February 2008 Brown Pelican Sarasota Audubon Society

~THE 108th CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT~

Sarasota Christmas Bird Count, January 5, 2008

A record 81 counters in the field and 30 backyard watchers all helped to make this a record species day for Sarasota, 162. The day’s total of 33,898 birds was slightly less than the previous year. Here’s a team-by-team account:

Team 1: John Ginaven, David Manchester, Peter Rice and Dick Ferren found the only Horned Grebes, Buffelheads and a super Great Black-backed Gull;

Team 2: Rick Greenspun, Kathryn Young, Kathy Meaux, Mark Davis and Sandra VanHullenaar hoofed it along Siesta Beach and found the day’s only Lesser Black-backed Gulls and one of only two Peregrine Falcons; Team 3: Charlie &

Sandy Everly, Carolyn Primus and Barbara Covey lucked out on the only group of Cedar Waxwings (rare in Florida this winter) and a pair of Baltimore Orioles.;

Team 4: Lynn & Jake Jakubowicz and Mary & Bob Zimmer were the only ones to find Canada Geese; Team 5: Edith Miller, Barry Rossheim, Ruth Ellen Peipert, Paul Antes and Fred Taylor found two gorgeous Western Kingbirds, rarities for Sarasota. They were aided by At Large counters Ken Allen and Lyn Atherton in snagging the famous Bell’s Vireo, a Black-throated Green Warbler and a Northern Parula at Pinecraft; Team 6: Ellen Richardson and Ann & Tim Seidenkranz plugged away all day and turned up 62 species; Team 7: Paul Lewis, Jane Shannon and Connie & Tom Plaskett spotted a Spotted Sandpiper and were one of only two teams to find a Savannah Sparrow; Team 8: Bill & Margaret Dunson, Nancy Edmondson, Greg & Lisette Voigt, Kevin Edwards, Paul Salinas, Richard Stiveck, Miriam Yoder, Zoe Bass, Linda Wilson and Marty Shirley again got the highest team total of 87 species, including a beautiful Scissor-tailed Flycatcher; Team 9: Tina Mossbarger, Joni Bos and Jeff Carson hit pay dirt when they found American Pipits, Wild Turkeys and the day’s only Prairie Warbler; Team 10: Alison & Mike Bishop and Lorrie Muldowney located the only Merlin and two very early Purple Martins; Team 11: David Williamson, Barbara Singer, Roxanne Williamson, Steve Black, Bill Hentges and Daniel Somodi got a pair of American Oystercatchers and an unexpected Limpkin; Team 12: Working alone Jeff Fisher got the

Sarasota

Audubon

SocietyPhone:

941.364.9212

Website: sarasotaaudubon.org

editor: [email protected]

Volume 35, Number 5 February 2008

THE

BROWN PELICAN

SECOND MONDAY ❖OCTOBER-MAY❖7PM SOCIAL PERIOD, FOLLOWED BY MEETING

AND PRESENTATION

Our Meeting Place-Fellowship Hall, First congregational Church, 1031 South Euclid, Sarasota. Directions: US 41 to Bahia Vista. If coming from the south, turn right on Bahia Vista:if coming from the north, turn left. Take Bahia Vista to Euclid,

then north on Euclid to the church.

November 11, 2007 Volume VII

only Purple Gallinule and came across 10 Eastern Kingbirds; Team 13: Harriet Siegel, Wade & Betty Matthews, Judi Meksraitis, Sheila Markin, Sue Hamilton, Sue Stam and Ginny Tarika covered the two golf courses at Prestancia coming up with 57 species, 10 more than last year—that team is getting better! Team 14: Jeff Palmer and Tommy Elliott had a few solo species: Green-winged Teal, Great Crested Flycatchers and a Caspian Tern; Team 15: Karen Jensen, Rita Roehr and Russ & Carole Hoffman found 15 Ruddy Ducks and another Peregrine Falcon; Team 16: Jeanne Dubi, Viktoria Hutter and Matt Massey went with the Eagle Man, Dale Nauman, on his boat to the Neville Preserve and struck gold with a Wilson’s Plover, Reddish Egrets and 6 Roseate Spoonbills, 4 of which were standing on a roof at The Landings! Team 17: Don & Karen Schneider covered their Hamptons neighborhood in Palmer Ranch and found 27 species; and Team 18: Mark Leggett, Jim Kyle and Ken Pearlman walked the Village Walk and spotted 49 different species.

At Large counters Lyn Atherton and Ken Allen provided their expertise and their sharp eyes on several

patches: a rare Lark Sparrow, an Eastern Screech-Owl, a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and 6 Indigo Buntings for Team 12, an Ovenbird for Team 5, and an Eastern Screech-Owl and a Hermit Thrush

for Team 7.

Backyard counters and neighborhood spotters really pulled their weight, providing over-the-top numbers and species for their respective teams. Team 1: Len Newman and Mary Allyn counted birds in Plymouth Harbor; Team 2: Martina Ynez and her husband called in sightings of Annabell and Amadeus, their neighborhood Great Horned Owls (people like to name their owls!); Terry & Charlene Proeger emailed in their sightings; Team 3: After boating on the intracoastal, Jeanne Dubi found a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and an Eastern Phoebe and Mike Dubi spotted the perennial Dubi Ruby-throated Hummingbird (say that three times quickly), as well as a Painted Bunting in their yard; Janet Carlock spotted

more early Purple Martins (5) near her home. Team 4: Tina Mossbarger didn’t stop when she got home, turning up the only Northern Bobwhites for the entire day and contributing many other birds, including one Eastern Bluebird from Hanry Wagler’s yard; Julie Byrne also helped out by finding 2 Limpkins and 2 Hooded Mergansers among others at The Meadows; Kathy Lawson saw 15 American Goldfinches and 2 Tufted Titmice at her feeders; Team 5: Charlie Everly started counting the minute he got up and turned in a nice list before setting off to lead his team; Dick Quigley called in his sightings of 7 species; Sue Stam couldn’t stop after counting in Prestancia and found 10 species in her neighborhood; Tami McNally reported 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds from her yard; Team 6: Marianne Yoder called in a Barred Owl among other species. After getting up at 3am to look for owls followed by a hard day’s birding, Jeff Palmer spotted Einstein the Barn Owl, and Jeanne Dubi contributed 2 Bronzed Cowbirds and 3 Ruddy Ducks, all at the Celery Fields. Team 9 had the valuable help of Stu Hills (Northern Shoveler), Wilda Meier (Brown Pelican) and Peter & Frances Rice (White-winged Doves); Team 7: Ruth Ellen Peipert heard 2 Great Horned Owls calling before she set off to join her team; Team 8: Patty Ratcliffe watched and counted in University Park; Team 13: Jim & Jean Edmundson contributed a Limpkin, a Bald Eagle and 18 other species; Team 9: Belinda Perry and Ken Alvarez emailed in sightings of a Cooper’s Hawk and a Bald Eagle for their patch; Susan Carter must have been thrilled to see 3 Painted Buntings among others in her yard and recorded a Count Week Magnificent Frigatebird overhead on Friday. Last but by no means least, Francis Mason tallied up and reported his count which included 2 Red-tailed Hawks.Whew, what a day! Jeanne Dubi, President

~FEBRUARY CALENDAR~

Tuesday, Feb 5 Venice Rookery, Manasota Scrub, Lemon Bay Park Great photo ops; Great birding. Meet at McDonalds at 7:30a.m. Bring lunch. Mark Leggett, 925-7220.

Saturday, Feb 9 Celery Fields Walk Explore birdlife with a different leader on the second Saturday of each

BIRDING HOTSPOTS

Pick up a copy of the invaluable local birding guide, Birding Hot Spots of Sarasota and Manatee Counties. It includes a checklist of area birds and provides explicit descriptions of and directions to, good local birding spots. Hot Spots is available at meetings, on day trips, and by mail. Cost $6 (add $1.75 for mail.)

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month. Meet at the gazebo (Palmer & Raymond) at 8a.m. Coordinator: Mark Leggett, 925-7220.

Friday/Saturday, Feb 15/16 Station 5 in Hendry County Overnight Friday in Clewiston, then an early visit to the water treatment plant to view all kinds of birds in these remote marshes. Trip is led by Margaret Eng l and o f Hendr y -G l ade s Audubon . RESERVATIONS REQUIRED. Hotel at own expense. Contact Kathryn Young, 924-5565.

Saturday, Feb 23 Cockroach Bay, Ruskin Jeanne Dubi (355-1709) will lead a trip to this newly reclaimed and restored environmentally sensitive area in southern Hillsborough County. This is a reliable spot for Scissor-tailed Flycatchers. Leave McDonald’s at 7:15a.m. Bring Lunch.

Saturday, March 1 Pinecraft Fest Join us for a great morning working together to rid this park of exotic plants and garbage. **WE NEED PRIZES** Call Jeanne Dubi at 355-1709 to help in any way you can.

Tuesday, March 4 Red Bug Slough Ken Pearlman (587-5992) will lead us on a walk through pine and oak hammocks. Meet in the parking lot of Red Bug Slough, just south of Proctor on Beneva, at 8a.m.

~OUR WEBSITE~

Check out our website at sarasotaaudubon.org. Dave Munro has been doing a great job of updating the website. He has recently added directions to all Day Trips.

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OUR SPONSORS

Wild Bird Center8323 Lockwood Ridge Road Sarasota, FL 34243

(941) 351-9500

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~CELERY FIELDS CLEAN UP~

Thanks to Karen Jensen, Penny Rist, Jody Allen, Mark Legget and Jeanne Dubi for collecing garbage along our adopted road - Palmer Boulevard, January 22. We picked up about 80 lbs of trash. Where does it come from? Please help us on the next clean up day, Tuesday, March 18 at 8a.m. at the gazebo in the Celery Fields.

~TRIP REPORTS~

Sleeping Turtles, Jan. 1 We started out with a Wood Stork in the parking lot at McDonalds, it was a life bird for one of our northern visitors joining us today. Mark handed out his maps and we were off. As we entered Sleeping Turtles it started raining - we thought it would blow over so we moved into the park looking for birds. No birds, then it started to pour; now there were even fewer birds. We lost 1/2 the group, the rest of us went to the shelter at Carlton Reserve and had some New Years Day snacks and waited. The rain of course let up and we were off into the park. We found 25 species to include Red-headed Woodpecker, Common Ground Doves, White-eyed Vireo, American Kestrel, Eastern Phoebe, Carolina Wren, Palm and Yellow-rumped Warblers. We also heard a Barred Owl and an Eastern Towhee. Kathryn Young & Mark Leggett, Trip Leaders

North Longboat Key, Jan. 8 The day was glorious to be on the beach. Twenty-nine birders, many of whom were guests, started the walk with several Northern Gannets (including at least one immature) flying off the coast. Leaders Wade and Betty Matthews were grateful for the help given by expert members and

Monday, Feb. 11 Sarasota Audubon Society monthly meeting at 7pm. Program for the evening is on The Celery Fields. Peter Peduzzi of Sarasota County discusses the wetlands restoration project and what it will mean for birds and Audubon.

guests to ensure that novices in the group knew the difference between the various terns and gulls, as well as others of the 49 species (plus the colorful Longboat resident Peafowl) seen. Following the beach walk, we hiked around Leffis Key, noting the flock of White Pelicans off shore. A dozen of us then enjoyed a seafood lunch at Moore’s Restaurant, where we searched in vain for the illusive white phase Great Blue Heron in its nest across the channel. Wade and Betty Matthews Trip LeadersGeorge Simmons Park and TECO, Jan. 3The thermometer outside my ! window registered 29 degrees at 6:30a.m. and howling winds were being reported. ! Would anyone show up at McDonalds?! Well, six intrepid Auduboners and guests braved the elements to record 31 bird species for the day, including Loggerhead Shrikes, Spotted Sandpipers, King Fishers, and a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron.! The Tampa Electrical Company plant at Apollo Beach yielded close-up views of more than 30 Manatees enjoying their baths in the warm water discharged from the power plant, a welcome escape from the chilly gulf waters.! In the Manatee Museum near the viewing area we learned that these vegetarian grass eaters consume ten percent of their body weight every day!! Another highlight at TECO was the sight of two diamond-shaped Spotted Rays leaping five feet out of the water. Despite the frigid weather, the trip was considered a success, but, alas, the tall power-plant chimneys belching their pollutants into the region was not a pretty end to the day. Stuart Hills, Trip LeaderPhosphate Mines, Jan. 15 Starting out at 7a.m. and 45 degrees, 29 SAS birders made their way to the Mosaic Phosphate reclamation ponds for a full day of birding. Led by Dr. Paul Fellers of Lake Audubon and Diana Youmans of! Mozaic. We birded from pond to pond by caravan. Though numbers of birds were down considerably from last year, we did manage to tick off 79 species. Mostly large numbers of ducks, including 100's of Ruddys, Shovelers, Scaup, Pintail and sharp eyed Tina Mossbarger spotted two female Buffleheads. After a hearty lunch, some had to leave for home. The rest continued on to much of the same birds that were seen in the morning. We did add 4 American Avocets. With the last of the sun slowly sinking and with one stop left, we were treated to close up views of 3 American Bitterns and then a bobcat ran across the berm, heading for dinner at the cormorant roosting site. We arrived back in Sarasota almost 12 hours after we had left. Another long and rewarding day. Proceeds from the trip were donated to Lake Audubon. Rick Greenspun Trip LeaderCelery Fields Walk, Jan. 12 Thirty-eight birders enjoyed seeing 43 species at the Celery Fields Walk. ! Species highlights were American Bittern,

Grasshopper Sparrow and Wood Duck.! Lynn Jakubowicz, Mark Leggett and Jeanne Dubi, Trip Leaders

~WIN A DAY BIRDING WITH JEANNE DUBI~

!Come to the next general meeting Feb. 11th and put your bid in to win a day with Jeanne Dubi. Proceeds will be used to match a grant of $900 from Audubon of Florida to send local kids to an environmental camp run by Sarasota County this summer--kids that normally couldn't afford to go. Last year, 600 children were served with SAS donating money for 10 scholarships of $45 each. We are ramping it up this year, hoping to send 40 altogether: 20 from our resources and 20 from the AOF grant. Kids are our future. The winner of the auction and his/her guest will spend a 1/2 day with Jeanne birding in the Celery Fields and other nearby hot spots.! They will travel in

Jeanne's car and f i n i s h t h e i r privately escorted birding outing with lunch at the Pa c k i n g h o u s e Cafe. ! The date for the outing will be determined by the winner and Jeanne. After!they are done her

husband has requested that she be returned to him. We hope you turn out to bid for an opportunity to have a special time with our popular president and expert birder.

~GREEN TIP OF THE MONTH~

Did you know that the !average American household receives unsolicited junk mail in the equivalent of 1.5 trees every year, and 44% of that is thrown away unopened? ! !Audubon members, stop the insanity! Request that your name be removed from mailing lists of unwanted catalogs.! All it takes is a short call to!the organization's customer service number or a visit to!their web site.!E-mail this suggestion to 10 of your friends and family members, and let's start cutting out the waste. ! For more, vis i t http://greenlivingideas.com/waste-reduction/5-simple-ways-to-stop-junk-mail.html. Susi Bowie, Public Information

BELL’S VIREO

A Bell’s Vireo was found this January by Rick Greenspun at Pinecraft Park here in Sarasota. It was fun to see this rare visitor from the central and southwestern U.S. It is still being seen at Pinecraft Park across from the horseshoe pits in the scrubby area by the river (behind the chain linked fence). Jeanne Dubi also found the Bell’s last year in an area off University Pkwy.

The species was named by Audubon for John G. Bell (1812-1899), a New York taxidermist who accompanied him on his trip up the Missouri River in the 1840’s. This small vireo is drab gray to green above (upperparts) and white to yellow below (underparts). It has a faint broken eye-ring and two pale wingbars, the lower bar being more prominent. It has a thick slightly flattened hooked bill, like a miniature shrike. They are insectivorous eating aphids, spiders and various larvae which they glean from leaves, twigs and branches. A widespread breeder in central (to MN and WI) and western US, it is a rare visitor to Florida. They prefer dense, scrubby vegetation, especially along stream and river corridors. These areas are being degraded and lost due to flood control projects, firewood cutting, cattle grazing, agriculture fields and housing development. Cowbird parasitism are also causing declines. Fragmentation of habitat increases Brown-headed Cowbird parasitism and isolates small fringe populations. Domestic cats are also a significant predator to the Bell’s Vireo.

According to Sibley and Cornell Lab, two populations are distinguishable in the field. Eastern populations which are brighter, more gray green on upperparts and have yellow wash to the underparts. They also can be found bobbing their tail like a Palm Warbler. The Western population is more gray on their upperparts and white to the underparts. They have longer tails and flip this tail up and sideways like gnatcatchers. Eastern may have brighter blue legs than the western variations.

Websites used to write this article were: eNature.com, All About Birds -Cornell Lab, and Birds of North America Online. I also used Sibley’s Guide to Birds.

Kathryn Young, Editor

~RECAPTURE BACKYARD HABITAT~

Your backyard was once a Florida native environment. Sign up for a free 3-hour workshop to get practical tips on recapturing some of the lost habitat. Feb 8 at Twin Lakes Park. We will be giving away a free 10’ x 10’ backyard plot makeover. You have to register to be eligible. Call Jeanne Dubi at 355-1709 for more details.

All photos for this newsletter were taken by Rick Greenspun of Sarasota Audubon. First page photo is of Greater Scaup, second page photo is a Short-tailed Hawk, and on the last page is the Bell’s Vireo.

NEW MEMBERS!!!!!!

SAS NAME TAGIf you are a new member or do not have an official SAS NAME TAG, you can get one delivered right to your door. Send your name, full address and telephone number, along with your check for $4.50 made out to: Michael Fox, 2749 Ringling Blvd, Sarasota, FL 34237. For an extra $2 (total of $6.50) you can get a badge that attaches by magnet-no pinholes!

Be sure to identify yourself as a member of Sarasota Audubon Society.

For Membership Information email,

[email protected]

OR LEAVE MESSAGE AT 364-9212

THE BROWN PELICAN

Published Monthly October through May by:

SARASOTA AUDUBON SOCIETYP.O. BOX 15423SARASOTA, FL 34277-1423

Judy Harding

Tana Johnson

Janie Kagy

Katya Kurdrov

Gladys Lippincott

Charles Locatell

Linda Lombard

Joan Lyon

Rose Mattran

Georgina McGandless

Paul &Mary Neuhauser

Jackie Newville

Mary Ally

Arthur Armitage

George Bahr

Peg Conklin

Denise Doucette-Erb

Burt Finkelstein

John Forbes

Karen Gannett

Janice Glanz

Wes &Elizabeth Gray

Lois Greene

Ruth Gutmann

Mr.& Mrs. J.Guzzo

Shane O’Neill

JoAnn Park

Allison Petrat

Marilyn Probst

Elayne Sims

Joe & Joan Sintov

Chalyce Sullivan

Jean Thieroff

Martina Venz

Judith Wolfe

Jacqueline Young