President's Message by Norm Capra

I would like to welcome back all our members for a new season of informative meetings, field trips, and many other activities.  Our programming and our activities are driven by our mission statement “From birdwatching…to the total environment”.  I can assure you we have some wonderful field trips and exciting talks planned for this year. We are also planning some new options for our youngest members.  All of this is possible because of the enthusiasm and energy of our new officers and Board members.  I am pleased to announce that Brian Dusseault has agreed to serve as our new publicity chair.  Richard and Karen Duncan have agreed to head up our Education and Outreach Committee with the very able assistance of Lynn Marcoux, one of our newest BCAS members.  
Our first program will be presented by Pam Overmyer.  The title of her talk is “Blue Bird Trail”. She is going to tell us her experiences  with creating two bluebird trails and report the results of her efforts.  Please make a note that our membership meetings will begin at 6:30 pm instead of 7:00 pm.  Teri Floore, our Vice President for Programs will tell you more about our other monthly meetings elsewhere in this newsletter.  Diane McCann, Vice President for Special Events is revamping our film series which will be held in a new venue this year.  Our membership continues to grow under the able guidance of Diane Houser, our membership chair.

This summer we had several outreach activities including a Talk and Bird Walk at Bay Point.  Several presentations were made to local groups, BCAS members participated in shore bird monitoring and several participated in a Pelican Rescue Workshop.  Some of these activities are described elsewhere in this newsletter.

Ron Houser and Pam Overmyer have put together an outstanding series of field trips beginning with a visit to St. Andrews State Park.  We are continuing our practice of having several joint field trips with the Choctawhatchee Audubon and the SweetBay Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society.  These joint ventures provide enriched educational and social experiences for all. It goes without saying that all of you are invited to participate in all of these activities. Detailed event and member information will be available on our website www.baycountyaudubon.org as well as in our annual brochure, our newsletters, and our social media sites.

I hope to see a lot of familiar faces and meet a lot of our new members in the coming months.

Upcoming Events

Monday, Sept. 10 – Membership Meeting & "Bluebird Trails" Presentation by Dr. Pam Overmyer
6:30 PM @ Science and Discovery Center
308 Airport Road, Panama City

Pam will describe her experiences of creating two bluebird trails, report her results, show photos of these popular songbirds, and tell us how to make a bluebird trail.  The presentation will be followed by a short business meeting and social.  The meeting is free and open to the general public.  Visitors are welcome!
 
Saturday, Sept. 15 – International Coastal Cleanup at Lake Powell and Camp Helen State Park
Lake Powell Cleanup Sign-in will begin promptly at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 15^th at the Lake Powell Park or at Camp Helen State Park.  Free t-shirts will be given to the first 75 volunteers to register! The cleanup will last until noon. After the cleanup join us for pizza, learn about the LPCA’s conservation efforts, and stand proud for a group photo. Participate in a 'Chance Drawing' to win some very nice prizes donated by our sponsors.

Bring closed-toed shoes, hat, sunscreen, grabber, work gloves, water or refillable bottle, and snacks. If you wish, bring your boat, canoe, kayak or paddleboard and join the armada of cleanup crews!  If you do bring your watercraft, please bring required life jackets, whistle, and safety devices.  We will provide vinyl gloves, garbage bags, data cards, coffee and donuts, water, and snacks.

Saturday, Sept. 22 – Field Trip/Bird Walk to St. Andrews State Park, led by Tom and Teri Floore
Join us in exploring the trails and ponds at this popular park. We will be walking around Gator Lake and other park trails to look for a variety of woodland and water birds. There may even be a few fall migrants.  Bring binoculars (we have some to lend out), insect repellent and snacks and drinks. Meet us at the Gator Lake parking area at 8:00 am – 8:15 am. Call Ron at 763-7485 or cell # 850-381-5651.  No texts, please.
 
Saturday, Oct. 13 - Bay Day at St. Joe Bay Buffer Preserve, 3915 State Road 30A in Port St. Joe. 
There will be a variety of events going on that day, including a bird walk from 8:00 - 11:00 am  (Eastern time) led by Ron Houser and others.  Other events include tram rides through the preserve, live entertainment, raffle drawings and a low-country boil starting at 11:00 (ET).  Everything is free except for the food. Donations will benefit the Friends of St. Joe Bay Buffer Preserve, which was founded to help protect and preserve one of the most ecologically significant areas in the Southeastern U.S. Get there early to get a parking spot. 
 
Monday, Oct. 8 – Membership Meeting & Brown headed Nuthatch/Tall Timbers Presentation by Jim Cox
6:30 PM @ Science and Discovery Center
308 Airport Road, Panama City

Membership meetings are free and open to the public.  Visitors are welcome!

Saturday, Oct. 20 – Bird Walk at Panama City Beach Conservation Park
7:30 AM
This is the first of four bird walks in this park this season.  Meet us in the parking lot of this 2900 acre conservation area. Some of this area is slowly being transformed into wetlands due to discharge of treated wastewater and restoration of the habitat.  This means more and more birds are being found there, including black-bellied whistling ducks. The bird list is up to over 140 species!  We may break up into groups and walk the trails and boardwalks looking for a wide variety of birds. This is also right in the middle of fall migration so some of those can be expected. A moderate amount of walking is required but we go at a slow pace. This is an excellent place for new birders to spot the birds. We should be finished by 10:30 am. Bring snacks and drink as well as binoculars and insect repellent. 
 
Saturday, Oct. 27 – Joint field trip with Choctawhatchee Audubon Society to the Okaloosa County Landfill. This is one of the most well-known hot birding spots in the Ft. Walton Beach area. Local Audubon members will be our guides. A moderate amount of walking will be required.  Afterwards we will return home through Niceville and Hwy 20 to hwy 77 or 79 to avoid beach traffic congestion.  We will stop to eat lunch, possibly in Niceville.  Bring snacks, drinks and the usual birding equipment.  We need to get an early start, so set your clocks and meet us behind the Taco Bell restaurant on Hwy 98 and Thomas Drive at 6:30 am to leave right at 6:45.  We need to be at Pepito’s Mexican Restaurant in Ft. Walton by 8:15.  The address there is 1313 Lewis Turner Blvd., Ft. Walton Beach. If you live on Panama City Beach we can meet you at the Publix near Phillips Inlet. Give me a call at 763-7485.  
 
For all field trips:  There are no rain dates. Use your judgment and weather maps. If in doubt, call Ron at 763-7485 or Cell# 850-381-5651.  Snacks, drinks, insect repellent and appropriate footwear and clothing are always recommended. We will have extra binoculars. Rest rooms are not always immediately available. Please be courteous to others, Please stay on the trails, and don’t get ahead of leaders. Don’t hesitate to ask questions or to ask our established members about their binoculars or cameras. That’s what we’re there for.  If you’re riding with someone, an offer of gas money will be appreciated.. Well-behaved, inquiring children are always welcome. They are our future birders and leaders. Above all, you need to show up on our trips to learn, appreciate and respect our natural resources. With our new digital society that takes so much of our time, it is important to retain that connection with nature and be advocates of our disappearing natural areas and wildlife. Remember, we fear what we don’t know but with a bit of knowledge that fear can turn into respect.

Audubon Florida staff member Bonnie Samuelsen and Audubon volunteers Annette Railey, Gail Carmody and Lynn Marcoux have been out in the field at the rookery in St. Andrews State Park (located at Gator Lake) this spring and summer.  On a weekly basis, volunteers setup a spotting scope, binoculars and educational resources and provide environmental education to all guests visiting Gator Lake.  The goal is to understand and monitor what species of wading birds use the rookery to nest and care for fledglings while educating the guests on the importance of this ecosystem.  

While many people go to Gator Lake to see gators, many guests are thankful for the opportunity to see the birds up close and learn about the different species of birds, life cycle of the nesting birds, the habitat and conservation strategies.  On any given night, staff and volunteers interact with as many as 50 -75 people.  The staff at St. Andrews State Park has been very welcoming to the new Rookery Steward Program and the guests seem to really enjoy using the scope to gain a much closer look at the wading birds and the gators.

The birds observed nesting at the rookery thus far include Great Blue Herons, Little Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Anhingas.  Our goal is to continue offering environmental education to the guests on a monthly basis during summer/fall, then weekly during peak nesting at the rookery.  The outreach educational gear/resources are stowed at the ranger station at the entrance of the park and is open to all Audubon volunteers who would like to participate and join the team. Other volunteers who participated in the rookery program were Janet Gladis, Candis Harbison, Al Clare, Amy Wetzel, Greg Murphy and Betty Swindle. If you are interested in joining us one evening to see the setup/location, please contact Lynn Marcoux at lynnmarcoux@hotmail.com or Bonnie Samuelsen at bsamuelsen@audubon.org. 

Pelican Rescue Workshop

By Norman Capra

One of our summer outreach activities evolved from a conversation between Bonnie Samuelsen, Audubon Florida Shorebird Program Manager and Kennard Watson, Director of the Panama City Beach Turtle Watch.  Kennard noted that Turtle Watch volunteers occasionally encountered injured Pelicans and shorebirds and desired information on what they could do to help these birds.   Coincidentally, Nathan Beaucage, Eagle Scout, was busily supplying Pelican rescue kits at the local piers as part of his Conservation project.  In the process, he learned that the Beach and County Patrol staff and lifeguards were eager to learn more about handling and treating hooked and entangled birds.

In response to this need, Bay County Audubon contacted Savanna Barry, Regional Florida Sea Grant Extension Agent (UF|IFAS) for the Nature Coast Biological Station.  Savanna was instrumental in organizing the Cedar Key Audubon Chapter’s Pelican Rescue Program.  Savanna graciously agreed to come to Panama City and conduct a workshop on the topic of rescuing hooked and/or entangled birds.  The event was held on July 27^th at Gulf Coast State College.  Twenty three attendees, which included members from all of the above listed groups, plus BCAS members,  Audubon Florida Shorebird personnel, and local rehabilitation personnel listened with rapt attention to Savanna’s presentation (see photo right).  Her presentation was followed by a lively discussion on our local problems, beginning steps we might take to provide better care to injured animals, how to reduce injury to our birds through education, how to respond when injuries are encountered, and who to contact for help. 

The workshop was well-received and participants indicated that they learned a lot.  However, more needs to be done.   If you are interested in helping, please send an email to baycountyaudubon@gmail.com and put Pelican Rescue in the subject line.

Here’s an example of some of the outreach events our BCAS volunteers do throughout the year. On May 4, Ron and Diane Houser were invited to attend the opening reception for wildlife photographer Staci Doucette’s photo exhibit at the Sheraton Bay Point Resort. Staci had large framed photos she took of area shorebirds, including brown pelicans and various other herons, gulls and terns. As a follow-up “refresher” event on June 4 called “Audubon Talk and Walk”, several of us went back out there.  Norm Capra presented a slide program to resort guests and visitors. He discussed who we are, what we are involved with, including some of our projects like shorebird nesting and monitoring, the rookery monitoring project at St. Andrews State Park and creating a wildlife-friendly home landscape. Norm, along with Ron and Diane Houser, Mary Jo Capra, Bonnie Samuelson with Audubon Florida and Staci Doucette talked about each of the birds featured in Staci’s exhibit.  Afterwards, as the sun was going down, the group went outside to the boardwalk and bayside grass flats to spot and identify several wading birds for the group.

Lake Powell Cleanup

The Lake Powell Community Alliance, Friends of Camp Helen State Park, and St. Andrew Bay Watch Host Lake Powell Cleanup on September 15^th, 2018

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                     CONTACT: Emily Ellis lpca08@gmail.com, 850-625-4140

PANAMA CITY BEACH, FL. The Lake Powell Community Alliance (LPCA) together with the St. Andrew Bay Watch (RMA), Friends of Camp Helen State Park, Bay County Audubon and our local neighborhoods invite you to participate in a community effort to cleanup Lake Powell.  Sign-in will begin promptly at 8 a.m. on Saturday, September 15^th at the Lake Powell Park [boat ramp behind Publix] or at Camp Helen State Park.  The cleanup will last until noon. After the cleanup, learn about the LPCA’s conservation efforts and stand proud for a group photo.  Free t-shirts and pizza will be given to the first 75 volunteers to register! Participate in a 'Chance Drawing' to win some very nice prizes!

According to Emily Ellis, LPCA Chairperson, “This event is part of the Ocean Conservancy’s International Coastal Cleanup. This is our sixth year participating and to date we have removed over 12,000 pounds of trash from Lake Powell and her watershed. Every year we fill two dumpsters provided to us by Bay County. We are proud to be part of this global effort. It is a fun event for people of all ages who want to help maintain the health of the lake.”

In our little corner of the earth, we have a very unique and precious resource.  LAKE POWELL was designated an Outstanding Florida Waterway in 1991. It is among the largest of the rare Coastal Dune Lakes which occur in only a few places around the world. Lake Powell is known for its beauty and biodiversity, as well as its exceptional recreational and educational opportunities.  The Lake Powell Community Alliance (LPCA) is dedicated to protecting this natural resource.

This is a great opportunity to bring our community together for a common cause!  Individuals and teams are welcome. Participants will be given a choice of areas to clean up with access by walking, wading, boating, or paddling. So, JOIN the TEAM / KEEP it CLEAN!  

What to bring: closed-toed shoes, hat, sunscreen, grabber, work gloves, water or refillable bottle, and snacks.

Please consider bringing your boat, canoe, kayak or paddleboard and join the armada of cleanup crews!  If you do bring your watercraft, please bring required life jackets, whistle, and safety devices.

We will provide: vinyl gloves, garbage bags, data cards, coffee and donuts, water, and snacks.

SCHEDULE

8:00 - 9:00 am -- Sign-in and Orientation
9:00 - 12:00 noon -- Lake Clean-up
12:00 - Group Photo
12:15 - Chance Drawing

LAKE POWELL COMMUNITY ALLIANCE Mission: A community initiative dedicated to preserving the water quality and biodiversity of the globally rare and imperiled Lake Powell ecosystem through education, habitat restoration, watershed-based planning and community partnerships.

Please spread the word and friend us on Facebook.  

If you have questions or ideas for ways in which YOU can help contact us: lpca08@gmail.com 

May - July 2018

Felecia Smith, Jamie Shepard, Michael Lahti, Patricia Coolman, Danielle R. Bumgardner, Lisa Sanders,  Wayne Gentry, Anna Camp, Sandra Clenney, Richard Varner, Janet Gysi, Robin Estes, and Lynn Marcoux.

WELCOME BACK REJOINS

Zelma Hammers, Camilla Turnbull, Louis Petrosino, Rhonda Dickinson, Joe Harbison, Howard A. Buchanan, Sarah Cooper-Ellis, Larry Hill

Thank you all for your support. We look forward to seeing you at our next meeting on September 10, 2018 at 6:30 pm.  It will be held at the Science & Discovery Center of Northwest Florida, 308 Airport Road, Panama City, FL.

RENEWALS:  Bay County Audubon only processes new memberships.  If you are renewing your membership, you may use the form that National Audubon sends or go to National Audubon’s website, http://www.audubon.org/renew or call 1-844-428-3826.