Southeast Volusia Audubon Society, Inc. Issue Vol. IV- No.

4 April, 2009

The Southeast Volusia Audubon Society promotes the protection of birds, other wildlife and their habitat through education and activism.

Prez Sez Meetings

Smyrna Dunes Park, Lake Ashby, Elections Next meeting is April 1, 2009
There was an interesting event at the Smyrna Dunes Park a Annual Potluck Picnic - 5:30 p.m.
couple of weeks ago. It was a ribbon cutting ceremony high-
lighting the new rules for dogs using the boardwalk and includ-
Menard-May Park, Edgewater
ing dog-related activities. At the end of the event, we conducted
a bird walk of the park.
This is our Election-of-Officers meeting.
We were warmly received by Joe Nolin, the Volusia Plenty of parking. Public welcome.
County parks director, Jack Hayman of the County Council and
Mayor Sally McKay of NSB. Joe was particularly anxious to Programs & Field trips subject to change.

tell us of the actions the county had taken to protect the habitats
for the nesting and resting shorebirds. It sounded impressive but
when we took the beach walk, we felt there was more that
should be done. I sent him an email itemizing the things we
thought they could and should do. If you want to see the email,
go to our website where it is posted.
The bird walk started with 31 people, certainly more than
we expected and though many left during the walk, it was
heartening to see that many people
interested in our take on the park.
Unfortunately there were not
many birds because it was low tide
and the number of cars and visi-
tors on the beach was horrendous.
It was a beautiful day for a walk
on the beach.
We had a great field trip to
Lake Ashby. It started with a large
group of Cedar Waxwings seen
from the parking lot. One of the
park maintenance staff showed us
the location of two three-week old Don Picard 2009
Barred Owl chicks. That was defi-
nitely the highlight of the day. We also saw a limpkin, and that
is also a treat. Check out my pics of the owls on the website too.
As I mentioned last month, this next meeting will be the
annual pot-luck at the Menard-May Park in Edgewater. It will
also be the election of officers for the next year. We need a full
slate of officers. It is time for new blood. Many of us currently
serving have been in office for a long time and we are suffering
burn-out. Give us a rest and determine for yourselves the
direction of the club.
—Don Picard
Field Trips
Field trips begin at 8:00 A.M. unless otherwise noted.
Meet in the Market Square parking lot Edgewater, Ridgewood
Ave. & 442, between Dunkin Donuts & Chik-Fil-A.
There are three (3) Events this month
See Field Trips p.2
Questions? Contact Gail Domroski 428-0447
Audubon members and guests are all welcome.
Venue Change Questionaire
Please let us know!
Would you be more or less likely to attend meetings if
they were more central to New Smyrna Beach?
Would you be more or less likely to attend meetings if
they were on a different evening? If yes, please specify
the evening.
Please send an email to president@sevolusiaaudubon.org
This will be the last issue of The eSkimmer for the
season.
We hope to see you next season with the October, 2009
issue.
Enjoy your summer.
SEVAS website http://sevolusiaaudubon.org/
The eSkimmer
Wandering Members
Birding in Costa Rica
I arranged a birding trip to Costa Rica with my neighbor,
Tad Fyock, in February. We left Monday morning and arrived
at our hotel near San Jose in time for late afternoon birding.
We spent six full days and returned early the following Mon-
day. Our guide was Jorge Fernandez of AVEnTOURS and he
was terrific
We started Tuesday by driving through a cloud forest and
over the continental divide to the Caribbean coastal plain. We
birded along the way, stopping at some of Jorge’s favorite
spots, and arrived at La Selva Tropical Research Station in time
for lunch. This is one of several locations run by the Organiza-
tion for Tropical Studies of Durham, North Carolina. People
come from all over the world to study plants, animals, insects,
birds, etc.
We spent two nights at La Selva and had wonderful bird-
ing. We also saw interesting reptiles and other fauna. The most
exciting event of the whole trip happened on a night walk we
took the second evening. Tad stepped on a 10-foot snake in the
dark and we all had high pulse counts until Jorge located it with
his flashlight and identified it as a non-poisonous Boa Constric-
tor.
Thursday, we returned over the continental divide, through
San Jose to Puerta Leona on the Pacific coast. Initial plan had
been to make a northwesterly loop to the coast but the recent
earthquake wiped out much of the road and several villages
making the backtrack necessary. We passed over the Rio Sucio,
where chemical-rich yellow water from a volcano flowed side-
by side with clear water from the cloud forest (remember
Jurassic Park). We also crossed the Rio Tarcoles, where liter-
ally dozens of crocodiles lazed about.
Next day we birded in dry forest for several hours and saw
a Jesus Christ Lizard walk, actually run, over water – What a
thrill! In the afternoon we birded the Tarcoles by boat. Great
birding but the highlight was a life and death struggle between
a crocodile and an eel. The croc had bitten into a four inch
diameter eel which retaliated by wrapping itself around the
croc’s snout. The eel was biting the croc on the jowls and the
croc was trying to get on land to suffocate the eel. The croc
seemed afraid to leave the water with the boat nearby, so we
moved on to let nature take its course.
The next day we drove through the downtowns of San Jose
and Cartago and visited a local market. We ended the day in
Savegre, home of the Resplendent Quetzel. We had a good
look at one male on the way in and next morning had excellent
looks at two other males. Birding in the valley was excellent.
Sunday afternoon, we returned to San Jose and did a bit of
birding around our hotel before shutting down to pack and eat.
I hoped to see 53 new birds to reach the one thousand level
on my life list – I got 131. We saw a total of 216 bird species
plus 8 animals and 15 reptiles.
I have a (much) longer account of the trip which I will
email to anyone who requests it.
—Ken Gunn gunnsatbeach@cfl.rr.com
April, 2009
Field Trips
Three Lakes Wildlife Management Area, Lake
Ashby and Orlando Wetlands.
Feb. 21 — At the Three Lakes area we saw the primary
target species of Red-cockaded Woodpecker and Whooping
Crane, and added Snail Kite and Crested Caracara for good
measure. Other species include Limpkin, Brown-headed
Nuthatch, many Eastern Blue Birds, small flocks of Pine War-
blers and singing Eastern Meadowlarks. Had good looks at
Blue-headed Vireo and Wilson’s Snipe. All in all, a total of 73
species on a beautiful winter day.
March 12 — At Lake Ashby we had the park to ourselves
except for the park staff. A friendly and helpful park ranger
showed us where to find a nest of baby Barred Owls. The
babies watched us with big eyes as we watched them through
our glasses and scopes. Along the boardwalk over the lake we
had good looks at two Limpkin and in the wooded areas we had
fun trying to identify all the small birds in the treetops. We
identified 40 species overall.
March 20 —On the first day of spring a group of 7 birders
traveled to Orlando Wetlands Park near Christmas. American
Goldfinch and Painted Bunting were seen at feeders near the
new Education Center. On a leisurely walk around the im-
poundment we saw many birds, among them Black-crowned
Night Heron, Water Thrush, Bald Eagle, both adult & juvenile,
Male Northern Harrier, and the highlight of the day, a Crested
Caracara with a total of 54 species for the day.
April/May 2009 Trips
April 4th Sat. 8 a.m.: Tomoka State Park, Ormond
Beach. This Park is located near the confluence of the To-
moka and Halifax Rivers. The diverse habitats should offer
good birding.
April 17th Fri. 8 a.m. Canaveral National Seashore.
Bring lunch etc. Spring Warblers will be our goal for this trip.
May 1st Fri. 8 a.m. St Augustine Alligator Farm. Bring
lunch or eat at restaurant of your choice.
Trips subject to change. Call Gail @ 428-0447 for info or
questions.
—Gail Domroski
Officers & Chairs
President: Don Picard 386-957-1886 president@sevolusiaaudubon.org
Secretary: Jean McNeil 386-423-2508
Treasurer: Bill Cox billnmarsha@pshift.com
Newsletter: Gil Miller 386-423-4124 the.skimmer@yahoo.com
Programs: Ken Gunn 386-423-2334 gunnsatbeach@cfl.rr.com
Field Trips: Gail Domroski 386-428-0447
Membership: Richard Domroski 386-428-0447
Publicity: Marsha Cox billnmarsha@pshift.com