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The Limpkin Times
Apalachee Audubon Society Mission Statement:
Protection of the environment through education,
appreciation and conservation.
October 2020
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President's Message
Dear Friends,
I hope most of you watched the webinar featuring Doug Tallamy in September. If you did not, you can find a link to it on our website. It is called “Restoring the Little Things that Run the World”. We have also included a link below. Please share it with your friends. Dr. Tallamy does not have any problem convincing us that Nature’s Best Hope (the title of his most recent book) may depend on what we do collectively in our own yards. Plant native plants, especially keystone species, and insects will find them and prosper. The insects in turn become high quality protein for birds and other wildlife. Building healthy food webs and planting for pollinators should be our goal. Jody and I do this by committing to increase the percentage of native plants in our yard every year.
Something else we can do at home is to prevent bird collisions with our windows. See Ann Morrow’s article below on an inexpensive and effective way to do this. Ann inspired Jody to create a birdsaver across the outside of our large birdwindow. It is Zenlike.
All Audubon members are invited to participate in Audubon Florida’s Virtual Assembly 2020, which takes place in several sessions from October 20-24. Its theme this year is “Reimagining Audubon Florida: A Call for Inclusive Conservation”. Registration is now open. Visit AudubonFlorida to register.
I have been enjoying watching hummingbirds during fall migration. Our yard is full of nectar producing plants, many strategically planted up close to windows and our front porch. We have watched one buzz a gray rat snake repetitively and another one join with other species to mob a red-shouldered hawk in our yard. When the hawk finally flew, the little hummer was right on its tail.
Enjoy the fall! Hope to “see” you at our October program meeting.
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Sincerely,
Donna Legare
President, Apalachee Audubon
In this issue:
Chapter Programs
Bird Saver
A Late Summer's Morning at St. Mark's and an Exciting Look at a Bobcat and Her Bobkitten
Seeking Donations for Bat House
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Florida Disabled Outdoors Association Presentation for Apalachee Audubon Society
Thursday, October 15, 2020
Time: 7:00 pm
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It is rare that someone can take a “tragedy” as an opportunity to change their life and help others. That is exactly what David Jones did. His injury became a personal commitment to help others. In 1988, David Jones was shot in a hunting accident resulting in a serious head injury that left him with permanent paralyses of left leg, limiting mobility and no use of left hand. David utilized a wheelchair for one year, then gradually increased mobility to the point where he could walk with a walker and now walks with a slight limp without any device. He remains paralyzed in one arm. In the process of his rehabilitation, he became aware of the importance of recreation for rehabilitation – not only to improve mobility, but to improve mental well being. David saw this event in his life as a challenge and an opportunity to assist others. This life changing event developed into his personal crusade.
Please join Apalachee Audubon on Thursday, Oct. 15 at 7:00 p.m. via Zoom for our October program meeting featuring speaker David Jones of the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association. David will speak on the importance of opening outdoor recreation to all people, no matter their abilities. This eye-opening talk promises to reveal issues that most who in engage in outdoor recreation, including birding and wildlife viewing, may have never considered.
Register in advance for this webinar:
When: Oct 15, 2020 7:00 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)
Topic: Florida Disabled Outdoors Association Presentation for Apalachee Audubon Society
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.
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Make Your Own Bird Saver to Prevent Birds from Hitting Your Window
By AAS member Ann Morrow
During these challenging Covid-19 times, many of us are spending more time in our homes and yards. It’s no wonder that interest in home-based activities such as birdwatching and gardening has soared in the last 6 months. Even veteran birders and gardeners have honed their skills, expanded their species yard lists, and enjoyed new sights and sounds in backyard habitats.
In our 1/3-acre suburban lot, my husband and I are more acutely aware of the subtle progression of seasons simply by being at home continuously through spring and summer. We’ve watched plants bloom and set fruit. We’ve noted bird migration and watched resident birds find mates, build nests and raise young. We’ve also noted a few less-desirable sightings: frequent patrols by free-roaming cats and, the focus of this article, window/bird collisions.
We don’t think the collisions are common at our house, but the unmistakable thud as a bird strikes a window is deeply disturbing whenever it happens. Last year a Swainson’s thrush, a species seen solely during migration in North Florida, died after hitting our large living room window. We think of our yard as a safe spot for migrants to rest and refuel, so it was indeed a sad day. Other victims include cardinals, titmice and Carolina wrens. The most recent strike was a red-bellied woodpecker. It hit the window and landed upside down in a large planter. It flew off after 20 minutes and we hope it didn’t later die from internal injuries, a common outcome after window strikes.
Estimates vary, but it’s safe to say that hundreds of millions of birds die each year from window collisions in the United States. The good news is that researchers have devised a number of simple and inexpensive solutions. We applied bird stickers designed as collision deterrents on one of our smaller windows. For the large living room window, we opted for the Acopian Birdsavers (www.birdsavers.com). Designed by a family of engineer/naturalists in Pennsylvania, Birdsavers consist of a curtain of vertical strands of paracord (1/8” diameter parachute cord), spaced about 4” apart and hung on the outside of windows. The cords break up reflections of vegetation and sky so that birds perceive the window as a solid object to avoid. Because many people find the Birdsavers products to be aesthetically pleasing, they are also called Zen wind curtains. They are used in a variety of commercial and residential settings.
You can order custom Birdsavers or buy the inexpensive materials and follow excellent do-it-yourself instructions. We made our own for our large front window (approx. 8’w x 4’h). We spent about $12 on materials: 100 feet of olive drab paracord ordered online (Made in the USA) and a 10-foot section of vinyl J-channel (optional) from Home Depot. We are pleased with the result and will test its effectiveness over the coming months. This simple fix is a good addition to our other yard management practices: avoiding the use of pesticides, providing a source of clean water and planting a diversity of native plants for food and cover. We hope we can give birds and other wildlife a fighting chance in our small slice of habitat.
Pictured below: Ann and Don’s birdsaver window and Donna and Jody’s birdsaver window
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A Late Summer’s Morning at St. Marks and an Exciting Look at a Bobcat and her Bobkitten |
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By Don Morrow
I was down at St. Marks NWR this morning. I had waited for sunrise on the Stony Bayou cross levee, which is a reasonably gator-free area in Summer and one of the reasons I have been going out there. Sunrise had been an eclectic mix of low scudding clouds, patches of pure pale blue morning sky and shafts of colored light that broke through the clouds. There had been lots of bats, a few nighthawks and a single Black Tern working the canal.
With the sun safely risen, I turned to head back. The cross levee is currently a wide expanse of bare dirt. and I noticed shorebirds all over it. I may have walked past them in the dark on my way out. There were Semipalmated, Spotted, Least and Western Sandpipers, plus a few Semipalmated Plovers. Most flew as I walked toward them, but the Spotted Sandpipers bobbed along in front of me. I collected a flock of nine and was herding them along before they flew as I neared the end of the levee where I turn to get back to my car.
The cross levee continues as a dirt road that eventually intersects with Tram Road. I saw something dark in the grass on the side of the road about thirty yards away. Unlimbering my scope, I saw that it was a Bobcat and a Bobkitten about half the size of its mother. They were watching me warily.
The mother got up and took a few steps into the road, her tail was twitching nervously and she was maintaining eye contact with me. The younger cat stepped forward and began to bat at her tail and tried to bite it. She sat down and wrapped her tail close to her body. The younger cat ran back to the grass, turned around and crouched down. Every time the mother’s tail would start moving, the Bobkitten would run out and pounce on it before running back to the grass and crouching down again. I watched for about ten minutes and then left them in peace.
Stony Bayou has had a lot of rain in the last few days, but there’s still enough mud and grass to attract shorebirds. I added Marbled Godwit, Willet, Greater Yellowlegs and Short-billed Dowitcher to my list before I got back to my car.
I spent a few more hours at the refuge. Migration is beginning to pick up. I had thirty-six Blue-winged Teal and a hundred and twenty-six Black Skimmers. A Bald Eagle back for the winter was sitting by the nest down near the Lighthouse. I ended up with five warbler species; Yellow, Yellow-throated, Common Yellowthroat, Pine and Prairie. It was a pleasant morning of late Summer birding.
The fruiting plants of late Summer; Virginia Creeper, Beautyberry, Grape, Silver Bay and Pepper Vine are putting out a bumper crop. They’ll be joined next month by Cabbage Palm. Noting where these are can help in spotting thrushes, catbirds, orioles and grosbeaks as they begin migrating through in the next two months. Things are about to get very exciting.
Maybe you should come down to St. Marks.
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Seeking Donations for Bat House
We support all of our flighted friends, even those that aren’t feathered. Bat populations are facing unprecedented threats from disease, habitat loss, and climate change.
We are excited to announce that this semester’s FSU Sustainability Fellow, Sarah Calzada, will be partnering with Apalachee Audubon Society, the City of Tallahassee, and Lubee Bat Conservancy to install a bat house at Lake Elberta this fall. We are seeking donations to help with the cost of construction and installation.
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