March 11 Meeting:
Common Loons in the Summer
Ron Mayberry presents his study (stills and video) of on of our favorite winter visitors in the breeding grounds of Vermont. Social hour at 7 pm followed by our business meeting and the presentation. First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall 1031 South Euclid Ave., Sarasota.
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Please click here to find out how you can participate and help Sarasota Audubon Society. Your gift can help us share in more than $645,000 in matching and challenge support from local funders.
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Wine and Food Tasting
Whole Foods Market & SAS Fundraiser
Wed., April 17 5:30-7:30 pm
A $5.00 donation includes a taste of delicious vintage wines and a sampling of delectable dishes. Stop at the Customer Service desk the night of the event to pay your $5 donation and to receive your wrist band.
All proceeds go to SAS's campaign to build a Nature Center at the Celery Fields.
Whole Foods is located at 1451 1st Street in downtown Sarasota. Free parking in the store's garage. Please join us for an evening of fun and camaraderie.
For more information contact Stuart Hills, 922-5261
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VHS Zoology Club at Celery Fields
The Venice High School Zoology Club took a field trip led by Around the Bend Nature Tours, Stu Hills from SAS, and Barry Rossheim, VHS teacher, to the Celery Fields in Sarasota, Saturday February 16, 2013. The field trip was sponsored by the Sarasota Audubon Society, Sarasota Bay Estuary Program, and Around the Bend Nature Tours.
Venice High students viewed and took photos of the wildlife in this marsh habitat as part of the Great Backyard Bird Count, an International Cornell Lab Citizen Science Project.
Venice High students counted hundreds of birds including 150 Tree Swallow, 53 Glossy Ibis, 22 Roseate Spoonbill, and 12 Limpkin. Other highlights included Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier, American White Pelican, and Sandhill Crane. On Fruitville Rd by Critter Ridge VHS students counted 124 Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks.
Barry Rossheim,VHS Zoology Club Advisor
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Name That Bird
With a matching grant from the Gulf Coast Community Foundation of Venice, Sarasota Audubon Society and Around the Bend Nature Tours are bringing the outdoors to life for area schoolchildren.
Here Gocio Elementary School students use binoculars to help identify local birds.
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Fort DeSoto Shorebirds and Ducks February 5, 2013
Thirty birders showed up on a beautiful clear day for our trip to Fort DeSoto led by Lynn Jakubowicz and Mary Heinlen. We had a great time - with 72 species spotted! We started the day with a stop at the Tierra Verde ponds, finding numerous ducks, including Northern Shovelers and American Widgeon. Then it was on to the East Beach turn-around for shorebirds. We found most of the usual species, including Dunlin and both Western and Least Sandpipers.
As we were leaving East Beach on the bay side, we found a raft of over 300 Redheads and one of the highlights of the day, a Horned Grebe. We then moved on to North Beach for more shorebirds, including American Oystercatchers, Piping Plovers and Marbled Godwits. Other highlights included a Yellow- bellied Sapsucker, Yellow-throated Warbler, Reddish Egret, and a young Bald Eagle on the nest. But the real crowd pleaser of the day was undoubtedly the Great Horned Owl family , a parent and two nestlings in a nest that was not more than 15 feet off the ground. A great view!
After that we had a picnic lunch, where we encountered our only unwelcome species of the day, a very determined raccoon, who was kept at bay during our lunch by an equally determined Peter Hoult. Thank you Peter!
Mary Heinlen
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Conservation News:
What's Sarasota 2050? Why Should It Stay As Is?
Sarasota 2050 is an optional "overlay" plan that developers can use to create environmentally and walker-friendly communities at greater density than the one house per five or ten acres that is otherwise usually allowed by the Sarasota County's Comprehensive Plan and consequent zoning in rural areas outside the urban services boundary. That boundary weaves in a generally north-south direction mostly east of I-75. The plan was drafted by "new urbanist" professionals just over a decade ago at great cost to the County and the draft was modified through extensive public hearings involving developers, landowners, neighborhoods, environmentalists and other citizens.
The resulting incentive-based land development compromise was adopted in July 2002, with implementing rules in 2004. Some of us thought it was no better for the environment and wildlife than the already-allowed five to ten acre lots (which remain an option for builders), but at least it offered wildlife corridors and buffers, preservation of larger (though fewer) tracts of open space and of environmentally sensitive land, compact, mixed use, theoretically walkable communities, and fiscal neutrality to existing taxpayers, while giving the big landowners and developers greater overall density than if they continued with the existing plan and its much larger lot sizes. Sarasota 2050 was planned for three major "villages" plus some hamlets and extensive tracts of green space, and was projected to be built over almost fifty years.
Then came the real estate bust, and, of course, almost nothing was built. 2050 wasn't even tried, and now that building is picking up once again, some landowners and developers think that by holding up the banner of "jobs" they can gut Sarasota 2050 and return to their old practice of getting the County Commission to allow exceptions to the Comprehensive Plan for almost any piece of sprawl they want build. At the end of January, even though one large development (Lakewood Ranch South) had recently been approved, landowners and developers presented the County Commission with 18 to 35 (depending how they are counted) changes proposing greater density, less green space, narrower wildlife corridors, fewer mixed neighborhood, less fiscal neutrality for infrastructure, less verification of compliance, and so on. Environmental and neighborhood groups protested this one-sided approach and convinced the Commission and staff to hold workshops to get other opinions and proposals prior to formal hearings.
At the time of this writing, only two workshops have been scheduled, both at Twin Lakes Park in the Green Building Conference Room from 5:30 to 7:30 pm on Wednesday March 13 and 20. Our Sarasota Audubon Board has agreed to oppose any modification of Sarasota 2050 at this time. If some minor modifications are proposed that would do no net harm to the natural environment, our Audubon Board would, of course, consider its position on such changes.
While the workshops are not intended for long speeches or testimony, I understand there will be forms for opinions on proposals and on which one can make proposals there. We need as many Audubon members as possible to attend one of those workshops to learn what is being proposed and to make our views known. I'll be at both of them for at least an hour, maybe more. We will have information sheets I can pass out at the March 11 Audubon meeting and I can send copies of my latest info sheet by e-mail after about March 4. If you want one, please either pick one up on March 11 or send your e-mail address to [email protected].
Wade Matthews, Conservation Chair
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SAS Name Badges
Send name and address to:
Michael Fox, 2749 Ringling Ave., Sarasota, FL 34237 $4.75 with pin & $6.75 with magnet Add $2.00 for shipping
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Now you can just click on our Brown Pelican header to go to our website.
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Upcoming Events
March 7, 14 ,21, 28 at OSCAR SCHERER STATE PARK
Every Thursday, October through April. Bird walk to search for Florida Scrub Jays, N. Bobwhites, and other pine flatwood species. Meet inside the park at 8:30am at Lake Osprey/ Nature Center (park fee). Park opens at 8am. Call Joyce with questions (508-737-8954)
Tuesday, Mar 5: MORRIS BRIDGE
This is a beautiful preserve on the Hillsborough River. Explore this preserve with Lynn
Jakubowicz, 355-4073, and Mary Heinlen. Meet at Starbucks (University & I-75 next to Home Depot) at 7am. BRING LUNCH
Monday, Mar 12: FELTS PRESERVE
The feeders are great at Felts: Painted and Indigo Buntings to name a few of the birds that visit. Join Stu Hills (922-5261) and Martha Straub. Meet at Starbucks (University & I-75 next to Home Depot) at 8am
Wednesday, Mar 13: VENICE ROOKERY
This rookery is world famous because you can watch herons, egrets and Anhingas as they incubate, feed and tend to their young up close. Join Kathryn Young (612-760-1771) for a fun educational outing to learn about this rookery. Meet at McDonalds (Bee Ridge & Cattlemen) at 7:30am
Monday, Mar 18: VENICE ROOKERY
If you could not make the first trip to Venice Rookery, join Kathryn Young (612-760-1771) on this date. See information above.
Monday, Mar 25: 4th MONDAY BIRD WALK CLUB
Joyce Leary (508-737-8954) leads a bird walk on the 4th Monday Oct-March at the Celery Fields. Meet at the gazebo (corner of Palmer & Raymond Rd) at 8am
Thursdays, Apr 4, 11, 18, 25: OSCAR SCHERER STATE PARK 8:30am.
See March info.
Tuesday, Apr 2: CAREFREE LEARNER
Take a private boat tour Tues. Apr. 2, 9am to the Roberts Bay rookery to see and learn about breeding birds. Contact Kathryn Young (612-760-1771) for RESERVATIONS time and meeting place. Cost $22.
for all day trips and activities.
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Eagle Trolley
Twenty-three Sarasota Auduboners went around on the "Eagle Trolley" to check out 5 eagle nests around Sarasota & Manatee Counties. Led by Eagle Watch coordinator Dale Nauman, we saw nests in different stages of development, from eaglets at aged 8 weeks stretching their wings, down to a still incubating female where we could just see the top of her head. Busy doings in the eagle world!
Here are some photos taken by Lou Newman from one of the four sites. An awesome and informative day.
Jeanne Dubi
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Dedicated Volunteer
Kristen Mazzarella, Bird Naturalist, was on duty bright and early at the Celery Fields gazebo on a cold and windy day!
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Harnes Marsh and Six Mile Cypress Slough February 19, 2013
It was a crisp cool morning as we started out for our trip to Harnes Marsh and Six Mile Cypress Slough, led by Lynn Jakubowicz and Mary Heinlen. We knew our trip to Harnes Marsh was a success when we spotted our target bird before we had even entered the preserve. Three Snail Kites (a male and two females) were spotted along the canals on the road leading to the marsh. In the marsh we had great views of many birds, including American Bittern and Wilson's Snipe. Two members of our group were lucky enough to see a light morph Short-tailed Hawk.
| Snail kite carrying snail |
We then headed on to Six Mile Cypress for a walk along the boardwalk. We encountered numerous small flocks of song birds, including Black and White Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Blue-headed Vireo. Several Green Herons were seen at close range. After our walk, we settled in to the picnic area for a late lunch.
Totaling up our bird list, we discovered we had seen 70 species!
Mary Heinlen
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Be a Volunteer
One of the reasons we are a growing and successful organization is our volunteer base. SAS is non-profit and volunteer driven. You could be a part of our exciting future. Please share your talents.
Contact:
Volunteer Coordinator, Marcy Packer
[email protected] or 360-0808
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Local Membership
Please let's go green. Send an email to [email protected]. We mail 900+ paper copies to our members and only 400+ online. The cost of printing and postage could be put toward our bird friends and their habitat. Plus our eBP has direct links to other sites, some You Tube videos and color photos.
By becoming a local SAS member, you pay dues of $20 a year, renewable every December. No renewal notices are sent. You can renew online at our website click here or see me at the general meeting, or mail a check to SAS, PO Box 52132, Sarasota, Fl 34232
Lynn Jakubowicz, Membership Chair
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Birding Hot Spots in Sarasota & Manatee Counties.
Just $6.00 at monthly meetings and field trips or $7.75 by mail. Send a check to: SAS, PO Box 52132, Sarasota, Fl 34232-0337.
Also, available at the Sarasota Visitors Center, Book Store 1 Sarasota, Selby Gardens, Environeers, and Myakka River State Park. |
Subscribe to Bird Alerts!
Need the latest birding info for our area? To subscribe, just send an e-mail. Thanks to Peter Rice for providing this service.
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