Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
This past July, black lumps of tar coated in sand were our power. Helping to post protected areas for coastal birds,
scattered around my feet as I watched the Least Tern chicks chaperoning colonies to protect them from disturbance, and
at Perdido Key testing their wings. Parents bringing a steady helping rooftop nesting individuals of these species who call
stream of fish back to their chicks called from the steel gray Tallahassee home will all help to offset these losses.
sky, and I found myself watching the tentative youngsters
with a bittersweet uncertainty of what their future held. This Help us build our community of conservation. Audubon’s
uncertainty seemed to hang like a cloud over our community greatest strength is neither our science nor our policy
this summer, as we all watched in horror as the impending acumen—both of which are substantial—but in fact
doom of the Deepwater Horizon Incident crept closer to our our human capital, the grassroots volunteers that give of
coast, with many of us making somber visits to our favorite themselves to act and speak on behalf of Florida’s wildlife.
coastal spots, paying our final respects to the places that have I ask each of you who were willing to clean oiled wildlife,
made our hearts sing. to consider contributing your time to help us build our
conservation community in the Tallahassee area. Attend our
I was humbled by the tidal wave of people eager to volunteer, chapter meetings. Bring your friends and neighbors. Join a
and overwhelmed by the sheer lack of volunteer activities field trip. Volunteer your talents, whether it’s helping with our
permitted by authorities in the preparation and response. butterfly garden at St. Marks, learning to identify shorebirds
Apalachee Audubon members were not to be turned away to assist with coastal surveys, sharing the joys of nature with
however. Many registered to volunteer in whatever capacity children, or baking goodies to share at the monthly program.
they could be useful. Some helped post imperiled beach-
nesting bird sites in nearby state parks, others helped If one good thing has come from this disaster, it has
rehabbers prepare for an influx of birds, and others still took motivated Floridians to dedicate their time and energy to
their concerns to the Florida Legislature during its Special conservation. Just because the well is capped does not mean
Session in July. the threat is past. Help us make Apalachee Audubon YOUR
chapter more than just in name. We have included a list
The well is now capped, and we are all breathing an uneasy of volunteer needs on page 4 and encourage you that no
sigh of hopeful relief, beginning to take stock of the change contribution of time or creativity is too small. I look forward
on our coasts. to hear from each of you your ideas for how we can help our
community and coast recover in the coming year.
These long-term effects will be difficult to detect, measure and
combat, so one of the most meaningful things we can do is You can email me at parulablue@comcast.net.
to address the challenges coastal species face that ARE within
Outreach volunteer: Staff the Apalachee Audubon display table at a regional festival (dates/locations below). Share
your enthusiasm for birds and the environment with adults, or help with kids activities at our booth. Volunteers
work in pairs, and no experience is needed—we are happy to pair you with a board member or another seasoned
volunteer. Only job requirement is: an enjoyment of talking about nature! We need volunteers to help with tabling at
the following events:
• Big Bend Environmental Forum Candidates’ Forum: October 7, 6:00-9:00 p.m. Tallahassee
• St. Marks NWR Monarch Festival: October 23, 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., St. Marks (We need volunteers willing
to work two-hour-long shifts.)
• St. Marks Wildlife & Outdoors Heritage Festival: February TBA, St. Marks NWR
• Wakulla Wildlife Festival: April 2, 2011, Edward Ball Wakulla Springs State Park
• Birdsong Nature Center Festival: April 2011 (date TBA), Thomasville, GA
• Senior Days: Put on by the Leon County Senior Outreach program
- Bradfordville, October 13, 10:30 a.m.-12-30 p.m.
- Woodville, October 14, 10:30 a.m.-12-30 p.m.
- Ft. Braden, October 19, 10:30 a.m.-12-30 p.m.
- Chaires-Capitola, October 26, 10:30 a.m.-12-30 p.m.
- Miccosukee, November 26, 10:30 a.m.-12-30 p.m.
Butterfly Garden Tending: Join other Audubon volunteers in tending Apalachee Audubon’s butterfly garden at
St. Marks NWR. Dates/times flexible. Knowledgeable gardeners and those willing to learn all welcome! Butterfly
Garden Chairperson is Ann Bruce. Contact Ann at home (850) 224-4760 or cell (850) 766-3061 OR at
annbruce7@gmail.com.
Nature Writer: Work to develop a brochure for our St. Marks Butterfly Garden. Writing and layout/design skills
welcome!
The Bringer of Treats: Everyone loves the person who brings the goodies to the monthly program meetings. Sign
up to be the most popular person in the room for as many meetings as you are willing! Our program meetings
are held on the 4th Thursday of the month in Tallahassee at the historic Amtrak Station, 918 Railroad Square.
Upcoming dates include: September 23, October 28, November 18.
Child at Heart: Conceive of and prepare self-contained children’s activities about birds for use at outreach events.
Are you a teacher? Are you crafty? Or just a big kid? We need you!
Field Trip Leaders: Interested in leading a field trip—for adults, kids or both? We can never have too many
fieldtrips!
If you are interested in helping AAS with anything listed above, please let us know.
Contact VP Jan Bordelon at (850) 942-8078 or jan.bordelon@gmail.com to learn more or sign up.
Jan will be glad to chat with you about details of anything we’ve listed here.
Without banding hummingbirds, we could not document See photos of this bird and the banding session at:
their migration habits or distinguish this bird from the other http://pbase.com/fdietrich/alaska
thousands that breed in Prince William Sound. Obviously
there was no harm done to this bird during banding and Fred Dietrich lives in Tallahassee and is one of a few dozen
carrying the band didn’t affect its ability to fly. The weight banders in the country trying to learn more about the movements
of the band is less than 0.2% of its body weight, roughly and ecology of western hummingbird species that are migrating
and wintering in the East and Southeast in growing numbers.
Presentations are arranged by the student’s last name, not by the order of presentations:
• The genetic consequences of habitat fragmentation on Brown-headed Nuthatch. Kin-Lan Han, University of Florida,
Gainesville, FL
• Winter homing behavior in forest birds and the effects of forest cover. Chelsea Heatherington, University of Florida,
Gainesville, Fl.
• Landscape permeability of southern pine forests by Bachman’s Sparrows at Ft. Benning, GA. Clark Jones, University
of Georgia, Athens, GA.
• Differences in breeding ecology of Seaside Sparrows in Gulf and Atlantic coastal marsh habitats. Anna Joy
Lehmicke, University of Georgia, Athens, GA
• The effects of breeding status on singing frequency in Bachman’s Sparrow. Aubrey Sirman, Florida State University,
Tallahassee, FL.
• American Oystercatcher nesting on the gulf coast of peninsular Florida. Matthew Smith, Audubon of Florida Florida
Coastal Islands Sanctuaries, Tampa, FL.
• Effects of sociality in the Bahama Parrot. Caroline Stahala, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL.
• Eastern Painted Bunting habitat use in Florida. Derrick Thrasher, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.
• Quality vs. quantity: how urbanization affects body and plumage condition in nestling and juvenile Florida Scrub-
Jays. Angela Tringali, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL.
Your membership expiration date is shown at top right above your name. For problems with membership, call the National
Audubon Society Office at 1-800-274-4201. For problems with mailings, contact Pam Flynn at pflynn@us.ibm.com.