November Self-Guided Birding Activity Report

PRAS just completed our November Self Guided Birding Activity at Ollie’s Pond in Port Charlotte.  A nice walk around the pond revealed some nice birding views for us.

Here are the stats for the three birding activities thus far.  For those of you that joined in, glad you did, and we’re always open for more to attend.

Month          Location    # Reports     # Participants     # Species Seen   Average Per Report

September   Bayfront              7                   9                        39                         15.1

October        Prairie Creek      8                 14                        78                         40.6

November    Ollie’s Pond        8                  11                       36                         13.1

Listing of birds seen in November at Ollie’s Pond by our group and the number of reports listing each bird species.Anhinga-8Blackbird-Red winged-2Bluejay-5Cardinal-Northern-2Catbird-Gray-3Cormorant-Double Crested-4Crow-fish-2Dove-Mourning-1Duck-Whistling-2Egret-Great-8Gallinule-Common 6Gnatcatcher Blue Gray-4Grackle-Boat Tailed-1Grackle-Common-1Grebe-Pied Billed 2Hawk-Red Shoulder 5Hawk-Red Tailed-1Heron-Great Blue 8Heron-Green-3Heron-Little Blue-6Heron-Tricolor-2Mockingbird-1Osprey-5Phoebe-Eastern-1Swallow Tree-1Vulture-Black-3Vulture-Turkey-2Warbler-Black and White-1Warbler-Palm-3Warbler-Pine-1Warbler-Yellow Rumped-1Warbler-Yellow Throated-1Woodpecker-Downy-2Woodpecker-Pileated-3Woodpecker-Red Bellied-2Woodstork-1Yellowthroat-Common-1

Since the Christmas bird count will occur in December, we’ll wait until January for our next birding activity.  Several locations are being considered and we request some input from you concerning these.  Although you are not committed to any selection you make, we ask for your opinion as to which of these you would consider attending.  Select as many as you might consider.  Also, please add any others that we might consider.

Celery Fields in Sarasota Harns Marsh in Leigh Acres Bunche Beach/Sanibel Island Prairie Creek Repeat

Thanks,

Ron and Char Robinson

Are you interested in shorebird conservation?

My name is Tyson Dallas, I am the SW region shorebird biologist for FWC. This email is a few months early, but I want to reach out to see if any members of the Peace River Audubon are interested in getting more involved with shorebird conservation and stewardship in Charlotte County? I imagine some of you may have assisted Morgan Parks in the past couple of years or are currently involved via other groups. There will be numerous opportunities in the area for members to assist with running survey routes, searching for and monitoring nests, and helping to educate the public. The main reason I wanted to reach out so far in advance is because I would like to provide a stewardship training for you all if there are interested members and I imagine that will require some time to plan. I am more than happy to facilitate a virtual training if that is feasible for most members, or we can plan for an in-person training in January or February. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns you may have or to just chat about this. I am excited to hopefully have PRAS involved with shorebird conservation and I look forward to hearing from you. Contact me at: tyson.dallas@myfwc.com if you are interested.

Once we have a list of members, we can coordinate a date for training. The first nesting birds tend to start in February down here, so we do have time to plan for the training. Even for those members that do not wish to participate, spread the word to keep an eye out for bird activity on rooftops in Charlotte County. If you are not familiar, when I say rooftops we are talking buildings with flat rooftops. Over half of Least Terns in the state nest on rooftops. Keep an eye out for Least Terns, Black Skimmers, and American Oystercatchers flying to and from roofs, circling over roofs, perched on building parapets, etc.

Kindly, Tyson Dallas Southwest Region Shorebird Biologist lV Florida Fish &Wildlife Conservation Commission Fort Myers, FL 33901 Mobile: 813-417-4235 Tyson.dallas@myfwc.com

2020 Peace River Audubon Christmas Bird Count

Saturday, December 19th @ 7:00 am – 6:00 pm

OPEN TO THE PUBLIC AND EVERYONE IS WELCOME!

Peace River Audubon’s 2020 Christmas Bird Count will be on Saturday December 19th and encompasses a fifteen mile diameter circle, the center point being approximately downtown Punta Gorda. The circle is divided into about 12 areas, the furthest south areas being Charlotte Harbor Environmental Center (CHEC) and Cecil B Webb preserve. There are three water areas: the southern part of Charlotte Harbor including the area around Alligator Creek; the northern part of the Harbor; and the Peace River from the US 41 bridge. Each area is headed up by an individual who determines where their group goes in their particular area, where and when they meet. In some cases they break up into smaller groups covering particular areas, such as a golf course. Most groups start about 7 AM and go until about noon. Some go out again later in the afternoon to count birds coming in for the evening.  The more people we have out counting the more accurate our survey of the birds in our area will be.

We need volunteers, it does not matter what level of birder you are, you will be with a group of about four other birders.  If you can only do it part of the day that is fine too.  If you want you can do a feeder watch in your own yard.  If you have friends who might be interested, we would be able to use them as well. In 2019 our over 60 participants saw 120 species and over 16,000 birds, and with your help we will be able to surpass those numbers.

To sign up for the bird count contact: Tony Licata 1500 San Marino Ct. Punta Gorda 33950 941-505-9775 aflicata02@gmail.com

From National Audubon Society’s web site:

History of the Audubon Society’s Christmas Bird Count

Prior to the turn of the century, people engaged in a holiday tradition known as the Christmas “Side Hunt”: They would choose sides and go afield with their guns; whoever brought in the biggest pile of feathered (and furred) quarry won.

Conservation was in its beginning stages around the turn of the 20th century, and many observers and scientists were becoming concerned about declining bird populations. Beginning on Christmas Day 1900, ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the then budding Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition-a “Christmas Bird Census”-that would count birds in the holidays rather than hunt them.

So began the Christmas Bird Count. Thanks to the inspiration of Frank M. Chapman and the enthusiasm of twenty-seven dedicated birders, twenty-five Christmas Bird Counts were held that day. The locations ranged from Toronto, Ontario to Pacific Grove, California with most counts in or near the population centers of northeastern North America. Those original 27 Christmas Bird Counters tallied around 90 species on all the counts combined.

How Christmas Bird Count Helps Protect Species and Their Habitat

The data collected by observers over the past century allow researchers, conservation biologists, and other interested individuals to study the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America. When combined with other surveys such as the Breeding Bird Survey, it provides a picture of how the continent’s bird populations have changed in time and space over the past hundred years.

The long term perspective made possible by the Christmas Bird Count is vital for conservationists. It informs strategies to protect birds and their habitat – and helps identify environmental issues with implications for people as well. For example, local trends in bird populations can indicate habitat fragmentation or signal an immediate environmental threat, such as groundwater contamination or poisoning from improper use of pesticides.

In the 1980’s CBC data documented the decline of wintering populations of the American Black Duck, after which conservation measures were put into effect to reduce hunting pressure on this species. More recently, in 2009, the data were instrumental in Audubon’s Birds & Climate Change analysis, which documented range shifts of bird species over time. Also in 2009 CBC data were instrumental in the collaborative report by the North American Bird Conservation Initiative, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service – State of the Birds 2009.