins, as well as our year-round residents. This year, we have our usual wide variety of sizes and features from our yard hosts, plus some new ideas for inspiration for your own wildlife-friendly yard.
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25th Annual Great Backyard Bird Count
This month you can celebrate birds by participating in the 25th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, February 18–21, 2022, when the world comes together for the love of birds.
Connect to birds, to nature, and with each other. Birds are everywhere, all the time, doing fascinating things. The Great Backyard Bird Count uses eBird, one of the world’s largest nature databases. It stores more than 100 million bird sightings contributed each year and is used by professionals for science and conservation. Contribute to eBird and become a citizen scientist.
New to the Great Backyard Bird Count or to using eBird? Go to the GBBC webpage How to Participate for options for entering your bird lists.
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Apalachee Audubon Society Conservation Grant
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Grant overview: The Big Bend is one of the most biodiverse regions in the country, nestled among pristine longleaf pine forests, expansive coastal marshes, diverse carnivorous plant bogs and savannas, untamed rivers, and stately hardwood forests. The mission of Apalachee Audubon society is to protect birds and their habitats through education, appreciation, and conservation, and we are proud to serve the communities inhabiting these rich ecosystems. We are excited to offer an annual conservation grant to help grassroots efforts that align with our mission. This includes individuals or groups wishing to conduct local scientific research, habitat improvement, and environmental education/outreach.
Application period: January 1 – February 15. Grantees will be announced by March 10.
Grant amount: up to $500
Eligible Applicants: Any individual or group wishing to conduct bird-related research, habitat improvement projects, environmental education/outreach, and community engagement within Leon, Jefferson, Wakulla, Gadsden, Liberty and Franklin counties.
For more information and a link to the Conservation Grant Application Rubric, please visit the AAS grant webpage.
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Pineview Elementary Afterschool Bird Club
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The AAS Bird Club started up again on January 27th after a two-year hiatus. Our volunteers met with 15 enthusiastic third graders, who started their bird journals and were introduced to binoculars and a walk around their verdant campus to look for birds. Though we heard birds in the large oaks and pines, we couldn’t quite see them. But everyone was excited to learn about birds and they had fun learning about resurrection fern and other plants that they came across. We have a wonderful volunteer team with lots of environmental education expertise: David Arnold, Betsy Sullivan, Marney Richards, Robin Will, Donna Legare, and AAS intern Cierra Nelson from FAMU.
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