december 2009 scrub jay newsletter audubon of martin county

8/9/2019 December 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

Welcome New Members!

Audubon of Martin

Countys

Third Annual

Photo Contest!

All entries will be j udged onhow well they express the wild andnatural environment of Florida. Im-ages will again be displayed with thehelp of the Elliott Museum.

There is a $5 fee for each entry

into the Photography Contest. All

entries should be works completed

from January 1, 2009 through

March 1, 2010. Competition cate-gories include: A) Flora, B) Fauna,

C) Up Close Wildlife, and D) Gen-eral Enviro-scape.

Watch thisspace for fu-

ture updateson exact sub-

mission datesand rules.

Anne Burwell

Barbara Lapham

Jollyn Nolan

Maria Penman

Pidge Tibbetts

Connie Rizzo

Ely White

CraneWatch Meeting

Do you live with Sandhill Cranes. or just love them? If so, and you are interested infinding out how you can help this beleaguered bird, come to the CraneWatch OrientationMeeting at the Audubon Office on Palm Beach Road on January 19th at 10 a.m.

Our CraneWatch program is AoMC members and others who work to promote the wel-fare and awareness of Sandhill Cranes throughout Martin County.

JayWatch UpdateJayWatchers Nancy Price, LaWayne

Niedzielski, Fran Stewart, Mary Ann Gans& Pam Hopkins made a flying start to theJayWatching season with close up and verypersonable views of what is believed to betwo families of scrub-jays. They were con-ducting their curb-side surveys in the pre-serve areas north of Haney Creek. Ivenever seen the Jays this far north and westat this site, says JayWatch Coordinator

Pam Hopkins. It could be that constructionwork on the Green River Parkway Exten-

sion along the eastern side of the site hascaused the birds to shift their territory. Thistime the birds had somewhere to go; all toooften development will only leave an acreor two of suitable habitat which will notsustain a family for more than one genera-tion. Survival of these avian families willnow depend on how well the surroundinghuman neighbors manage the scrub habitatin their preserves.

Mark Your Calenda

December 2009

10 Pre-Christmas Bird Count SemPM at the AoMC office. Contman 561-746-7293

17 Program Meeting, Lesser Knoareas of South Florida with C

19 Field TripTake a varied trip Audubon Properties. Meet at of Columbus at 7:30 AM.

January 2010

2 2009 Christmas Bird Count14 Program Meeting, STA-5 Crea

with BJ Kattel of SFWMD, and

Officers

19 CraneWatch Orientation 10 A

Office.

30 Field TripSTA-5 ReservatioMeet at Knights of Columbus a

February 2010

18 Program Meeting, Creating

for Migrating Flocks. John O

Audubon of Florida Ornitholo

20-21 Field TripIndian River Cou

Facility, Viera Wetlands and M

NWRreservations required

Field Trip : Saturday, December 19th

Audubon PropertiesLoop Preserve to 4 Rivers and More

Recognizing that it is close to the holidays and time is limited,AoMCs December field trip will be a local, morning excursion tovisit several AoMC-owned properties. Although most of our mem-bers know our office and Possum Long, those areas total about 1%of our land-holdings. Well meet at the Knights of Columbus hall onKanner Highway in time for a 7:30 AM car-pooling departure.

Well visit our Maplewood and 4 -Rivers properties in Palm Cityand then venture to the Citrus Blvd (formerly known as Loop Rd)sanctuary where well take a look at the results of our wetland resto-

ration project that took place several years ago. Well check on thewood duck nest boxes that were made and installed by Eagle ScoutEric Kuykendall and end by noon-ish after visiting the 20-acre futurehome of the Treasure Coast Wildlife Hospital.

Learn about our properties, help us add to the bird lists for eachproperty and hear about how you can help with our AoMCs landstewardship activities. Call the office (772-288-2637) or email [email protected] to make your reservation. Cost: $5

members, $10 non-members. Bring your own drinks and lunch.

audubonmartincounty.org 772-288-2637

December 2009

Program Meeting: Thursday, December 17th

Claudine Laabs- Lesser Known Areas of South Florida

Brown-bag luncheon beginning at 11:00 at theAoMC office. Join us to see the superb bird pho-tography from Palm Beach Countys ClaudineLaabs. Claudine wowed us last year with hergreat bird shots of herons, egrets, and ospreystaken at various locations throughout South Flor-ida. This season she will take us to lesser knownbirding areas from Sebastian inlet and Blue Cy-press Lake south. Come meet one of south Flor-idas leading nature photographers.

Meeting Location:This year, we're having the monthly program meetings at our

AoMC office, at 621 SE Palm Beach Rd., Stuart, 33494. Hospitalityat 11:00 AM; program begins at 11:30. Bring your own brown-bag

lunch.
http://us.mc655.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc655.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc655.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]://us.mc655.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]


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AUDUBON HOUSE DOCENTS

Beverly Poppke, Ed Fisher,

Carol Coyne, Linda Wishney

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

Our annual Support AoMC Appeal Letter is in the mail to you. Re-member, your financial support is what keeps things moving for yourlocal chapter. Read carefully about what we have accomplished and the

plans for the future. I am not suggesting you write a check equal to yourannual mortgage payment (although it would be nice) but think abouthow valuable the conservation of land is to you, your family and to thewildlife here in Martin County. Your dollars provide a voice in the darkfor those who just want a place to live and raise their families in a safeenvironmentjust like you do. Land preservation and conservation pro-vide the homes for local birds and rest-stops for migrating flocks. Yourdollars support our Tern Guardian program, the Piping Plover habitatprotection program, and the BluebirdWatch program as well as our estab-lished Sandhill CraneWatch, JayWatch and EagleWatch programs. Weprotect the birds by protecting their land and t heir right to have homestoo.

Give your support to birds through your financial supporttoday.

Remember: our newsletter is available on-line in full living color.

Please contact Curt Wood if you prefer to save some trees and go getthe newsletter off our site instead of receiving a hard copy.Audubonmartincounty.org

EagleWatch Liaison Clare-Rue Morgan 772-286-9833

Bluebird Coordinator/

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 772-408-6153

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 Bill Nelson: 202.224.5274

Senator George LeMieux: 202.224.3041

Representative: Tom Rooney 772.288.4668

Audubon has temporarily blockedthe Texas oil companies attempt topass legislation in the Florida Leg-islature that would have put oil r igsthree miles (actually within sight)from our beaches. The FloridaHouse of Representatives passedthe legislation, but with your help,we were able to block the bill in theFlorida Senate this year. The oilindustry has indicated, however,that they will start a continuingprocess to bring back legislation

next year to open Floridas near-shore waters to drilling. This iswithin 3 milesthese could beeasily seen by you sitting in yourbeach chair.

Audubon needs your help and thehelp of all Floridians to protect ourcoastal economy and ecology. goto: protectfloridasbeaches.org tolearn more about how to protect

Floridas almost $562 billioncoastal economy, its pristinebeaches and extraordinary birds andwildlife.

There are alternative solutionsthat will help Florida end its de-pendence on oil, reduce its carbonfootprint and create jobs in renew-able energy and energy efficiencyindustries.

Help Audubon protect Floridasbeaches for humans and wildlife.Contact your Legislators frequently

to let them know their responsibil-ity to all of Floridas inhabitants.

Board Members 2009-2010

Executive Director Greg Braun

561-575-2028 Office

561-575-0042 fax

Staff Members

Managing Director Pam Hopkins 772-408-6153

Volunteer Coordinator Debbie Clark 772-545-2404

Executive Board Members

President Laurie Odlum 772-486-2837

Vice-President Doug Warns 772-462-3751

Treasurer Bob Gordon 772-546-2206

Secretary, Recording Carol Schaming 772-341-5336Conservation Bob Matheson 772-485-0944

Education Catherine Hilton

Field Trips Mary Starzinski 772-221-9953

Resource Development Doug Warns 772-462-3751

Membership Curt Wood 772-546-5435

Programs Ed Fielding 772-286-6131

Properties Jim Kearman 772-708-0677

Public Relations Joan Bausch 772-219-8285

Nature Center Susan Smyth 772-692-3489

Newsletter Editor Lisa Fiore 772-528-9707

Wildlife Center Dan Martinelli 772-286-6200

Garden Club Liaison Louise White 772-283-4416

Youth Liaison Jessie Green 772-283-3024

OTHER IMPORTANT CONTACTS

From Audubon of Florida

Protect Floridas Beaches Fund; Fight Back

Against the Oil Companies

Give a gift to the

planet this year!

Its the holiday seasonagain. Just a couplequick reminders

Field Trip Report: Adams Ranch

Due to popular demand we returned to Adams Ranch and we werenot disappointed. Adams Ranch is steeped in history with four gen-erations of a family working together today in one of t he oldest cattleranches in Florida and the 12th largest in United States. The ranchwas founded in 1937 and covers 50,000 acres of pasture land andcontains abundant areas with large hammocks.

Mike Adams was our guide and driver for the day. We started outwith a presentation about the ranch, its water, its land managementand, of course, its cattle which have been bred for their prized mar-bleized beef. Over the years these cattle have be cross bred withHerford bulls and Brahma cows to developed a cross called Abeef.These cattle were developed to withstand pests, heat and thedroughts of Florida as well.

We later boarded the "open air" bus for a tour of the ranch withhuge wide open pastures and old world hammocks scattered about.Cattle were seen through out the ranch; the many cows had youngcalves.

We were not disappointed with the birds. Many Sandhill Cranes,Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Wood Storks (adult and juvenile),Caracaras ,which looked to be above a nesting site in some cabbagepalms, Belted Kingfishers and many more. As we drove along therutted path, we stopped in one of the hammocks. Mike pointed outmany of the native plants. There were huge ancient live oak treesdraped in Spanish moss, resurrection ferns and wild orchids alongwith towering cabbage palms. Wild coffee and wild grape vinesgrew throughout this special place.

We later came to the Artesian well and the well known tree house.The tree house was built years ago for the early Adams children andwraps in and around an old live oak tree. From high above, it givesyou a view of the well including the beautiful clear water, fish, snap-

ping turtle and, of course,alligators as well as the

hammock surrounding it.If you have never been to

Adams ranch, it is a " mustdo" trip. It gives you a viewof old world Florida, andshows you how people,who truly love the land,have cared for it and all itswildlife while still maintain-ing a working ranch.

Access to this ranch isextremely limited and is by

special permission only; this is a working ranch not a destination.

Thank you, Adams family it was our honor to visit.

Bird List:

Great Blue HeronRed-shouldered

HawkBoat-tailed GrackleMourning DoveFlickerRed-bellied

Woodpecker m/fCommon CrowGlossy Ibis

American KestrelBlack-bellied

Whistling Duck

Sandhill CraneMoorhenCarolina WrenLittle Blue HeronEastern PhoebeNorthern

MockingbirdBlack VultureEastern Meadowlark

Wood Stork (adult &juvenile)Yellow-rumped

WarblerCrested CaracaraBelted Kingfisher

Other Species:

American AlligatorDeerSnapping Turtle

The South Entrance Project at PLN

Teddy Merritt together with members of S840 of Palm City and the PL Habitat Creationished the Sansevieria project on the east side Longs south entrance early in November. ASansevieria (Snake Plant or Mother-in-laws-tbeen disfiguring the entrance area for many ysevieria is on the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Coplants that are causing significant damage to Ftive habitats. It is part of our mission both hesum Longsite aswell in ouroutreach

activitiesto encour-age theeradica-tion ofplants onthis list.In concep-tion Teddys project seemed straight forwardSansevieria and other exotic species, re-planplants and throw down some mulch. The Santurned out to be larger and more dense than apected and Teddy and his group had to work fmornings to remove it all. To his great credit vered and made a lovely job of that li ttle cornLong. The project was part of his work for pthe rank of Eagle Scout. A big thank you to Troup 840.

Plant donations

Now that it is getting a little cooler work in

and Hummingbird Garden has resumed. After

been weeded and pruned we would like to pr

teers with some native plants to fill in the barr

Most butterflies will only lay their eggs on sp

planting a range of native species will provide

terfly larvae as well as nectar for the adults. A

Long we want to encourage butterflies to bree

come to a nectar source. The Possum Long H

tion Team would love to have donations of se

cuttings, or potted up volunteers of any of t

NATIVEplants:

Tropical Sage Salvia coccinea

Native Porterweed Stachytarpheta jamaicen

CrossvineBignonia capreolata

Orange Milkweed Asclepias tuberosa Chapmans Blazing Star Liatris chapmanii

Pennyroyal Piloblephis rigida

Garberia Garberia heterophylla

Sandhill Prairie Clover Dalea feayi

Pineland Lantana Lantana depressa

Passion vines Passiflora incarnata & suber

To arrange a donation please Pam a [email protected] or by phone: 772-2

Bud Adams took time to share some of his experiences

growing up on, and now running, their vast ranch.
https://loon.audubon.org/payment/donate/FLAUDPOL.htmlhttps://loon.audubon.org/payment/donate/FLAUDPOL.htmlmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]:[email protected]://loon.audubon.org/payment/donate/FLAUDPOL.htmlhttps://loon.audubon.org/payment/donate/FLAUDPOL.html


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Become an Audubon of Martin CountySponsor

Yes! I want to be an AoMC Sponsor Your tax deductible contribution will help us sustain

our programs, projects and conservation efforts.

Name

Select your sponsorship level:O Scrub Jay $ 5,000

O Bald Eagle $ 1,000

O Osprey $ 500

O Wood Stork $ 250

O Roseate Spoonbill $ 100

O Great Blue Heron $ 50

O Other $

Enclose your donation with this form and mail to:

Audubon of Martin County

Attn. Treasurer

621 SE Palm Beach Road, Stuart, FL 34994

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 or

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 Audubon and

Mail to: Audubon of Martin County

Attn: Membership

621 SE Palm Beach Road

Stuart, FL 34994

Select your Membership level:

O Individual or family.$20

O Senior (over 62) or Student. $15

O Scrub Jay Newsletter only...$15

Chapter Code: C9 2E260Z

Field Trip Report: DuPuis

Wildlife Management Area

The alarm blared at 3:30 am so wecould get to the DuPuis Visitors Center by5:30 am. Are we crazy or what for sched-uling such an early field trip? ValerieSparling, DuPuis Wildlife Biologist, metus at the Visitor Center. Twelve bravesouls then caravanned to the Red-cockaded Woodpecker nesting site. Aswe waited for the birds to awaken, Valerieprovided us with a lengthy description ofthe history of the RCW and their reintro-duction into DuPuis. We waitedandwaitedthen we heard them call and thenwe saw them leave their nesting holes forthe day to forage in the forest. We hadabsolutely spectacular views of the twoRCWs as they flitted from tree to tree(one bird/one nesting hole). Besides theRCWs we saw various other warblers and

woodpeckers in the area.

We then drove to and strolled along thecypress boardwalk. Multiple species ofbirds were encountered here. We alsoheard the call of more RCWs at the time.We then caravanned to an oak hammockforest and walked the grounds of a largeboy scout campground. The oaks werebeautiful but the birds were quiet. Weended our field trip near a fishing pond atthe end of the auto tour route. Severalwading birds and alligators greeted us aswe scanned the area. Was it worth wak-ing up so early? You bet it was.

Bird List:

Red-cockaded

Woodpecker

Red-bellied

Woodpecker

Downy

Woodpecker

Yellow-bellied

Sapsucker

Double-crested

Cormorant

AnhingaGreat Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

Green Heron

Great Egret

Glossy Ibis

Wood Stork

Black Vulture

Carolina Wren

Osprey

Bald Eagle (heard)

Red-shouldered

Hawk

Barred Owl(heard)

Belted Kingfisher

Eastern Phoebe

Blue Jay

Gray Catbird

Northern

MockingbirdEastern

Meadowlark

Pine Warbler

Palm Warbler

Yellow-rumped

Warbler

Photo by Paul Yorke

Bluebird Nest Box ProjectBev Poppke

They say if you build it t hey will come.So we did, and hopefully theyll show up.Im talking about the Florida Eastern Blue-bird.

A group of AoMC bird lovers met onFox Brown Road in western MartinCounty to install six new Bluebird nestboxes. With post hole diggers, shovels,and rakes we went to work. The surround-ing area seems perfect for the little birdshort grass pastures with old pine treesscattered about. We chose this area be-cause of sightings wed had earlier thisyear. Bluebirds are cavity nesters and withthe changing environment, many of our oldtrees have been destroyed due to clearingof land for development. With the

changes, theresbeen about a60% decline inthe nationwideBluebird popula-tion, but data hasshown wherenest boxes havebeen installed,Bluebirds are making a recovery. Audu-bon of Martin Countys goal is to revisitthe boxes this spring, hopefully to see ourlittle friends building a nest, laying eggs,and tending to their chicks. We need tomake sure the right bird is in the box, and

that there are no surprises in there.Although it wasnt a birding trip, we

saw several Caracara dancing around theside of the road, feeding on roadkill. Big

flocks of Ibis, Cand Vultures. ing to a perfectthe group stoodat the completethere, soaring aBald Eagle.

A big thankderwood, Ollie

Dowd, Greg Stewart, NancyPrice, Jay Levitt, Louise WhNafpliotis, Tom Fritz, who bAmanda Farinos from Sustaiand a big, big thanks to Davefrom Fl Fish & Wildlife Com

You too can help. If you help monitor the boxes, call AoMC office: (772) 288-263message, or join me on Face

Congrats!

Congrats to Jensen Beach resident Eric Kuykendallwho recently was awarded the rank of Eagle Scout.After many years of involvement in scouting duringwhich he earned merit badges in a variety of activi-ties, Eric selected birds and AoMC as the beneficiaryof his Eagle Scout Project.With just a little mentoringfrom AoMC, Eric made adozen wood duck nestboxes, and with assistance

from AoMC propertieschairman Jim Kearman andother members of Troop811, several of the duckboxes were installed at stra-tegic areas where we allhope theyll be used to helpincrease our local population of these cavity-nestingbirds.

Were looking for a few AoMC members whowould now take this project a step furtherto do thenest box monitoring to see if they get used during thespring 2010 nesting season. Give us a call at the of-fice 772-288-2637 if youd like to help.

Retrofit

Work on our habitat enhancement and watershed imprat Possum Long is about to shift into a higher gear, as we some re-contouring of the land surface in the northerly-mproperty that has been over-run with invasive pest plants. scheduled to be a several month period well be removingplants, excavating to create an open-water feature and thenwith wildlife friendly native plants.

As part of the project, were planning to install an ospr

platform, and hoping well be able to attract these birds to

Progress continues to be made on various parts of the prop

weekly work days. If youve got some time to help and do

ting a little dirt y, please consider giving us a hand.

Christmas Bird Count

AoMCs CBC coordinator Liz Hailman is busy organithe Stuart CBC, which is scheduled for Saturday, Januaryday, our teams will be heading out to count and identify eual of every species of bird that we can find within our coThousands of CBCs are held throughout the country, and paring the results over a many year period that a lot is learchanges in bird populations. All count areas are7.5-mile radius circles, and the center of ours isthe Roosevelt Bridge. AoMC has now beendoing the CBC in this area for over 40 years, andeach year is a little different. Some changes arecertainly for the good (e.g., increases in baldeagles); others reflect the reduction in numbersand diversity that relate to the conversion of

thousands of acres from natural habitat to urbanareas.

When was the last time you saw House Wrens, Eastern White-eyed Vireos and Common Yellowthroats in your ba

about Northern Bobwhite, Carolina wrens, or spot-breastThese and others used to be common here.

A pre-count seminar will be held at the AoMC office onDec., 10th beginning at 7 PM. Please give Liz a call at 56you are interested in helping.

Thanks!

Many thanks to FWC biologist Valerie Sparling for

her presentation at AoMCs November program meetingand field trip. We enjoyed hearing about the Red-

cockaded Woodpecker re-introduction at DuPuis and it

was great that the early risers got to see a couple of the

infamous RCWs on the trip. Our thanks to FWC, DuPuis

Manager Bert Trammell and all the folks who are help-

ing re-establish a population of this species in Martin

County. Habitat restoration isnt easybut it does work!


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As owners of over 100acres of conservation landsin the South Fork of the St.Lucie River, AoMC has

long had concerns about the ecological impacts of the proposedIndian Street Bridge. Bridge pilings arent proposed to be in-stalled on our property. However, the bridge will be so close,that our property will be adversely impacted. So you can imaginethe further insult when we reviewed the recently-submitted per-mit application for the bridge and learned that ecological mitiga-tion for the project to proposed to be done dozens of miles awaya tough pill to swallow that sets up other areas to improve whilethe South Fork suffers. Weve voiced our concerns to the permit-ting agency, and hope that fairness prevailsif the bridge is to bebuilt, the very least that should be done is to have the ecological

mitigation benefit the South Fork ecosystem. Enhancing existingpublicly-owned lands elsewhere in the County is a worthwhileendeavor, but not appropriate as mitigation for this bridge.

EagleWatch

Veterans and Sparky the Eagle were the center of attention atAoMCs recent Eagle & EagleWatch orientation session pre-sented by Greg Braun at Jonathan Dickinson State Park on Vet-

erans Day - November11th. With patriotic musicplaying in the background,veterans and other Eagle-Watchers took the opportu-nity to get their picturestaken with our nationalsymbol. The increase inour local population ofbald eagles has paralleledincreases throughout Flor-ida and much of the lower48 states, and AoMC doesits part by monitoring eagle nests at locations throughout MartinCounty.

Several new EagleWatch participants signed up and wereorganizing teams and trying to secure approval to access remote

areas so that additional nests can be monitored.

Our thanks to all who participated, particularly AoMC Eagle-watch coordinator Clare-Rue Morgan, EagleWatcher/docentLinda Wishney and staff at Jonathan Dickinson State Park. Ifyoud like to become involved but missed the orientation semi-nar, contact Clare-Rue at 772-286-9833.

How are you? I am fine.How are you? I am fine. Thisis the description I inventedyears ago to help me remem-ber the redundant song of theRed-eyed Vireo. It is obvious

from the name of this small woodland denizen that it has redeyes. But what is a vireo?

Vireos are small rather blah birds that belong to a group ofbirds know as songbirds (Passerines). There are close to fiftydifferent species of vireos all found only in the New World(North, Central and South America). Vireos are not prone toform flocks the way American Robins or Tree Swallows do; theyare solitary. Difficult to see, vireos usually perch inthe middle of thickets and sing their monotonous

tune over and over.Only six inches in length, the Red-eyed Vireo is a

combinations of olive green (back and tail) and dirty white (bellyand under tail). This vireo sports a black eye stripe over its redeyes and a white supercilium above that. Unlike other passerinesthere is very little plumage change in the Red-eyed Vireo be-tween their breeding and winter plumages which makes it easier

for birders to identify them during fall migrations.Red-eyed Vireos do not breed in Martin County but migrate

through in the spring headed for northern climes where they raisetheir families of three to five young. Unless there are strongwesterly winds in the spring we may miss seeing these vireos ontheir northward trip. September and October are the months thatthe Red-eyed Vireos can be more easily seen in Martin County asthey wing their way to points south. This vireo winters mainly in

the western section of the Brazilian State of Amazonia.Red-eyed Vireos have an interesting diet. Spring, summer and

during migration they are carnivores feeding on insects, spidersand small snails. During the winters and while returning to their

North American nesting grounds these vireos consume fruits andberries.

Courtship for the Red-eyed Vireo is not something MartinCounty birders will observe unless they take a field trip to north-ern Florida or further north. The male vireo hustles the female byapproaching her with his feathers flattened to his body and

swinging his head from side to side. Her reaction, if interested, isto fluff up her feathers. Then both vireos vibrate their wings atthe same time and consummate their bond. The female choosesthe nest site between five and thirty feet up in a tree or shrub.Both vireos build the cup shaped nest into which the female de-posits three to five pale blue or greenish white eggs spotted at thethick end in purple or brown. About t wo weeks later the young

hatch and are fed by both parents until the youngfledge ten to twelve days later.

Red-eyed vireos are in decline. Their numbershave decreased by almost 80% in the last 65 years.

It is easy to blame t he Brazilians for cutting down the Red-eyedVireos winter habitat, but we have lost about half of hour north-ern forests in the last hundredyears. So the decline is a combi-nation of losses in both the Red-eyed Vireos nesting and winteringgrounds.

Although the Red-eyed Vireosjust pass through Martin Countyand are a challenge to find, the

results are well worth it.

See our Red-eyed Vireo from our

stuffed bird collection on page 5

Bird of the Monthby

Susan B. Whiting

Red-eyed Vireo

Vireo olivaceus

Photo by Greg Braun

Conservation Corner

Protecting habitat is sometimes just not enough - it is hard toprotect what is not there. Take your yard for example (Yard =greenspace around where you live) being close at hand can makeit easier to protect. These green areas can be turned into busy andsafe sanctuaries for residential birds and migrating flocks. Takesome time right now to review what your green space providesfor birds. Shrubs and bedding plants need to provide not onlycolor and texture interest to your landscape (humans enjoy that)but provide seeds, berries, nectar, bugs, and protection (birdsenjoy that). Take a critical look at what is really happening inyour yarddo you see any birds or wildlife?

When you evaluate your yard consider adding plants that pro-vide for the needs of wildlife and consider increasing the size ofyour "flower beds" (I prefer to call them banquet areas) to ac-commodate the varied needs of our residential

and migrating guests. Also consider increasingthe size of your shrub area and less lawn.Whether you prefer native or non-native plants,just be sure they meet some simple criteria:1) Choose non- invasive species - Have you

ever noticed how the Robins just love theseeds on the Brazilian PepperSchinus tere-binthifolius? Well, that is a very invasiveplant and the Robins with their r avenous ap-petites during migration are happy to spread

it around. So, don't plant it and

remove/kill it. Beautyberry is non-invasive and equally enjoyed asis Dahoon Holly which even hasred berries.

2) Provide food that is actually eaten- Birds like bugs so keep yourinsecticide spraying to a mini-mum especially during migration.To help migrating birds, be sureyour garden produces flowers andseeds during Fall or Spring tosupport the hungry visitors. Berries and seeds

carbohydrates the migrating species require to3) Provide species-specific food. Learn what yo

birds like and then plant those plants that will din. Offering supplemental food from feeders iof providing specific seeds, fruits and protein (

for the flying yard jewels. Fo

Goldfinches prefer black oil suand painted buntings enjoy seewinter when they both visit. Blike mealworms.

Now, be patient. If you built icome, eventually.

If You Build it they !(Part two) by Laurie Odlum

Thank You Sponsors

Roseate Spoonbill Sponsor

Kathy Petteruti

Dahoon Holly Ilex cassine

Suet feeders

only here in F

Taxidermy

Weve just received several new bird specimens that haadded to our reference collection of salvaged birds. With suour members who let us know about re-cently-deceased birds and excellent work byRick Macklem, our Port St. Lucie basedtaxidermist, weve been able to add a ring-necked duck, a red-eyed vireo, a yellow-rumped warbler, a great egret and a femalecommon yellowthroat to our inventory. Ourstate and federal permits allow us to salvagedeceased specimens (provided we donthave anything to with the cause of death), soit is often a challenge for Rick to repair/conceal damage frostrikes, window collisions and other problems.

Unfortunately, preserving the specimens, which are typicaour Bird Identification classes and other presentations in theis a drain on our budget. Were trying to raise $1,000 to offcostsif you share our interest in this project, we encouragmake a tax-deductible contribution.

Congratulations!

Congratulations to our Youth Liaison, Jessie Green, for being named Riverside National Banks Hometown

2009! Riverside recognized Jessie for her ongoing dedication to the environment and community service.

Photo by Gr

december 2009 scrub jay newsletter audubon of martin county

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