august-september 2005 avocet newsletter tampa audubon society

8/9/2019 August-September 2005 Avocet Newsletter Tampa Audubon Society

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The publication of the Avocet is funded in part through a grant from the TECO Foundation.

In August 2004, my husband Al and I were handed the keysto the ARC at the Park (the visitor center at Lettuce LakePark). We offered to help keep the doors open and be theARCs interim caretakers until resources permitted the hiringof staff again.

This community education center, started by former TampaAudubon president Ged Caddick in 1998, is a mutuallybeneficial public-private partnership between the TampaAudubon Society and the Hillsborough County Parks,Recreation and Conservation Department.

Tampa Audubons responsibility is to operate the LettuceLake Visitor Center as an information and interpretive center on weekend days at a minimum. In exchange, we areprovided with an attractive classroom and meeting space ina beautiful natural setting from which Tampa Audubon canconduct environmental education activities and therebyfurther its mission of connecting people to nature.

With the help of a lot of very special people and donors the

ARCs operations, programs and field trips continued on ascaled-back basis. On Page 3 is a list of some of the ARC atthe Park accomplishments over the last year.

SPECIAL EDITION

Annual Report: Audubon Resource Center at Lettuce Lake ParkJuly 2004 through June 2005

by Marilyn Kershner Community Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator

Volume XV, Issue 10 Tampa Audubon August/September 2005


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Officers:President Stanley Kroh

Immediate Past President Ann Paul

1 st Vice President John Costin

2 nd Vice President David Audet

Treasurer Vacant

Recording Secretary Janet Costin

Corresponding Secretary Russell Burdge

Directors: Christine Malzone (2004-2006)Sabina Espinet Todd (2005-2007)Rob Heath (2004-2006)Melanie Higgins (2004-2006)Mike Donahue (2005-2007)

Committees and Programs:ARC at the Park :Marilyn Kershner and Al Tweedy

Audubon Adventures: Ann Paul

Conservation Committee :Tom Ries & Dave Sumpter

Field Trips & Outings: Mary Keith and

JoAnne Hartzler

Avocet: Mike Smith and Ann Paul

Publicity/PR : Mike Donahue

Membership Development: Karl Stevens

Fund Raising: Vacant

Web Site: John Costin

National Audubon Society Regional Committee Representative: Rich Paul

Christmas Bird Count: Dave Bowman

Special Events/Tabling Events: Sarah Brennan

Endowment : Melanie Higgins

Program: Ann Paul

Field Trips and Highlightscompiled by Mary Keith

Aug 13 Nature Walk at Lake ParkJoAnne Hartzler and Mary Keith will be leading it.Call 962-4716 for more info.

Highlights from Previous Trips

-Merritt Island -a total of 95 species were sighted,including some wonderful close up looks at verycooperative Scrub Jays; lots and lots of shore birds,including American Avocets, Red Knots, MarbledGodwits and Stilt Sandpipers, and some buffleheads.

-The IMC - This field trip to the mining areas of Mulberry was very successful. I think we had 100species, the top highlight was a long look, followingit down a road, of a white tailed kite. The eaglefamily 2 adults and 2 nestlings - was very coop-erative, and the great horned owls onnests also posed for us.

-Ft. DeSoto - On the May trip we found 82 species,including 13 different warblers, scarlet tanagers,rose-breasted and blue grosbeaks and indigobuntings, shiny cowbirds, and yellow-billed cuckoos.A family of pied-billed grebes on a floating nest, four young still striped fuzz-balls bouncing around andon top of the adults, was a treat.

Volunteers Needed!

Tampa Audubon Society currently has a couple of vacant positions on our Board of Directors. Our Board typicallymeets once a month for 1-2 hours and discusses many issues that are vital to our Chapter. If you are interested inhelping to chart the direction of our Chapter, please consider serving on our Board of Directors.The Board is also looking for volunteers to help with various projects such as fund raising activities, hospitality,membership management, letter writing, representing the Chapter at community events, etc. Whatever your uniqueskill or interest might be, we need you!

Please contact Stanley Kroh, President, at 228-4257 or [email protected] for more information.

Audubon Assemblyby Jacqui Sulek

The Chapters committee is in the process of planning the Oct. 20-22 Audubon Assembly. We are looking for achapter volunteer to coordinate the chapter displays. There are a limited number of tables available so the task willmostly involved keeping track of who signs up and letting others know when the spaces have been filled. We wouldlike to have a contact available for the next Naturalist (deadline July 6th) so please consider helping out.We are also looking for volunteers to help out over the weekend. Tasks will involve registering attendees, taking mealtickets, etc. It is a great way to interact with all the folks who will be celebrating with us. I will be coordinating thepeople and the tasks so please let me know if you can spare a little time.


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ARC at the Park

The ARC greeted nearly 10,000 visitors (9,938) on weekends, responding to questions about thepark and wildlife identification. We induced visual learning for children by having them color wild-life images and displaying them in the gallery, where we also displayed wildlife photos captured bymany of our guests. Information flowed freely through a range of multimedia projects, includingour new wetlands habitat display, nature videos, and pamphlets regarding water conservation, theTampa Bay estuary, Floridas manatees, Audubon activities and birding guides, and more.

recruited 12 additionalARC Ambassador volun-teers to handle desk dutyat the Visitor Center andorganized two volunteer training sessions

hosted five Lettuce LakePark fields trips for adults(other Audubon chapters, theYMCA Silver Sneakers group)

conducted eight free publiceducation programs attendedby more than 320 adults andchildren (thanks to programchair Ann Paul and our won-derful line-up of speakers)

hosted an all-day ARC atthe Park Open House withfield trips and two programsattended by more than 200visitors.

thanks to Kathy Albury,Dolly Cummings, Mike Mullinsand Bev Gatliff, we conductedtwelve freshwater wetlands3-hour field trips for more than300 private and home schoolelementary students, teachersand parents

planted a butterfly flower garden with interpretive photosigns all around the visitor center building (thanks to Gailand Russell Kruetzman, GaryPeele and local nurseries)which is visited frequently byhummingbirds, butterflies,skippers and moths andprovided the larval plantsneeded to produce dozens of new Monarch butterflies.


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Thank you !The activities at the ARC at the Park this past year are the result of the support of many individuals and communitypartners. Every person who made a donation, served as a volunteer, organized, attended or supported the FlockAround the Dock special event, assisted us in fulfilling the mission of the Audubon Resource Center, to connectpeople to nature. We wish to offer our sincere appreciation and many thanks in recognition of the special people thathelped the ARC at the Park with another year of successful programming:

environmental education programscrafts activities

field trip leaders

Katy Ross

flower gardens

freshwater wetlands

Kathy Alburycommitment,professionalism,enthusiasm

Flock Around the Dock

Al TweedyKathy Albury

Katy RossVi Bennett

Dolly CummingsMike Mullins

Beverly Gatliff Susan McClung

Fran WrightGail Kruetzman

Russell KruetzmanGrant Wilson

Diana StevensLiz Bleau

Lenora LakeJoe MurphyDan Harnly

Mike DonahueTom Hutchinson

Tom NelsonGregory Riusech

Rob HeathAnn PaulRich Paul

Stanley KrohJanet and John Costin

Betty WargoGail ParsonsStan MotleyPhil EvansDean May

Jackie Walker Dave Miller

Fred MulhollandBetty Kaminker

Dr. Mark Orr Diane Myers

Winnie QuindryConnie Farnsworth

Stearns Poor Shirley Denton

Ron Hosler Mary Hoppe

Nanette HollandCheryl Johnson


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A Message from Your President

I hope youre getting out and enjoying our natural areas in spite of the heat. Earlymornings and evenings are a great time to watch wildlife while avoiding the oppressiveheat that summertime can bring.

Your Board of Directors recently had our annual planning meeting in early June at PicnicIsland Park. We had some great discussions for a couple of hours until a massivethunderstorm blew in and sent us scurrying to our cars! We are still accepting ideas for field trips, monthly programs, fund raising activities and issues that we as a chapter needto work on. Please contact any Board member with your questions and ideas.

Speaking of issues that require consideration for action, have you visited southernHillsborough County lately? Growth and development is occurring at an unprecedentedrate. South Hillsborough County is the last frontier of undeveloped county lands. Butunfortunately, this area is sandwiched between the Tampa/Brandon metropolitan areaand Manatee County, two of the fastest growing areas in the nation. This coupled with areal estate market that has gone nuts, means that South County is being squeezed fromall sides. I have had recent conversations with the County staff that is responsible for reviewing new development permits and they tell me that development is now occurringso rapidly, they barely have time to do an adequate review of permit applications.

Our crazy real estate market has resulted in even greater appreciation in value for water front properties. Nowhere is this more evident than South County where developers areproposing to develop every last parcel of waterfront property- regardless of significantwildlife habitat issues, coastal hazard issues or water supply issues. Tampa Audubonmember, Mariella Smith, who also chairs the South County Conservation Committee for the Tampa Bay Group of the Sierra Club, has done an admirable job of tracking theseissues and taking our concerns to the Board of County Commissioners and other governmental bodies charged with development oversight. Please contact Mariella [email protected] to learn what you can do to see that this inevitable growthoccurs in a planned and well thought out manner.

Unfortunately, Hillsborough County is on track to rival Pinellas County as the states mosturbanized county. Certainly we can find ways to allow development while protecting our invaluable green spaces and wildlife habitat. We need natural areas to serve as refugesfrom the very urbanization that threatens to envelop us all.

As always, thanks for your support of Tampa Audubon Society.

august-september 2005 avocet newsletter tampa audubon society

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