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Bay County Audubon Society Newsletter
September/October 2019 - Vol. 45, No. 1
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Co-President's Message by Candis Harbison

A younger male friend used to refuse to join Audubon because he said it was “just a bunch of little old ladies in tennis shoes”.  Ignoring his implied sexism, this common mis-perception is far from true:  BCAS does field activities for school children, involves Scouts in its projects, and has members of all ages and genders.  True, attendees at the monthly membership meetings tend to be in the retiree class, but there are a lot of Nature-Lovers out there who pay their dues, read the magazine, and are too tired or involved with family to make it to a night-time meeting.  We all contribute to the cause of enjoying and protecting Nature!  So, lace up your tennis shoes and join us this year for an interesting program, a bird walk, a cleanup project, or a phone call to an elected official.

 Do something in defense of the Earth!
 

Upcoming Events

Until further notice, our membership meetings will be held in the
Parish Hall of St. Andrews Episcopal Church at 6:30PM

For information on field trips contact Ron Houser at 850-774-9733 or by email at rdhouser@knology.net For information about programs contact Teri Floore at tlfloore@knology.net 

Monday, Sept. 9, 2019  Membership Meeting, 6:30pm
Saturday, Sept. 14  PCB Conservation Park bird/plant walk with Sweetbay NPS, 7:30am
Saturday, Sept. 21  International Coastal Cleanup at Lake Powell Boat Ramp and Camp Helen. 8:00am
Wednesday, Sept. 25  Birds and Brews @ Oaks by the Bay Park in St. Andrews, 5:30pm
Saturday, Sept. 28  Camp Helen monthly bird survey, 6:00am
Monday, October 14  Membership meeting, 6:30pm
Saturday, October 19  Camp Helen field trip, 8:00am
October 25-26  Audubon Assembly in Gainesville
Saturday, October 26  Camp Helen monthly bird survey, 8:00am

September 2019 Membership Meeting 

By Norm Capra

Join us at 6:30 on September 9th at St. Andrews Episocpal Church, Byrne Hall for our  first membership meeting of the 2019-2020 season guest speaker  Susan Cerulean will present  "Writing the World Whole: The Nature Writer's Task". 

Writer, naturalist and activist Susan Cerulean's Coming to Pass: Florida’s Coastal Islands in a Gulf of Change was awarded a Gold Medal for Florida Nonfiction in 2016.  Her nature memoir, Tracking Desire: A Journey after Swallow-tailed Kites (University of Georgia Press, 2005), was named Editors' Choice by Audubon magazine.  Her latest work, a memoir entitled I Have Been Assigned the Single Bird (University of Georgia press) is coming out next spring.
 
Cerulean edited Between Two Rivers: Stories from the Red Hills to the Gulf, Unspoiled. Writers Speak for Florida’s Coast and The Book of the Everglades.  She designed Florida’s Nongame and Watchable Wildlife Programs, and was named Environmental Educator of the year by the Governor’s Council for a Sustainable Florida in 1997.  
Susan divides her time between Tallahassee and Indian Pass with her husband, oceanographer and climate scientist, Dr. Jeffrey Chanton.  She is President of the Friends of St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge

The presentation will be at 6:30 pm at the St. Andrews Episcopal Church in Byrne Hall and will be followed by a social with refreshments.  The address is 1608 Baker Court, Panama City, FL.  Join us for an exciting presentation and fellowship.
Photo Credit David Moyahan

BIRDS AND BREWS: A New Birding Opportunity

By Candis Harbison

Bring your binoculars to a new birding format: “Birds and Brews”, short bird walks in the late afternoon followed by a stop at a local pub or restaurant for a cold drink.  The first one will be in St. Andrews on Wednesday, September 25 at 5:30 PM.  Meet at Oaks By The Bay Park for a 45-minute walk along the shore and marina, then the group will choose a location for refreshment.  Extra binoculars will be available to borrow.  For More Information call Candis Harbison at 850-381-7500.
 
Restoration of Parker Preserve: Update

By Norm Capra

The long hot summer put some of our efforts toward the renovation of Parker Preserve on the "back burner".  However, we were able to accomplish a lot with the help of Boy Scouts from Troop 302 (St. John the Evangelist) and Troop 303 (Forest Park United Methodist Church).
In June members of the steering committee discovered that an invasion of Pokeweed had almost overtaken the preserve.  In addition, a lot of debris remained on the trails and needed to be cleaned up.  Two short workdays were scheduled in July.  With the help of several Audubon and the Sweetbay Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, the Scouts did a magnificent job of clearing the trails.  After their work was completed, we had professional help with stump removal and have just about gotten the Preserve ready for design and replanting.  We will be scheduling four work days in the coming months to continue the work of restoring Parker Preserve to a condition that Audrey would expect and the St. Andrews community will appreciate.  Please consider helping us with this task.  In addition to helping out, volunteers will learn a lot about how to continue restoration of their own yards from expert Master Gardeners, Native Plant Society members, and BCAS members.  This project is supported by an Audubon in Action Grant from the National Audubon Society.
Post-Hurricane Eastern Bluebird Nesting Season

By Pam Overmyer

As with everything in Bay County, Hurricane Michael had a significant impact on my Eastern Bluebird Trails at Majette and Harder's Parks in Bayou George. A bluebird trail is just a series of nest boxes along a designated route that are monitored for breeding activity. Bluebird nesting season runs from February to August in Florida.
 
February 2019 found me surveying the damage to the boxes and repairing and replacing what was left. In 2014, I had “adopted” 11 boxes at Majette Park (which at the time was Bay Dunes Golf Course) and 2 boxes at Harder's Park. I had added 11 more boxes at Majette, and 13 boxes at Harder's, for a total of 37 boxes over the two trails. As expected, many boxes were destroyed or missing. All but 2 of the old boxes I had adopted were damaged beyond repair or completely missing. 3 of the new boxes I had installed were completely gone, either due to the hurricane or due to the heavy equipment doing debris cleanup. That left the trail with 23 boxes. Category 5 winds pushed many of them over and were straightened back as close to vertical as possible.
 






During the trail cleanup, I was amazed to find some recently hatched bluebird babies in one of the boxes! This was unheard of for February on these trails and was the first reported hatchlings for the entire state of Florida. Counting back the days, I determined that the eggs were laid at the end of January. It seems the hurricane had affected the birds as well as the humans! Those early birds did well despite the cold weather and fledged in early March. The parents went on to have 2 more successful broods. The 4th brood had 4 eggs that didn't hatch, either because they were infertile or maybe because of the heat.
 
Despite the loss of multiple boxes, the remaining boxes have remained active and have contributed to an excellent breeding season. The final check on August 8, all of the boxes were cleaned out as the last broods had fledged or had eggs that didn't hatch long after they were scheduled to hatch.  We had a total of 268 eggs, 192 hatchlings, and 192 fledglings. This brings my 5 year total to at least 695 fledglings, and probably over 1000 but 2 seasons had limited monitoring.


 With the loss of so many trees in this hurricane, there is a significant increase in suitable habitat for bluebirds: open, grassy areas with surrounding shrubs or trees as cover. Bluebirds are cavity nesters and so many natural cavities are gone since the storm. So I encourage everyone to put up bluebird boxes to provide homes for these fascinating little feathered friends. For more information, please visit Sialis.org for everything related to bluebirds. Also, NABluebirdSociety.org and FloridaBluebirdSociety.org are the websites for the national and state bluebird societies.
 
Happy Bluebirding, y'all!

 
2019 Conservationist of the Year Award

In recognition of outstanding efforts to educate the public on the recovery of our natural habitat in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael, Bay County Audubon awarded its Conservationist of the year Award to  the Bay County Florida Master Gardeners at our Annual Banquet in May.     The Award was due in part for their timely Landscape Recovery Workshops, recently presented at Gulf Coast State College.  In addition, this award was made because  this important  information is continually reinforced by the “Ask a Master Gardener” program, actual distribution of trees, and other educational activities.   We are particularly proud to have collaborated with them last year in the “Birds Bugs and Berries Symposium which focused on the importance of landscaping with Native Plants.
 
Bay County Florida Master Gardeners are University of Florida-trained volunteer teachers. The program is directed by Julie McConnell, the University of Florida IFAS Extension faculty and Bay County Horticultural Agent.   The information disseminated by the Master Gardeners is based on the best available scientific information with a focus on environmental principles to promote biodiversity and sustainability.  The award plaque was presented to Program Director Julie McConnell and President, Carol Ann Whitehurst on behalf of all the Bay County Master Gardeners at the BCAS Annual Banquet on May 13th at St. Andrews Episcopal Church.  Photo from L to R.  Carol Ann Whitehurst, Julie McConnell, Norman Capra.
Photo by Ron Houser. 
 

Conservation Action

Lake Powell Cleanup September 21, 2019

Bay County Audubon will join  the Lake Powell Community Alliance (LPCA), the St. Andrew Bay Watch (RMA), and the Friends of Camp Helen State Park in a community effort to cleanup Lake Powell.  All BCAS members are invited to participate.  Sign-in will begin promptly at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 21st  at the Lake Powell Park [boat ramp behind Publix] as well as at Camp Helen State Park. Chosse you favorite location.  Free tee-shirts will be given to the first 75 to register.  The cleanup will last until noon. After the cleanup, learn about local conservation efforts, enjoy a pizza lunch, and stand proud for a group photo.   Participate in a 'Chance Drawing' to win some very nice prizes! 

According to Emily Ellis, LPCA Chairperson, “This event is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. This is our seventh year participating and to date we have removed over 20,000 pounds of trash from Lake Powell and her watershed. Every year we fill two dumpsters provided to us by Bay County. We are proud to be part of this global effort. It is a fun event for people of all ages who want to help maintain the health of the lake.”
 
In our little corner of the earth, we have a very unique and precious resource.  Lake Powell was designated an Outstanding Florida Waterway in 1991. It is among the largest of the rare Coastal Dune Lakes which occur in only a few places around the world. Lake Powell is known for its beauty and biodiversity, as well as its exceptional recreational and educational opportunities.  The Lake Powell Community Alliance (LPCA) is dedicated to protecting this natural resource.
Individuals and teams are welcome. Participants will be given a choice of areas to clean up with access by walking, wading, boating, or paddling. So, JOIN the TEAM / KEEP it CLEAN! 
 
What to bring: closed-toed shoes, hat, sunscreen, grabber, work gloves, water or refillable bottle, and snacks.
Please consider bringing your boat, canoe, kayak or paddleboard and join the armada of cleanup crews!  If you do bring your watercraft, please bring required life jackets, whistle, and safety devices.  We will provide: vinyl gloves, garbage bags, data cards, coffee and donuts, and water.

 

SCHEDULE
8:00 - 9:00 am -- Sign-in and Orientation
9:00 - 12:00 noon -- Lake Clean-up
12:00 - Group Photo / Pizza
12:15 - Chance Drawing
 

LAKE POWELL COMMUNITY ALLIANCE Mission: A community initiative dedicated to preserving the water quality and biodiversity of the globally rare and imperiled Lake Powell ecosystem through education, habitat restoration, watershed-based planning and community partnerships.  LPCA is a Not-For-Profit 501(c3) FEI# 20-3730450
 

Update on Water and Land Conservation Amendment 

By Ron Houser

As you recall, in 2014 75% of Florida voters voted “YES” on the Water and Land Constitutional Amendment to fund conservation land purchases in Florida for 20 years. Several of us worked hard to collect the necessary signatures to get that amendment on the ballot.  One third of documentary stamp taxes (Doc stamps) collected from real estate transactions were to be allocated to the Florida Forever trust fund. This would have collected $750 million per year for land purchases and conservation. This is a lot of money but it is less than one percent of the total state budget. Since that time, the previous governor, cabinet and legislature have refused to honor the will of the people by diverting those funds into other things like salaries and general operating expenses. This is reminiscent of what they did with the successful education amendment earlier, which was intended to give more funding to our public schools. But as we know, the legislature used “bait and switch” techniques to make sure that didn’t happen.  Now, land purchases have dropped off to almost nothing. A few years ago, several environmental groups sued the state to restore the funding as intended by voters. Last year, Circuit Judge Charles Dobson finally ruled in favor of those organizations, ruling that the will of the people and the wording of the amendment clearly was to use the collected funds toward land purchases and conservation, not to divert the funds to other budget items. This was a big win for the environment, but not surprisingly, the legislature is still fighting against it by appealing the judge’s ruling.  You can help by writing your state legislators to voice your support of conservation lands and asking them to administer the funds as we intended.  You can also help at the ballot box by voting for people who will help protect our environment, not destroy it.
 

Sign-Up for Meetup

By Mary Jo Capra

Did you know Bay County Audubon Society has a Meetup page?   We post all of our events there and would like for our members to use the page to indicate that they are going to attend an event on the page.  It will help us in planning for the event and future events if we have an idea of how many people are interested.  Once you sign up and join the Bay County Audubon Society Meetup page, you will receive an email every time we add an event  and a reminder about the event just a few day before it happens.  If you sign up for an event, after the event is over, you will receive an email asking you to rate the event and leave comments if you wish.   This feedback is important to planning future field trips and presenters for our meetings.  Please join today.  To join Meetup go to Meetup.com and click on signup in the upper right hand corner of the page.  You can join through Facebook, Google, or with your email. 

Help Wanted 

By Candis Harbison

 You know you’ve always wanted to be a journalist or an editor!  Here is your chance!  After years of loyal service, Robin Shader has given up editorship of the BCAS newsletter, and we need to replace her.  Norm Capra has capably coordinated this issue, but he also wears many other hats and could use some help.  Please contact Norm at 850-532-5636 or send an email to baycountyaudubon@gmail.com to offer your assistance.  The newsletter is only published 5 times a year.t   
New officers for 2019-2020 were installed at our Annual Banquet on May 14th
From  left to right: Lynn Marcoux-Secretary, Donna Cronwell- Treasurer, Teri Floore-Vice President, Pam Overmyer and Candis Harbison-Co-Presidents.
Photo by Ron Houser

Chapter Contacts

Co-Presidents
Candis Harbison, 381-7500 
Pam Overmyer, 832-5835


Vice President Teri Floore, 832-0678

Treasurer Donna Cronwell, 387-3786

Secretary Lynn Marcoux, 774-9733



Committees

Christmas Bird Count, Raya Pruner, 352-214-3262
Conservation, Norman Capra, 532-5636
Education, Richard and Karen Duncan, 654-1354
Field Trips, Ron Houser, 774-9733
Historian, Gail Casteel, 789-5168
Internet/Web, Mary Jo Capra, 532-9694
Membership, Diane Houser, 381-9035
Memorials, Robin Shader, rgshader@gmail.com
Newsletter, Norman Capra 532-5636
Programs, Teri Floore, tlfloore@knology.net
Publicity, Brian Dusseault,832-7579
Member Photos
Northern Cardinal.  Photo by Arnold Huyghebaert.
Scouts from Troop 302 (St. John the Evangelist) pose for a photo after workday at the Parker Preserve.  Photo by Teresa Nooney.
Scouts from Troop 303 take a work break for a photo op with BCAS members at Parker Preserve.  Photo by Teresa Nooney.
Red-headed Woodpecker recently observed at Conservation Park.  Our first bird-walk at Conservation Park will be at 7:30 on September 14th and will be a joint-field trip with the Sweetbay Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society.  Join us.
Photo by Arnold Huyghebaert.
Do you have a photo you would like to share?  Email it to Newsletter Editor Norm Capra, nfcapra@gmail.com.  Please also check out our FacebookInstagram, and Twitter sites for news and great photos!  See the social media icons at the bottom of this newsletter for access to our many social media sites.

Welcome New Members

WELCOME NEW MEMBERS TO NATIONAL AND BAY COUNTY May-July 2019
Cathy Palmer, Gerald W. Harrison, Richard Johnson, James Muller, Dawn Paramore, Harvi Lipshultz, Barbara McSpadden, Erica Johnson, Joan Borich, Sage Ebrecht, Friend of Camp Helen, Bridget Keegan, Barbara Revell, Wanda Tidwell, Laura Mann, Deborah Kerr, Nancy Cravans, Kathleen Walsh, Pam Thomas, Gloria Crowley, Sandra Davis, Mari Lewis, Ally Ramsey, Anne Ramsey, Maya Ramsey, Barbara Davis, Jerry Adams, Melissa Pizza, Rolf Gafvert, Kerry Erickson, Kelley Hodges, Kim Burton, Lynn Schneider, Lieselotte Donley, Charlett Bergeron, Lee Miller, Robert Snare, Martha McRae, Carla Stafford, Gail Payne, Linda Hill ,and Rodney Myers.

WELCOME BACK
Mary Middlemas, Nancy Webster, Pam Overmyer, Jeff Palgut, Mary McHale, Patrick M. Kelley, Bryan Muller, Joan Watkins, Elizabeth Holland, Alice Hodges, Paul Craig Roberts, and Gwynne K. Ebanks.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
 
We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on September 9th at 6:30 pm.  It will be held at the St. Andrews Episcopal Church Parrish Hall, 1607 Bakers Court, Panama City, FL 32401.

RENEWALS:  Bay County Audubon only processes new memberships.  If you are renewing your membership, you may use the form that National Audubon sends or go to National Audubon’s website, http://www.audubon.org/renew or call  1-844-428-3826. Renewal memberships are $20.00.

New Members Form (not for renewals)
Yes, please enroll me as a new member of the National Audubon Society and of the local chapter, Bay County Audubon Society (E20). Be sure to include this code (E20) on your check. Please send Audubon magazine and my membership card to the address below and email Bay County Audubon's newsletter Conservation Chronicle to the email below.    

$20 One-year membership

Name: ______________________________________________  Phone: _________________________

Address: ____________________________________________________________________________

City: ____________________________________________  Zip Code: __________________________

Email Address: _______________________________________________________________________

Please make check payable to National Audubon Society and mail this application to the local chapter.

Bay County Audubon Society
PO Box 1182
Panama City, FL 32402

Questions? Contact Membership Chair Diane Houser, 381-9035
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Bay County Audubon Society
PO Box 1182
Panama City, FL  32402






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