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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.
October 2022
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African Emerald Cuckoo, photo by Dean and Sally Jue
In this issue:
Thurs. October 13, Big Bend Environmental Forum for General Election
Chapter Programs
Thurs. Oct. 20, Winged Wonders of Ghana
Chapter Outings
Sat. Oct. 8, Birding Social at Bald Point State Park
Sun. Oct. 16, Guided Field Trip at Faulk Drive Landing
with Juli deGrummond
New Book! The Man Who Loved Birds, by AAS member James Huffstodt
Coastal Clean-up Thank You
Land Acknowledgement Statement
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New interpretive sign for the AAS Chimney Swift tower
President's Message
Volunteer Needs: As we are moving out of pandemic mode and into a more normal social life, Apalachee Audubon is in dire need of volunteers. We need help in running the organization (e.g. a volunteer coordinator) and there are activities and events in which we want to participate, like staffing our information table for the October 22 Monarch Festival at St. Marks NWR. Some volunteer jobs require only a few hours of your time a year. Right now, we’re recruiting for greeters for our next Wildlife-friendly Yard Tour, February 18, 2023. And if you’re willing to spend two hours at a host yard, you get to take in the rest of the tour for free! If you’re would like to sign up, please email Tammy Brown at [email protected]. She will follow up with you in early February for scheduling. If you’re interested in helping out at our information table at the Monarch Festival, please email [email protected]. To learn about more volunteer opportunities, visit our Volunteer web page.
Chimney Swift Tower: Great news! I am pleased to announce that the interpretive sign for the Chimney Swift Tower at Lake Elberta Park has been installed. We hope that the people who enjoys this park, and are intrigued by the tower, can now learn about its purpose and appreciate another aspect of the natural world this park encompasses. If you haven’t yet visited the park to see the tower, come on out.
As reported in the August Limpkin Times, we did a check of the tower (watch the video) and found that swifts have been roosting in it. Although we didn’t have a nesting pair use it this breeding season, we eagerly anticipate that it will be used for nesting next spring.
On behalf of Apalachee Audubon, THANK YOU to the financial donors who made the tower and sign possible! Read our blog article acknowledging them. Special thanks to Ann Morrow for writing the text for the sign and the City of Tallahassee for installing it. Thanks also to Jody Walthall who built the tower with assistance from James Carr and a few Native Nurseries employees, and to Brian Bryson for his lovely paintings on the sides of the tower.
Sincerely,
Kathleen Carr
President, Apalachee Audubon
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Big Bend Environmental Forum for the General Election | |
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November 8 is our next General Election. Learn where your city & county candidates stand on environmental issues! Join the Big Bend Environmental Forum to hear their plans for addressing climate change, renewables, and growth management. You can attend in person at Tallahassee City Hall, Thursday October 13. The forum starts at 6:00 pm, but come at 5:15 PM for the “Meet and Greet" with the candidates, and enjoy some refreshments before the forum begins.
This will also be livestreamed. Click the following link to watch.
Candidates Forum: Big Bend Environmental Forum
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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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Widespread Forester, photo by Dean and Sally Jue
Winged Wonders of Ghana with Dean & Sally Jue
Thursday, October 20, 2022
Social: 6:30 PM
Program: 7:00 - 8:30 PM
King Life Science Building
319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee 32304 (see map below)
You can register for this program at the following link:
Zoom Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3Lm7U2S
The West African country of Ghana is a nature lover’s delight. With a stable government, peaceful society, and amazing biodiversity, it is a popular destination for birders. Ghana also harbors some of the most beautiful butterflies in the world. After a friend shared his spectacular photographs of Ghanaian butterflies with us, we decided to visit the country ourselves! It was three years before we could go, but in April 2022 we flew to Accra (the capital) and spent 20 days birding and butterfly watching with our excellent guide and driver from Ashanti African Tours. Our program will introduce you to a sample of the fabulous creatures that inhabit the rainforests of southern Ghana.
Dean & Sally Jue
Click to view more photos and learn about Dean and Sally.
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Map to King Building at FSU
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Upcoming Programs and Special Events
2022
November 17: Peter Kleinhenz & Heather Levy, Parrots, Politics, and Promise: Conserving the Endangered Parrots of the Lesser Antilles
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! Waterworks, 1133 Thomasville Rd, Tallahassee, FL 32303.
This winter social is co-hosted by the Big Bend Sierra Club and the Apalachee Audubon Society. No need to RSVP, just show up.
2023
January 19: Emily Duval: Manakins--Rethinking Sexual Selection. Dancing birds, choosy mates, and how combining tropical fieldwork with mathematical modeling might change the world.
February 16: Jim McGinity, Florida Young Birders Club
Sat. February 18: 2023 Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour
March 16: Land Conservation Panel Discussion
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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Birding Bald Point State Park
Birding Social, Fall Migrants at Bald Point State Park
Saturday, October 8: 8:00 AM — 10:30 AM
For more information, email [email protected] or call 850-322-7910.
Trail Difficulty: Easy (about 2.5 mile walk)
Directions: Follow Bald Point Drive into the park. Drive all the way to the north end, and meet up at the parking lot near the overlook boardwalk; Park admission fee required ($4) or a park pass.
If you weren’t able to attend our September field trip, join us as we take another look for fall migrants—and we might find even more species! Bring your binoculars and we'll explore the park during fall migration; we will be looking for shorebirds along the beach, warblers in the maritime oak hammocks, wading birds, and birds of prey in and around the marsh areas. Please also bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and a camera if you’d like.
For more information, email [email protected].
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Most of the group of 20 participants for the September 18 Field Trip to
Bald Point State Park
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Bell’s Vireo at Faulk Drive Landing, photo by Noah Strycker
Guided Field Trip, Fall Migrants at Faulk Drive Landing
Sunday, October 16: 7:45 AM — 10:30 AM
Trip leader: Juli deGrummond
Location: Faulk Drive Landing
Estimated walking length: 1 mile
Accessibility: Trail is a fairly flat dirt path, but can be shrubby and quite muddy at times. There are no restrooms on site.
REGISTRATION REQUIRED: Please note that we are limiting this field trip to 15 participants. To reserve a space, please email [email protected]. If you sign up and are unable to make the trip, please let us know as soon as possible so we can give your spot to someone else.
Juli DeGrummond, who presented during our September monthly program, will lead a field trip to one of her favorite Tallahassee birding spots! Over the past several weeks, Faulk Drive Landing on Lake Jackson has been a hotspot for many uncommon migratory passerines. Please meet in the parking lot at 7:45 AM to fill out a waiver form. The walk will start at 8:00 AM and last approximately 2.5 hours. The trail at Faulk Drive Landing is flat and easy to walk, but can be quite shrubby and muddy at times so you may want to wear waterproof shoes. You may also want to bring bug spray, sunscreen, water, snacks, and a camera.
Upcoming Outings
Sat. November 12, Birding Social at Lafayette Heritage Trail Park
Sun. November 20, Guided field trip at Tall Timbers with Jim Cox
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The Man Who Loved Birds: New Book by AAS Member James Huffstodt | |
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Front Cover of The Man Who Loved Birds
Author Jim Huffstodt will be selling and signing paperback copies of this book at the 6:30 social before our October 20 program. Bring $20 (CASH OR CHECK ONLY!) It is also available on Amazon in both paperback and Kindle editions.
The Man Who Loved Birds, buy from Amazon
With the holiday shopping season approaching, we have a book recommendation for you, recently published by Apalachee Audubon member James Huffstodt of Tallahassee; it is the first comprehensive biography of Dr. Frank M. Chapman, the originator of the Christmas Bird Count and an iconic figure in the early days of the bird protection movement.
The Man Who Loved Birds: Pioneer Ornithologist Dr. Frank M. Chapman, 1864-1945 tells the story of this self-taught naturalist who never attended college yet made significant contributions as an ornithologist, popular bird writer, innovative museum curator, pioneer bird photographer, South American explorer, and bio-geographer. He also founded, published and edited Bird Lore magazine (1899-1934), the first popular American bird publication and the forerunner of today’s Audubon magazine.
During his 54-year-long career with the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, the New Jersey born Chapman was called the Dean of American Ornithologists and the Godfather of the modern birdwatching (birding) movement, Huffstodt said.
“Chapman’s life story is literally the history of American ornithology during an epic era lasting a half-century and marked by enormous changes and memorable achievements,” Huffstodt said. “He won international renown during a life of adventure and discovery played out from the frigid waters of the St. Lawrence in Canada to the high Andes mountains of South America.”
Chapman spent almost every winter in Florida beginning in 1885 until his death in 1945, according to his biographer. Over the years he conducted field expeditions into the Everglades, along the Suwannee River, and throughout Payne’s Prairie near Gainesville. He also played a key role in persuading President Theodore Roosevelt to designate Pelican Island on the Indian River Lagoon as the nation’s first National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in 1903.
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James Huffstodt
Before retiring in 2004, Chapman’s biographer worked as an information-education officer for 25 years, initially with the Illinois Department of Conservation, and, most recently for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC). Huffstodt is the author of four non-fiction books including Everglades Lawmen: True Stories of Game Wardens in the Glades, published by Pineapple Press of Sarasota in 2000.
He and his wife, Judy, have lived in Tallahassee since 2004.
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International Coastal Clean-up Thank You
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Picking up bags of trash by canoe
By Donna Legare
On September 17, 10 AAS members participated in the International Coastal Cleanup along the shore of Ochlockonee Bay at the Bluffs of St. Teresa, a recently added tract of Bald Point State Park. We rounded up 17 garbage bags full of trash, everything from Styrofoam cups, glass bottles and jars, plastic water bottles, and beer cans to cigarette butts, fishing line and even a liquid propane tank.
Jody Walthall and Sarah Prescott paddled a canoe along the shore picking up garbage bags that we filled as we walked. Eventually the canoe was overflowing with trash. Our group enjoyed the wildflowers that were in bloom – liatris and scarlet calamint, among others.
We are happy that the State has purchased this gorgeous property to be developed as a state park. The coastline with its huge pines and narrow white sandy beaches and the upland forest will be preserved forever.
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Thank you volunteers! Donna Legare, Jody Walthall, Kathleen Carr, James Carr, Tracey Sickler, Maureen Halligan, Bill Carroll, Joy Frank, Maddie Snuggs and Sarah Prescott. Tracey and Maureen have celebrated Maureen’s birthday for the last two years by participating in our Coastal Cleanup and plan to do so again in the future. We ran into volunteer Les Campbell, working on his own in the same area, so we will thank him too. Good job everyone!
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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 VACANT
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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