The Audubon Observer, September 2024
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FALL PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE Hello members and friends of Duval Audubon Society (DAS). I hope that you had a fantastic summer. It’s been a hot but enjoyable one for me. I look forward to seeing you at some of our field trips, monthly programs, education, and conservation activities in Northeast Florida. You can also get more engaged by participating in one (or more!) of our amazing and rewarding Volunteer Opportunities.
Monthly programs are going to be held once per month on the dates provided in our activities brochure, Meetup site and DAS website calendar of events. In-person meetings will be held at Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park (7000 Roosevelt Blvd. Jacksonville, FL 32244) in the Nature Center at the north end of the road through the park. The City of Jacksonville parks naturalist team has recently revitalized this fantastic nature center. We also house our new Joan and Richard Becker Nature Library there with over 100 books available for members to check out and return! Virtual Zoom meetings will also be held when applicable to enable us to utilize guest speakers from out of town. Conservation initiatives: Lights Out Northeast Florida (LONF) has made great strides to inform the public about the dangers of bright lighting and window strikes to migrating birds. We are currently working with the Zoo, MOSH and COJ to implement effective bird protections on local buildings! We continue to support the Florida Shorebird Alliance Bird Stewarding Program coordinated by Audubon Florida. The shorebird steward program and our conservation director and volunteers directly help get better protections in place at critical nesting areas such as Huguenot Park. We were also involved in working to stop the misguided proposals by the FDEP to build lodges, pickleball and other non-passive recreational facilities in our Florida State Parks’ natural areas, and are happy to report that those projects have been stopped for now due to extraordinary opposition from residents, elected representatives, and conservation organizations all over the state!
Christmas Bird Count this year (Dec 28) will be our historic 75th consecutive year in Duval County! This important annual bird census is the nation's longest-running community science bird project. It started in 1900 when ornithologist Frank Chapman, an early officer in the then-nascent Audubon Society, proposed a new holiday tradition - a “Christmas Bird Census” that would count birds during the holidays rather than hunt them. Duval Audubon started conducting CBCs in 1949! More info to come in our November Newsletter and program on Nov. 18. HUGUENOT PARK BIRD STEWARDING 2024
COJ park managers conducted prescribed fire in the dunes early this year for ecosystem management. While this ecosystem management has paid off for the terns, their success has also created more conflicts with chicks and beach drivers this year. The normal beach closure zone at the north end of the beach/lagoon could not contain the abundant chicks and adults spilling out onto the beach starting in late June/early July. High numbers of chicks were then actively using the beach south of the closure line where high numbers of beach drivers were allowed to access on busy summer weekends. Enter the bird stewards! Our chapter partnered with Audubon Florida and the City of Jacksonville to provide bird steward volunteers, paid Audubon Florida stewards, and SCA (Student Conservation Association) interns to help educate the public and protect the precious yet vulnerable tern chicks. Laughing Gull chicks were also present but at lower numbers than the terns this year. Chicks are especially vulnerable because they are flightless for about a month or more and not aware of danger from cars. Birds and chicks respond instinctively to dogs, people on foot, or any free roaming animal; however, cars don’t seem to elicit as much of a flight response from birds. Most birders know this from experience birding at wildlife drives where if you stay in your car the birds don’t flush and flee as much as they do when you get out.
In fact, one of our dedicated stewards took the initiative to contact Mayor Deegan through the COJ website to inform her of the problem. This prompted us to send out our advocacy email to Duval Audubon members to do the same. Our public support for better bird protections, along with pressure from FWC and others, resulted in park managers moving the no-driving boundary 300 feet further south and implementing a cone line even further south for drivers to pass through with stewards positioned to talk to them before entering the beach with numerous chicks present. Erika Zambello from Audubon Florida wrote a compelling article outlining the problem around the state and touched on Huguenot Park. Together we all took action in different ways to make a real difference for the tern chicks at Huguenot!! Thank you, Team Positive Action! While some young tern lives were tragically lost to cars this year, the overall picture is looking good because awareness of the problem is high, just in time for the public process to review and renew the HMP management plan. Stay tuned for more information and opportunities to provide support in the form of public comment and action alerts! We need your support!
STANDOUT TEACHERS AT ST. JOHNS COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL TAKE FLIGHT WITH ART TO SAVE CEDAR WAXWINGS
In North America alone, 365 million to one billion birds die each year by colliding with reflective glass. Statistics show that lower-level windows are the most deadly. Determined to make a difference, we salute two remarkable teachers, science teacher Judibelle Román, and art teacher Pam Ayres, who decided to take action! As soon as I got the call for assistance, your Lights Out Northeast Florida (LONF) team jumped into action to help with a science-based approach and solutions. To assess the threats our first step is to conduct our free onsite "Bird Friendly Window Audit." Mike Taylor, Curator of Birds, Herps, and Others at the Jacksonville Zoo, and Kim Lamb, Collision Monitor and Project Co-Lead, conducted the onsite audit. Their findings included recommendations to install visual markers on the most dangerous reflective windows. LONF provided the visual marker design specifications recommended by the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the leading expert in this area. To be effective, the visual markers must be placed on the outside of each window in a 2-inch by 2-inch design pattern. White is the preferred color for visual markers.
The bird-friendly art project not only aims to reduce bird collisions but will also serve as an educational opportunity for all students and their parents. This project marks a huge milestone in our LONF Community Awareness, Education, and Action Plan! We praise Judibelle, Pam, and students Rowan and Kelsey for their innovative approach. Through their art, these students have become advocates for wildlife, showcasing how creativity and responsibility can come together to create a safer, more harmonious world for all living beings. In closing, we thank each and every one of our Duval Audubon Society members and our LONF volunteers. Our bird-friendly outreach and action are fueled by your support and service. UPCOMING ACTIVITIES After a relaxing but productive Summer Break, we are happy to get back into the full swing of our regular activities! Here's what's happening this month:
Duval Audubon Society, Inc.
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Field trips are a major part of the program that DAS delivers. We continue to provide expertly led and informative local field trips, with a few out of town trips to spice it up. Be sure to check our 
Crosby Sanctuary
The shorebird/seabird nesting season has been very successful this year at 
Our bird stewards this year should be commended for their service to our community. Many beachgoers have been educated and made aware about beach nesting birds in Florida. The key this year was to let them know about the tern chicks and that they continue to be flightless past the “chick” downy feather stage. Flightless chicks start to look like adults, so people don’t realize they are young, flightless birds that can’t get out of the way very fast or sometimes even at all. People expect birds to move and fly away when approached by a vehicle.
One other note: While bird stewarding is not always high on every birder's list of things to do in the heat of the summer, it is a very rewarding experience. I have personally experienced this and so have several other stewards who have posted some amazing descriptions and photos on social media this summer. Just being out there during the breeding season to observe the birds and their interesting behaviors is so rewarding. The north point of Huguenot at the height of the season, with literally thousands of birds in the dunes and on the beach, is truly one of the wonders and treasures of Jacksonville. Not to mention a critical wildlife area! An additional bonus is that you never know what rare or unusual bird species will show up out there for you to discover! This summer, stewards have been seeing, 
In a remarkable blend of creativity, science, and conservation, students at the 
Judibelle and Pam decided to engage art students in a bird-friendly art window project. Under the guidance of their teachers, two students (Rowan and Kelsey) brainstormed ideas to transform the school’s windows into a beautiful bird-friendly facade. They set to work designing scenes that depict a natural habitat using white electrical tape and oil-based Sharpie markers for inspiring abstract patterns and eye-catching imagery. Each window now tells a story, showcasing the beauty of nature while also serving as a visual marker for birds.
