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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.
November 2022
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On October 20, 2022, a rare Vermilion Flycatcher (male) was sighted at Rhoden Cove by AAS member Eliza Hawkins. This species is common in Central America and much of South America. In the USA, it's usually seen only in portions of the southwestern states, but does occur as a rarity along the Gulf Coast of Florida. Photo by Eliza Hawkins.
In this issue:
Nov. 17, Book signing for The Man Who Loved Birds
Chapter Programs
Thurs. Nov. 17, Parrots, Politics, and Promise, with Peter Kleinhenz
and Heather Levy
Chapter Outings
Sat. Nov. 12, Birding Social at Ochlockonee River State Park
Sun. Nov. 20, Sparrow Birding & Banding Field Trip at Tall Timbers,
with Jim Cox
Special Events
Thurs. Nov. 10, Florida Bay's Pink Wading Birds
Tues, Nov. 15, Florida’s Rivers
Pineview After School Bird Club
Visit www.apalachee.org for detailed information about upcoming programs, outings, and special events
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Volunteers Fred and Judi Fergus at the October Monarch Festival
President's Message
Coffee, Cookies, and Book Signing: We hope you can attend this month’s fascinating program "Parrots, Politics, and Promise" in person. If you do, we invite you to join us between 6:30-7:00 for coffee and cookies at our pre-program social, located in the lobby outside the auditorium. Jim Huffstodt will also be there selling and signing his new book, The Man Who Loved Birds. This is our last program for 2022 and a great opportunity to purchase a book and get it signed by the author. If you can’t make it and are interested in buying a copy directly from Jim, email [email protected] and we’ll put him in touch with you.
Thank You Volunteers! In my October message, I requested volunteer help with staffing our AAS table for the Monarch Festival at St. Marks NWR. My thanks to the five NEW volunteers who came out and helped that day—Fred and Judi Fergus, Maggie Smith and Anastasia Selby, and Mike Gwiazdowski. The weather was absolutely perfect and it was a joy to be in this place of exquisite beauty, socializing with others and celebrating nature. Our chapter was well represented and we engaged with over 150 people.
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Maggie Smith and Anastasia Selby | |
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Mike Gwiazdowski and Kathleen Carr
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Sincerely,
Kathleen Carr
President, Apalachee Audubon
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Book Signing: The Man Who Loved Birds: New Book by AAS Member James Huffstodt | |
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James Huffstodt signing copies of The Man Who Loved Birds
Thursday, November 17, 2022, 6:30-7:00 PM
King Life Science Building
319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee 32304 (see map below)
AAS member and author Jim Huffstodt will be selling and signing paperback copies of this book at the 6:30 social before our November 17 program. Bring $20 (CASH OR CHECK ONLY!) It is also available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.
Read more about this book
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Chapter Programs
This year's programs are in person and will be live-streamed on Zoom. Registration is required for Zoom attendees. Use the registration link below to sign up at any time. Register early and you will receive a meeting reminder one day and 1-2 hours before the program.
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A St. Vincent parrot perches in a tree above Amazona Nest, an ecolodge. Photo by Peter Kleinhenz
Parrots, Politics, and Promise
Conserving the Endangered Parrots of the Lesser Antilles
With Peter Kleinhenz and Heather Levy
Thursday, November 17, 2022
Social & Book Signing: 6:30 PM
Program: 7:00 - 8:30 PM
King Life Science Building
319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee 32304 (see map below)
Register for this program at the following link:
Zoom Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3Lm7U2S
The Lesser Antilles, a series of islands in the Southern Caribbean, host four species of island-endemic parrots. The four species are widely considered to be some of the most beautiful parrot species on Earth, yet are also some of the most endangered. AAS members Peter Kleinhenz and Heather Levy, who searched for each species with local conservationists earlier this year, will explain what makes these birds so incredible, what threatens them with extinction, and the creative approaches being implemented to save them.
Read about the speakers
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Upcoming Programs & Special Events
2022
Thurs. December 8, 6-8 PM: Apalachee Audubon & Big Bend Sierra Club Social. You are invited to come out and socialize with fellow Tallahassee nature lovers! Light appetizers provided. No need to RSVP, just show up. Waterworks, 1133 Thomasville Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32303.
2023
Thurs. January 19: Emily Duval, Manakins—Rethinking Sexual Selection.
Thurs. February 16: Jim McGinity, Florida Young Birders Club
Sat. February 18: 2023 Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour
Thurs. March 16: Land Conservation Panel Discussion
Thurs. April 20: Georgia Ackerman, Protecting Florida’s Mighty Apalachicola River
Sunday, May 21: Chapter Dinner and Final Program
Fire in the Hills: How Butterflies Evolved with Fire in the Red Hills Region
Rob Myer, Woodpecker Conservation Biologist and Dave McElveen, Research Associate. Tall Timbers Research Station
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Map to King Building at FSU
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AAS members David and Marie Arnold birding while on a Tall Timbers wagon tour. | |
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Saturday, November 12, Birding Social at Ochlockonee River State Park
Location: 429 State Park Road, Sopchoppy Hwy, Sopchoppy, FL 32358
Start/end time: 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM
Estimated walking length: ~3 miles, easy flat walking
To sign up for this trip, or if you have any questions, email [email protected].
Description: Ochlockonee River State Park features hundreds of acres of intact upland pine forest containing Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, Brown-headed Nuthatches, and Bachman’s Sparrows. We will walk the pine flatwoods loop around the park (approximately 3 miles).
Please meet in the main parking lot by the Dead River at 8:30 to sign the liability waiver. Bring water, snacks, binoculars, sunscreen, a camera if you’d like, and dress in layers as it may be chilly. We’ll plan to bird for 2-3 hours, depending on our pace. NOTE: This is a birding social not a guided trip. We will meet up and bird together.
Saturday, November 20, Sparrow Birding & Banding Field Trip
Trip leader: Jim Cox
Location: Tall Timbers Research Station and Land Conservancy - 13093 Henry Beadel Drive, Tallahassee FL 32312
Start/end time: 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM
Estimate walking length: We will mostly be traveling by wagon, with some walking during stops
We will be limiting this trip to 20 people, so please email [email protected] to reserve a spot.
Description: What better way than to identify those difficult overwintering sparrows than by seeing them in the hand? Join Jim Cox, head of the Stoddard Bird Lab at Tall Timbers, for a sparrow-focused field trip and banding demonstration. Tall Timbers is a national hub for prescribed fire science, rare and endemic species research, and has a renowned land trust that has put nearly 150,000 acres under conservation easement in North Florida and South Georgia.
Please meet in the parking lot by the Wade Center at 8:00 AM. The dirt driveway up to the station will split and the Wade Center parking lot is on the left side. We will load up in the wagon and head onto the property to bird, band, and learn about the ecology of the pinelands in the Red Hills. Please bring binoculars, sunscreen, water, snacks, a camera if you'd like, and dress layers in case it is chilly. If you cannot make it for whatever reason, please let us know as soon as possible so we can give your spot to someone else.
December Outings
(Note that they are a week earlier than usual.)
Saturday, December 3, Birding Social at Lafayette Heritage Trail Park
Sunday, December 11, Overwintering Ducks at St. Marks NWR
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Roseate Spoonbills, by Kathleen Carr
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Events of Interest
Florida Bay's Pink Wading Birds
FSU Coastal & Marine Laboratory
Thursday, November 10, 2022
7:00 - 8:00 PM
Over a thirty year career, Dr. Jerome J. Lorenz has studied the ecology of Florida Bay focusing on Roseate Spoonbills and, more recently, on American Flamingos. At this lecture, he will present some of his scientific findings regarding both species with a focus on conservation and restoration of the Everglades and Florida Bay.
Sierra Club Presents: Florida's Rivers
FSU King Life Sciences Building
Tuesday, November 15, 2022
6:30 - 8:00 PM
Doug Alderson will be presenting about his new book Florida’s Rivers. He is the author of several books, including America’s Alligator, Wild Florida Waters, Waters Less Traveled, New Dawn for the Kissimmee River, Encounters with Florida’s Endangered Wildlife and A New Guide to Old Florida Attractions.
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Pineview Elementary
After School Bird Club
By David Arnold
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Cindy Baisden helping kids learn to ID birds, photo by Charlie Baisden | |
Apalachee Audubon has been involved with the Pineview Elementary School for a number of years. Our Chapter has sponsored and taught an after school “Bird Club” which engages 3rd graders in learning about birds, conservation, habitat and teaches general bird watching skills. This year’s volunteers have already discussed with the students what makes a bird a bird, and the multiple uses of feathers. The students are creating a journal with important facts and have been able to learn to use binoculars during the fast moving one-hour sessions held every two weeks. We have several master gardeners that have volunteered to help rejuvenate the pollinator garden which is prominently featured between the cafeteria and the classroom buildings. In the past, the Chapter sponsored field trips for the entire 3rd grade to go to the St. Mark’s National Wildlife Refuge and for Bird Club members to go to Lake Elberta.
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Pineview students learning to use binoculars in the school yard with assistance from AAS mentors. Photo by David Arnold.
Pineview Elementary, located south of the FSU Campus along Lake Bradford Road, is a Title 1 school. The majority of the students are from economically disadvantaged families. Many of the students receive meals at school and assistance with meals during the weekends. Pineview takes steps to involve parents in the school activities and in the educational process. Many of the students already are surprising us with their knowledge about birds and they are excited about reporting birds that they see on campus and at home. We have recruited a teacher to keep bird seed in the feeders and one group of kids enjoyed watching a Carolina Chickadee come and grab sunflower seeds and then fly off to crack them. Last Spring an American Robin build a nest on top of a light fixture easily visible from the sidewalk and the students were able to watch as the parents brought worms to the chicks.
The last session of 2022 will feature Sandy Beck from St. Francis Wildlife Society which will provide the students with an up close and personal encounter with her educational live birds.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS: 2022-2023
Officers:
President: Kathleen Carr
Vice President: VACANT
Treasurer: Harvey Goldman
Secretary: James Carr
Directors:
Cindy Baisden
Charlie Baisden
Caleb Crow
Howard Kessler
Peter Kleinhenz
Heather Levy
Rob Williams
STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Conservation Peter Kleinhenz
Education Bryan Danford
Field Trips Heather Levy
Membership Ash Eggers
Program VACANT
Publications and Publicity Kathleen Carr
+ Newsletter Chris Grossman
+ Web Team Elizabeth Georges, Kathleen Carr
+ Annual Report (President)
OTHER COMMITTEES & CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
Bookkeeper Adrienne Ruhl
Birdathon Harvey Goldman
History Caleb Crow, Karen Wensing
September Coastal Cleanup Donna Legare
Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour Tammy Brown
Lake Elberta Park Alexis Smith
Volunteer Coordinator VACANT
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