I know you are reading this a bit before we turn the page on 2020, but HAPPY NEW YEAR 2021! Nothing means more than having hope that the new calendar year will bring relief from our anxiety over the virus and economic hardships. I am surely hopeful that we will be happier, and our environment will be cared for more by our new Administration in Washington.
Our Program for the January 7 general meeting has changed. Sam Fried will not be available for us this winter, but we have already found a wonderful replacement. Adella Blacka, our temporary Program Chair, has announced she has booked Adam DiNuovo, who will speak to us about “How Bird Banding Aids Conservation.” He has been the Southwest Florida Shorebird Program Manager for Audubon. In this talk, he will discuss how banding gives researchers a view of the amazing lives of birds and how the stories birds can tell helps us conserve them.
His talk will be a good Segway into our newest project with the St. Lucie County Environmental Resources Department. Our past President, Eva Ries, has written a grant proposal that was submitted to Florida Audubon for $1000 to cover some costs for the banding of Scrub Jays on public lands in St. Lucie County. This project is already underway and there are some equipment costs that we can request funds to purchase, thereby making us a partner is this project. If you recall, we partnered with the St. Lucie Co. ERD a year ago to provide nesting platforms for osprey and great blue herons on Wesley Island. We actually received an award from Florida Audubon for the best project that year! If we receive these funds, we can help St. Lucie Co. band the scrub jays in our parks for scientific research. We will find out if we qualify for the grant in early January. Let’s keep our fingers crossed!
Our Christmas Bird Count has taken place last December 19th. All teams were successful in finding and counting our local birds. We are all very grateful to Ed Bowes, our Vice President and Citizen Science Chair, who works tirelessly to organize our count by teams and compiles all the data we collect to submit to Florida Audubon. Our success every year is due in part to his leadership. Thanks Ed! Watch our website for a report with all the data collected in the near future.
Ellen Lynch, President