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Flagler Audubon Society
2011-2012 season
WELCOME!
This is what we do
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Monthly lectures by
leading local bird and ecology experts
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Birding trips by car,
boat, and/or foot to educate, entertain, socialize.
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On line bird
sightings database using e-bird.org
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Advocate environmentally
friendly practices to protect our world for all living things.
We meet at 6:30 p.m. the first
Thursday of each month October through April at the Florida Hospital
Flagler (just west of I95) on SR100 Palm Coast. The program will start
at 6:30 pm. We will be in meeting room A or B. All members (and
visitors) of the community are welcome to attend meetings and
participate in activities
NEXT MEETING LOCATION CHANGE!!!!
The Flagler
hospital needs all its meeting rooms for Feb 2nd and as a
result we will now be meeting at 6:30 pm on Feb 2nd at the
community center on Palm Coast Parkway. The speaker will be Audubon's
resident shorebird expert Monique Boerbon Abrams.
This is a one
time relocation and all future events are expected to be held at the
Flagler Hospital on SR 100.
New eagles nest
– a pair of young eagles has just started the nesting process at
location in Grand Haven. Flagler Audubon will be organizing an eagle
watch team to document their progress. We will also be maintaining a
picture diary of their actions. You can see the pictures by clicking
here :
LINK TO EAGLE NEST
Update from Glenn Gouldey on 1/23. They were at the nest when he
arrived and eating in the nest, working in the nest, branching at the
nest, beeking (eagle kissing) and then he observed them mating! They
are definitely bonding and there are still hopes they start a family
this season.
Next bird walk
– February 3 (FRIDAY) Annual
Shorebird Count
We are holding
the annual SHOREBIRD COUNT on FRIDAY Feb 3rd. This event
will run from 8 thru 12 on Friday morning and runs from Flager Beach
to Marineland. Many thanks to those who signed up at the recent
meeting. We can always use more counters so feel free to join us at
Flagler Pier on Friday Feb 3 at 8:00 am.
Next field trip
– January 21 Merritt Island – join us for one of the perennial
highlights of the birding year. This trip always ends counting
multiple thousands of ducks and shorebirds and many exciting birds
such as spoonbills, avocets, pintails, stilts, dunlin, etc. Meet at
Winn-Dixie on SR100 at 8:00
You should note
that there is now a per car charge for driving along the Blackpoint
Wildlife Drive. This fee is waived if you are in possession of an
America the Beautiful pass. This is issued to seniors (age 62 and
over); costs $10; and provides lifetime access to ALL USFWS, Forest
Service, BLM and NATIONAL PARKS. What a deal! You can get the pass at
local Federal Parks (the nearest are Fort Matanzas or at Fort San
Marcos in St Augustine) more details at the following web site http://www.nps.gov/findapark/passes.htm
Upcoming events
we are planning
a three day (2 night) trip to the Ding Darling Wildlife Reserve in
Sanibel in South Florida. This trip will run from Feb 17th
thru 19th.
Leave Flagler
County Fri -- 2/17 arrive Lee County that p.m.
We have booked a
block of rooms at :
Casa Loma Motel
3608 Del Prado So.Cape Coral, Fl 33904
Tel
877-227-2566 or
239-549-6000
Standard room
rate(with in season discount)$79.00
Waterfront room
(with in season discount)$89.00 per night
includes:heated
pool,dock for fishing,free wi-fi, continental breakfast, rooms with
one queen bed or two doubles.
Members should
call direct and book as a Flagler Audubon member to secure rate.
Some may want to
stay over on the night of the nineteenth to include a side trip to
Corkscrew Swamp. That is up to each member themselves. Dining out can
be determined there by the attendees.
Ding Darling NWR--Guided
Tour on Sat. 2/18 beginning in a.m.
If you are
interested in coming with us then please send us email to
flagleraudubon@gmail.com and we
will get back to you.
We have just
completed our 5th annual Christmas Bird Count of the
current era. We restarted our commitment to this oldest of citizen
science events after a 30 year hiatus and the tradition seems to
getting stronger every year. This year we had 33 members in 6 teams
doing a long days counting starting at 7:30 a.m. and finishing at 5:00
p.m. Special thanks are due to Walt and Angela Mahler – Walt for
driving the count logistics and reporting. Angela for graciously
hosting the after count summary and social gathering.
Despite a
strong feeling from the count leaders that there was a big decline in
overall bird numbers and therefore that we would have very low counts;
we were pleasantly proved wrong. Last year we saw 105 species; this
year 100. We only saw about ½ the number of birds this year but most
of the variation was accounted for by the late arrival of the robins.
Watch this site for more detail of the final official count results
and interpretation.
Poets corner
sometimes we get
so wrapped up in what birds we see and count that we don't take the
time to stand back and see the big picture of nature's beauty. Poetry
helps us take a broader view.
The Oven Bird
by Robert
Frost
There is a
singer everyone has heard,
Loud, a mid-summer and a mid-wood bird,
Who makes the solid tree trunks sound again.
He says that leaves are old and that for flowers
Mid-summer is to spring as one to ten.
he says the early petal-fall is past
When pear and cherry bloom went down in showers
On sunny days a moment overcast;
And comes that other fall we name the fall.
He says the highway dust is over all.
The bird would cease and be as other birds
But that he knows in singing not to sing.
The question that he frames in all but words
Is what to make of a diminished thing.
Want to join Audubon online?
Follow this link and please insert E
4 7 in the first (Chapter Code) block:
https://websvr.audubon.org/forms/updated/chapter-cc.html
Flagler Audubon
PO Box 350695
Palm Coast, FL 32135-0695
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