winter 2006 sanibel captiva audubon society newsletter

8/9/2019 Winter 2006 Sanibel Captiva Audubon Society Newsletter

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Paul Andrews, Pres.

Jim Griffith, Vice Pres.

Susan Harpham, Sec.

Tom Rothman, Treas.

Chris Andrews

Kevin Bowden

Malcolm Harpham

Elaine Jacobson

Dale McGinley

Brian Mishell

Dolores Mishell

Kendra Pednault-Willett

Jean Reuther

Hugh Verry

Our mission: Promoting interests in wildlife on Sanibel and Captiva, andfostering the cause of conservation with emphasis on birds and their habitat.

Board members

Newsletterof the Sanibel-Captiva Audubon SocietyJanuary, 2006ThePileated Wood-

P.O. Box 957, Sanibel, Florida, 33957-0957

Welcome to 2006 and best wishes for the New Year. This is the issue thathighlights the dedication of your Sanibel-Captiva Audubon members and friends via

the Christmas Bird Count Survey (45 years of local participation!). While numbers

of birds counted this year may be down, enthusiasm of all volunteers was evidentthroughout the day. Thanks to all who participated, especially Bill and Elaine Ja-cobson. The numbers may or may not be the result of hurricanes, fresh water re-

leases, red tide, blue-green algae impacts, or habitat loss but this unique estuary isindeed under attack.

Sanibel City Council voted to include Lighthouse Point Park as part of the

Great Florida Birding Trail. Audubon of Florida is dedicating the trail system atCorkscrew Swamp Sanctuary on January 14th. There will be guided boardwalk tours

and workshops with birding experts and so forth. See you there.

Our bird outings have been well attended and many thanks to our coordina-

tor Hugh Verry (the Big Bird). We are excited about our diverse evening series ofprograms this upcoming year thanks to Elaine Jacobson. We begin with a tour of

North Scotland followed by visits from local favorites. Weve also included a March

9th celebrity 220 year old John James Audubon, who will be here to discuss hislife and answer our questions. I suggest reading Richard Rhodes (Pulitzer Prize

winning author) biography of Audubon. Please join us on Thursday evenings at 8pm except for Shell Fair week.

Sadly, as with the passing of each year, we also remind you of thepassing of a friend of Sanibel-Captiva Audubon. Robert M. Kitchen, hus-

band of Ruth Kitchen, not only served as President of our Chapter, but

was also an expert on bird songs and bird photography. Bob spent count-

less hours recording birds and then became a good photographer of thebirds of Sanibel. Bob was also the one to remind me to keep the Thurs-

day evening introductions short so we could get to the main program.Thank you Bob, for your support through the years.

Paul Andrews

Message from the President

Mirasol Permit DeniedWetlands Safe for Now

Mirosol is a developers dream for an 800-unit, 36-hold golf community on 1700acres, 1500 of which are jurisdictional wetlands. It would have (or will if it is permitted) destroyed 1000 acresof wetland in the name of flood protection and restoration, devastating those wetlands essential to endan-gered wood stork nesting areas at nearby Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The South Florida Water Manage-ment gave full approval in 2002.

The Water Management District conceived the Mirasol Drainage/Restoration Project to help protecteast Bonita Strings from flooding. It proposed having developers, led by Mirasol, build a 3-mile long, 4-foot

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Compiled by Chris Andrews

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deep, 200-foot wide drainage channelthrough their residential projects in orderto lower what SFWMD claims are higherthan historic water levels in the Coco-hatchee Slough. This drainage canal issadly reminiscent of all the errors thatwent into creating the mess we have now

in the Everglades. The ditches andberms planned will severely impact notonly the wood stork colony, but harm wa-ter quality downstream and likely willharm the Swamp itself.

The Army Corps denied the permit based inpart on the efforts of Audubon science staff whodemonstrated that the permit applications werebased on incomplete information regarding historicwater levels. In fact, current water levels on thesite are lower than occurred historically. Accord-ingly, the further lowering of these water levels

through the construction of a ditch would not berestoration and would instead cause extensivedamage to sensitive area wetlands. All this in ex-change for golf course communities in a wet-

land floodplain.

SFWMDs incredible decision to approve theproposal in the first place was a result of the lack ofcoordination between permitting agencies.

Mirasol plans to appeal the Army Corps de-cision and SFWMD must be convinced that theyneed to reverse their 2002 project approval. Obvi-ously community members need to maintain vigi-

lance on this issue.

Funny you should ask!There are ways to stay informed and also to

voice your opinion. On of the easiest is to connectwith Audubon of Floridas Advocacy Center. Pleaseread on to the message from Audubon of Florida sonline Advocacy Center:

What can you do?

Stay alert for the next step in the Mirasol strategy:

Convincing the South Florida Water Management Dis-trict to reverse their 2002 approval of this project.

As some of you may be aware, Audubon of Florida main-tains two electronic advocacy lists to keep you apprisedof timely statewide conservation and Everglades restora-tion issues. These lists send members a monthly email

with a summary of the issues as well as occa-sional action alerts that allow you to easily writeyour elected officials and make your voiceheard. If you are not already subscribed to theselists, I encourage you to do so at http://ga1.org/natureadvocate/home.html, and share this oppor-tunity with your chapters membership and friends.

From this link you can also review archived Advo-cate and Restore e-newsletters as well as pastAction Alerts, to get an idea of the scope of thecenter.

From a new subscriber.

I signed up for the advocate 3 weeks ago. The

articles are short and concise. I followed severalextremely easy steps and in a couple of minutes Ihad already sent 3 letters and 3 e-mails to my rep-resentatives asking them to support the federalfunding of 35 million dollars for the Everglades res-toration project. I just found out today that Con-gress voted in favor of giving Florida these funds. Ifeel like my actions may have made a difference!

Questions about the Advocacy Center, how it worksand what it does? Feel free to contact Julie Wraith-mell in AoFs Tallahassee office at 850/224.7546 or

[email protected].

Whiskey is for

Drinking

Water is for

Fighting Over!

...Mark Twain

Mirasol continued

One the other hand, things could be worse.Consider the words of the unforgettableJames Watt, Secretary of the Interior underReagan: Americas lands may beravaged as a result of the actions of theenvironmentalists.
http://ga1.org/natureadvocate/home.htmlhttp://ga1.org/natureadvocate/home.htmlhttp://ga1.org/natureadvocate/home.htmlhttp://ga1.org/natureadvocate/home.htmlhttp://ga1.org/natureadvocate/home.html


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What is the age distribution of royal terns win-tering on Sanibel beaches?

Dave Ward ofAvalon, New Jersey andFort Myers, Florida hasbeen working hard to

answer this question byrecording the bands onthe nearly 3,000 royalterns that he has seenduring the past sevenyears from March 1998to March 2005. Thegreatest number, 470, or 16.6%, were less than oneyear old. One third were no more than three yearsold. Two thirds of the population were less than tenyears old. One royal tern, seen on November 4,2002, was 27 years old. This tern had been banded

in South Carolina in 1975! This is the oldest royaltern on record. All of these birds were banded aschicks in North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, orSouth Carolina. Dave obtains this information byrecording the numbers on these bands and thenmailing this information to the Bird Banding Lab inLaurel, Maryland 20811. The Bird Banding Lab wascreated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in1920 for the centralization and maintenance ofbanding records.

Dave has also been observing sandwichterns on Sanibel. From December 1999 throughApril 2005 he observed 62 banded sandwich terns.Of these 12, or 16.6%, were one year old. The long-est living banded sandwich tern that Dave has seenwas 17 years old. These terns were banded aschicks in North Carolina.

Dave also records the numbers on the bandsof white pelicans. On December 15, 2005 Dave re-ported seeing 151 white pelicans on the drive atDing Darling Wildlife Refuge. At least seven ofthese white pelicans were banded. You can oftensee Dave out on the drive at Ding Darling Refuge,at Gulfside City Park, or at Bunche Beachwherever the birds are, equipped with a high pow-ered scope. It is a time consuming and laborious

activity.

Peter Wallack

Terns on Sanibel by Sue Harpham

Hugh Verry reports that the Saturday MorningBirdwalks are going very well, with an averageof 27 enthusiasts participating. Be sure to

check the schedule posted at various locations and atThursday meetings and take advantage of this chance tohave fun and see special birds!

Bird ID Classes are Back

Registration is open for the popular Bird IdentificationClasses, which will resume at the Sanibel LibraryCommunity Room every Monday in February.

Instructors will be

Don and Lillian Stokes, 1st and 3rd Mondays

Shorebirds, gulls and ternsBrian and Dolores Mishell, 2nd and 4th Mondays

Herons, Egrets and SW Florida birds

Classes will start at 7:00 PM and run approximatelyone and a half hours, followed by a field trip the fol-lowing morning to view subjects in their environmentand reinforce the learning process.

Cost for all four classes is $40, and payment in full isrequired to hold the reservation. Make check pay-able to Sanibel Captiva Audubon and send to POBox 957, Sanibel, FL 33957

A group of amateur botanists, who love to find andidentify native plants on Sanibel, welcome any whoshare this interest. Gather on the porch of SCCFMonday mornings at 8:45 AM. Walks begin at 9 andlast for two hours. You will need parking moneywhen the group leaves the Preserve.

For Information call Candice Ethridge, 395-9498,Elaine Jacobson 395-1878, or Susan Sprout 395-2971.

January 9 Algiers Beach/Gulfside City ParkJanuary 16 Walker Preserve

January 23 Sanibel Lighthouse

January 30 Pick Preserve

February 6 Blind Pass/Turner Beach

February 13 Sanibel Gardens

February 20 SCCF Open House

February 27 Gulf Ridge Preserve

March 6 Ding Darling Indigo Trail

March 13 Frannies Preserve

March 20 Bailey TractMarch 27 SCCFs Alligator Hole

Weeds & Seeds Schedule for 2006

Rare birds


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Audubon of Floridas Jerry Lorenz Protects Roseate Spoonbills in the Wake of Wilma

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Everglades National Park, FL,December 16, 2005 - As re-ported in a November 30 article inthe Islamorada Free Press, in thewake of Hurricane Wilma, JerryLorenz, a research director forAudubon of Florida, went tonorthwest Florida Bays SandyKey and instantly knew it wascritical to help protect the RoseateSpoonbill.

"When you have a rare spe-cies within the state of Florida, youalways fear that a hurricane is go-ing to come up and crush their lastholdouts," Lorenz said.

In the past, Lorenz has ad-

vocated that Everglades NationalPark designate Frank Key Channela no-wake zone during the Novem-ber through March spoonbill nest-ing season. After he saw the de-struction from the hurricane at

Sandy Key, he sent an email topark officials suggesting that theFrank Key Channel be shut downentirely for this nesting season. Astorm surge washed away SandyKeys northern sand bar and defoli-ated red and black mangroves,leaving spoonbills and their nestsvulnerable to intruders.

On Nov. 15, just 10 daysafter Lorenz contacted them, parkstaff met and decided to close thechannel for the entire nesting sea-

son. A decision was also madethat this winter there will be novisitors on Carl Ross Key, a popu-lar Everglades National Park backcountry camping spot.

For more information about Audu-b o n o f F l o r i d a , g o t ohttp://www.audubonofflorida.org

Trip to BabcockYou Should Have Been There!


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Dr. Jerome Jackson, one of the world experts on the Ivory-billed woodpecker, will be the keynote speaker atthe Big O Birding Festival dinner, Saturday, Jan. 28, 2006 at 7 p.m. at the Riverview Restaurant at the GladesResort, formerly Hendry Isles, on SR 80 near LaBelle.Lynda White of the Birds of Prey Center is scheduled to return, bringing with her a bald eagle, burrowing owl,

caracara and other birds of prey native to the region.Cindi Marks of the Bat Center will conduct the first ever search for the Bonnetted Bat, an endangered Floridabat whose population has never been tracked in the Glades, during her visit to the festival.

Alana Edwards, Education and training coordinator for Florida Atlantic Universitys Center for EnvironmentalStudies will return to lecture on gardening for butterflies.Mark Kiser, Coordinator, Wildlife Viewing Section, Office of Recreation Services for the Florida Fish and Wild-life Conservation Commission, will give a presentation on the fifth and final section of the Great Florida BirdingTrail, the South Florida section which will be opening next February.

Among birding tours being offered, are a tour of eagle nesting sites at Brighton Seminole Indian Reservation.A Barn Owl Tour, sponsored by the Clewiston Chamber of Commerce, the ever popular "Owl Hoot," Birdingby Canoe, on the pristine Fisheating Creek, and a tour of Diner Island wildlife management area and pantherhabitat are on tap.

The Ninth Great Backyard Bird Count, organized as a team effort between the Cornell Lab of Ornithologyand the Science Division of Audubon, hopes to involve as many people as possible. For 2006, GBBC isadopting the joint themes of"Go to a special place" and Take someone with you We are encouragingpeople to go to a favorite place to bird, and to open friends eyes to the passion of birding. . During the four-dayevent birdwatchers count birds for as little as 15 minutes, or for as long as they like, keeping track of the high-est number of each bird species they see together at one time. Participants report what they see online at

www.birdsource.org/gbbc where the Cornell computers convert their sightings to maps, lists, and charts thatanyone can explore by continent, region, state, or locality. Within minutes of filing a checklist, participants canand do, see their sightings register on the maps.

There is no registration needed, Our surveys show that more than 75% of participants are not yet Audubonmembers, so the count can be a great way to attract new chapter members. For more information, or to gestarted, go towww.birdsource.org/gbbc.

GLADESCOUNTYPage 5

January 2729, 2006

Glades County Economic Development Council, PO Box 1003, MoorHaven, FL 33471

phone 863-946-0300 e-mail [email protected]

Great Backyard Bird CountPresidents Day Weekend, February 1720, 2006


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In This Issue.

.2006 Christmas Bird Count Results

.MirasolA Disaster in the Making

.Terns on Sanibel

.Bird ID Classes Begin

.Weeds & Seeds Schedule

.Big O Birding Festival in Glades County

.Backyard Bird Count

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Visit usoften. Its reallya great site. More infor-mation, in depth, inCOLOR!

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The Newsletter of the Sanibel-CaptivaAudubon Society

P.O. Box 957 Sanibel, Florida 33957

JMR 2005

January 2006

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14720 Lake Olive Dr, Fort Myers, FL 33919

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winter 2006 sanibel captiva audubon society newsletter

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