T A M PA A U D U B O N S O C I E T Y
“To conserve and
Volume XX, Issue 2 www.tampaaudubon.org
NEW MEETING PLACE
Century Buick Training Room
3308 W. Hillsborough Ave.
S.W. corner of W. Hillsborough Ave
and Lincoln Ave.
Second Thursday of the month
Mix, Mingle & Munch at 7 PM
Meeting at 7:15
November 13th - Bats:
Florida’s Night Flyers
Cyndi and George Marks, directors of the
Florida Bat Conservancy introduce us to the
bats of Florida.
Bats are important components of our ecosys-
tems. Learn their roles in the balance of nature
and meet some live ambassadors from the
night time world.
December 11 - Wildlife of Lettuce Lake Park
Tampa Audubon’s Roger Sheets presents a fascinat-
ing program about one of our favorite subjects: the
Wildlife of Lettuce Lake Park. Explore the park
with him and see beautiful images of the alligators,
birds, and other animals of this special region on the
Hillsborough River.
Also, this is our Holiday Covered Dish Dinner.
Bring your favorite dish to share. Tampa Audubon
provides plates, cutlery, napkins and drinks.
restore our ecosys-
tems, focusing on
birds, wildlife, and
their habitats,
through education,
advocacy, and com-
munity involvement.
November/December 2008
CAROLYN’S CORNER
Message from the President
This is an important time for all Americans. I want
to encourage everyone to vote. As citizens of the
United States, we have the privilege, freedom, and
responsibility to cast a vote for the person of our
choice. Also, don't forget to vote "yes" for Amend-
ment 4 and for the ELAPP renewal initiative.
Regardless of the outcome on November 4th, we
still have work to do: we must continue to make our
voices heard, both nationally and locally. National
Audubon has a wonderful program to give one up-
dates on national and state issues, access to one's
lawmakers, local media, and inside information on
issues impacting birds, other wildlife, and their
habitats. All one needs to do is fill out the form on
line, and it will automatically match each one to his/
her specific federal and state lawmakers, as well as,
offer full and free access to all of the options AUDU-
BON ACTION CENTER has to offer. This information
is confidential, and will not be used for other pur-
poses.
To sign up, log on to:
http://audubonaction.org/audubon/join.html
If one provides city, state, and zip code when signing
up, Audubon will be able
to send alerts and invitations that affect him/her
most directly.
I strongly encourage all our members to do this. It
is an excellent source of up-to-date information.
Take a few minutes to sign up, and let YOUR voice
be heard!
Carolyn’s Corner continues on page 2
 November/December Field Trips

Sat Nov 1 - Blackwater Creek, Dave Goodwin 727-365-4943, Dgood389@aol.com. Bird and nature walk on
trails of beautiful natural area preserve north of Plant City, almost 100 species seen on this property.

Sat Nov 8 - Lettuce Lake Birding by Ear, Russ and Gail Kruetzman 986-1033, RKruetzman@aol.com. 9 am,
in front of the Visitor Center at Lettuce Lake. We will walk the boardwalk and trail looking and listening for
birds, done by 11:30.

Sun Nov 9 - Fort De Soto, Bill Lamoureux 839-2742, wlamoureux@aol.com. 8 am at the first parking area to
the right of the entrance (South fishing pier area) Fall migration time for shorebirds and warblers.

Sat Nov 22 - Pam Callahan Preserve, Carolyn McKinney 884-0578, Carolyn.audubon@yahoo.com. 8:30 am
in the parking lot of Home Depot on Hillsborough & Memorial Hwy near gardening end of building. Bring
water & insect repellent. We’ll look for woodsy birds, water fowl, shore birds and maybe even eagles!

Sat Dec 6 - Pancakes & Birds, Al Lopez Park, Bill Lamoureux 839-2742, wlamoureux@aol.com. 7 am at
Village Inn on Dale Mabry just south of I-275 (near Barnes & Noble), after breakfast move to Al Lopez Park
for birding along their nature trails. Or meet at 8 am in the parking lot to the right of the entrance of the park.

Sun Dec 14 - Christmas Bird Count - Alafia Area (south county), Dave Bowman 948-8516,
dsbowman@earthlink.net. Participants always needed for various teams to find and count as many birds as
possible in the SW part of the county. Even if you’re not ready to identify everything you see, spotters and list
keepers are very welcome.

Sat Jan 3 - Christmas Bird Count - Tampa, Dave Bowman 948-8516, dsbowman@earthlink.net.

Sat Jan 10 - Lettuce Lake Beginning Birders, Carolyn McKinney 884-0578, Carolyn.audubon@yahoo.com.
9am, in front of the Visitor Center. We will walk the boardwalk and trails looking for water birds and others,
done by 11:30.

Carolyn’s Corner (con’t)

I hope to see you at our next general meeting, November 13th, for a terrific presentation by Cyndi Marks of Florida Bat
Conservancy. She will bring some of her furry, night-flying friends to meet us. This will be a very interesting program
Conservancy
that your children would enjoy.
Then, December 11th,our own Roger Sheets will lead us on a photo safari of Lettuce Lake Park,
Park highlighting flora and
fauna of the park. This will also be our Annual Holiday Covered Dish Dinner.
Dinner Bring your favorite dish to share.
Audubon will provide plates, napkins, cutlery, and drinks. Bring a wrapped gift ($10 or less) and a festive spirit. It will be
a "Florida Holiday" celebration.
Both meetings will be hosted at our new meeting site, Century Buick Pontiac GMC, 3308 W. Hillsborough Ave.
 ARC at the Park
Visitor Center at Lettuce Lake Park

Volunteer training is available for those who are willing to invest four hours a month to staff
the Visitor Center. The only skills you need are a love of the environment and a friendly smile

Lettuce Lake Park Field Trip, September 13, 2008

It was a hot, humid, but beautifully clear morning as seven of us set out to see what birds or other wildlife
we might find. Near both the beginning and the end of our trek we met with several titmice scolding us
from the trees above our heads. From the tower we spotted a number of "the usuals": white ibis, a great
blue heron, 2 tri-colored herons, 4 or 5 adult little blue herons, and, thankfully, a dozen or so yearling lit-
tle blues (there's hope for the future!). Probably the "bird of the day" was a lone Prothonotary warbler
foraging on the ground among some fallen limbs and giving us a magnificent view of his beautiful yellow
head and breast. Along the boardwalk we spotted a young gator, when someone noticed, not far away, a
limpkin foraging in the shallows. It found an apple snail, and, much to our delight, deftly removed its
prey, and down the hatch! A couple of red-bellied woodpeckers played hide-'n'-seek among the overhead
branches as we continued along the walk. Another highlight of the morning was provided by a yellow-
crowned night heron perched and preening on a branch a mere 8 - 10 feet from the rail. Roger took some
great photos! The red-shouldered hawk we had been hearing call all morning finally showed itself as it
flew deftly among the trees and across the boardwalk just ahead of us. The trek ended with the sighting
of a Northern Parula, making himself as difficult as possible to spot. To the delight of a youngster we met
along with her dad, we pointed out a common cooter busily munching on river vegetation, while above
her head a huge golden-silk spider awaited an unsuspecting snack in her web. All in all, though HOT, it
was a very good birding day!

Carolyn McKinney, TAS President; Fl Master Naturalist

Photos by Roger Sheets

Yellow-crowned Night Heron Climbing hempweed Golden-silk Spider

 VOTE YES - FOR BONDS - ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 4

“To continue the Environmental and Land Acquisition and Protection Program”

ELAPP We must act now to preserve our last

remaining open spaces so that future
generations will have the opportunity to
Vote YES enjoy Hillsborough County’s natural beauty.
to Continue the The county’s population is
expected to nearly double
by the year 2050. Protecting
Environmental environmentally sensitive
Lands lands is vital for wildlife, water
supplies and natural resources
Acquisition & as well as preserving our quality of life.

Protection Voting for ELAPP will not increase property

Program.
Preserve environmentally
sensitive lands.
Lands acquired with
funds from ELAPP:
• Preserve environmentally
sensitive lands
• Protect drinking water
sources
• Improve water quality in local riv-
ers, lakes and Tampa Bay
• Ensure that wildlife habitat re-
mains in its natural state.
taxes. It is simply a continuation of a voter ap-
proved funding source in place since
1987. Those funds have been wisely invested
and matched with 76 million additional
dollars which would not have been available
without a local funding source.
Use of those funds is strictly
limited to acquiring and
preserving environmentally
sensitive lands in Hillsborough
County. Strong oversight from
a citizens advisory council
and annual public audits have helped
ELAPP earn the support of nearly every
political, business, environmental and
civic group in the region.
For more information, or to make your
contribution, visit our website at
www.preservehillsborough.org
 Come Celebrate Our 13th Annual Festival!
Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival
January 16-19, 2009
Morro Bay, California - Come to where the birds are and join
Morro Coast Audubon Society (MCAS) for our Annual
Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival. Located on California’s
Central Coast. Morro Bay is an important stop on the Pacific
Flyway and one of the country’s pre-eminent birding spots.
The area is recognized worldwide for it’s diversity of both
resident and wintering birds, and at last year’s festival, over
200 species of birds were identified!

The Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival is sponsored by MCAS NEEDED!

and gives you a chance to join local and national experts on a
variety of field trips and workshops. Field trip group sizes are Color TV to show
limited to maximize spotting and identification opportunities.
The Festival also offers workshops aimed at sharpening your bluebird box
birding skills, as well as evening programs with outstanding
speakers. camera happenings inside the

For more information about the festival, check out our web- Visitor Center
site at www.morrobaybirdfestival.org, or call (805) 772-4677.
You can request that your name be added to the mailing list at Flatwoods Park
for our 2009 brochure, or register online. The registration
deadline is January 5, 1009.

Right now is the perfect time to add plants to you garden!

1. The soil is nice and warm, allowing roots to grow faster than when planted in the spring.

2. It’s easier on your wallet since nurseries usually have many plants on sale.

3. You’ll save on water since cooler temperatures mean water doesn’t evaporate as
quickly.

4. The cooler temperatures also make gardening easier for you.

5. You’ll attract beautiful birds and other small animals right away.

Plant your garden this weekend and certify it as a

National Federation Wildlife Habitat site!

NationalWildlifeFederation@nwf.org
 Kathleen Hand

Steele Olmstead & Paula Hafley

Century Buick
Use of their facilities for
Rebeca Ipox
Audubon Meetings
Julia Harding
Donation from Jo Anne Hartzler and
Gary Krotz in memory of Jewell Bukantz
Anthony Moore
Corporate Sponsorship from TECO
Karen Day
Energy Foundation, $2,000

Anthony Moore

GO GREEN
Things you can do to help the Environment
Drive 55 MPH - increases mileage by 10%
Need help with bird Identification?
Run A/C at 80 degrees and use ceiling fans
Use canvas bags at the grocery store e-mail Bill Lamoureux at:
Turn off computer at night (unplug laptop)
wlamoureux@aol.com
 JOIN TAMPA AUDUBON
Join in on all the good times. When you join Tampa Audubon Society, you auto-
matically become a member of the National and Florida Audubon
Societies as well.
Your membership supports vital conservation issues on the national, state and
local levels. As a member, you will receive the bi-monthly Audubon magazine, the
quarterly Florida Nautralist magazine and our local, bi-monthly newsletter, The Avo-
cet.

Introductory Membership $25

Name:__________________________________________________________

Address:________________________________________________________

City:____________________________ State: _________ ZIP Code:________

Phone: ___________________Email:_________________________________

Please make your checks payable to: Tampa Audubon Society

Mail to:

Tampa Audubon Society

P.O. Box 320025
Tampa, FL 33679

I would like to include an additional contribution of $________ to the Tampa Audubon Society.

( ) I would like to help my local chapter. I have a special interest and/or skills in:
( ) Local conservation issues ( ) Membership promotion
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