JANUARY CONSERVATION UPDATE
By Elizabeth Filippelli, Conservation Director
LONF FINISHES 4TH YEAR OF WINDOW COLLISION MONITORING
 Lights Out Northeast Florida (LONF) wrapped up our Fall 2024 window collision monitoring season (September 15 – November 15) with a volunteer appreciation celebration at the Jacksonville Zoo & Gardens! With a total of 38 dedicated volunteers, our team surveyed and collected more than 180 birds that were killed or injured due to reflective glass in downtown Jacksonville. (Be assured that our routes are not always somber; our route warriors were able to rescue several birds and send them off with good wishes back on their migration path.) Dr. Judibelle Román and Pam Ayres, teachers at St. Johns Country Day School, were our keynote speakers at the luncheon and inspired everyone in the room. Judibelle and Pam created the first student program in Northeast Florida uniting the powers of science, art and conservation with an amazing bird-friendly window art project. We cannot wait to partner with these two amazing trailblazer teachers in 2025 and beyond.
 Special thanks and kudos to volunteers Travis and Lindsay who have perfected our survey dashboard, data, and presentation! Our data is packaged in a factual, thought-provoking and meaningful way, ensuring that COJ stakeholders, businesses, and partners are informed effectively, simply, and accurately about the dangers of bright lighting and reflective windows to wild birds. We thank our sponsors Jacksonville Zoo and Oneida ESC Group for our delicious lunch. And special thanks to all of you for believing in and supporting our mission. Your donations are fueling our cause to bend the bird curve. If you are interested in learning more and how you can jump in on the good works, please contact me at Elizabeth.Filippelli@duvalaudubon.org.
 December included another milestone for the LONF team, installing our very first Feather Friendly visual markers at Jacksonville’s Museum of Science and History! Special thanks to our volunteer installation team as well as MOSH leaders who also joined in the fun. We had a gem of a day of laughing, eating, and sticking even though it was incredibly chilly that day. We learned a lot, and Feather Friendly VP Paul Groleau was on speed dial to help us with all of our questions. The visual markers are up on all three of the inner courtyard’s lower windows and MOSH has reported there have been NO bird deaths! However, due to the cold weather, not all of the visual markers adhered to the window, but Paul said do not worry, Feather Friendly will take care of us and will be sending a new product to use for a follow-up installation in the spring. If you are interested in helping with that, please reach out to me.
URBAN OASIS OF NATURE AND WELLNESS
Our Urban Oasis of Nature and Wellness (UOONW) project is kicking off in January with a big bang. On January 18th, we will have our first-ever Martin Luther King Service Day at Eartha’s Farm & Market. “Planting” six brand new nesting boxes and one new bird feeder will be phase one of our UOONW project. As you may recall, the first bird feeder was planted this past summer. Phase two of this amazing project will include the native plant garden, with special thanks to Chadd Scott and Jody Willis of the Ixia Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society for sharing their native plant expertise. Please plan a visit to the farm and feel the joy of nature in the air. Thank you to Eartha’s Farm & Market leadership, staff, and volunteers for your support of the project. And special thanks to Audubon Florida and Florida Power and Light for the generous grant award that will make this project possible. If you want to learn more, please contact Elizabeth.filippelli@duvalaudubon.org.
NORTHEAST DEVELOPMENT REVIEW BOARD: INPUT REQUESTED
A new City of Jacksonville ordinance (2024-851) has been proposed to establish a Northeast Development Review Board to protect and balance new development in Districts 2 and 8. The ordinance was submitted by Councilman Mike Gay in October and is also supported by Councilman Reggie Gaffney, Jr.
Here is a summary of the ordinance:
- Establishes a mechanism for a specialized review program that would evaluate applications for land use and zoning changes in the northeast area of Jacksonville (District 2 and District 8),
- Takes in the needs of existing property owners to share their voice about the proposed application, and
- Balances historical development patterns and property uses with the need to recognize new growth opportunities.
Duval Audubon Society supports this ordinance and encourages citizen engagement. Here's how you can show your support for this much-needed ordinance:
Thank you!
MONARCH BUTTERFLY ENDANGERED SPECIES LISTING
 Here is another engagement opportunity for our readers: the US Fish & Wildlife Service has recommended that the Monarch Butterfly be listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This is where our members and supporters can shine. Public comments are open from now until March 12, 2025. Below please find the press release and links to public comments to list the Monarch Butterfly as threatened and a proposed listing for the Endangered Species Act:
Please consider submitting a comment expressing your support for listing the Monarch Butterfly under the Endangered Species Act to strengthen and enhance conservation efforts for this vulnerable species.
JACKSONVILLE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
by Carol Bailey-White, Editor
 Jacksonville’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held on Saturday, December 28th. The Jacksonville count takes place annually (usually on the Saturday after Christmas) within a 15-mile wide circle encompassing much of the Arlington and Northside areas to the west, Mayport and the northern end of Atlantic Beach, Huguenot Memorial Park and Big and Little Talbot Islands State Parks to the east, and everything in between.
The Christmas Bird Count is the nation's longest-running bird-related community science 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 Society members started conducting the Jacksonville count in 1949, so this year marked the 75th anniversary of the count.
 More than 50 dedicated volunteers helped with the 2024 Jacksonville CBC and documented about 165 different bird species (the final total is still being tabulated), including rare Gray and Western Kingbirds, Clay-colored, White-throated, and Vesper Sparrows, American Pipit, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Barn Swallow, Prairie Warbler, American Redstart, and Northern Parula. Hundreds of American Robins, Red-winged Blackbirds, the ubiquitous (for this time of year, anyway) Yellow-rumped Warblers and many others were also spotted during the count.
 Many thanks to this year’s CBC volunteers, especially the ten team leaders who organized and motivated their team members, and count compiler James Wheat, who will collect and organize all of the data submitted by the volunteers and report it to the National Audubon Society’s CBC database. This valuable data (now collected in more than 20 countries across the Western hemisphere) is critical to conservation efforts, providing an early winter snapshot of bird populations and allowing scientists to track how birds are distributed across the hemisphere.
HUGUENOT MEMORIAL PARK 2025 INTERNSHIPS
 Huguenot Park's Naturalist Specialist Patricia Haas alerted us about two 6-month-long internships they are lucky enough to host every year at the park through the Student Conservation Association (SCA). The dates for the internships are March 17 through September 14, 2025, and the key duties will include biological surveys, wildlife conservation, habitat maintenance and improvement, public education, and invasive species management. Candidates must have some college education in biological science and the ability to work outdoors in various weather conditions.
To learn more and apply for this opportunity, see the SCA job application posting.
UPCOMING ACTIVITIES
Here's what's happening this month:
 Bird Walk for Beginners @ Fort Caroline National Memorial: 9 - 11 am, Sunday, January 5, 2025- Field Trip: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge: 8 am - 12 pm, Saturday, January 18, 2025
- Nature Walk and Volunteer Work Day at Crosby Sanctuary: 8 am - 12 pm, Saturday, January 18, 2025
- Virtual Monthly Program: The Flora and Fauna of Crosby Sanctuary: 6:30-8 pm, Monday, January 20, 2025 (register here)
- Field Trip: Huguenot Memorial Park: 8 am - 12 pm, Saturday, January 25, 2025
- Open House at Crosby Sanctuary: 8 am - 12 pm, Saturday, January 25, 2025
JaxParks hosts many events for nature lovers, too! Click here and select EVENT CALENDAR to learn more.
Duval Audubon Society, Inc.
P.O. Box 16304
Jacksonville, FL 32245
www.duvalaudubon.org
   
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