The Audubon Observer, October 2024
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BREAKING GROUND ON AN URBAN OASIS OF NATURE AND WELLNESS
Duval Audubon’s goal is to partner with EFAM to build an “Urban Oasis of Nature and Wellness” - we're calling it UOONW. The UOONW project will provide the community with education and access to bird watching, nature walks, wellness events, native plant education, and citizen science programs such as Cornells Lab of Ornithology’s NestWatch and Project FeederWatch. Not only will the local community benefit from the UOONW, but EFAM leadership and staff will also have the opportunity to engage in nature and wellness. Every day, EFAM's staff works hard to provide healthy and affordable vegetables in an area that was a food desert. EFAM staff are on the front line and the UOONW will offer a haven for mindfulness meditation and rejuvenation. EFAM believes that everyone should have access to affordable, fresh, and healthy foods, and an environmentally safe place to eat, live, play, learn, and grow. DAS’s goals are aligned with EFAM’s goals. We are striving to flip the script on nature and wellness connections. Instead of just inviting the community to our field trips and nature learning events, we will also bring nature to them! This funding will allow our chapter to begin a journey of community connections in urban places where some children have limited or no access to nature and nature activities. While EFAM is open to all residents of Jacksonville, their primary focus is on the communities adjacent to the farm. This is exactly where DAS wants to make a difference.
The native plant garden and the birds it will attract will bring the wonders of nature to everyone. Access to the UOONW will be free and everyone is invited. The garden will serve as a living classroom, where children can observe the connection between native plants and local bird species in their natural habitats. Through hands-on experiences, we aim to inspire these young minds to become citizen scientists, fostering a lifelong passion for nature and conservation. We also believe that connecting children to nature at a young age may inspire them to consider a career in one of the Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math (STEAM) areas. The UOONW will be in a highly visible area to the right of the farm entrance. This way everyone can learn about and enjoy the symbiotic relationship between plants and birds.
Special kudos and hugs to the Breaking Ground Family: Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) Jax Beach for donating our Breaking Ground bird feeder. Brian Bidwell and the entire team at WBU Jax Beach have helped me with their expertise and guidance. Pete Johnson and Leigh Gardner for assessing the best location and installing the bird feeder. Finally, a big thank you goes to the entire EFAM staff for welcoming us in and believing in the vision of the UOONW space. LIGHTS OUT NORTHEAST FLORIDA FALL COLLISION MONITORING Volunteers with our Lights Out Northeast Florida (LONF) partnership initiative with Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and St. Johns Regional Audubon Society resumed weekly collision monitoring routes on September 15. Since the initiative began in 2021, LONF’s dedicated volunteers have walked weekly routes in downtown Jacksonville throughout the peak songbird migration seasons each year to find birds injured or killed by building/window strikes. It’s heartbreaking to encounter a dead or injured bird, but the information collected by the volunteers is critical documentation of the issue to share with the community as well as business owners, city officials, and other decision-makers.
LONF volunteers typically find more collision victims during the fall monitoring season compared to spring, mainly because inexperienced young birds just hatched during the summer breeding season are accompanying the adult birds traveling to their wintering grounds, so more birds are migrating in the fall. So far, this fall season is no exception, with almost 40 dead or injured birds already found in the short two weeks since monitoring began. As we’ve discovered in the past, Common Yellowthroat warblers are the species found most often in the fall. This may simply mean that more Common Yellowthroats migrate through Northeast Florida in the fall than in the spring, but other bird species have been found as well, including Chuck-will’s-widow, Northern Waterthrush, Magnolia Warbler, Ovenbird, Yellow Warbler and more, giving just a glimpse of the wide variety of species that travel through our area.
While the volunteers are pounding the pavement to save injured birds and gather data about the unfortunate victims, the LONF leadership team is reaching out to area schools and businesses as well as city leaders to share information and recommendations on positive steps and projects that will allow more migrating birds to travel safely through our area and survive to ensure the health of bird populations in the future. BIRDABILITY WEEK
In honor of Birdability Week, Duval Audubon Society will host a "Slow Birding" accessible outing and will also be highlighting ideas and local birding locations on our social media. Join us for a leisurely birding experience at Kathryn Abbey Hanna Park on Sunday, October 27 from 8:30 - 10:30am. We will walk slowly with an option to do a “bird sit” nearby the lake. The path is mostly concrete with some sections of packed sand and gravel. Strollers, assistive devices, and wheelchairs are welcome. You must register on our Meetup site to participate. We appreciate that accessibility includes a broad range of considerations and welcome your feedback for planning future events. Feel free to email us at duvalaudubon@gmail.com. CONSERVATION NETWORK COORDINATOR NEEDED
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES Here's what's happening this month:
JaxParks hosts many events for nature lovers, too! Click here and select EVENT CALENDAR to learn more. Duval Audubon Society, Inc.
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We are excited to announce that Duval Audubon Society (DAS) has applied for a “
If our grant request is approved, funding is targeted to arrive in early 2025. The UOONW will include a small native plant garden, 2 bird feeders, 6 colorful nest boxes, 6 nest poles, and 8 baffles. Shout out to local Girl Scout Troop 590, who created 6 beautiful nest boxes for use and education. Each colorful nest box depicts a sustainable practice; once installed, they will be accompanied by signage that will provide a great opportunity to educate the community about sustainable practices.
Special thanks to our partners who helped cultivate the vision and mission of the UOONW: 
Collisions with glass and other reflective surfaces are one of the major hazards that migrating birds face as they travel to and from their breeding territories twice a year. 
We are so grateful to all the LONF volunteers for their commitment to saving the lives of birds! According to LONF lead coordinator Mike Taylor of the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens, “We depend heavily on our volunteers to gather the data necessary to make positive changes for the good of birds. The volunteers go out early and walk their routes diligently. They are the backbone of Lights Out Northeast Florida.”
Join us in celebrating 
Conserve Nassau
