Tampa Audubon Society December Newsletter CITIZEN SCIENCE

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1 Tampa Audubon Society December Newsletter Thursday, December 3, 2015 Hillsborough County Extension Office Conference Center 5339 CR 579, Seffner Photo Club 6 PM 7:00 Potluck dinner ~ Bring dish to pass (optional) 7:30 Program CITIZEN SCIENCE Learn how you can contribute to Citizen Science by counting birds during Christmas Bird Count, watching eagle nests, nesting birds, scrub jays & shorebirds Mary Keith - Christmas Bird Count Nancy Murrah - Eagle Watch Cheryl Merz - Colony Watch Door Prizes & Silent Auction items Holiday Shopping - Tampa Audubon Tee shirts, totes and hats have arrived TAS Tee Shirts Hats & Totes $15 $20 After January 1 Nancy Murrah is selling out her stock of bird earrings, once they are gone she is not ordering any more $12 Nancy gives TAS a Donation for each pair sold John Charles Miller, Tampa Audubon Member, Geologist, Author, OLLI Instructor John will be selling his books at the meeting His four books of novels, short stories and poetry are filled with humor, romance, alternate universes & geology John will give a Donation to TAS for each book sold

2 SILENT AUCTION ITEMS You can own a George L. Veazey Photograph Tampa Audubon Member & Member of the Photo Club Award winning Photographer George L. Veazey Has donated two Bluebird Photos Beginning bid for each Photo will be $20 The Birds of America John James Audubon 1942 edition Donated by Trudy Erwin Beginning bid $10 SNAPZOOM universal digiscoping adapter Beginning bid $10 Watch for the First Annual BIRDATHON March 5, 2016

3 FIELDTRIPS Saturday, December 5 Starkey Park: Meet at 8 am. Directions: Rt. 54, 3.5 miles west of Gunn Highway, turn north on Starkey Blvd. Go 4.4 miles to the sign and entrance (It looks like you're entering a housing development.) There's a pay booth on the right, $2 per car. Follow the road around the turns about 1.5 miles to meet at Parking Lot 8. Bring water, snacks, insect repellent, and lunch if you want to stay after the walk and eat there. It's easy flat walking, several miles distance. Please contact the trip leader, Mary Keith (keithma1@juno.com or ) for details. Saturday, December 12 - Lettuce Lake Park - Beginning Birding. Meet a 9 a.m. in the parking lot of the Visitor Center. This trip is a casual 2-to-3-hr walk along the boardwalk at Lettuce Lake Park. We usually find a diverse mix of waterfowl, waders, and woodland species, with a few nice raptors occasionally mixed in as well. We will walk the boardwalk looking for whatever s around. The park entrance is on Fletcher Ave., 1.4 miles west of I-75. The park entrance fee is $2. Bring water, binoculars if you have them, and dress appropriately for the weather. We have some extra binoculars and a spotting scope for good looks! Please contact the trip leader, Mary Keith at (keithma1@juno.com or ) for details. Sunday, December 13 Circle-B-Bar Reserve, Polk County: Meet at 8 a.m. in the parking lot at the Visitor Center at 4399 Winter Lake Road, Lakeland We will bird Marsh Rabbit Run trail which is 1 mile oneway and then Alligator Alley trail if anyone wants. Please note the visitor center restrooms do not open until 9 a.m. There is a port-a-potty in the parking lot. There is no fee for admission. Bring water, snacks, and lunch if you want as there are picnic facilities. Please contact field trip leader Pam DeNeve (deneved@hotmail.com) for details. Sunday, December 20 - Alafia Christmas Bird Count - Spend an hour or all day helping count our birds. This count is in the Riverview to Sun City Center area. Contact Mary Keith for information keithma1@juno.com TAS Junior Naturalists Club programs are free Edward Medard Park Al Lopez Park December 19 Bell Creek Preserve McMullen Road Riverview (free) Gopher Tortoise For more information on the preserve you can download a brochure: January 16 Bahia Beach Coastal Restoration (Free) 2513 Shell Point Road Ruskin, FL Eagles & Ducks For more information: Nancy Murrah nmurrahfirefly@gmail.com Pat Lewis plewis8216@aol.com

4 St. Marks NWR & Wakulla Springs State Park & Lodge April 15-17, 2016 Cost: $350 includes 2 nights at Lodge, box lunch Saturday & boat ride Sunday Meals not included except box lunch on Saturday Friday 4/15 Leave Tampa at 10 AM, bring lunch. Picnic & bird at Fanning Springs on the Suwannee River (Just past the State Park on the river) Wakulla Springs Lodge Bird grounds Check in at 4 PM Dinner in Lodge dinning room 5-9 Saturday 4/16 7:30 Breakfast in dinning room 8:30 Leave for St. Marks NWR (Box lunch included) Dinner in Lodge dinning room 5-9 Sunday 4/17 7:30 Breakfast in dinning room Boat ride on Wakulla River (included) Check out 11 AM Deadline: March 1, 2016 Trip leader - Mary Keith keithma1@juno.com Registration: mail to Pat Lewis, 9481 Highland Oak Dr. #1712, Tampa, Fl, with deposit of $50. Check made out to Tampa Audubon Society. plewis8216@aol.com Lunch in Snack Bar Leave for Tampa Optional stop at Crystal River Archeological State Park Wakulla Springs State Park & Lodge Home of one of the largest and deepest freshwater springs in the world, this park plays host to an abundance of wildlife, including alligators, turtles, deer, and birds and wintering ducks. Daily guided riverboat tours provide a closer view of wildlife. A nature trail offers a leisurely walk along the upland wooded areas of the park. The Wakulla Springs Lodge was built in 1937 by financier Edward Ball and is open year-round. The full-service dining room overlooks the spring. Wakulla Springs State Park and Lodge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is designated as a National Natural Landmark. St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge This unique refuge was established in 1931 to provide wintering habitat for migratory birds. It is one of the oldest refuges in the National Wildlife Refuge System. It encompasses 68,000 acres spread out between Wakulla, Jefferson, and Taylor counties along the Gulf Coast of northwest Florida. The refuge includes coastal marshes, islands, tidal creeks and estuaries of seven north Florida rivers, and is home to a diverse community of plant and animal life including wintering ducks and migrating passerines. Birding at Crystal River Archaeological State Park A National Historic Landmark, this 61-acre, pre-columbian, Native American site has burial mounds, temple/platform mounds, a plaza area and a substantial midden. The six-mound complex is one of the longest continuously occupied sites in Florida. For 1,600 years the site served as an imposing ceremonial center for Native Americans. People traveled to the complex from great distances to bury their dead and conduct trade. It is estimated that as many as 7,500 Native Americans may have visited the complex every year. Although primarily an archaeological site, the park sits on the edge of an expansive coastal marsh. As part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, the park offers bird-watchers the chance to observe a variety of birds including wintering migrants and waterbirds.

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