St. Johns Regional Audubon promotes the protection, preservation, and restoration of the habitats of birds and other wildlife through education, stewardship, and science-based advocacy.
ALERT!
Our Facebook/Meta page is back up with the same name as before. Search for St. Johns Regional Audubon or go to the link, https://www.facebook.com/people/St-Johns-Regional-Audubon/61555867613971
Don’t forget to like us if you haven’t done so on the new version. Thanks! We appreciate your participation.
Watch Current Webinar
Tune in online to see “Mississippi Sandhill Cranes” with Scott Hereford on April 10, 7 PM. Find this and other events on our Calendar.
Auduboners in Action: Bald Eagle Rescue in Putnam County
Three of our newest EagleWatchers, Carol McGalliard of Crescent City, and Patti Nielsen and Peggy Williams of Welaka, led the rescue of an injured Bald Eagle in the Welaka State Forest on January 26th. Contacted by friends about the injured eagle, these EagleWatchers (and SJRA members) contacted the staff of the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey about how to capture the eagle and assembled a crew to help.
Carol McGalliard reports that the eagle’s wing was badly injured. Rescuing it was an ordeal that wildlife rescuers often experience as the eagle struggled along a path and through the brush to avoid them. The eagle was weak, had flies on his wound, and had a strong odor — which led the team to conclude he had been in this condition for many hours, if not days.
Patti Nielsen transported the eagle to the UF Small Animal Hospital in Gainesville, where it arrived later that afternoon.
Team members took pictures and videos showing the actual rescue of the eagle using the instructions provided by CBOP’s staff – something we don’t often see on video. Rescuers generally do not have a large enough team to both find and rescue a bird and record the process.
Our heartfelt thanks to all those who were involved in the rescue of this eagle: Lisa Teal, Steve and Mary Stubbs, Bill Miller, Peggy Williams, Patti Nielsen, and Carol McGalliard.
Many, many thanks to Patti Nielson and Mary Stubbs for compiling this helpful video!
2024 Annual Meeting Notice
At our April 13, 2024 Annual Meeting, the SJRA Board has a proposal to eliminate the term limits for Board Officers, which members in good standing will be asked to vote on.
Currently, the President is limited to six (6) one-year terms. The Vice President, Treasurer, and Secretary are all limited to eight (8) one-year terms. We propose to eliminate these term limits because finding officer replacements is generally difficult and the Board does not want to lose officers that are willing to continue to serve the Chapter, especially when replacing them may not be possible.
2024 Annual Meeting Notice Nominating Committee Candidates
Nominating Committee Candidates
for the April 13, 2024Annual Meeting
The Chapter Nominating Committee is recommending the following be elected or re- elected as officer and/or board member of St. Johns Regional Audubon.
Nominations for other candidates for these positions may be made in person at the Annual Meeting.
Board Members:
Board members are elected for two-year terms.
Amy Koch
Kate Milutin Teaford
Mindy Hellman
Amy and Kate are current Board members well-known to the membership.
Mindy Hellman would be a new addition to the Board. Mindy and her husband recently moved to St. Augustine. Before her relocation, Mindy was an active volunteer and docent at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland and was active with Seminole Audubon where she served on the Conservation Committee and served as Recording Secretary to the Board.
Officers:
Officers are elected to one-year terms. The Board is recommending the following be elected:
President – Amy Koch
Vice President – Dan Dodge
Treasurer – Janice Hix
Secretary – Mindy Hellman
Mindy Hellman
Resources for Birders
Here are some good web resources for birders.
Our Hot Spot Page: https://stjohnsaudubon.com/hotspots/ This will give your information about and directions to some our the best birding spots in St. Johns County.
eBird: www.ebird.org: Run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this is a database where you can add your sightings, as well as find local hotspots, research specific bird species, etc. The app is free.
Merlin Bird ID: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org: A terrific and free app for your phone that will help you identify birds by description, photo and recently, by bird call! Most birders are now using this app. A great tool for new birders!
National Audubon Society: www.audubon.org: Everything birds!
Plants for Birds: https://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds: This database will give you the native plants and trees good for birds for our area.
American Bird Conservancy: www.abcbirds.org: This group engages in scientific research and advocates for the conservation of birds and bird habitat. It is a good source on how individuals can help birds.
Homegrown National Park: https://homegrownnationalpark.org: Dr. Doug Tallamy’s excellent effort to increase habitat one backyard at a time.
The New “SJRA Area”
Last spring, we expanded our geographic reach into the portion of Putnam County that lies mostly east of the St. Johns River and changed our name to St. John Regional Audubon, Inc (SJRA).
The SJRA Board spent much of the summer finalizing the name change with various federal and state agencies, vendors, and contacts. We have also been working with the National Audubon Society (NAS) to amend its webpages to reflect our expanded geographic reach. To date, NAS has updated its map of chapters to reflect the new SJRA Area as shown on this map (but has not yet updated our name on the map).
We are already planning events in our new section of Putnam County for our 2023-24 season, which runs from September to May, and would love to have Putnam County members and non-members alike to join us at these events.
We also would love to have you join the SJRA if you are not a member!