PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE 2011/2012 Sept. 15, 2011
Hello All,
Fall is in the air and your local Audubon Chapter (Four Rivers Audubon) is gearing up for a new season. Our board met just last week to plan out the basic schedule for the next 8 months and you will find a copy enclosed and on our website www.fourriversaudubon.org. We hope you will consider joining us.
Once again (back by popular demand) our monthly walks (Alli-walks) at Alligator Lake will be held on the first Saturday of each month (with just a couple of exceptions). We have also added some new trips this year, to Oleno, Ichetucknee and Big Shoals. Our first walk (for those of you who receive our e-mail messages) attracted 20 people including several newcomers. Learning from others is the best way to get started so beginners are always welcomed. And of course thanks to your donations we still have our loaner binoculars available.
We will be running 3 Christmas Bird Counts again this year, one in Hamilton County, one Centered in Lake City and one combining Ichetucknee and Oleno State Parks. If you are interested in helping out please let us know. Although we count on the experts to lead our teams we can always use extra eyes and folks to tally the numbers as we see them.
In April we hosted our 2nd Alligator Lake Spring Festival. With the help of our partners at GWHO (Gateway Wildlife Habitat Organization) we pulled off another successful event. With a focus on Alligator Lake as the headwaters of the Ichetucknee and the importance of the Park as a location on the GREAT FLORIDA BIRDING TRAIL we designed booths, and invited vendors and presenters to join us for a day of fun. Over 500 people attended and we have already planned to hold our 3rd annual event on April 7, 2011. And if you would like to help out in any capacity please let us know by sending a message to v.thomas57@gmail.com.
Our conservation efforts have continued as our capacity grows.
- Members worked with Sarah Lauerman on her Red Cockaded Woodpecker relocation program. Our Osceola populations are healthy enough so that we were able to share birds with 4 less fortunate locations.
- Workdays at Ichetucknee including invasive exotic plant removal, tending and monitoring American Kestrel nesting boxes and helping record vegetation changes on the river. A new effort was made to treat invasive exotic plants at Alligator Lake.
- Participation in the Ichetucknee Springs working group continues despite the defunding of the program.
- Participation in Public Land Management reviews.
- Planning of our big community outreach event – the Alligator Lake Spring Festival described above.
This year we hope to introduce a new project at Alligator Lake Park and Recreation Area. We will evaluate the viability of building nesting structures for species of concern that might choose the variety of habitats found in the Park. Species for consideration include Prothonotary Warbler, Purple Martin, Chimney Swift, Eastern Bluebird, Screech Owls, Wood Duck, and more. This focus will enhance the area for both the birds and the birdwatchers! If this project is of interest to you we encourage you to give us a thumbs up!
For those of you who would like to hear the birdie details of what is going on around our area “Bird Notes” continues to entertain us with stories and other chatter about birds. If you wish to be added to this list send an e-mail to Virlynw@earthlink.net.
VERY EXCITING NEWS is that the Florida Ornithological Society has invited us to host their Spring 2012 meeting May 18-20. Although the location is yet to be determined we are quite excited that they have chosen our area. We will plan on hosting 100 people from all around the state and hope you will consider participating.
Programs at the Fort White Library, the Master Gardeners, the FL Native Plant Society, Lyons Club, Dowling Park, Save our Suwannee helped showcase our enthusiasm for conservation and building healthy back yards. This has allowed us to continue to expand our chapter membership.
We are still relying on e-mail to communicate with our members throughout the year. This saves time, money and paper. We send out a couple of short messages each month and an occasional call to action on a conservation issue that affects you. So once again…PLEASE take a moment to send us your e-mail address (jsulek@audubon.org) so we can keep you informed, engaged and excited about being part of the Four Rivers Audubon Society.
We have fun, we learn and we gain satisfaction in doing something positive for our north Florida Special Places and all who depend upon them. So we invite you to join us this season.
Cheers,
Jacqui Sulek, Co-President
Valerie Thomas, Co- President
and
Your Four Rivers Audubon Board of Directors