The Audubon Observer, November 2025
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2025 SHOREBIRD NESTING SEASON RECAP Beach-nesting at birds at Jacksonville's Huguenot Memorial Park had a great season, built on collaborative planning, effective protection measures and habitat enhancements. A coalition of dedicated state, city, law enforcement, park staff and Audubon Florida stakeholders worked closely together, and the results had a direct impact on the success of our nesting birds. See for yourself: here is a summary of some of our species from the 2025 nesting season:
Along the wild Atlantic shores of Talbot Islands State Parks, another nesting season has come to a successful close. Talbot Island Parks has 2 separate Critical Wildlife Areas designated to protect nesting birds. Stretching from Amelia Island to Little Talbot, these protected beaches welcomed new life as American Oystercatchers, Least Terns, and Wilson’s Plovers raised their young amid the dunes and tides. If you would like more information on the 2025 Nesting Season data please visit the Florida Shorebird Database. AUDUBON FLORIDA CONSERVATION LEADERSHIP INITIATIVE
Alana is a finance major at the University of North Florida, and one of her goals is to work for a company that blends her values and passion for nature and the environment and contributes to sustainability efforts. Alana’s passion for nature has driven her to take a leadership role in conservation and stand out in our community. From volunteering at the Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens in an internship with penguins, to Beaches Go Green beach cleanups and planting new seedlings at the dunes, to helping with trail maintenance at the GTM Research Reserve, Alana has been contributing to conservation projects for many years. Alana was one of our hardworking Bird Stewards at Huguenot Park this past summer protecting nesting birds, and has even created her own beach cleanup program this year. You can understand why we are thrilled to have such a powerhouse as Alana join us, but wait, there’s more! Alana has selected our Lights Out Northeast Florida Program as her CLI project and is our very first Collision Monitor at UNF! As you may recall, this summer we completed our Bird Friendly Window Audit at UNF with our partners Will McMahon, UNF Sustainability Manager, and Rhonda Gracie, UNF Lead Horticulturalist. The Audit gives us a baseline for where the biggest collision threats are and which building would be a priority for a retro fit. Alana and Will participated in on-the-job training with one of our tenured Collision Monitors (thanks Don!). Alana has created a new Instagram account (unf_lightsout) and has put up informational flyers around campus to spread awareness, recruit volunteers, and rescue birds. Alana is a game changer for bird-friendly action at UNF. By collecting collision survey data including species, building location, etc., we will be able to pinpoint which buildings are the biggest threats for bird collisions. We are grateful for our UNF partnership and Alana’s important work. We will continue to partner with UNF leadership, sharing the science-driven protocols for reducing the threat of bird strikes on campus. Stay tuned for updates on the exciting achievements of your Lights Out Northeast Florida Program and the Riverside Park Kind Outreach and Rescue Pilot. That’s all from the Conservation Corner for November. If you are interested in any of our programs please reach out to me at Elizabeth.Filippelli@duvalaudubon.org. If you would like to donate to a specific project or our general fund, please click here. Every dollar donated helps our mission to protect birds. BOARD MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: WILLIAM HOECK
At just 25, William has already turned his lifelong fascination with wildlife into both a career and a passion. Growing up in Ponte Vedra, Florida, he earned his B.S. in Wildlife Conservation while working at Wild Birds Unlimited in Jacksonville Beach, where he still works today. Although he’s always loved nature, William’s passion for birds truly blossomed during the COVID era, and he’s been hooked ever since. Whether he’s spotting warblers during migration at Jacksonville's Reddie Point Preserve or scanning the horizon for pelagic species offshore, William is happiest with a pair of binoculars in hand. As our Assistant Field Trips Director for Duval Audubon, he gets to do what he loves most — sharing the joy of birding and nature with others. Bonus fact: William’s favorite bird is the Belted Kingfisher! Be sure to say hello and meet William at one of our upcoming field trips — he’ll be easy to spot with a big smile and binoculars at the ready! OUTING LEADERS NEEDED!
Nature outings are among the most popular ways we achieve our mission to "Connect People with Nature," and we are always looking for knowledgeable birders to help lead or co-lead our bird walks (open to anyone but aimed more at beginners) and field trips. If you are interested in joining us as a bird walk or field trip leader or co-leader, or just want to come along to learn the basics of outings leadership (or just have questions about it), please reach out to me or Assistant Field Trips Director William Hoeck at info@duvalaudubon.org. Thank you! UPCOMING EVENTS It's almost Thanksgiving! Here's what's happening this month:
Activities may be added after the publication of this newsletter, so check our Calendar of Events for the most current schedule. Hope to see you soon! Duval Audubon Society, Inc.
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Huguenot Memorial Park (HMP) hosts the largest seabird colony on the east coast of Florida. HMP has one Critical Wildlife Area designed to protect nesting birds. The park had approximately 300,00 visitors this past summer, and at current date there have been +450,000 visitors so far this year. You can see by the nesting season table that the new coalition has set up the 2025 nesting birds, park staff, interns, and volunteers for a successful season. Thank you to the coalition of partners and to our amazing Bird Steward Volunteers, interns, 
This year has brought exciting milestones - park staff and partners banded three young Oystercatcher chicks, while Least Terns flourished in two colonies, fledging nearly 160 chicks between Amelia Island and Little Talbot’s southern sand spit. The resilient Wilson’s Plovers also had a strong year, with about 46 fledglings, including three brave chicks on the ever-challenging Sawpit Island. A heartfelt thanks goes out to the dedicated park staff, partners, interns, and Bird Steward Volunteers and Wade Smith, Florida State Park Specialist. Their hard work and care helps these shorelines remain a safe haven for nesting birds and the beauty of wild Florida.
Duval Audubon Society is thrilled to introduce Alana Anderson, our 
Meet William Hoeck, our enthusiastic Assistant Field Trips Director!
We're looking for a few more volunteers to lead or co-lead field trips and bird walks for our chapter.
Sorry, no Bird Walk for Beginners at Fort Caroline National Memorial this month due to Government Shutdown
