The Audubon Observer, November 2024
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CONSERVATION INITIATIVES FALL UPDATE
Dear Members and Supporters: You did it and it worked! We want to extend our heartfelt thanks for your active participation in voicing concerns about the new Jaguars Stadium and its impact on our local and migrating bird populations. Your engagement made a real difference, and we’re thrilled to report that we received a response from the Honorable Mayor Donna Deegan! Your commitment to protecting our environment and wildlife is truly inspiring. Together, we can continue to advocate for the issues that matter most to our community. Thank you once again for your support! Next Steps: Your Lights Out Northeast Florida Team along with American Bird Conservancy glass collision experts Bryan Lenz, Glass Collision Program Manager, and Dr. Christine Sheppard, Senior Director Glass Collision Program, will be having their first (of many we hope) relationship building and information sharing sessions with the Jaguars Stadium Planning Team. All of this is possible because of the hard work of our amazing Collision Monitoring Volunteers, our partners at Jacksonville Climate Coalition, Duval Audubon member support, and Ashantae Green, City of Jacksonville Sustainability Manager. Ms. Green can be reached at GreenA@coj.net; I am sure she would love to hear from you.
Recently, LONF co-lead Mike Taylor and I had an amazing opportunity to personally thank the school, faculty, and the students at St. Johns Country Day School's recent awards ceremony for protecting the birds we love. As we reported in September, SJCDS has the first bird-friendly window art installation in Northeast Florida. (That we know of! If you are aware of any other similar bird-friendly window art projects, we’d love to hear about them! Email us at duvalaudubon@gmail.com.) In other conservation news, the Huguenot Memorial Park Management Plan is up for review. We will have a chance for public comments with Chris Farrell, Audubon Florida’s NEFL Policy Associate. Tentative date: Nov 19th, evening, the location is TBD. We'll share more details when we have them. CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Christmas Bird Counts are conducted between December 14 and January 5 every year, and each count takes place on a single day within an established 15-mile diameter circle. Count volunteers follow specified routes through the designated count circle, counting every bird they see or hear all day, and reporting their findings to the count organizer, who compiles the results and submits them to Audubon. Locally, Duval Audubon volunteers have been participating in the Jacksonville CBC since 1949, so this will be our historic 75th year! We are excited to share that James Wheat, Audubon website contributor and this year’s Jacksonville CBC compiler, will be our November program presenter. Please join us for his virtual presentation at 6:30 pm on Monday, November 18, 2024, to learn more about the history of this important bird census and how you can help with this year's Jacksonville count on December 28th. Register here to participate virtually via Zoom. Other area counts include:
With the help of all the dedicated volunteers, we hope this year’s CBC will be the best yet! NEW FLORIDA BIRD GUIDE GIVEAWAY
From the publisher: “Stretching from temperate North America through the central highlands and vast Everglades wetlands of the peninsula and beyond to the Keys, Florida is a great place to go birding at any time of the year. Hines will help you identify more than 300 of Florida's regularly occurring species, including breeding birds, those on passage, and those wintering. Concise text for each species includes information on identification, songs and calls, behavior, distribution, habitat, and seasonality. Hines’s brilliant photography has been carefully selected to assist in identification, and equal prominence is given to male and female birds. A guide to the best birdwatching sites in Florida is also included.”
Click here or scan the QR code to enter the free giveaway. Donations are not required to enter, and you do not need to be present to win (although we hope you can join us!) PROJECT FEEDERWATCH
Project FeederWatch is almost entirely supported by its members. An annual fee of less than $20 is all it takes to participate in this important initiative, so if you want your sightings this winter to help save the lives of birds, sign up today – the season starts November 1st! CITY OF JACKSONVILLE PARKS MASTER PLAN UPDATE
Your insights will help us understand what you love about our parks, identify areas for improvement, and shape future developments. Whether it’s a favorite spot for a picnic, a need for new amenities, or ideas for community events, your voice matters! Join us in creating vibrant and accessible green spaces for everyone to enjoy. Explore the map, contribute your comments, and let’s work together to enhance our neighborhood parks! Please consider adding your input at imaginejaxparks.com. 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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Bloomsbury Wildlife
Bird Walk for Beginners @ Fort Caroline National Memorial
