WingSpan
Celebrating more than 100 Years of Conservation
1909 - 2009
Calendar of Events SPAS’ Annual Meeting
APRIL - JULY 2010
Apr. 3 & May 1 - Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, 1101 Country Club APRIL PICNIC AND ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP
Way S., St. Petersburg. Leader: Ron Smith. Meet 8 a.m., Nature MEETING
Center parking lot. (Following the round-robin birding)
SATURDAY, APRIL 24TH
Apr. 3 - Cross Bayou Canal and Joe’s Creek Cleanup -- FT. DeSOTO, SHELTER #15
8:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m., intersection of 78th St. and 70th Ave. N. 1:00 p.m.
in Pinellas Park. Sign up for the opportunity to have fun while
cleaning up our waterways. Lunch and raffle giveaways add to the Bring a main dish or salad to share and your own table service.
fun. This cleanup is a part of the Keep Pinellas Beautiful program. Drinks will be provided by SPAS.
Registration is required. Contact Anamarie Rivera by email
arivera@pinellascounty.org to sign up. Visit www.pinellascounty. Election of Officers and Board Members will be held at this meeting.
org/volserv/events.htm. All members of SPAS are encouraged to attend and vote.
Apr. 11 - Ft. DeSoto Park CP, 3500 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra
Verde. Spring Migration. Meet 8 a.m. at the flagpole at park
headquarters. Contact Judi Hopkins. (Note: Due to a race Want to be on the St. Petersburg Audubon Board of
scheduled for April 10th, the trip is moved to Sunday, April 11th.) Directors?
Apr. 17 - Ft. DeSoto Park CP. Spring Migration. Meet 8 a.m. at The St. Petersburg Audubon Society is looking for energetic
the flagpole at park headquarters. Contact Judi Hopkins. volunteers and a lawyer to be on our Board of Directors. If you
support our volunteer efforts and want to be very involved in
Apr. 18 - Bird-a-Thon, Contact Mauri Dietrich for information, our association, please let us know. If you know someone whom
398-4124. See inside for details. you think we should contact, we’d like that information also.
The nominating committee needs to hear from you by April
Apr. 24 - Ft. DeSoto Park CP. Round Robin Birding. Meet 8 23rd. The election of officers will be held on April 24th at our
a.m. at the flagpole at park headquarters to form teams and receive annual members’ meeting. You can contact Judi Hopkins at
instructions. Maximize the birding potential of 4 different locations Focus997@verizon.net or Alice Tenney at BirdWVa@aol.com
in the park. Leader: Lee Snyder. Contact Judi Hopkins. for more information or to answer your questions.
May 8 - North American Migratory Bird Count (NAMC). The current slate of nominees for the 2010/2011 St. Petersburg
All levels of birders needed to count species throughout Pinellas Audubon Board include the following:
County. Contact Don Margeson to volunteer, 727-527-0227.
Officer Slate
May 9 - Coffeepot Bayou Bird Island Boat Trip. Get a close Mauri Dietrich—President
look at an island rookery at the height of nesting season. Meet Maureen Arnold—Vice President
at the St.Pete. Pier by the bait house at 6:30 p.m. Cost is $25 per Nancy Ogden—Secretary
person. For reservations call Alice Tenney, 894-2062. Rick Potter—Treasurer
Director Slate
May-July Survey of beach/Rooftop Nesting Birds – To volunteer Harold Albers Saskia Janes
call Dave Kandz at 471-0699. Mary Brazier Dave Kandz
Wanda Dean Mark Mueller
June 5 & 6 - Pinellas Living Green Expo -- The St. Petersburg Judi Hopkins Alice Tenney
Coliseum and Sunshine Center, Saturday 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. & Sunday
10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Admission and parking is free. Contact Wanda
Dean at 321-3995 to volunteer at our booth.
President’s Message
As our year winds down,
by Mauri Dietrich
. . . I look back on the past year and a half and marvel at all we have accomplished and experienced.
Our Centennial Year was filled with many activities culminating at the Audubon Assembly held in
October with SPAS winning the Chapter of the Year Award. We continue a long tradition of being an
influential chapter in our community. We were recognized for that leadership at the Assembly and
now, looking forward, we will continue that leadership.
©Don Margeson 2009
At the Audubon Academy, March 27 and 28, our Education Committee will hold a workshop on our
fledgling Teacher Ecology Camp. Harold Albers and Wanda Dean, along with Jeanne Murphy and Brian Lane, will
tell how this program got off the ground and the success we experienced this past year. Plans
are underway to continue that program and expand it to add an advanced class as well. We are
fortunate to receive two grants to help fund this program, but we still need to raise a couple thousand
dollars. If perchance you get asked to make a pledge for our Bird-a-Thon in April, please consider
donating. Our Annual Appeal brought in less money this year than in the previous three years, so
we would like to supplement our income with our Bird-a-Thon.
Our last meeting of the year will be the April picnic, which is also designated as our annual membership meeting. We
traditionally hold the election of Officers and Board members at that meeting. I have agreed to run for the President’s
position again, but would like to make this my last year. I hope you will attend our picnic and the Round Robin birding
event held prior to that. It’s a time to not only support your chapter but to also have fun in the process.
My condolences to the Friends of Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, and especially to Gabe Vargo, in the loss of their Bald
Eagle, Spirit. She is truly flying free now.
. . . a few spring migrants will have already haven’t been reported yet, but I suspect we’ll
been reported. Species like Hooded, hear about them soon from Sawgrass Lake
Prothonotary and Worm-eating Warblers, and the Roosevelt Wetlands.
Barn Swallows, Eastern Kingbirds, and
Indigo Buntings. Local birders are excited A good number of Canvasbacks (six) were
with the hope that this spring will be as good still utilizing a lake in north St. Petersburg
as last year’s. in mid-March. A small flock of seven
Buffleheads were also enjoying their stay
During the last week of April 2009 birders at the William E. Dunn Water Reclamation
©Les Burdge 2010
at Fort DeSoto and Honeymoon Island Facility in Palm Harbor. norm to get one, maybe two nests, with three
saw record numbers of Cape May and young each year, but this year there were three
Black-throated Blue Warblers, as well as At this time of the year the shorebirds often nests with three chicks. In all, she knows of
good numbers of Common Yellowthroats, go unnoticed, but birders should be aware that 41 eaglets in Pinellas County, breaking the
Ovenbirds, Northern Waterthrushes, and if they see a pair of American Oystercatchers, previous mark of 27 noted in her data from
Blackpoll Warblers. Will this year be as Snowy Plovers, Willets, or Wilson’s Plovers ’06 -’07. Great job, Barb!
productive? together they’re probably thinking about
nesting. Give them their space. If a bird Visit www.PinellasBirds.com to keep up with
The past month or so has produced many Great alters its behavior because of your presence, the birding news in our county.
Horned Owl nests discovered throughout the you’re probably too close.
county. I can’t recall knowing of where so
many were. The pair of dark-morph Short- Barb Walker, our county’s EagleWatch
tailed Hawks has returned to Sawgrass Lake coordinator, advised that her team of
Park and can be seen most mornings flying volunteers monitored 25 productive nests
over the Visitor’s Center. Purple Gallinules and 34 locations. She said, too, that it’s the
Field Trip Notes The field trips to the Solid Waste Operations Facility in St. Pete
from Judi Hopkins were a great success!
We had a full van on all three trips (35 The Boyd Hill Nature Preserve trips have “spring migrants.”
participants), and we compiled a total received outstanding participation--thanks
species count of 80--thanks many times over to all who have attended. Thank you, Tom Thanks again for all your support and
to Lee Snyder for leading the trips. The tour Bell and Eric Plage, for “pitch hitting” for participation. Hope to see you soon on one
of the facility and the short film afterwards Ron and leading the trips temporarily. of our scheduled trips.
was very informative. St. Pete Audubon will
even be featured in their newsletter. Thomas Upcoming trips will be to J.B.Starkey WP
Roberts, our driver and facility tour leader, on the 27th of March, Boyd Hill NP on the
said he is looking forward to us returning 3rd of April, then April 11th (Please note that Contact Judi at: 727-526-3725 or
next year. There are tentative plans for one due to a scheduled race the April 10th trip focus997@verizon.net
trip a month in January, February and March. is moved to Sunday), April 17th, and April
Your input would be appreciated. 24th will be at Ft. DeSoto Park to see those Printed on recycled paper
BIRD-A-THON--April 18th
This year I have challenged the Board members to raise money for our Audubon Adventures Program and Teacher Ecology Camps. But
it also occurred to me that many of you may also want to help. Here’s how.
You can contact me if you would like to be on a team, or you can form your own team. The goal is for each team to raise $1000. If you
have four team members, each member need only raise $250. To do this is fairly simple; ask your friends, relatives, neighbors or co-
workers to pledge a certain dollar amount for each species of bird seen, or they can pledge a set amount. I have a pledge request form
that is perfect for emailing that I would be happy to share. On the day of the Bird-a-Thon, we will fan out across Pinellas County to see
as many birds as possible. There is a possibility of seeing 100 species or more. Afterwards, you will collect your pledges.
Please join me on April 18th and support our very worthwhile education programs. Call Mauri Dietrich at 727-398-4124 to volunteer or
for more information.
At its last 2011 budget workshop, Pinellas htm. Click on the checkbox by each potential closings with Commissioner
County Commissioners discussed the Commissioner’s name and type your Karen Seel. Pinellas County Commissioner
Education Centers at both Weedon Island and message into the box below. This will send Karen Seel has agreed to attend an April 13
Brooker Creek and the need to do something your message to each Commissioner. meeting at Weedon to discuss the potential
“dramatic” with their operation. The closing (aka “mothballing”) of Brooker
discussion focused on either “mothballing” If you have a personal “Center Experience” Creek and Weedon’s Educational Centers.
the centers (aka closing them) or finding a to share, please share it in your message. The meeting will be at 6 PM at the Weedon
partner to operate them. Perhaps you attended a lecture and learned Island Education and Cultural Center,
something new and inspiring about Florida’s 1800 Weedon Drive, St Petersburg. www.
It was clear from the discussion that some ecosystems. Or met a famous author or weedonislandpreserve.org.
commissioners were misinformed about the photographer (like Clyde Butcher) and, for a
centers and their operation and were instead few moments, experienced the world through 3) Share your stories about the Centers.
relying on whatever personal experiences or their eyes and mind. If you have a personal story of enrichment
memories they could call upon. Fortunately, the Weedon and/or Brooker Creek Centers
at the close of the discussion, county staff Or you could simply “cut and paste” have made in your life, share it! Besides
was charged with providing them current something like the following into the sending your story to the Commissioners,
center operating information. text box: Remove the mothballing of the here are other ways to share:
Weedon Island and Brooker Creek education a) Write a short Letter to the Editor of
Three things you can do -- centers from the 2011 budget “to do” list. the St. Petersburg Times. It’s easy! Just visit
Through Pennies for Pinellas, county voters http://www.sptimes.com/letters/ and paste in
1) Commissioners need to hear from as have invested heavily in both centers. In your story.
many citizens as possible about the value turn, the centers and their staffs have made b) Send it to us here at St. Petersburg
excellent contributions to the public. Any Audubon - just reply to this email. We’ll
both centers offer and why closing them
savings achieved from mothballing will publish it on our web site (stpeteaudubon.org)
cannot be an option. I’m sure many of you be insignificant when weighed against the
visit Brooker Creek and Weedon Island often and possibly in our “Wingspan” newsletter.
investment the public has already made c) Send it to the Friends of Weedon
and value the benefits our Education Centers and the costs associated with closing and
bring to you personally and to the county as Island in care of their President, Bob Kersteen
keeping them closed for the foreseeable at NITTANYRAK@AOL.COM.
a whole. If you want to continue to enjoy future. Continuing the current “bare bones”
those benefits, now is the time to speak out! Thanks for all you do for Nature in Pinellas
operation, while not ideal, at least protects County!
Email or call the commissioners as soon as the public’s investment while providing
possible and support the continued operation strong environmental and historical education
of the centers. Let’s get “mothballing” off opportunities for students and adults.
the table.
2) Attend a meeting at Weedon Island
To email the Commissioners, go to http://
www.pinellascounty.org/forms/bcc_form. on April 14 at 6 p.m. to discuss the
©Lee Snyder 2010
Avian Facts
Gaping is a term used for the manner in which birds feed by inserting
their bills and opening them--often to spread apart stems, leaves, seeds
or soil. Two New World families are among the group known to do this-
Corvidae (ravens, crows, magpies and jays) and Icteridae (meadowlarks,
“Free Spirit” cowbirds, blackbirds, grackles and orioles). The European Starling, an
We will always remember your call Old World transplant, also uses this feeding behavior. As expected, and
For as long as we remember how to hear unlike species using more conventional methods, the bird’s muscles for
We will always remember your beauty opening the bill are stronger than those for closing thus occupying a larger area in the
For as long as we remember how to see bird’s head. ANIPA
We will always remember your heart
For as long as we remember how to feel
We will always remember your soul
For as long as we remember how to breathe
We will always remember you Free Spirit
Because we will always remember how to love
In Memory of our girl Free Spirit, you will
never be forgotten and will live in our hearts
forever.
~Mitakuye Oyasin
Keely ‘Many Feathers’ Sinclair”