PRAS

February, 2015 Volume 38, Issue 6

WhiteBird

Inside this issue:

President’s Mes-

sage

2

Upcoming Oppor-

tunities

3

Reports 4

Great Backyard

Bird Count

5

Calendar 6

Bird of the Month 7

New Members 7

Credit card only at bar.

President’s Notes

Page 2 WhiteBird

The Peace River Audubon

Society chapter is holding a

general meeting on February

19, 2015 at the Unitarian

Universalist Fellowship

Church on 1532 Forrest

Blvd., in Port Charlotte. The

speaker will be Dr. Marianne

Korosy, Jay Watch Coordina-

tor and Important Bird Area

(IBA) Coordinator for Audu-

bon Florida.

Dr. Korosy will discuss the

status of the Florida Scrub Jay.

The Florida Scrub Jay is listed

as Threatened under the En-

dangered Species Act. Dr.

Korosy will discuss how is

Florida’s only endemic bird

species faring across the

state? Find out where they

are thriving and why and how

you can get involved in moni-

toring and protecting Florida

Scrub-Jays. Marianne Korosy

began working for Audubon

Florida in 2009. Her work is

focused on shorebird and

seabird conservation in addi-

tion to coordinating the

statewide Jay Watch program.

Marianne has a master’s de-

gree in geology from FSU and

a PhD in conservation biology

at the University of Central

Florida.

Everyone is welcome. Doors

open at 6:30 PM for social

time. The meeting starts at

7:00 PM. Please call Jim Knoy

at 303 868 8337 for more

information.

Monthly Meeting

Jim Knoy

We had a good turn out on Jan-

uary 15 to hear Tony Licata

relate the results of the Christ-

mas Bird Count. Those results

are available on our web site.

The Audubon Christmas Bird

Count is an example of Citizen

Science. Audubon relies a lot

of volunteers to collect data on

birds which helps to document

population trends. Tony and

the rest of his volunteers do a

remarkable job of collecting

this data and he does an out-

standing job of presenting that

information to us in a way that

is both informative and interest-

ing.

Thanks to Stu and Louise Lewis

for organizing the New Years

walkabout at Ollie's Pond.

What a great day it was. We

had a record turnout and many

birds were seen. After the hike,

most people stayed around for

the dedication of a bench and

plaque dedicated to Oliver

Hewitt, for whom the pond was

named. John Phillips, who

knew Mr. Hewitt was the guest

speaker. Mr. Tom Henry from

Charlotte county also spoke.

Thanks to Stu Lewis and Larry

Behrens for organizing that

event.

The Charlotte County Habitat

Conservation Plan (HCP) is

now available for the public to

see. You can find a copy on line

at http://

www.charlottecountyfl.com/

CommunityServices/

NaturalResources/ScrubJays/

HCP/County-wide-HCP.pdf

The following properties are

some of the HCP properties that

will be managed for Scrub Jays:

Amberjack Environmental

Park , Rotonda Mitigation Ar-

ea , San Casa Environmental

Park , Tippecanoe Environmen-

tal Park, Tippecanoe II Mitiga-

tion Area, Deep Creek aka

Peace River Preserve ,

Burcher’s Tract Conservation

Easement, Biscayne Trust Con-

servation, Prairie Creek Pre-

serve , Hathaway Park, and

Shell Creek Preserve .

Additional properties will be

purchased to provide more

Scrub Jay habitat. We are striv-

ing to keep abreast of county

actions in this regard.

Good news, National Audubon

has a new addition to their web

site. The new Field Guide to

North American Birds can be

found at www.audubon.org. It

is a wonderful source of infor-

mation. I hope you like it.

More good news, the State of

Florida has approved the pur-

chase of the Bond Farm Land

parcel that will help to hydro-

logically connect the Babcock

Webb Wildlife Management

areas that are now separated by

I-75, US 41 and a railroad. This

effort was a cooperative effort

between state and local agen-

cies to restore the historical/

original water flows in that

area. There is still a lot of work

to do, but eventually, some of

the excess water that is now

flooding North Fort Myers will

be used to restore the original

water flows for the Yucca Pens

portion of the Babcock Webb

Wildlife Management Area.

This effort will help restore and

maintain native plants and ani-

mals there. In addition, the City

of Cape Coral will have more

drinking water available for its

use. The Peace River Audubon

Chapter supported this transac-

tion.

Look up Peace River Audubon

Society on Facebook. Our URL

is www.peaceriveraudubon.org.

Thanks and happy birding.

Jim Knoy, President

Please Join Bill Dunson and a group from Peace River Audubon Society (PRAS) in exploring the

different habitats of Wildflower Preserve and how each supports different populations of resi-

dent and migratory birds. Learn the common bird species and how to distinguish them by sight

and sound. Consider how future plans will modify some of these wetlands and how these

changes can be expected to affect the birds found here. Jointly sponsored by PRAS and Lemon

Bay Conservancy. (LBC)

Wildflower Preserve is the abandon Golf course that was purchased by LBC and through the

work of volunteers is being converted to a nature preserve. It is located on Gasparella Pines

Blvd . For more information contact Bob Winter @ 941-828-2627

Circle B Bar Reserve in Lake-

land Florida is one of Florida’s

premiere birding locations.

Please join Peace River Audu-

bon Society for a field trip to

Circle B Bar Preserve near

Lakeland Florida. A representa-

tive from the Lake Region

Audubon Society will be our guide for the day. Lake Region

Audubon Society has a long

standing involvement with this

site, from their input during the

planning stages, to continuing

support through educational

programs and events.

Before cattle ranching occupied

this site, a main portion of this

1269 acre reserve was the Ba-

nana Creek Marsh, which con-

nected to Lake Hancock at the

headwaters of the Peace River.

To make the land more produc-

tive as pasture, much of the

marsh was drained.

In 2000, the property was pur-

chased by SWFWMD and Polk

County, to restore the environ-

mentally important Banana

Creek Marsh. In 2005 and 2006,

restoration projects were com-

pleted and the resulting nutrient rich constructed wetland, hosts

large populations of wading

birds and waterfowl, including

the most colorful Purple Galli-

nule seen above. The total bird

list for the preserve is 229 spe-

cies.

For a preview of what we may

see look at the 3 minute

YouTube video @

www.youtube.com/user/

robertwinterwildlife/home.

The tour will start at 9:00Am in

the main parking lot close to the

Nature Discovery Center,

where we will meet our host

from Lake Region Audubon

Society. Carpooling is from the

North car pool location. Note:

We will be leaving promptly at

6:30 AM and will make one

stop, along the way at Mc Don-

ald’s in Fort Meade. The address for Circle B Bar Reserve is:

4399 Winter Lake rd. Lakeland,

FL.

Bring a picnic lunch, and after

lunch, we will visit the Polk

Nature Discovery Center, locat-

ed on the grounds of Circle B

Bar Reserve .

www.PolkNature.com/discovery

For more information contact

Bob Winter at 941-828-2627.

Upcoming Walkabout: Birds and How to Manage for Them

March 3 @ 8:00 am - 10:00 am Bob Winter

Photography Group at the Celery Fields

Due to a series of con-flicts, we have changed out trip to the Celery Fields to this Thursday afternoon. We will meet at the Goodwill parking lot (the old Publix park-ing lot) behind the McDonald's on Peach-land at 3:00, then travel

to the Celery Fields.

The Celery Fields is a

wetland that has been restored by the Sarasota Parks. It

has two boardwalks and several ponds and lakes. We are

hoping to see a large number of Sandhill Cranes return in the

late evening, creating a great photo oppor-tunity. We will be

staying until sunset or beyond.

Page 3 Volume 38, Issue 6

Circle B Bar Reserve Field Trip 2/21/15 Bob Winter

Munguia Photography

January Field Trip—Myakka River State Park Jan. 17

Page 4 WhiteBird

Eleanor Marr The day was cool and sun-ny as thirteen participants, starting from different points, met at the Visitors Center parking lot. Those in cars traveling along SR 72 all managed to see at least one Crested Caracara along the way. In our car, the caraca-ras were found inside park boundaries just east of the main entrance. We stopped along the bridge about a mile from the entrance. We were greeted by a calling Limpkin, followed by a won-derful array of mostly wad-ing birds – Great Blue Her-ons, Blue and Green Her-ons, Tricolored Herons, White Ibis, Snowy Egret, Wood Stork among them. A very pink Roseate Spoonbill was seen at a distance in a tree, and three flew over a

bit later. The white morph Great Blue Heron did not disappoint us. It was seen as we arrived, and although not very close, close enough for photos and exposed enough to clearly see its unique features, easily com-pared to a nearby Great Egret. Osprey flew over-head, and two Red-shouldered Hawks landed in a nearby tree. An immature Bald Eagle flew over, and an adult was seen later in the day. It was hard to leave the bridge. Continuing into the park, we made two other main stops. The Birdwalk afforded opportunities to see Savannah Sparrows and Palm Warblers up close, as well as more distant looks at Lesser Yellowlegs, Black-necked Stilts and Sandhill Cranes. A Peregrine Falcon flew overhead. A few Blue-

winged Teal and Green-winged Teal were the only ducks encountered, but American Coots were plenti-ful. The Weir had its usual congregation of birds, this time mainly Black Vultures and Double-crested Cormo-rants, though another Limp-kin entertained us for awhile. There were no spoonbills on the weir this time, but a cou-ple more flew over. Several hundred Tree Swallows were overhead. The cooler weather apparently discour-aged a lavish alligator turn-out, though a few did emerge. After a picnic lunch in the concession area, we went our separate ways. Returning to our car, a few birds were seen in the Live Oaks – Blue-headed Vireo and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher, most notably . Fifty species of birds had been seen.

Walkabout Report at Ollie’s

Pond -Jan 1, 2015 by Stu and

Louise Lewis

On New Year ’s Day morn-

ing at 8 a.m., 55 enthusias-

tic people - a new record

number for a PRAS Walka-

bout - celebrated the first

day of 2015 on a walk

around Ollie’s Pond. It was

partly cloudy in the low

60‘s.

We divided into two

groups - one led by

Stu Lewis, including a

sub- group for less

experienced birders,

led by Louise Lewis

and Joan Froman, and

a second group led by

Dave Lancaster.

We saw 37 species includ-

ing ring-necked ducks,

blue winged-teal, green

herons, wilson’s snipe,

beautiful hooded mergan-

sers. There were the usual

wading birds; egrets, her-

ons, etc. and 25 or more

pied billed grebes that

seem to winter at Ollie’s

Pond every year. The sora

has not been seen recent-

ly.

Everyone seemed to enjoy

this as a way to start the

New Year - a scenic walk in

one of the best birding

locations in Charlotte

County.

At 10 a.m., we attended a

dedication ceremony of

the new bench along the

pond in honor of Oliver

Hewitt. John Phillips

gave some background

history about “Ollie”.

Michelle Long and Tom

Henry attended as County

representatives.

Port Charlotte Herald

Editor Nicole Noles and

Robert Nelson, photog-

rapher, accompanied

Dave Lancaster ’s group

on the walk. The paper

subsequently published a

great article with many

pictures that appeared in

the January 9th issue of

the Port Charlotte Her-

ald insert of the Sun.

January’s Walkabout—New Year’s Tradition

Last Month’s Photography Trip

by Eleanor Marr

Each February, birders from all

over the world take part in the

Great Backyard Bird Count. It is a four-day snapshot of

where the birds are. This pro-

ject is a joint venture of the

National Audubon Society, the

Cornell Laboratory of Ornithol-

ogy, and Bird Studies Canada.

This year the count is running

from Friday Feb. 13 through Monday Feb. 16, 2015. Over

this four day period, birders

count and report the birds they

see in as little as a 15 minute

period on one of the days up to

the entire four days at a loca-

tion or locations of their choice.

They count by themselves or in

groups. Last year 144,109

checklists were submitted and

4296 species were counted with

17,748,756 individual birds re-

ported. That's impressive. Each

year, as more people get in-

volved, the data obtained be-

comes more reliable and useful

to scientists, providing an indica-

tion of how birds are doing

worldwide. Ordinary people far

outnumber ornithologists, so

the mass of data we provide

represents information these

scientists cannot possibly collect

by themselves. They use the

data in their efforts to protect

the birds and the environment.

Which day and where you go

are entirely up to you. It is fun

to do a count in a very birdy

hotspot where the number and

variety of birds you see will be

exciting. The downside is,

there you are likely find other

eBirders counting those same

birds. What is really more im-

portant for the records is

counting in an area where you

are the only one likely to see

the birds you report – your

own back yard. That way scien-

tists get a better picture of the

true distribution of birds, and not one skewed to the most

birdy places.

This project is linked to eBird

which is referred to on the

GBBC website. Reporting your

counts is by filling in the same

kind of form you would for

submitting your data to eBird,

although it is directed to the

GBBC data.

Photographers can get in-

volved, too. If you are a par-

ticipant, you can submit pho-

tos you take during your

count. Photos, both of the

birds and the birders, are

judged by people from the

sponsoring organizations, and

winners in several categories

are selected. Rules of the con-

test and more are available on

the website given below. A

gallery of photos entered into

the competition is featured

there as well.

Go to the link below and learn

more! You can get there from

here by clicking on this link:

www.birdcount.org

To help in your planning, here

are the plans for the March and

April photo trips.

Our March trip will be on the

first Wednesday (Mar 4) to the

Venice Rookery. In April we

will to to Cape Coral for the

Burrowing Owls. The April trip

will be on the April 14 to in-

crease the prob-

ability of seeing

both adults and

chicks.

Great Backyard Bird Count

Page 5 Volume 38, Issue 6

Upcoming Photography Trips

10/7 10/16

10/18 11/4

11/15 11/20

MARK

THE

DATES

We’re on the Web!

example.com

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 2 3 PG History Park

Walkabout

4 5 6 7

8 9 10 Photo Group

11 Sierra

Paddle

12 Board meeting

13 14

15

16 17 Sierra Hike

18 Sierra

Paddle

19 Member meetin

20 3:00 DeSoto Nature

Walk

21 Circle B Bar Field

Trip

22 23 Sierra Paddle

24 25 Sierra

Paddle/

Hike

10:))

DeSoto

Nature Walk

26 27 Sierra Paddle

28

February 2015

Pennin

gton W

ork

Gro

up

Upcoming Events:

March 3—Walkabout Wildflower

March 19—Banquet

March 21—Fieldtrip

Great Backyard Bird Count

Great Backyard Bird Count

By Eleanor Marr Shorebirds present an identifi-cation challenge to many bird-

ers, not just to novice bird-ers. Here in winter we mostly see them in winter plumage when to many people shorebirds look alike. Most shore-birds are mi-gratory, spending win-ters with us or just passing

through. Although many are well into developing their breeding plumage when they leave in the spring, for most of the winter they are very plain. A case in point is the Dunlin, which arrives in our area in the fall and leaves in the spring. While not the smallest of the shorebirds they are not large, with medium sized legs

and bill. In winter plumage the birds are grayish brown on the back and wings, with brownish chest and a lighter belly. The legs are dark, the face has a light streak over the eye, and the head is somewhat capped. The bill is thin, medium in length, and curves downward at the end. The bill, and the method of feeding are the best clues to identification. When they are probing in shallow water for food, their action is often compared to a sewing machine, head pumping up and down with the tip of the bill not leaving the water. When they fly, there is a light horizontal stripe in the wing. In breeding plumage they are easy to recognize, as they have a unique black area on their bellies. The feath-ers on their backs form a scaly pattern, with a brighter rufous color. The head and face are brighter as well. The bill is still a good clue to identification. Males and females are alike.

The birds are not usually soli-tary, and one can come across a few or a large flock, often mixed with other shore-birds. Look for them whenev-er you come across a flock of sandpipers at the shore or on sandy banks and mudflats in rivers near the Gulf. Locally,

the birds can sometimes be seen on exposed banks at Bayshore Live Oaks Park and the Port Charlotte Beach Complex when the tide is low.

Bird of the Month Dunlin Calidris alpina

February, 2015 Page 7

Hailey and Logan Stevens Sally Theiss

Ann Surrette Joan Nash

Janet McLaughlin Charlene Morris

Floyd Paxton Judy Thomas

537 total members 109 PRAS members

Welcome New Members

Your Talents are Needed

It is that time of year when PRAS is seeking new talent to assist with organization

activities. We have work groups at Pennington and CHEC that would love your

assistance. We are looking for a new secretary , auction committee chair , pub-

licity chair. We also could really use some assistance with social media and with

conservation and political activism.

Everyone has a talent. We would love to put yours to work ! Directors’ phone

numbers are listed on the back page or see them during a meeting.

What have our members seen lately?

PRAS

February, 2015 Volume 38, Issue 6

WhiteBird The Peace River Audubon

Society

PO Box 510760 Punta Gorda, FL 33951-0760

Board of Directors

Jim Knoy 303 868 8337

Stu Lewis 603.742.2874

Jim Comfort 941.505.0206

Linda Waters 941.350.1337

Eleanor Marr 941.624.4182

Mike Krzyzkow-ski 863.244.2652

Bob Winter 941.828.2627

Mary Ann Sa-kamoto 941.629.5276

Nancy Turner 941.627.9107

George Ruby 941.423.0174

Larry Behrens 941 204 1708

Don Youso 941. 235.1298

Penni Lowry 937.603.3128

Peace River Audubon Society Membership Application / Renewal Join us for some fun and birding. Help protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, & the wildlife we love...help us protect Florida.

___ New Membership ___ Renewal

Name: ______________________________________ Organization: ________________________________ Address: ___________________________________ City, State, Zip: ______________________________ Phone: ( ) _______________________________ E-mail: _____________________________________

Chapter Code: C0ZE140Z

MAIL CHECK (***payable to PRAS) WITH THIS FORM TO: PRAS, PO box 510760, Punta Gorda, FL 33951-0760