Self-directed Field Trip to Ollie’s Pond November 22-28

November’s self-directed birding activity will be at Ollie’s Pond, from Saturday, November 22 through Friday, November 28. We are happy our weather has turned a little more pleasant for outdoor activities.

Ollie’s Pond is a 41 acre man-made drainage facility managed by Charlotte County. This pond is named in the memory of Ollie Hewitt, one of the PRAS’s best birders and volunteers.

When on your walk , please enjoy the nice surroundings while walking on the unpaved but well groomed path and list the birds you observe. Watch for birds on the pond, in the trees that surround you, and the many birds flying by.

Please submit your results to Ron and Char Robinson crob80517@aol.com by Tuesday, December 1. We will then combine all the lists and report back to everyone on our groups findings.

The good news is that this location is familiar to most of us, and nearby. There is a lot of tall grass in and around the pond that has overgrown in the past year or so, and that may limit sight lines making observations a little more challenging, but there are still many opportunities to view a wide variety of birds here.

Ollie’s Pond is in the midst of a lovely residential area, and is not easily seen from any main roads.

Here are some directions:

From Pellam and Wintergarden: Travel West on Wintergarden, then South on Dando or Sargeant to the pond. Parking lot will be on the right.

From Collingswood and Bly: Travel East on Bly to the pond, then go around the pond to the left to find the parking lot.

Please enjoy this wonderful little piece of our paradise and email us if you have any questions or need further directions. Enjoy.

Ron and Char Robinson

Webinar with Nobel Laureate, Dr. Terry Root, ‘Climate Change is Real: and it is Really Hurting Birds

Hello everyone, this year we are most fortunate to be able to partner with the Venice Audubon Society in their monthly programs which are being held virtually due to the pandemic. The next meeting will be held on 11/24/20, as a live webinar with Nobel Laureate, Dr. Terry Root, ‘Climate Change is Real: and it is Really Hurting Birds’.

The meeting will begin at 6:30 PM with Venice Audubon hosting. The speaker will go on at about 7 PM. Anyone with interesting bird sightings is free to enter via the chat icon.

The meeting invite is: https://zoom.us/j/91975796857?pwd=UHBHZnBmMzRZTm5nS2dkRmdDUElzQT09 Meeting ID: 919 7579 6857 Passcode: VAAS

I believe the meeting invite, meeting ID, and passcode will remain the same for the duration of the fiscal year, so you may wish to save this data. We will email another notice again shortly before the meeting date and throughout the year.

Thanks so much, Mike Krzyzkowski Program Chair, PRAS

PRAS October Field Trip – Prairie Creek Preserve

The PRAS birding adventure site for October will be Prairie Creek Preserve. Go there anytime from the morning of Sunday, October 25 through the evening of Wednesday, October 28. Then, report the listing of birds seen during your visit (or visits) to crob80517@aol.com. At the conclusion, we will compile your lists into a final report to share with all participants. We also welcome photos taken and reports of other natural treasures you may have encountered during your visit. We would love to share them.

Prairie Creek Preserve

With over 1,600 acres, this site is a paradise for naturalists with a wide diversity of habitats from pine flatwoods to scrub and palmetto prairie. The scenic Prairie Creek flows into Shell Creek Reservoir which sources water for Punta Gorda. Being a preserve, it is less developed with no restrooms, picnic shelters or other amenities. But, the quality habitat is a good place to encounter species such as the Florida Scrub-jay, Gopher Tortoise, and Crested Caracara.

Directions

Address: 1900 Duncan Road (St. Rt. 17 north) Take Rt. 17 toward Arcadia. After passing the USA convenience store at the north entry to Washington Loop Road (on your right), start watching for a small brown county sign for the preserve, also on your right. The entry road is unimproved and rather long, but it will take you by pastures and wetland patches where you will want to watch for a number of species (good place for Meadowlarks). Take this road until it ends where you can park and explore. You may want to check out the new county homepage at www.charlottecountyfl.gov. Then go to County Parks for aerial map and more information.