Thank you for a great 2023 Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour!
by Tammy Brown
The weather was sunny and cool, which was perfect for another wonderful tour this year. We sold a total of 137 tickets, which made for a constant stream of visitors throughout the day. We had so many wonderful people working behind the scenes for months to bring it all together. Everyone’s contributions and outstanding efforts are very much appreciated.
Special thanks to Native Nurseries and Wild Birds Unlimited. Once again, they have graciously acted as our ticket outlets as well as promoted the event, and we couldn’t pull this off without them!
My heartfelt thanks go to all our wonderful yard volunteers, too! They certainly helped the visitors have a friendly and informative visit, and we couldn’t do it without you. Our yard volunteers this year were Chris Grossman, Mike Gwiazdowski, Fred and Judi Fergus, Amelia Fussaro, Donna Legare and Jody Walthall, Fran Rutkovsky, Judy Goldman, Mike Tucker, Ann and Charles Robshaw, and Dee Wilder. We also had a few new volunteers join us this year from FSU: Brooke McAbee, Katherine Velardo, Kaya Simmons and Gabby, Skyler Johnson, Corey Hart and Joseph Jones.
Our deep appreciation goes to our four outstanding yard hosts this year, who shared their homes and knowledge with friends and strangers. I have received many compliments on what wonderful and gracious hosts they all were. They truly went above and beyond!
All four yards were so enjoyable and offered much inspiration as well. With all the fun and success, we are already thinking about next year’s tour, so please keep it in mind if you know anyone who would be a good yard host or volunteer to be a part of this wonderful experience.
Again, my deepest thanks to all for your contributions, each one of you was a vital part to the enjoyment and success of this year’s tour!
Upon arriving at Charlie and Cindy Baisden’s heavily wooded six-acre property next to Little Roberts Pond, visitors were enjoying the woods and the very active songbird station. Some visitors were down by the lake braving the cool winds, watching the water birds.
Over in mid-town is Vanessa and Richard Crisler’s wildlife sanctuary. With feeding stations, countless native plants and a pond, the birds were actively visiting. They have two rain gardens and a recently added bat house, showing more uncommon features and offering education on both.
Amanda and Brian Bryson’s yard offers a wonderful retreat for wildlife with their many native plants, shrubs, and a pond. They have a very healthy and beautiful vegetable garden, too. Their wired cat run and cattery is pure genus, allowing Nori to wander safely (for the cat AND the birds) around the property, even climbing a small tree!
The last stop of the day was at Tara Tanaka and Jim Stevenson’s yard with bordering cypress swamp. There was an active bird feeding station and water feature for viewing from the backyard deck, and rookery activity is already beginning in the swamp. They had a spotting scope set up so we could enjoy watching the egrets nest building!
Join us for our 15th Annual Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour and fundraiser to benefit the Apalachee Audubon Society. We invite you to take a self-guided tour of four local yards that are wildlife havens. Tickets are still only $10 per person and will go on sale January 28 at the following locations:
Native Nurseries
1661 Centerville Road
Tallahassee, FL 32308
(850)386-8882
Wild Birds Unlimited
2098 Thomasville Road
Tallahassee, FL 32308
(850) 576-0002
Each yard has unique features to attract a variety of birds and other wildlife such as wintering hummingbirds, orioles, tanagers, finches, and pine siskins, as well as our year-round residents. This year, we have our usual wide variety of sizes and features from our yard hosts, plus some new ideas for inspiration for your own wildlife-friendly yard.
For more information contact: Tammy Brown, tcbrown798@aol.com, or 850-933-8154.
