Board of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of DirectorsBoard of Directors

2006200620062006----2007200720072007

Charlette Roman—President

Lynn Livingston—Vice President nominee

Cindy Daly—Treasurer

Susan Kubat—Secretary

Russ Colombo—Membership

Ken Kubat

Susan LaGrotta

Dick Stone

Linda Colombo

Kathy Apy

Jeannine Stone

Mary Ann Maniace

Regina Reiley

Burt Robbins

Friends of Tigertail Beach, Inc.

President’s Message Charlette Roman

Volume 1, Issue 5

I hope you are having a great summer! This season has flown by and is now just a blur. Thank you for your continued interest and support in making our programs such a success for our members and the community.

As we head into our new year, I wanted to highlight a few organizational changes and upcoming events.

I’d like to extend a warm welcome to our new Board members, Susan LaGrotta and Burt Robbins. Both members bring incredible talent and enthusiasm to the Board of Direc-tors.

Susan has volunteered to Chair our Stewardship Committee that includes organiz-ing our beach clean-up events. Her first event held on July 15 was a success with 26 volun-teers stuffing over seven13-gallon bags of trash from Tigertail and Sand Dollar!

Our next clean-up event will be in con-junction with the Ocean Conservancy Interna-tional Coastal Cleanup on Saturday, Septem-ber 16. Mark your calendars and plan to join in the fun.

The Board of Directors has been work-ing to organize the workload and build lead-ership succession within our organization. Next year we will be looking for a new slate of officers so we’ve established our first commit-tees to give members the opportunity to get involved and learn more about the organiza-tion. I have listed the contact information for each chair later in the newsletter. Take a mo-ment to review the list and find a place for your specific interest, ideas and suggestions.

Harriette Tax has volunteered to serve as our Program Chair for the coming year and line up our speakers for our seasonal programs at Mackle Park.

Ken Kubat will serve as our Education Chair in addition to continuing on the Board of Directors. Ken will be looking for volunteers interested in learning more about the animals and plants to help with educational outreach programs such as bird walks, Buddy Day, and group field trips.

Dick and Jeannine Stone will continue on the Board and also serve as our repre-sentatives on the Southwest Florida Birding Festival Planning Committee. As many of you know, the Friends of Tigertail has been a contributing partner since the festival’s inception three years ago.

The “Magic of Tigertail” presentation continues to be popular and well received by our community. I consider it a privilege each time I have the opportunity to talk about this rare place in our backyard. Sev-eral groups have already locked-in dates for the coming months.

In late September, Nancy Richie and I will be leading a workshop, “Paradise Gone Wild: Discover Tigertail,” as part of the Flor-ida State Planners Conference being held at the Marriott Hotel for community planners throughout Florida. The field trip will be offered on two days and can accommodate up to 60 participants.

Members are invited to join the Board of Directors on Thursday, September 7, 10:00 am, 5/3 Bank Community Room, for our first meeting and social of the season. If you are in town, I hope you’ll stop by to

Summer 2006

Tigertales

say hello, share ideas and enjoy morn-ing refreshments.

I really enjoy the lazy days of summer here on Marco Island, espe-cially at Tigertail. The Sea Oats are ab-solutely gorgeous this time of year!

The last few baby Black Skimmer chicks are fledging and a few of our winter visitors of the feathered variety are starting to return. It won’t be long before the shoreline is host to a won-derful assortment of our “feathered friends.”

I’m looking forward to another great year. Thanks so much for your continued support.

www.friendsoftigertail.com

UPCOMING EVENTS... Thursday, September 7: Thursday, September 7: Thursday, September 7: Thursday, September 7: Members social and Board of Directors meeting, 10:00 am, 5/3 Bank Community Room (next to Post Office), free morning refreshments.

Saturday, September 16: Saturday, September 16: Saturday, September 16: Saturday, September 16: Coastal Clean-up at Tigertail and Sand Dollar. Free T-shirt to pre-registered participants. Contact Susan LaGrotta for more information

Thursday, September 28 and Friday, September 29: Thursday, September 28 and Friday, September 29: Thursday, September 28 and Friday, September 29: Thursday, September 28 and Friday, September 29: “Paradise Gone Wild: Discover Tigertail” Workshops as part of State Planners Conference at the Marco Marriott Resort.

November 22November 22November 22November 22----26: 26: 26: 26: Thanksgiving Week birding field trips and FOT T-shirt sales at the beach. Stay tuned to the web site for details.

Saturday, January 13, 2007: Saturday, January 13, 2007: Saturday, January 13, 2007: Saturday, January 13, 2007: Beach Clean-up at Tigertail and Sand Dollar 8:00 am-noon. Contact Susan LaGrotta for more information.

January 19January 19January 19January 19----21 200721 200721 200721 2007: Third Annual SW Florida Birding Festival, various sites throughout the area. Stay tuned to the web site for details.

Page 2 Volume 1, Issue 5

Burt Robbins brings talent and

experience to the FOT Board of Directors

On Tuesday, July 11, Beverly Anderson, Rookery Bay, and I conducted a field trip for a visiting South Korean Researcher and Biological Oceanographer from the Tidal-flat Research Cen-ter in South Korea.

Dr. Byoung-Seol spent the morning exploring a plethora of birds, fish, and crustaceans in the Tigertail lagoon.

Especially striking that morning was a Red Mangrove with several propagules still hanging from the limbs!

Burt Robbins has owned a condo on Marco Island

since 1993 and moved from New Jersey in 2003 to be a full-time resident.

A scientist by trade, Burt earned a Bachelor of

Science Degree in Biology/Chemistry in 1968 and a

Master’s of Science in Education in 1973. He taught high school science for 12 years.

Ten years later Burt completed a Bachelor of Sci-

ence Degree in Pharmacy. While in college, he

worked as a newspaper reporter for the Pharmacy College.

Burt has 20 years of hospital and retail pharmacy

experience and is still licensed as a Pharmacist in

N.J. Burt has published various articles about pon-tiled medicine bottles and a science booklet.

He includes two summers of work at Rutgers Oys-

ter Research Lab and college newspaper editor as

relevant events in his life.

Burt’s Board experience includes three years on the Weymouth Township Board Of Education and 13

years on the Planning Board.

“I joined FOT to work for a good cause and hope

that I can be of benefit to the Board of Directors,” he said. He thinks Tigertail is a very special place for

both human and wildlife activities.

South Korean Biologist visits Tigertail

County Project Update —Tigertail Beach

Murdo Smith, Collier County Beach Superintendent, ex-

plained during our last meeting that some of the pedestrian board-

walks at the park have been damaged by termites. One of the

wooden boardwalks has been closed to the public for safety. If all

goes well, repairs should begin on July 27. The extent of damage

to the other boardwalks has not yet been determined. Murdo esti-

mated $190k for repairs to all of the boardwalks.

The county contracted for repair of the kiosk display cases.

Initial work was not completed satisfactorily and Murdo has met

with the contractor to discuss further repairs to the display cases.

No date has been given to expect the work will commence.

In May, the FOT Board provided initial comments on a

draft design for the park sign being planned to assist visitors find

their way around, i.e. closest route to the Gulf beach, in order to

fully enjoy the park. The artistic approach favored by Murdo is

whimsical and is similar to a cartoon. A few Board members com-

pared the design to signs in the Orlando area. The list of changes

on the first draft recommended by FOT was fairly extensive. We

expect to have the next update of the proposed sign for review

soon.

The pedestrian walkway and restroom facility approved for

the south parking lot has been funded. The work is expected to

commence in 2008.

Todd’s closed its concession and Tony, the same guy that

runs the beach rental concession, has opened Tigertail Beach Café.

The new food venue offers both breakfast and lunch. Check it out

the next time you are up early bird watching or taking a walk!

Congratulations Amy Tripp! A special round of applause is in order for Amy Tripp, Friends of

Tigertail member, and the winner of the first “Friends of Tigertail

Trophy” presented at the 2006 Annual Marco Island Shell Show.

The trophy recognizes the best single specimen of a Marco Island

self-collected shell in the scientific division. Amy’s uniquely colored

horse conch was truly beautiful.

Amy also won top honors for the show with the Conchologist of

America Award. Way to go Amy!

Nancy Richie, City Environmental

Specialist, submitted the following update for June on our Burrowing Owl activity this season. Overall, Nancy reports the owls are holding their own this year.

“I believe it is due to the dry period we had during the nesting season (starts Feb 16). This may have resulted in more burrows dug (stabilized) and eggs easily incubated,” she said.

The owls have 1-7 eggs (staggered over days). Nancy credited the work of vol-unteers who have monitored and main-tained burrow sites throughout the year. There are over 30 individuals helping out in all capacities.

The City reported 117 properties with burrowing owl burrows onsite. With many sites having multiple burrows per site, there were actually 154 burrows marked and monitored on the island.

Here are the numbers: * 112 of the properties that have a burrow onsite are undeveloped and 5 are devel-oped. The developed sites include 2 parks, 1 church and 1 school playground, and 1 sin-gle family residence.

* 159 adult owls and 144 chicks. The chick count has continued to go up about 15% since active nests are yet to have chicks emerge as of this report, but that is normal for the nesting season.

* 3 FWC permits were issued to collapse "inactive" burrows in 2005/2006 non-nesting season

* 69 “Active" Burrows (FWC definition of "Active" = feathered nest, eggs and/or flight-less young)

The total number of "active" (mating pair with decorated burrow) burrow sites is ob-served to be approx. 69/117 or about 58% of the sites monitored. Surprisingly with all of the building and development, this num-ber is up from last year which was 52/109, or 48%.

Page 3 Volume 1, Issue 5

Awareness key to conservation:Awareness key to conservation:Awareness key to conservation:Awareness key to conservation:

Burrowing Owls by the numbersBurrowing Owls by the numbersBurrowing Owls by the numbersBurrowing Owls by the numbers The Collier County Parks and Recreation Department offers members of the

community the opportunity to purchase a bench or native tree for the park in mem-

ory of a loved one. The donation of $2,000 for a bench and $500 for a native tree of

your choice, includes maintenance of the memorial throughout its’ life-cycle.

Kathy Apy, Memorial Committee Chair, has been working with the pro-

gram this year to finalize the memorials for both Vinnie Locascio and Bob Rosa.

Vinnie’s family selected a park bench to be placed at Tigertail Beach. The

plaque for the bench is currently in the process of being inscribed.

Betty Rosa has selected a native tree to honor Bob’s memory. The plaque is

currently being inscribed and will be installed when the tree is planted and dedi-

cated.

When everything is complete, FOT plans to coordinate with the families to

dedicate the memorials in a small ceremony at the park.

If you would like more information on this program, please contact Kathy

Apy at 389-4278.

Memorial program available at Tigertail

Susan La Grotta, Stewardship Committee (beach clean-ups)…………………………………….(cell) 239-438-7776, susan@susanlagrotta.com

Ken Kubat, Education Committee…………………………………………………………………………………..642-7740, no email

Linda Colombo, Butterfly Garden Committee & Hospitality………………………………………..642-6845, Lindadeec@earthlink.net

Harriette Tax, Program Committee………………………………………………………………………………….642-8505 (seasonal), Taxhar@aol.com

Dick & Jeannine Stone, Birding Festival Committee……………………………………………………..642-8156 (seasonal), Rstone1234@aol.com

Lynn Livingston, FOT webmaster……………………………………………………………………………………389-4465 (seasonal), redwingnut1@comcast.net

Kathy Apy, Park Memorial Committee……………………………………………………………………………389-4278, KMAMIFL@aol.com

FOT Committee Chairs FOT Committee Chairs FOT Committee Chairs FOT Committee Chairs (clip and save)

Jeanne Reilley looks on as Susan LaGrotta (center), new Board member and

Stewardship Chair, explains clean-up area to young volunteer during July 15

clean-up while youth leader signs in.

2001, 2002—at Morgan Point. Rook-ery Bay had that sand bar completely closed, and the Least Terns produced over 200 chicks every year during that period. So overall 2006 was a fairly good year, he said.

Ted believes that the Least Terns need a greater buffer zone than they now have at Sand Dollar.

Black Skimmers have done very well since they started nesting at Sand Dollar. In the last four years, they have averaged 328 nests with a mean of 176 chicks (this with a bad year in 2005 with 38 chicks). Al-though this number may seem low, the Sand Dollar population (over 800 for the last four years) is triple what it was in the late 1980s, Ted added.

Ted Below, Avian Ecologist for Rookery Bay National Estuarine Re-search Reserve, reports that this is the first year in a very long time that Least Terns have only nested in one location from south Key Island to Round Key along the coast.

The nesting at Sand Dollar had higher numbers of adults and nests than had been recorded in the area since before 1991.

While Ted was recovering from back surgery, Beverly Anderson con-ducted the counts and recorded a peak of 104 Least Tern chicks (it is very hard to get accurate numbers of chicks). According to Ted, this is more chicks than he has recorded since the three good years—2000,

Bird nesting season nears end on Sand Dollar

Tigertail lagoon is active with horseshoe

crabs of all sizes—dime to dinner plate.

Each summer, adult horseshoe crabs

return from deeper waters to spawn,

seeking beaches that are protected from

the surf.

A master at camouflage, the horseshoe

crab burrows beneath the surface of the

sand and completely disappears from

sight.

Often when the crab reemerges, sand

remains on the shell and is carried right

along the route. Trails made by these

unique creatures are very interesting and

can be seen at low tide on any given day

in the lagoon.

Many migratory shorebirds depend on

horseshoe crab eggs for survival.

The Friends of Tigertail has recently taken

steps to record sightings and register

Tigertail as an important horseshoe crab

habitat with the Ecological Research &

Development Group (the Horseshoe

Crab Guys).

The ERDG is a non-profit organization

and educational foundation whose main

goal is the protection of the world’s four

remaining horseshoe crab species.

The horseshoe crab as we know it has

inhabited our oceans for 350 million

years. The closest ancestor is the trilobite,

a creature that existed almost 400 million

years ago!

Thanks to the horseshoe crab, both hu-

mans and animals are protected from life

threatening reactions to bacterial toxins.

A test called the Limulus amebocyte lys-

ate (LAL) is made from the cells

(amebocytes) found in the crab’s unique

copper-based blood. The LAL is used to

screen human vaccines and other medi-

cines for bacterial contamination.

Learn more at www.horseshoecrab.orgwww.horseshoecrab.orgwww.horseshoecrab.orgwww.horseshoecrab.org

Tigertail lagoon serves as nursery for horseshoe crabs

Page 4 Volume 1, Issue 5

Helpful Conservation Tip:

While walking along the beach, please

help the horseshoe crabs you encoun-

ter that are stranded upside down…

gently flip them over.

They will not hurt you, but if you han-

dle them by their tail, rather than their

side, you can hurt them.

Susan LaGrotta joins FOT board of directors and

quickly shows how to get things done

Susan grew up in Brooklyn, NY as one of seven children. She developed a love of the beach early in her life and remembers when her father taught the kids how to swim at Coney Island Beach.

She first came to Marco Island to visit friends in 1995 and moved here full-time from Long Island, NY in 2000.

She described her first walk on Ti-gertail Beach as love at first sight. From that point on, she started attend-ing FOT programs at Mackel Park to learn more about the beach, and also joined other volunteers during beach clean-up events at Tigertail.

Susan now chairs the Stewardship Committee responsible for FOT beach clean-up events and has already con-ducted a very successful event in July.

A former member of the NYPD, Susan graduated from the police academy and worked as a police offi-cer on precinct level. She transferred to the undercover robbery squad and worked as an undercover decoy in the Senior Citizen Robbery Unit. She was promoted to detective (by merit) and worked as an investigator in solving after the fact crimes against Senior Citizens.

She attended Staten Island Commu-nity College and NYS Stony Brook University where she studied Early Childhood Education and Human Ser-vices.

She was an assistant teacher at William O'Connor School for excep-tional children where she worked with preschool handicapped children. In addition to teaching, Susan volun-teered after school to assist parents in learning how to interact effectively with their children in social settings.

In addition to her new position on the FOT board of directors, Susan also serves on the Leadership Devel-opment Committee for the Marco Is-land Board of Realtors, Marco Island YMCA board of directors, and the Education Committee for the Marco Island Art League. Susan was also a Clay Guild Founding Member.