An Audubon Adventure, by Cierra J. Nelson

On January 27th, 2021, an opportunity presented itself to me through the Apalachee Audubon Society, an opportunity that would influence and change my view of conservation, wildlife, birding, and help define me as a Black environmentalist. But a bit of context is needed for this story to flow. My name is Cierra Janae Nelson, a spring 2022 Environmental Studies graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. During my time at FAMU, most of my environmental studies were centered on areas of policy, law, and environmental health and safety. While studying these areas I delighted in the knowledge presented to me, and more importantly understood the critical relationship between education and preserving our Mother Earth. For only through education do the necessary tools and resources pass down from those in power to those who will succeed them in an ever-flowing cycle of knowledge. Knowledge is key in preserving Earth's definitive and infinite resources and is vital for ensuring the flora and fauna of today are present for the generations in the future. 

The allure of exploring a career within this area was exciting but I had my reservations. One, I would be the first in my family to ever explore a career in this area, for I come from a long line of military and medical health personnel. Secondly, the diversity or lack thereof within green careers and those related to conservation is shocking and was almost enough to deter me to seek careers in other areas. Nevertheless, once the opportunity for a FAMU exclusive Apalachee Audubon education intern presented itself, I applied with eagerness and hope. I was accepted into the internship towards the end of February which is where my Audubon adventure begins.

During the Spring 2021 semester, I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Donna Legare who served as the AAS President. She is the director of the internship, a valued mentor and educator, and helped shape my environmental journey. Additionally, there was Sarah and Chloe, two other interns with whom I had the pleasure of collaborating for the spring semester. The project assigned for the spring semester was the beautification of Lake Elberta Park in Tallahassee Florida. This public park features Purple Martin gourds, a bat house, a healthy population of geese, and a burdening amount of stormwater pollution. The stormwater pollution that plagues Lake Elberta is attributed to stormwater runoff from fifty plus businesses including restaurants, auto shops, and both FSU and FAMU. This pollution defies the installed filtration systems and produces a rather unpleasant site and habitat for the birds and people who frequent the park. After 3 months of collaborating, Chloe, Sarah, and I along with fourteen recruited volunteers removed 44 lb. of stormwater pollution and trash on March 27th, 2021. The day went blissfully, and we were able to educate and empower more people about how they could make a change and protect Tallahassee's public parks.

Fall 2021 saw my fellow colleagues graduate from high school and college and I remained as an AAS intern. Mrs. Donna helped to continue my growth by encouraging me to think about an individual project and to apply for Audubon Florida’s Conservation Leadership Initiative (CLI), which is a unique program designed to uplift underrepresented voices in the field of conservation by providing extensive opportunities in leadership as well as multiple occasions to network with current and past professionals within the conservation field. As a member of this cohort, I was provided research opportunities and eventually the chance to collaborate with other members of the cohort to create a leadership conference in conservation for recent high school graduates of underrepresented communities. Acceptance into this program also comes with a mentor to guide your journey in exploring green careers and careers in conservation. My mentor’s name is Dara Wilson, the first African American woman I have met who is a trailblazer in the fields of conservation, environmental justice and equality, and public outreach. She persistently challenges and defies expectations of African American women in this field and strives to dismantle what is standard and acceptable when not practical for all parties. My two most memorable moments with the CLI program include an alternative spring break in Titusville, Florida where we researched horseshoe crab migrations, provided habitat for the endangered Least Tern, and witnessed a rocket launch on Florida’s Space Coast. There was also a regional meet up in Lake City where I experienced kayaking on the Ichetucknee River for the first time and saw a new variety of Florida flora and fauna including river otters and spoonbills.

Cierra and a member of the FAMU Outdoor Club installing a bluebird house.

Spring 2022, the spring semester brought a flurry of new activities and opportunities through our Audubon chapter. With the help of Mrs. Donna, I was able to complete two projects, one independently and one that had been started at the beginning of my internship but had to be postponed due to the pandemic. Operation Bluebird Trail was my own independent project with the goal of providing better accessibility to birding for children at Joe Budd Youth Conservation Center in Midway, Florida. The bird trail consists of 8 to 10 houses assembled by me and other members of FAMU's Outdoor Club at Native Nurseries in Tallahassee. The houses were assembled prior to winter break and were installed during the first week of February in order to synchronize with the nesting season of bluebirds, chickadees, and other cavity nesting birds that frequent Joe Budd. The first week after installing there was little activity but, by March we had our first resident bluebirds as well as chickadees making their homes and raising their young. The trail is now available to the public and even able to be visually seen mapped out on Google Earth.

The second project featured the reestablishment of the After-school Bird Club, which meets biweekly at Pineview Elementary, a Title 1 school, after a 2-year hiatus due to the pandemic. The bird club safely resumed on January 27th with an audience of twelve third graders new and eager to the world of birding and conservation. Donna and I along with five other environmental educators provided the children after school enrichment featuring introductory to birding with their own binoculars, bird anatomy, the bird food chain, nesting 101, and other related topics. The club ran through the remainder of the school year and has plans to continue in the fall as we received great feedback from the children and their teachers about the benefits of the after-school program. The after-school participants of the bird club and their entire third grade class also visited Joe Budd Youth Conservation Center, where they were able to view the bird trail as well as participate in other activities such as archery and wilderness survival.

My internship experience with the Apalachee Audubon Society concluded May 2022 when I officially completed four years of undergraduate education and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in International Relations from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University. The lessons and knowledge provided for me through this internship are innumerable but, overall, I am grateful that the local chapter of the National Audubon Society provided a young Black environmentalist like me this fantastic opportunity to gain experience in all areas within this critical and important field

Honoring Chimney Swift Tower Donors

Chimney Swifts returned to the chimney at our house on April 1 this year. Hopefully a pair will grace our recently built tower at Lake Elberta. The interpretive sign about Chimney Swifts will be installed sometime this fall; the sign company in High Springs, Florida has been swamped with work so we are patiently waiting. This project would not have taken place without the sweat equity of volunteers and our donors who supplied funds for construction materials and the building of the interpretive sign.

Special thanks to Ann Morrow for writing the text and working with the interpretive sign company, Jody Walthall for building the tower with assistance from Jim Carr and a few Native Nurseries employees, and to Brian Bryson for his lovely artwork on the sides of the tower. Now we wait for occupants!

Our appreciation to the following financial donors:

Aramark, Wolfgang and Winnie Adolf, Howard Kessler and Anne Van Meter
Kristen Summers, Amelia and Bill Everett, Carolyn Back (one of our original Lake Elberta interns!), Jane Fleitman
Ann J. Morrow, Jim and Kathleen Carr, Bruce and Sandra Bodjack, Brent McNeal, Polly Beason, Donna Legare
Beth Wright, Beth Grant, Mary Anne Hoffman, Barbara Cooper, Sunny Phillips, Tricia Elton

Chimney Swift Tower Project at Lake Elberta

By Donna Legare

Jody and I have lived in our house in Betton Hills for over 30 years. Every spring we host a pair of chimney swifts who nest in our chimney. We are so used to their happy chittering sounds that we laugh when visiting friends look astonished by bird sounds coming from the fireplace. One of the nicest things about having nesting or roosting swifts is watching them zoom above the roof and the surrounding live oaks in the evening hunting for insects, finally settling in for the night at dusk. The swifts migrate to South America before we have any interest in winter fires.

Jody Walthall making the cuts in the shiplap paneling for the tower walls, Jim Carr holding it steady.

The chimney swift population is in decline. Historically they nested in large hollow trees that barely exist anymore. They have long since switched to nesting in chimneys and other human made structures. Now, however, most people either do not have chimneys or have placed caps over the ones they have.

Many Audubon Chapters have successfully installed chimney swift towers in parks, and this is exactly what Apalachee Audubon Society has decided to do.

The twelve-foot tower is for just one pair, but the tower and its interpretive sign will provide information about this fascinating species and what we can do to encourage them. It may also be used later in the season for congregating swifts prior to migration.

Completed Chimney Swift Tower Sections with Jody Walthall and Jim Carr. They will be stacked to make a 12 foot tower.

Jody Walthall is an experienced woodworker and small boat builder. He has volunteered to build the tower and has worked with Kenny Welsh with the City of Tallahassee Parks and Recreation to choose the location at Lake Elberta. Kathleen and Jim Carr have helped with the initial building which is taking place in our home carport. Let me know (dlegare@comcast.net) if you would like to help with the construction and installation of the tower. Natasza Fontaine, artist and biologist, has agreed to add her artwork to the tower and Ann Morrow, retired biologist, and writer, is working on the wording for the interpretive sign. It is a group effort.

Here is another way you can help. Though the labor is donated, the lumber and other materials are costly, and the production of the interpretive sign is about double the cost of materials, but we feel the sign is of utmost importance. Our goal is to raise $3000. So please chip in whatever you can to this project. We’ve already received a donation of $500 from AAS members Wolfgang and Winnie Adolph to kick off the fundraising! Be sure to indicate “chimney swift tower” on your check and mail to:

Apalachee Audubon Society
PO Box 1237
Tallahassee FL 32302-1237

Connecting Landowners to Their Birds

It’s time to give credit where credit is due. If it were not for conservation-minded private landowners throughout the country, we would have far less wildlife. And that wildlife includes birds.

Birding in the restored longleaf pine savanna on Helen and Tom Roth's property

In Florida and Georgia, private lands make up the majority of both states (79% and 90.3%, respectively). Many of these lands, such as shopping malls and golf courses, are unsuitable for many declining bird species. However, millions of acres of private lands in both states are conducive to these species and, in many cases, are the deciding factor in whether or not populations can persist in an area over the long term.

With this in mind, the Tall Timbers Land Conservancy is working to empower conservation easement landowners to document the birds that occur on their properties. Tall Timbers applied for a Cornell Lab of Ornithology grant to help them achieve this goal. They have partnered with the Alachua Conservation Trust and Conservation Florida, as well as with four Audubon chapters, to link Audubon volunteers with private landowners. The idea is to have solid birders from Audubon chapters teach landowners how to identify birds and use eBird to record what they see throughout the year. Land trusts like Tall Timbers often visit properties only once per year to conduct easement monitoring visits and, even then, often are not recording every bird species that they see. Helping landowners fill in the who, when, and where for different bird species in places where surveys rarely, if ever, occur could help to augment the efforts of ornithologists.

Apalachee Audubon volunteers posing by a waterfall on Annie Schmidt's property.

Staring at a vesper sparrow found in a field on Guy Anglin and Jan Blue's property

You may be wondering what this project looks like in practice. Well, the bottom line is that it’s been a lot of fun for all involved. Tall Timbers staff have conducted four landowner visits so far in partnership with Apalachee Audubon. At Hays Cummins’ and Donna McCollum’s property, participants got to watch hundreds of wading birds fly over their heads to a wetland roost at sunset. Helen and Tom Roth’s property offered the chance to see habitat restoration in action on a beautiful landscape, with a flock of gorgeous (and uncommon) purple finches providing icing on the cake. Serenading grasshopper sparrows at sunset rounded out a visit to Annie Schmidt’s property, that had already included steephead ravines, a waterfall, and salamanders. Guy Anglin and Jan Blue’s property visit resulted in great looks at a vesper sparrow, a northern harrier, bald eagles, and nesting red-headed woodpeckers.

AAS volunteers and Tall Timbers staff scanning the ephemeral wetland owned by Hays Cummins and Donna McCollum

Hays Cummins, who with his wife, Donna, owns the wading bird rookery mentioned above said, “It was a great day of fellowship and experiencing the many natural wonders of this region of Florida. It was so invigorating to be with people whose passions for the environment matched ours. Strong partnerships like this give us hope for the future of the region.”

The visits offer opportunities for Audubon members to learn more about habitat management, see the benefits of conservation easements firsthand, and experience spectacular natural habitats that they would probably never experience otherwise. They offer landowners the chance to deepen knowledge of their property and the species that occur within it, and maybe even introduce them to a new hobby.

With new birds arriving soon from places further south and more landowners showing interest in getting involved, the prospects of this project look promising. If you are interested in getting involved with the project, please contact Peter Kleinhenz at pnkleinhenz@gmail.com.

The forest next door: Take a hike on trails of the Leon County Park System

By Donna Legare

Since the pandemic, my husband, Jody, and I have been exploring new places to hike. We enjoy walking through fields and forests botanizing and observing nature in all its forms while getting fresh air and exercise.

Native swamp azalea in full fall color, sporting flower buds, at the St. Marks River Headwaters Greenway

I am thankful to live in an area of the country where there are so many forested areas. It makes me appreciate the ecosystem services that these forests provide. They protect water quality and supply, conserve soil, sequester carbon, purify air, provide habitat for wildlife and places for people to relax and be with nature.

You may be surprised to learn that there are some forests right here in Leon County that are under the management of the Leon County Parks and Recreation Department.

I have been walking the Miccosukee Greenway for years but had never heard of the Fred George Greenway Park or the St. Marks Headwaters Greenway until I contacted Leigh Davis, Director of Leon County Parks and Recreation, to ask her to speak at Apalachee Audubon Society’s January program meeting on Zoom.

She will present a program called "The Forests of the Leon County Park System." The Zoom program takes place on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021 from 7-8 p.m. The program is free, but registration is required: https://bit.ly/3ngFbjq

Davis will share information about existing and planned trails and boardwalks in some of the forested parks under her management. She will familiarize us with her department and how it works. Davis’ public service career spans two and half decades and includes over 15 years with Leon County.

The St. Marks River Headwaters Greenway

Jody and I have been exploring some of the trails of these forests. We were greeted one cool December morning by a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker as we started along the trail at the St. Marks Headwaters Greenway. This 755-acre park at the corner of Buck Lake Road and Baum Road, which opened in 2018, consists of old fields reverting to a mixed pine/hardwood forest as well as an intact bottomland hardwood forest.

Both forest types protect the headwaters of the St. Marks River, designated as an Outstanding Florida Water. Approximately 5000 feet of the upper waters of the St. Marks River flow through the park. I look forward to learning more about this and other forested parks in the care of our Leon County Parks and Recreation Department.

The approximately 3 miles of trails are not marked. I took a photo of the trail map at the kiosk in the parking area so we could find our way around. I would recommend taking some of the spur trails that are not on the map that take you to the wetlands that are the beginnings of the St. Marks River.

Interpretive sign found along Miccosukee Greenway informs trail users about a rare forest community.

Visit during the winter; we tried hiking here last summer, but the mosquitos ran us out. The County plans to open more of the park to hiking trails, a boardwalk and overlook which will allow access to the wetlands.

One of our favorite woodlands is found along the Miccosukee Greenway, closest to the Crump Road entrance.

The trail will lead to a Miccosukee Road crossing and you will eventually come to an informative sign on the right side of the trail. The sign describes a now rare community of trees on 45.6 acres called the North Florida Red Oak Woods. It was once a common type of upland forest on the Red Hills of North Florida, but much was converted to farmland and now housing developments.

It is dominated by shortleaf pine, mockernut hickory, post oak, southern red oak, and black oak. Other trees include loblolly pine, rusty blackhaw, Chickasaw plum, black gum, dogwood, water oak, laurel oak, basswood, sweetgum, sassafras, white oak, sugar berry, red buckeye, Florida chinquapin, fringe tree, hawthorn, southern crab apple, red mulberry, wax myrtle, black cherry, and winged sumac.

A splash of fall color in a mixed pine/hardwood forest.

This type of forest evolved with periodic fires. Prescribed burning is recommended for its management, otherwise the shade and leaf litter produced by young hardwood trees will eliminate the once abundant herbaceous ground cover and the forest will become a more common oak/hickory forest.

At Fred George Greenway Park at Fred George Road and Capital Circle Northwest, there are two miles of hiking trails on 160 acres with parking, restrooms and playing fields on another 15 acres. We mostly explored a section of giant live oaks that leads down to a wetland where a small stream flows into a sinkhole, disappearing under a pile of logs into the aquifer.

Fred George Greenway was established in 2016 to protect this and another sinkhole and the aquifer below them. The forest protects the quality of the water ensuring cleaner water in our aquifer. We also noticed evidence of prescribed burning on the longleaf pine uplands. I want to return to see the huge cypress trees that somehow escaped harvest years ago.

More well-known are the Miccosukee Canopy Road Greenway (503 acres) and the J.R. Alford Greenway (874 acres) located at the end of Pedrick Road. This is a great park for bike riding as there are 17.5 miles of trail. It is a mixture of open pasture and forested woodlands. I enjoy the slower pace of walking especially during the fall wildflower season where there are many pollinators and other insects to observe.

Birders Ann and Don Morrow reported a flock of 50 blue grosbeaks in trees at the edge of an open field in late September. As Ann and Don approached, the bright blue males and less colorful females flew across the field, enabling the count. Bring your binoculars if you visit this park. One trail leads to the spectacular pedestrian bridge that connects this greenway to the Lafayette Heritage Trail.

Building your eBirding Skills to Help Birds

November 19, 2020 Program Webinar

Click to view webinar on YouTube (program starts about 7 minutes into the video)

eBird is one of the largest biodiversity-related science databases and has become a staple of birders worldwide. Users upload checklists of birds, explore sightings, keep track of their life lists, and much more. eBird is also used in conservation, helping scientists understand species' distributions, habitat use, and abundances.

In this webinar, Peter Kleinhenz and Heather Levy discuss what everyone from the beginner birder to the expert needs to know to successfully utilize eBird and provide direct examples of how eBird has informed science. There will be opportunities to win prizes for those that participate!

Program Speakers

Heather Levy

Board Director, Apalachee Audubon Society

For Heather, one of the most attractive qualities of birding is its inherent ability to bring nature into even the most urban of areas. Through that first attraction, whether it be charismatic behavior or striking plumage, Heather believe that people become more mindful of the environment and the intricate and interconnected role that individual plays within the larger ecosystem. The more aware people become about our surrounding environment, the more they value it and work to conserve it.

levy.heather789@gmail.com

Peter Kleinhenz

Board Director & Past-President, Apalachee Audubon Society

Nothing inspires Peter like nature. For his entire life, he has been seeking nature out every chance he gets. Throughout his exploration, Peter has been struck by the harsh reality that so much of the natural world is disappearing. Peter devoted his life to telling others about the natural world, hoping to inspire them to care enough about it to protect it.

pnkleinhenz@gmail.com

Make Your Own Birdsaver to Prevent Birds from Hitting Your Window

By AAS member Ann Morrow

During these challenging Covid-19 times, many of us are spending more time in our homes and yards. It is no wonder that interest in home-based activities such as birdwatching and gardening has soared in the last 6 months. Even veteran birders and gardeners have honed their skills, expanded their species yard lists, and enjoyed new sights and sounds in backyard habitats.  

In our 1/3-acre suburban lot, my husband and I are more acutely aware of the subtle progression of seasons simply by being at home continuously through spring and summer. We have watched plants bloom and set fruit. We have noted bird migration and watched resident birds find mates, build nests, and raise young. We have also noted a few less-desirable sightings: frequent patrols by free-roaming cats and, the focus of this article, window/bird collisions.

We do not think the collisions are common at our house, but the unmistakable thud as a bird strikes a window is deeply disturbing whenever it happens. Last year a Swainson’s thrush, a species seen solely during migration in North Florida, died after hitting our large living room window. We think of our yard as a safe spot for migrants to rest and refuel, so it was indeed a sad day. Other victims include cardinals, titmice, and Carolina wrens. The most recent strike was a red-bellied woodpecker. It hit the window and landed upside down in a large planter. It flew off after 20 minutes and we hope it did not later die from internal injuries, a common outcome after window strikes.

Estimates vary, but it is safe to say that hundreds of millions of birds die each year from window collisions in the United States. The good news is that researchers have devised several simple and inexpensive solutions. We applied bird stickers designed as collision deterrents on one of our smaller windows. For the large living room window, we opted for the Acopian Birdsavers (www.birdsavers.com). Designed by a family of engineer/naturalists in Pennsylvania, Birdsavers consist of a curtain of vertical strands of paracord (1/8” diameter parachute cord), spaced about 4” apart and hung on the outside of windows. The cords break up reflections of vegetation and sky so that birds perceive the window as a solid object to avoid. Because many people find the Birdsavers products to be aesthetically pleasing, they are also called Zen wind curtains. They are used in a variety of commercial and residential settings.

You can order custom Birdsavers or buy the inexpensive materials and follow excellent do-it-yourself instructions. We made our own for our large front window (approx. 8’w x 4’h). We spent about $12 on materials: 100 feet of olive drab paracord ordered online (Made in the USA) and a 10-foot section of vinyl J-channel (optional) from Home Depot. We are pleased with the result and will test its effectiveness over the coming months. This simple fix is a good addition to our other yard management practices: avoiding the use of pesticides, providing a source of clean water, and planting a diversity of native plants for food and cover. We hope we can give birds and other wildlife a fighting chance in our small slice of habitat.

Pictured below: Ann and Don Morrow’s birdsaver window and Donna Legare and Jody Walthall’s birdsaver window

Disability Sensitivity, Accessibility, & Inclusion

Click to view webinar on YouTube

Our October 15, 2020 program meeting featured speaker David Jones of the Florida Disabled Outdoors Association. David spoke on the importance of opening outdoor recreation to all people, no matter their abilities. His eye-opening presentation reveals  issues that most who engage in outdoor recreation, including birding and wildlife viewing, may have never considered.

It is rare that someone can take a “tragedy” as an opportunity to change their life and help others. That is exactly what David Jones did. His injury became a personal commitment to help others. In 1988, David Jones was shot in a hunting accident resulting in a serious head injury that left him with permanent paralysis of his left leg, limiting mobility and eliminating the use of his left hand. David utilized a wheelchair for one year, then gradually increased mobility to the point where he could walk with a walker and now walks with a slight limp without any device. He remains paralyzed in one arm. In the process of his rehabilitation, he became aware of the importance of recreation for rehabilitation – not only to improve mobility, but to improve mental well-being. David saw this event in his life as a challenge and an opportunity to assist others. This life-changing event developed into his personal crusade.

YouTube Video of Rob Williams Yard Tour

Rob Williams Yard Tour

Click to see the yard tour Video

This is a tour of Apalachee Audubon member Rob Williams' yard, which he has been transforming from a traditional landscaped yard of lawn and ornamental plants to one dominated by native trees, shrubs and wildflowers. Rob reminds us to plant native plants, especially keystone species, and insects will find them and prosper. The insects, especially caterpillars, in turn become high quality protein for birds and other wildlife. His conservation plantings build healthy food webs and provide abundant nectar for pollinators.

This is a follow up to a webinar by Doug Tallamy about birds and native plants--A Guide to Restore the Little Things that Run the World--presented in September to Florida Audubon chapters. 

Dr. Doug Tallamy is a renowned entomologist, bestselling author and a great speaker. He is currently a professor at the University of Delaware’s Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology and has taught insect related courses for 40 years. Chief among his research goals is a better understanding of the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities, especially birds. Doug's books Bringing Nature Home (2007) and Nature's Best Hope (2020) are New York Times Best Sellers.

Doug Tallamy Presentation

If you missed the September 22, 2020 presentation, Restoring the Little Things that Run the World, by Doug Tallamy, here is the link to the recording in YouTube. In this free Audubon Florida webinar, he discusses the critical relationship between native plants and birds, and give us tips for how to support nature in our own yards. This presentation was sponsored by the Venice Area Audubon Society and Audubon’s Plants for Birds program.

Restoring the Little Things that Run the World

Doug Tallamy is the author of Bringing Nature Home and Nature’s Best Hope.