april 2009 scrub jay newsletter audubon of martin county

8/9/2019 April 2009 Scrub Jay Newsletter Audubon of Martin County

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Non-profit

Organization

U.S. Postage Paid

Permit #57

Stuart FL 34995

Audubon ofMartin County

621 SE Palm Beach Road, Stuart FL 34994

Florida Scrub-Jay Art Logo

By Brian Sylvester

Office hours are generally 10 am2pm

Monday through Friday.

Please call ahead at 772.288.2637

AoMCs annual Bird ID course recently ended after successful day-long sessionsat various key properties throughout the Treasure Coast region. Our thanks to eve-ryone who participated, all of whom seemed to come away from each session withnew knowledge and a better understanding of the habits and habitats necessary tosustain our population of resident and migratory birds.

Highlights of the course? I expect it would vary for each participant, but views ofa caracara, shoveler, scrub-jays, a great-horned owl and painted buntings, are sureto be memorable.

Our thanks to the sites that hosted us for classes, includ-ing, the Savannas Preserve State park, Florida Oceano-graphic Society, Hobe Sound National Wildlife Refuge,The Loxahatchee River Center and the Seminole Inn.

Thanks also to class coordinatorClare-Rue Morgan forhelping to organize the classes and keeping track of themultitude of details necessary to make the classes runsmoothly.

Thanks especially to Dee Staley and Bob and Judy Fis-hel, who kept lists and took photos of species observedduring the field excursions associated with each class.

Can you name these three birds seen during

Bird ID class field trips? (answers below)

1.JuvenileLittleBlueHeron

2.First-yearGreatBlack-backedgull

1

2Photos courtesy of class

participant Bob Fishel

Bird Identification CourseCongratulations to class participants:

Greger Anderson, Dudley Baker, Terri

Brown, Carol Coyne, Ollie Davis, Joan

Doran, Judy and Bob Fishel, Laureen

Gerrior, Marta and Bob Gordon, Char-

lie and Helene Howard, Cynthia Huber,

Marianne Jones, Sharon Lindgren, Rich

and Judy Martin, Rosemary Matto, Elsa

Millard, Kathleen Murphy, Carol New-

ton, Kathy Petteruti, Ann Powell, Jim

Powers, Nancy Rad, Wende Reynolds,

Joe Richards, Jim Ries, Dee Staley,

Mary Starzinski, Fran Stewart, Jim

Stewart, Wren Underwood, Caryl Vi-

gnoli, Awilda Wildeman, and Linda

Wishney.

Mark Your Calenda

April 2009

11 Birdathoncontact Laurie at 223inside for details

16 Program Meeting, A Birders Journal with AoMC member Mar

18 Field Trip to Everglades Stormment Area 1-W. Meet at Knightto leave at 7:00 am.

25 Annual Picnic Meeting and Earwith Volunteer Awards, StudentAwards and Native Plant Sales.

May 2009

Board of Directors meetings are typicTuesday of each month. Please comember or committee chair if you activities for May 2009 through April 2

Field Trip : Saturday, April 18th

STORMWATER TREATMENT AREA 1-W

On Saturday, April 18th, we will travel to STA 1-W; one of the Ever-glades Stormwater Treatment Areas to see the wading birds, waterfowl

and other bird life that is becoming established in these extensive shallow-water marshes. Call our offices to sign up - Be prepared to carpool to thisgreat birding area. The drive to the area in PBC will take about an hour.

Meet at the Knights of Columbus, in time for a 7:00 AM departure.Bring your binoculars, camera, field guide and your own refreshments,including lunch. Fee - $5 for Audubon members, $10 for non-members.

audubonmartincounty.org 772-288-2637

April 2009

Program Meeting: Thursday, April 16thA Birders Photographic Journal with Marta Gordon

and Photo Contest Awards

Join us on Thursday, April 16 th for a presentation by widely-travelledAoMC member Marta Gordon, who will share with us with bird photosshe has taken during travels to Trinidad & Tobago , Costa Rica and theGalapagos. See Trogons, Quetzals, penguins and more.Also Awards in the 2nd Annual Photo Contest will be presented to the

photographers who won in t he various categories. Best of Show and 1st,2nd and 3rd places will be awarded. Cometo see if your favorite images was awarded.

The meeting begins with a social gather-ing at 11:00, announcements at 11:30 andpresentation immediately thereafter. Bring

your own brown-bag lunch.

Meeting Location:

The meeting room is at the Martin CountyExtension Office at 2614 SE Dixie High-way. Hospitality-11:00 a.m., Program-11:30a.m. (bring a bag lunch) Look for our sand-wich board on Dixie. Aracari - a type of toucan

Yellow Crowned Night Heron at S


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Board Members 2008-2009

Executive Director Greg Braun

561-575-2028

OTHER IMPORTANT COMMITTEE CHAIRS

AUDUBON HOUSE DOCENTS

Clare-Rue Morgan, Beverly Poppke,Ed Fisher, Carol Coyne, Linda Wishney

Open board seats:Contact Laurie Odlum or Greg Braun

A copy of the official registration and financial information may beobtained from the division of Consumer Services toll-free within Florida

800.435.7352. Registration does not imply endorsement,approval, or recommendation by the state.

The Scrub Jay is published seven times a year on

recycled content paper with soy-based ink.

Message from our President~~~ Laurie Odlum

This has been another extremely busy year.The dedicated volunteers and staff of OUR localAudubon chapter have put in many hours ofphysical labor, mental labor and computer timeto ensure that our varied projects succeed thisyear.

OUR new Properties Chair, Jim Kearman, hastaken it upon himself to initiate vegetation man-agement (on a new personally high level) bytaking machete, loppers and saw to the many years of Brazilian Pepperovergrowth on our Maplewood Preserve, one of OUR many acres of

property intended to be preserves for wildlife. Hopefully by this timenext year, with more helping hands, this property will be returned to awildlife friendly property of which all of AoMC can be proud. In con-junction with the Martin County chapter of the Florida Native Plant So-ciety, we are building a plant l ist to accompany the ongoing bird list forthis property. Thank you to all of you who have taken the time to startwhat will be a very worthwhile project.

OUR new Land Stewardship Volunteer Coordinator, Debbie Clark, ispreparing OUR volunteer squad to take on our Possum Long NatureCenter so we/you can continue to bring this urban forest back to its for-mer glory. A lot of work has already been done to portions of the prop-erty and there is still a lot of work to be done: removing a large numberof invasive non-native trees and shrubs, creating new pathways andmaintaining the recently planted areas. Debbie also has other projectslarge, small, indoors and outAoMC has a need for your skills.

OUR Managing Director, Pam Hopkins, was the guiding light andcreative source for our Turkey Egg Hunt fund raiser this fall. She alsomade sure that the newsletter went to the post office on time and workeduntold hours with Volunteer Doug in PLNC to continue reclaimingour forest. Pams list of self-starter projects is as tall as the top of theRuth Miles office building roof and much too long to list here.

It has been a challenge this year to work without critical Board Mem-bers: Field Trip and Education Chairs. If you or a friend could acceptthese responsibilities it would free up Greg, Pam and myself to do otherduties to make this a better chapter.

OUR board of Directors will be meeting in May and over the summer

to make next year even more productive and interesting. Let us know

your thoughts by filling out the Questionnaire and sharing your ideas. If

you dont let us know your ideas, we cant fulfill t hem.

WATCH OUR WEB SITE FORUNSCHEDUED FUN SUMMER

OUTINGS!

President Laurie Odlum 772-486-2837

Vice-Pres Volunteer Needed

Treasurer Bob Gordon 772-546-2206

Secretary, Recording Joan Bausch 772-219-8285

Conservation Bob Matheson 772-283-5999

Education Volunteer Needed

Field Trips Beverly Poppke 772-286-0061

Resource Development Doug Warns 772-462-3751

Membership Curt Wood 772-546-5435

Programs Ed Fielding 772-288-2622

Volunteer Coordinator Debbie Clark 772-545-2404

Properties Jim Kearman 772-708-0677

Public Relations Tom McNicholas 772-219-1719

Nature Center Susan Smyth 772-692-3489

Newsletter Editor Lisa Fiore 772-528-9707

Wildlife Center Dan Martinelli 772-286-6200

Water Resources Patrick Hayes 561-747-6397

Youth Liaison Jessie Green 772-283-3024

Garden Club Liaison Louise White 772-283-4416

IRL & Speakers Bureau Bill Hudspeth 561-667-5123

Eaglewatch Liaison Clare-Rue Morgan 772-286-9833

Librarian Bev Poppke 772-286-0061

Cranewatch Coordinator Pam Hopkins 772-408-6153

Cranewatch Co-coordinator Carol Spinney 772-545-7987

Jaywatch Coordinator Pam Hopkins 772-408-6158

Jaywatch Co-coordinator Clare-Rue Morgan 772-286-9833

Christmas Bird Count Liz Hailman 561-746-7293

Webmaster Ed Fisher [email protected]

Contact your U.S. Senators in Washington DC

at the following numbers:

Senator Mel Martinez: 202.224.3051

Senator Bill Nelson: 202.224.5274

Many other Audubon chapters in Florida have transitioned fromonly offering seasonal activities to now providing program meetings andfield trips on a year-round basis. Making such a move is sure to put ahigher strain on our limited number of active movers and shakers.The new Board of Directors for 2009-2010 will soon be meeting to or-ganize our activities for next year. If youve got ideas youd like toshare, or would be willing to help us conduct some member-related ac-tivities this summer or next year, please contact Laurie, Greg or the ap-propriate board member.

Ocean Research & Conservation Association(ORCA) headquartered in Fort Pierce is working on awater monitoring device to monitor critical facets ofwater quality and movement. Meet Kilroy. Namedafter the WWII omnipresent cartoon, this device is be-ing placed in estuaries and waterways that have endan-

gered water systems. Kilroy then takes samples ofwater for turbidity, salinity, microorganisms and re-cords water movement. The actual water samples arecollected from Kilroy by EPA scientists and the re-

corded water movement data is sent, using cell phonetechnology, to satellites and then down loaded to theresearch facilities for review. This is just a short ver-sion of what Kilroy is doing to improve water qualityin Florida, across the US and worldwide.

To help Kilroy get installed in the Indian River La-

goon to help the rivers scientists do the research nec-essary to help the St Lucie River and lagoon regain ahealthy posture -go to: teamorca.org

of Florida News

They want your feeder lists.John Odgen, AoFs Director of Bird Conservation, is

working on bird location trends in Florida. As part ofClimate Change and its effects on birds, their migratoryand resident habits, John has asked that those of you,who keep lists of the species of birds you see at yourfeeder during the seasons, send your information lists tohim. He is trying to compile a bird location model fromvarious locations within the state. He knows you writethe lists; now he wants to see what birds are listed there.This request is separate from the national Feederwatchprogram in which many of you participate.

John and his wife have kept a daily bird list, frofast nook, smoved intoSouth MiamCounty som

ago, and h158 speciesited their prhas found thsons from ybe very telli

John can for transmisjogden@Au

Special Bird ID

You never know

what will fly over-

head while on an

outdoor adventure.

To the right is a

white bird, large for sure, that was seen in Palm B

County during the fall and spring migrations.

Can you identify it? See hint upside down.

Over the summer keep in touch with what is going on in

Audubon across the country. Find great places to visit and

interesting like-minded folks with whom to talk about your

favorite places.

Go to: http://magblog.audubon.org/

Be a Bookworm:

Some Summer Reading

List Suggestions

Some of you have already

read a few of these; others

have not gotten around to

them and some are new re-

leases. Perhaps now is the

time to find a quiet place and

recharge your batteries with

a good book or two.

Silent Spring

A Land Remembered

The Killing of Mr. Watson.

Silence of the Song Bird

Dancing at the Red Sea

Living Beaches

Paving Paradise

Interndeep-sDr. Eddemon
mailto:[email protected]://www.teamorca.org/press_room.htmhttp://www.teamorca.org/press_room.htmmailto:[email protected]


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A Glimmer of Lightby Bob Matheson, Conservation Chair

All too rarely do environmentalists have occasion to experiencea glimmer of hope. Most of the articles we read inform us of yetanother chapter in our efforts to "improve" our condition, often tothe detriment of the species with which we share the planet. I donot fault the authors of the articles; after all, this reporting is ac-curate.

On the national level, thepast eight years have beenparticularly depressing forthose who believe we shouldtreat our planet with care,not to mention the counter-productive absurdity of ourleaders' efforts to governwith guns. And what aboutthe "change" offered by thenew administration -- whilewe support it wholeheartedlywe note the dearth of envi-ronmental discourse in therecent presidential cam-paign. Is it reasonable for usto care about preservinghabitat for the birds when somany of us are concernedwith putting food on thetable?

Even locally, here in Martin County, Florida, (a county hailedfor its environmental protections) recent history has witnessed acounty commission more interested in diluting, rather than

strengthening, environmental protections. As I write t his ourcommissioners are considering a policy change to lessen the pro-

tection afforded to "small wetlands."So for the short sighted, being most of us i f you count those

unwilling in Martin County's last local election to vote for thesmart growth candidates, the economic situation seems to cast yetanother shadow on the darkening prognosis for the countless spe-cies with which we share space, including the Piping Plover.

So diminutive a bird! Its length is less than a standard business

envelope and the vast majority of them would require only a t woounce stamp to post. Who would think its stature might causeMartin County to rethink their plans to obtain the sand to

"restore" its most popular beach known as "the bathtub"?In the natural course of events most of the sand at the bathtub

beach was moved in the last couple of years. During the sametime a sandbar north of the navigation channel between the St.Lucie inlet and the crossroads continued to get bigger, naturally,as it has for many years. Martin County, desirous of

"renourishing" the bathtub beach, applied to the ArmyCorps of Engineers for a dredging permit to take the sandoff of 54 acres, the vast majority of the sandbar and pipe itto the beach.

The County, in their dredging permit application, saw no

harm to anything.

But Mr. Greg Braun, the long time executive director ofAudubon of Martin County was not so sure. Many speciesof birds, including the Piping Plover, of which fewer than1800 pairs represent the Atlantic coastal population, havebeen using the sandbar. The Atlantic population is federallylisted as "threatened." Another population occurs inland inthe northern Great Plains area (in the summer); evensmaller, this population is listed as "endangered."

The decline of both populations is attributed to increaseddevelopment, recreational use of beaches, loss of habitat andharassment by humans. The usual.

In December, 2008, Mr. Braun filed comments with theArmy Corps questioning the dredging plan. I n January morethan a dozen members of Audubon of Martin County visited

the sandbar with Mr. Braun; over a dozen Piping Plovers wereseen, not surprising, as they had been seen there regularly forseveral months.

The species only visits here, preferring to nest more than 500miles to the north.

In February, at a meeting with state and federal personnelcharged with protecting our environmental resources, the coastalengineer for Martin County agreed to consider amending thedredging application to take only sand below the low tide line,thus preserving the habitat so preferred by this little migrant toour area.

Kudos to Mr. Braun for the flash of light in the shadows.

Audubon recently released a new study using Christmas Bir dCount Data. These analyses would not have been possible with-out the hard work of CBC participants and the many chapters that

organize and lead counts. We thank all that have participatedover the years for their effort. The study explored if birds hadshown significant shifts in their winter distribution over the last40 years. As we all know, birds are good indicators of the envi-ronment. We think birds provide important information to peopleon changes in the environment and human quality of life. Audu-bon has a goal of working bird indicators into regular r eviews ofhow the environment in the US is doing and hopefully helpingdrive policy and funding that benefits the environment and birds.

These analyses of the CBC dataseton winter distribution are part ofthat effort.

The report,Birds and ClimateChange,is available on Audubonsweb site and provides more details

on the analyses and results. Todownload the report, click on im-age of the report cover to t he right.

We will continue to undertakescientific analyses of these data tolearn more about the status of birdsand conservation needs. Please consider donating through theweb site to help us continue using the CBC data to move a con-servation agenda.

Birds and Climate Change:

Ecological Disruption in Motion

Its a Lunch

AoMC and the Martin County Chapter

Florida Native Plant Society are havin

tive Plant sale to accompany the Earth

Event and Annual picnic. Experts will be avail

help you get the right plant for the right place in your g

and yard. Bring your questions and learn plant ID too.

Find plants that provide food and shelter for migrating bir

this time of year or another food source to brighten your but

garden.

Join your Board of Directors, docents, PLNC volunteers and other Audubon memb

we honor all our volunteers and their efforts during the past year. Each year we s

our appreciation to those friends of Audubon who give their time to work for bird

Our many volunteers and Martin County school students will be honored. We ar

ning some special surprises for this year.

The picnic will be held at Possum Long Nature Center behind our offices at 621 S

Palm Beach Road.

BRING A COVERED DISH TO SERVE 8 FOLKS !

My Favorite Bird Essay Contest Winners will be here

too !

Remember: Please call AoMC offices to let us know

how many of you are coming We provide water, soda,

paper goods and cups.

Schedule of E

- Lunch served a

(so come by 11:1

- Speaker at 12:3

- Presentations a

awards begin a

- Clean-up... UN
http://www.audubon.org/bird/bacc/cbcanalysis.htmlhttp://www.audubon.org/bird/bacc/cbcanalysis.htmlhttp://www.audubon.org/bird/bacc/cbcanalysis.htmlhttp://www.audubon.org/bird/bacc/cbcanalysis.htmlhttp://www.audubon.org/bird/bacc/cbcanalysis.htmlhttp://www.audubon.org/bird/bacc/cbcanalysis.html


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APRIL 11, 2009

Your Participation and Support is critical for this

Annual Fundraising Event

On April 11 teams from Audubon of Martin County will conduct a "Birdathon" to seek out as many bird spe-

cies as possible in one day as a measure of the ecological health of our community. Put your team togetherand contact Laurie with their names.

Yours and the collective efforts of this generous community will provide for very vital conservation and edu-

cation initiatives that will help keep the birds vibrant and alive.

Audubon of Martin County leaders, members and community volunteers will strike out in the wilds of Mar-

tin County to find, identify and record bird species.

Bring in or send in your pledge forms !! See below and on our website.

2009 Birdathon is Coming ! !

Audubon of Martin County2009 Birdathon PLEDGE FORMYour support is critical for this Annual Fundraising Event!

Yes, I would like to help support Audubon of Martin Countys Birdathon 2009 by pledging to donate

the following amount per species identified.

Amount Pledged per species $______________ OR Flat Amount Pledged $____________

Name ________________________________________________________________________________

Street ___________________________________________ City _______________ ST_____ZIP _______

Phone: ___________________________ E-Mail __________________________________

Clip and Mail to: AoMC at 621 SE Palm Beach Road, Stuart, FL 34994

Remember...Your contribution is Tax Deductible!!!

Eagle Watch

AoMC EagleWatchers are now reporting fledging ofeaglets from many of the nests that we monitor. Ourthanks to Bill Borger, Pat Caruso, Dale Doc Hipson,Jim Kearman, Ashley Robinson, Joette Smith, Franand Greg Stewart, Linda Wishney, Paul Yorke andAoMC Eaglewatch CoordinatorClare-Rue Morgan fortheir continued dedication to helping track our local baldeagles.

A recent highlight was the discovery of a new nest onpreserve land near the St. Lucie River. The outlook forbald eagles in Martin County continues to be positive, andwe think that new eagle nests in the County are now likely

to be from youngsters that fledged from nests in MartinCounty five or so years ago and are now of reproductiveage.

If youd like to join AoMCs Eaglewatch team, giveClare-Rue Morgan a call at 772-286-9833.

Azalea Street Ospreys

Our thanks to Captain PhilSherman, Barbara Milner andDan Roberts for keeping us up-to-date with the successful nestingof the pair of ospreys for whichwe installed a nesting platform in

2008 after their nest tree becametoo weak to support it. Our thanks also to Mark and BrendaKaila for allowing us to erect t he platform on their property.Most birds can do well without our help, but the installation ofthe nesting platform in this instance is sure to have kept thispair of ospreys in the area.

Image by Captain Phill Sherman

An adult osprey delivers

fresh 'catch-of-the-day' to

an awaiting mate and

young in the nest.

Field Trip ReportFebruary

Wakodahatchee and Green Cay Wetlands are separate manmade

wetlands located in Boynton Beach; Wakodahatchee is 4 miles

south of Boynton Beach Blvd on Jog Road and Green Cay is 3

miles south of Boynton Beach Blvd on Hagen Ranch Road.

February is the perfect time of year to visit the Wakodahatchee

Wetlands because the Great Blue Herons, Anhingas and other wet-

land species are

nesting and rearing

their young. The

photographers are

lining the boardwalk

to get the perfect

image, northern visi-tors are enjoying our

diverse wildlife and

children are wide-

eyed to see nature so

close you can touch themalmost.

The Common Yellowthroat, Black

and White Warbler and Blue-throated

Vireo were three of the lifer species

for some of our participants as were the

flock of Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

that circled the wetland a few times whistling and showing off their

aerial skills. The resident 14 foot alligator enthralled the young and

not so young, a very acrobatic gray

squirrel captured our attention as he

hung upside-down enjoying an acorn

and the flocks of Tree Swallows and

Purple Martin made for the in-depth

discussion of how do you tell them

apart when they fly so fast?!?!

Applause, applause! to Nancy,

Naomi and Marta for their eagle eye

spotting of those busy warblers.

About 10:15 we moved on to Green Cay where it seemed to be

Moorhen and Mottled Duck Day. The mile and a half long

boardwalk that encircles the wetlands provides for a complete view

of the inhabitants; having a spotting scope is very helpful too.

Through the scope we found the Green-winged Teal and got a good

look at the Limpkin. We could hear the Limpkin calling from

across the wetland but had to wait until we got to the far eastern

side to find it. We had received reports that there was an Eastern

Phoebe over there but we did not see it. However, the reported

Sora Rail was sighted, albeit briefly. We knew something interest-

ing was in the water when we heard better in the water than up

here! They were watching a foot-long water moccasin move

through the duckweed and into the reeds. There were many Green-backed Herons, Little Blue Herons and Tri-colored Herons as well.

And then there was the nest of baby alligators mom was not to be

seen.

Green Cay has kiosks with benches scattered along the boardwalk

for contemplation and bird observation. They are very handy for

retreating from the sun or rain and to setup a tripod.

The boardwalk is wheelchair friendly.

Bird list for

Wakodahatchee Wetlands:

Palm WarblerMottled DuckDouble-crested

CormorantRed-winged BlackbirdPurple GallinuleFish CrowPied-billed GrebeMoorhenTri-colored HeronAmerican CootBoat-tailed Grackle

Eurasian Collared DoveBlack-crowned Night HeronAnhingaYellow-rumped WarblerGreat Blue HeronGreen-backed HeronTree SwallowPurple MartinSavannah SparrowBlack-bellied

Whistling DucksCommon YellowthroatBlue-headed VireoGlossy IbisStarlingGreat EgretCommon GrackleWhite IbisNorthern Mockingbird

Blue JayRed-shouldered Hawk

Light MorphBlue-gray GnatcatcherBlack & White Warbler

Cattle EgretTurkey VultureGray Catbird

Bird List for

Green Cay W

Red-winged BlBoat-tailed GraMoorhenGreat EgretRoyal TernOspreyCommon GracAmerican Coo

Great Blue HerGreen-backed Purple MartinDoublecresteTurkey VultureSnowy EgretTri-colored HeMourning DovGlossy IbisPied-billed GreBarn SwallowYellow-rumpePalm WarblerPurple GallinuGreen-wingedSavannah SparSora RailRed-bellied WoBlue-gray Gnat

Blue JayLimpkinCattle EgretGull-species

Baby An-

hinga (left),

Great Blue

Heron with

young

(below)

Curt Dawson

Great Backyard Bird Count

Our thanks to everyone who participated in Backyard Bird Count. Although it will be a litfore count results are tallied, if experience in reany indication, the number of participants and species is likely to have increased considerablproximately 10 years ago, this fun (and free) evparticipants to view birds at their favorite locattle as a 15-minute period and report their bird oon-line. Last year, cumulative totals of 9.8 mi635 species were reported by approximately 85

tions. The results of this nationwide count areanalyzed from a wide variety of angles, to helpmation about things such as changes in populaspecies, spatial variations (that may or may noclimate change), impacts of West Nile virus, mothers.

To learn more about this activity, see:http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/Many thanks for AoMC members who particip
http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/


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Scrub-Jays:

Recently AoMCs focus on bird conser-vation has shifted to Martin County shighly controversial Green River Parkwayproject. AoMCs advocacy is on behalf ofa family of Scrub-jays whose territory ap-pears to include portions of the proposedroadway. The oak scrub in the area be-tween Pinecrest Lakes (on the east) andU.S. 1 (on the west) is part of the HaneyCreek Greenway, a meandering corridor ofopen space that extends south from the

Savannas Preserve State Park to the St.Lucie River. Were pleased that theCounty has used some of the funds fromthe half-cent sales tax to acquire the 80-acre Gables property which may help tosustain one of the two families of Scrub-jays that inhabit this area.

JayWatchers Nancy Price, LaWayneNiedzeilski, Ollie Davis, Linda Wishney,Carol Spinney and Pam Hopkins have hada busy season. They visited a total of 37sites; 19 of which were known to have

supported Scrub-jays within the last 15years; the remaining 18 were considered aspossible Scrub-jay habitat. Of the 19 his-torical sites only two now had Scrub-jaysin residence; one with a pair and t he othera single bird. On a slightly brighter note,2 of the 18 previously undocumented sitessupported Jays. Because at least one birdin one of these pairs was identified as afemale it is hoped that more sites have amated pair in residence.

Scrub-jay breeding season begins inMarch and runs through May so Jay-Watchers will be taking a break to not dis-turb nesting birds. Monitoring activities

will be resumed in the summer to check onthe breeding success of the known fami-lies. Next season promises to be a busy oneas well since there are still many knownand potential sites yet to be surveyed.

If you would like to get involved withJayWatchers or would just like more infor-mation please contact JayWatchers Coor-dinator Pam Hopkins at [email protected] or leave a message on the

Audubon Office phone:772-288-2637.

Piping plovers:

With funding by Martin Countys Engi-neering Department and logistic supportprovided by Ecological Associates Inc.,weve recently completed a series ofshorebird surveys in the vicinity of the St.Lucie Inlet. The prime goal of the projecthas been to determine the extent to which asand bar area (that the County would liketo use as a borrow area for sand that wouldbe used to renourish severely-eroded Bath-tub Beach ) is critical to the continued sur-vival of the local wintering population ofpiping plovers. Weve found piping plov-

ers in the area on many of our surveys, andhave a much better understanding of theirpreferred foraging and resting areas.Based on sightings of several banded pip-ing plovers, we now know that at leastsome of these birds are part of the GreatLakes population of nesting ploversas atleast one of the birds was banded at Lud-ington State Park, on the eastern shores ofLake Michigan. Many thanks to all who

participated.

Property Management Activities

Maplewood Preserve

AoMC appreciates the work of members of the Martin CountyChapter of the Florida Native Plant Society who recently visitedour Maplewood Preserve to help us develop a plant list for t heproperty. The native plant enthusiasts were at their bestfindingeverything from small epiphytic orchids to 12 tall ferns, and agood time was had by all. Many thanks to AoMC propertieschairJim Kearman , who personally took on the responsibilityseveral months ago of clearing a meandering footpath through thepoison ivy and over fallen trees, which allowed us access into thenever seen before interior portions of the property. Due to sea-sonally high waters, the property is inaccessible for most months,and so it was good to get this work done at the height of the dryseason. Unfortunately, the visit also revealed the extensive pres-ence of the invasive, non-native climbing fern Lygodium.

Jim and AoMC Executive Director, Greg Braun, have also re-cently completed a grant ap-plication in search of finan-cial support to have invasive

non-native plants removedfrom the property by trainedprofessionals. The grant re-quires a local match, though,and so we may need somevolunteer labor hours to as-sist in this effort. If youd

like to help, please contact Jim at ( 772)-708-0677 or [email protected] or AoMC volunteer coordinator Debbie

Clark at (772)-288-2637 [email protected].

Thanks again to the Native

Plant Society members(several of whom are alsoAoMC members) who helpedwith this effort, including:Debra Klein, Joan Bausch,

Shawnee Bray, Bonnie

Scherer, Marge Gasser,Pam Hopkins and JohnBradford. Great work tooby AoMC co-leaders JimKearman and Greg Braun forputting together an interesting excursion that combined plants,birds, hydrology and the inter-connectedness of urban wildlands.

The Maplewood Preserve, like all other AoMC properties withthe exception of Possum Long, is open to members on a by-appointment-only basis. Contact Properties Chairman Jim Kear-man if youd like to schedule a visit.

AoMC members also recently visited the Weybright property

in Tequesta and continued with removal of pest plants at this 5-acre heavily-wooded waterfront tract on the Loxahatchee River .Nest boxes for flycatchers, screech owls, woodpeckers, bats andwood ducks were given an annual pre- nesting season cleaningand we were pleased to see a flock of goldfinches at the birdfeeders. Thanks to all who participated, including: BobGordon, Debbie Clark, Jim Kearman, Bob Leonard, Bev

Poppke, Nancy Price, Fran and Greg Stewart, TomTomlinson, Fran Wilkin and Greg Braun.

Members of the Martin County

Chapter of the Florida Native

Plant Society and AoMC trek

through AoMC's Maplewood

Preserve inventorying plant life.

Conservation Corner

Become an Audubon of MartSponsor

Yes! I want to be an AoMCYour tax deductible contribution will

our programs, projects and conservati

Name

Select your sponsorship level:O Scrub Jay

O Bald Eagle

O Osprey

O Wood Stork

O Roseate Spoonbill

O Great Blue Heron

O Other

Enclose your donation with this form

Audubon of Martin Cou

Attn. Treasurer

621 SE Palm Beach Road, Stuar

In addition to the basic membership,you can become an AoMC sponsor.Sponsorship provides funding for pro-grams, projects, field trips andAoMCs important conservation work.

$ 50 Great Blue HeronSpecial recognition in the Scrub Jay and

a certificate of appreciation.

$ 100 Roseate SpoonbillRecognition in each Scrub Jay , a

certificate of appreciation, an AoMC

t-shirt and one complementary member-

ship for a person of your choice.

$ 250 Wood StorkSpoonbill benefits plus one copy of the

Sibley Field Guide to Birds and a lunch-

eon briefing with the AoMC President

and Executive Director.

$ 500 OspreyWood Stork benefits plus a natural

history tour led by an AoMC Board

member to the nesting colony at Bird

Island in the Indian River Lagoon.

$ 1000 Bald EagleOsprey benefits plus a natural history

tour led by an AoMC Board member to a

local birding destination of your choice.

$ 5000 and more Scrub JayBald Eagle benefits plus a natural history

tour led by an AoMC Board member to

Everglades National Park, Merritt Island

National Wildlife Refuge, Ding Darling

National Wildlife Refuge or Arthur Mar-shall Loxahatchee NWR.

Audubon of Martin County SponsorshipLevels and Benefits

JOIN AudubonofMartin County

Name

Address

City State Zip

Phone Email

Write your check payable to Aud

Mail to: Audubon of Martin Cou

Attn: Membership

621 SE Palm Beach Roa

Stuart, FL 34994

Select your Membership level:

O Individual or family

O Senior (over 62) or Student

O Scrub Jay Newsletter only

Chapter Code: C9ZE

Hello Im Debbie Clark and I havebeen working since January as Audu-bon of Martin Countys Land Steward-ship Volunteer Coordinator. Whewlong title! Yes, however, AoMC has abig responsibility hundreds of acresin Martin County entrusted to our care.Yesour care! All the members of

AoMC have been entrusted with thecare of these beautiful lands, to hold intheir native state not only for all thewildlife that share this land with us,

but for all future generations to know what natural Florida reallymeans. And so, with your Board of Directors and your Executiveand Managing Directors, I am working to formulate a plan to

organize our membership to maintain these properties.

Our Possum Long Property, in the heart of StuarPalm Beach Road, is the most accessible. A beautForest where peace and quiet and bird songs are aheard. Every Wednesday afternoon from 2:00 P.Mour Resident Biologist and Managing Director, Dkins, can be found on the five acres welcoming memwant to help her with the planting, trimming, weedand along the way you may just learn something nby some Wednesday afternoon. We also want to ha

the Ruth Miles House, on site at Possum Long, ata week, if not six. So please get in touch with me i

share your time with us as a docent.But, thats not allplenty of other activities are i

even for the Summer! So just write me a line to letyoure interested and Ill be in touch!! My email [email protected],or leave a message fooffice 772-288-2637.

Stewardshipthe careful and responsible management of so mething entrusted to ones care.(Merriam-Webste
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


6/7

6

Announcing the Winners of AoMCs

2nd Annual Photography Contest

Thank you to the Elliott Museum for hanging our entries March 4 28!

The Elliott Museum Staff and Executive Director, Ozzie Monzon, were very supportive and worked

tirelessly to get our contest up in time. Our 106 images were hung around an entire room.

Awards will be presented at our April 16 Program Meeting. Come and see if your favorite won. Im-ages awarded for Best of Show and First Prize for the individual categories of A) Flora, B) Fauna, C) Wildlife - Really Close up,

and D) General Landscape will be on the website. Look for them to be loaded on our

website by the end of April. All entries were judged on how well they expressed the

natural environment of Florida.

Thank you also to the judges: Sheri Walker, photographer and educator, from The

Pine School, Kelly Rogers of the Stuart News and Patriche Fallon, Photographer and

Graphic Artist, from the Solid Waste Authority of Palm Beach County.

Turn around! I think I finally saw one!Saw what?You know, the bird with the orange bill! What? Ok, OK, Ill turn around.

Waiting for traffic to clear so a U turn could be made on Prattand Whitney Road during the final throws of rush hour, and aftera few questions regarding the one he saw, I was able to getmore clarity on exactly what my car-pool buddy had seen. There under the power lines I know I saw a Caracara! My very

first one! he said. He was SOOOO excited.Finally I made the turn and inched down the r oad (waiting to

get run over by a flying 5 th wheel pickup) he pointed out the birdhe saw. It actually was a Caracara! Amazingat 70 mph heactually sighted it and identified it. (he is not a birder either)

Under a closer, quick review with binocs, this bird was walk-ing in a field, just inside thefence gate underneath the FPLlines. The bird had not maturedinto a beautiful orange leggedadult but had the orange markingon the face and the pale legs of ajuvenile. The bird did not movemore quickly, just kept walking,

when we approached; althoughthe Eastern Meadowlarks werespooked as my truck crushed andpopped an aluminum can. Fi-nally the bird took off and hov-ered near the ground; not good

as they usually take off pretty quickly. The right wing was flap-ping strangely and we could see some feathers were missing. Ithad a broken wing. It had probably just had a collision with theelectrical power lines.

We watched for a while to see how it was getting on; I decidedto call for a rescue. The wildlife rescue folks were familiar withthe area and were there in about 20 minutes. The rescue attemptwas to no avail since the bird was very able to run and half fly tokeep just ahead of the would-be rescuer. During the wait to see ifthe bird could be caught we observed 3 more Caracara in the vi-cinity. One even brought a mouse, in its beak, to give to the in-jured bird. How do I know this? The gift carrying bird landed

exactly where the injured bird had been when we drove up. Itcalled and looked around for about 5 minutes then took off toobserve from atop a pole. It probably was the bird that was sit-ting about 50 ft away when we arrived.

Was it right to call for rescue? The bird was not caught andwas more energy deprived after flopping around the cow pasturefor half an hour. Its friendly companion was bringing food for itand now was confused at its absence.

Since the bird vs wire incident, we have observed the Caracarasin the same area within 100 feet of the event on a daily basis.Are they feeding their downed companion? Will the bird be ableto avoid the eventual meeting with the area resident Bobcat?

I remain torn.

Photo - Reyno Rosete

Was it the correct decision? By Laurie Odlum

Public Land Acquisition UpdateMartin Countys public Land Acquisition Selection Com-

mittee recently completed their final ranking of properties thatare worthy of purchase using the half-cent sales tax that wasapproved by voters in 2006. Acquisition has been completed

on several properties, and negotiations continue on severalothers. One property of particular interest to AoMC is a ~500-acre tract that adjoins our Loop Road sanctuary. If ac-quired, this property, aka the Collier tract, would provide apermanent preserved greenway linking AoMC property withthe Countys ~ 400-acre Hawks Hammock. We are gratefulto residents who voted for the 5-year sales tax; we are hopefulthat the County will continue its success in obtaining match-ing funds for remaining acquisitions.

Eric AhrensFrank BlesiFrances M. Carpenter RichardP. CarrollEdith CoddingtonAnn CofoneRobert ConnerHenrietta Creighton

Paul O. EvansJohn ForebaughSharon GalloValerie GryniukElliot & Doris Hurwitt JanetDingle KentAudrey A. KightHelen B. McBride

Lisa J. O'BrienMildred OlsonMr. & Mrs. Ralph PikeWilliam H. PorterEllen PownerThargueriley PurdyWende ReynoldsAlfred J. Seaman

Jim StewartJean F. SwiftMary TimmGilbert C. TurnerElizabeth WadeAwilda WildemaFrank ZieglerGregory Zolton

Welcome New Members!

List of Special Targe

White-tailed TropicbMagnificent FrigatebWhite morph of GreaReddish EgretRoseate SpoonbillWood StorkGreater FlamingoSooty TernBrown NoddyBlack NoddyWhite-crowned PigeMangrove Cuckoo

Smooth-billed AniBurrowing OwlAntillean NighthawkRed-cockaded WoodMottled DuckMasked DuckSwallow-tailed KiteSnail KiteShort-tailed HawkCrested CaracaraLimpkinGray Catbird

This month this section should be calledbirds of the month, for we are not dealing withjust one species, but with many. TargetBirds is the topic. What, you may ask, is aTarget Bird? One which you want to seeand make an exerted effort to do so. For ex-ample, if you are from Massachusetts andvisiting Martin County, one of your targetbirds might be a Snail Kite or perhaps a Red-dish Egret. Neither of these birds are normally

found in Massachusetts. There are twenty-sixother Florida specialties (not including theexotics that have escaped from their gildedcages or zoos) which birders come to Floridato find and see. A complete list of these can befound inFlorida Birds,by D.S. Maehr and

H.W. Kale II.Perhaps you are a serious

lister or ticker (a personwho keeps a list of all thebirds he or she has seenduring their lifetime). ATarget Bird for a life listeris one they have not seenbefore. A Red-leggedHoneycreeper was reported

in southern Florida in 2003and again in 2004. So manybirders that had not seen this

species before made a pilgrimage to view thislittle vagrant and add itto their life list.

There are a group ofbird watchers that keeplists of the bird speciesthey have seen in vari-ous countries, states oreven counties. To un-derstand these avidbirders we are intro-duced to two morebird watching terms:casual and accidental.

A bird is considered a casual visitor if itshows up in an area only once every two tofour years. Purple finches can be included inthis category for Florida as these finches onlyspend a winter inFlorida every fewyears. An acciden-tal is rarer and isalso called a va-grant. To qualifyfor either of thesetitles a bird mustnever have beenseen before in thestate or hasnt been

seen in well over five years. A Curlew Sand-piper could be considered an accidental orvagrant in Florida.

There are many web sites where birders canresearch the locations of casual or the rareraccidental or vagrant bird species. The bestplace to start is www.birder.com/birding/alert.Then click on to Florida. There are other sitesin which you can hunt for the latest bird news,but you must subscribe to them. These areusually free. Two good sites for Florida are:

www.birdbrain.com and ww.floridabirds.com.It is always exciting to see a new species of

bird. It is also nice to view a more commonbird you havent spotted in a long time.Watching a bird for an extended period oftime can give you an idea of how they live. So

although you maytarget a particularspecies, dont justlook at it and check itoff on your life listenjoy watching it fora spell.

Birds of the MonthBy Susan Whiting

Range map of

the Red-legged

Honeycreeper

Purple Finch (above) and

range map of the Purple

Finch (left)

Curlew Sanpipe

range map of th

Sandpiper (belo

Photo Courtesy:

Scottswildbirdfood.com

Photo: Cambridgeshire

Book Club


7/7

8

Yes No I think that the chapter newsletter, the Scrub Jay effectively communicates to the membership.

Please list any suggestions for improvement the Scrub Jay.

Please list your suggestions for future program meeting topics, presenters, field trip destinations or any other suggestion.

Audubon of Martin County

621 SE Palm Beach Road

Stuart FL 34994

Affix

Stamp

Here

Please list your suggestions for future program meeting topics, presenters, field trip destinations or any other suggestion.

FOLD

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AUDUBON OF MARTIN COUNTYMEMBERS QUESTIONNAIRE Spring 2009

In order to better serve the needs of our community next year, your Audubon Board of Directors needs your he

just a few minutes to complete this questionnaire about the goals, activities and program topics that you would

sider for next year. Please clip, fold and return it to us AoMC by the end of April.

WHY DID YOU JOIN AUDUBON?

(Check all that apply)

___ To get Audubon Magazine

___ To promote conservation

___ To attend field trips

___ To learn more about birds

___ To meet people with similar interests

___ Other ________________________________________

WHAT TYPE OF MEETING TOPICS DO YOU FIND THE MOSTINTERESTING?

___ Birding

___ Conservation issues

___ Habitat preservation or restoration

___ Natural history and wildlife

___ Other ________________________________________

PLEASE CHECK THE CONSERVATION ISSUES THAT YOU

BELIEVE SHOULD BE PRIORITIES FOR US

___ Protection of birds___ Protection of beaches & barrier islands___ Protection of wetlands___ Energy conservation___ Land acquisition and habitat protection___ Recycling/solid waste management___ Protection of endangered species___ Environmental education ___ Other______________________________

CHECK IF YOU HAVE EVER CONTACTED A GOVERN-MENTAL OFFICIAL OR AGENCY ABOUT A CONSERVA-

TION ISSUE AS A RESULT OF:

___ A monthly program meeting___ An article in the Scrub Jay___ Public media___ Another conservation group___ Audubon of Florida

I WOULD ATTEND THE BIRD ID COURSE IF ITFOCUSED ON:

____Birding by ear ____habitat & its birds ____Plumage variations ____Migration influences ____Backyard birds ____Field work ____one family group ____Rarities ____Local birds by month ____Right place wrong bird

IF IT WERE HELD ON: Week ___NIGHT ___DAYSWeekend ___ DAYS

WHAT FIELD TRIP OR WORKSHOP WOULD

ATTEND IF IT FOCUSED ON:

___ Wildlife photography___ Creating backyard wildlife habitats___Citizens role in local decision-making & ___ Identifying plants and animals___ Habitat restoration work

Other:_____________________________________

WHAT TYPES OF FIELD TRIPS ARE YOU MO

ESTED IN ATTENDING?

___ Weekend trips ___ Hiking ___ Weekday trips ___ Plant ID___ Canoe/kayak trips ___ Local trips ___ Boat trips ___ Distant locatio ___ Birding ___ Wilderness ar

Other ________________________________

IN WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING WOULD YOESTED IN PARTICIPATING ?

___ Assisting at the AoMC office

___ Assisting with fund-raising

___ Assisting with grant writing/administratio

___ Assisting at community events & outreach

___ Assisting with program meetings

___ Assisting the conservation committee

___ Assisting the education committee___ Assisting with public relations

___ Assisting the treasurer

___ Assisting with field trips

___ Assisting with hospitality

___ Birdathon

___ Christmas Bird Count

___ Organizing or participating in bird surveys

___ Contacting elected officials

___ Helping with a telephone tree

___ Management of AoMC properties

___ Organizing letter-writing campaigns

___ Representing AoMC at community mtgs

___ Serving on the Board of Directors

___ Writing an article for the Scrub Jay

Name___________________________________

Phone:_________________________________

Yes I will get my newsletter off the website. (Dont send me a newsletter)

Name: _____________________________City ________________ST___ZIP____________

Yes I would like to get AoMC Field trip reminders & updates electronically.

Yes I want to receive newsletter notifications via e-mail.

Yes I want to receive my newsletter electronically.

Please provide your email address.______________________________________________

april 2009 scrub jay newsletter audubon of martin county

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