We are excited to begin a new season of advocating for birds and nature right here in Northeast Florida. Hope you will join us!

‍Florida Climate Week

by Elizabeth Filippelli, VP & Conservation Director

Duval Audubon is excited to share that we have been awarded a $500 grant from the VoLo Foundation to participate in Florida Climate Week, October 5-11, 2026. VoLo Foundation is a private family foundation dedicated to educating the public to create a sustainable and secure planet for future generations, and sponsors Florida Climate Week itself, bringing together major Florida cities including Miami, Orlando, and Tampa each year in a shared push for climate action. Join us at Wild Birds Unlimited Jacksonville on Saturday, October 10, from 2:00–4:00 PM to celebrate! The centerpiece of our exhibit is a brand-new, art-inspired Feather Friendly® window cling (3 by 6 feet!), showing visitors just how beautiful bird-safe glass can be.

‍This event is brought to you by Lights Out Northeast Florida, a regional partnership between Duval Audubon Society, Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens, and St. Johns Regional Audubon working together to protect birds from light pollution and glass collisions. Special thank you to Wild Birds Unlimited Jacksonville owner Dr. John Peterson and store manager (and chapter president) Johnna Bellen for hosting our very first Florida Climate Week event.

With Fall Migration kicking off in a few weeks here, this kind of event serves as another way for us to connect with our community in a meaningful way and drive change! Come learn how artificial light and glass puts your favorite songbird at risk, and how simple changes at home — guided by DarkSky's five outdoor lighting principles and bird-friendly building design — can help. Wild Birds Jax is hosting an educational program, a Lights Out pledge drive, and yes a raffle, WOOHOO!

‍Lights Out at University of North Florida

by Elizabeth Filippelli, VP & Conservation Director

‍As we have shared previously, UNF and Lights Out Northeast Florida are partners in conservation. And we are thrilled to share that Sasha Koresh, editor of UNF’s Spinnaker publication, wrote a fabulous article about our citizen / student volunteer science program at UNF to minimize artificial light and window collision hazards for local and migratory bird species. Sasha did a great job listening, researching, and interviewing everyone involved, including Mike Taylor of the Jacksonville Zoo & Botanical Gardens, UNF Collision Monitor Alana Anderson, and Will McMahon, UNF Sustainability Director, among others. We are not sure if Sasha will see our thank you, but we sure hope she does. And please wish her well, as she has just graduated! Follow Sasha on LinkedIn because we know she will make the world a better place. Check out her excellent article here.

‍Bird Safe Jax

by Elizabeth Filippelli, VP & Conservation Director

‍We know that every month we share a small update on the Bird Safe Jax project, but we are still alive and kicking. There is a long lead time for these types of projects, and we need to put on our “patience pants” and breath deeply. HAHA. Here is the latest: working with Ashantae Green, City of Jacksonville Sustainability Manager, UNF Intern Aiden Simonson, and COJ Staff, we have approval for a retrofit installation on the 72 large lower windows at COJ City Hall. 

‍After much thought and discussion, Ashantae and the City have selected Feather Friendly as our vendor of choice for Bird Safe Jax, with the Bird Divert™ Product (Clear Dot Film) selected for the City Hall windows, and their WingSafe White Dot visual markers selected for the City Hall entrance. BAM!

‍We are striving hard for a Fall Migration install date, so please consider following our new Lights Out Northeast Florida Facebook page, thanks to social media manager Carol Bailey-White and local birder Brook Byrnes. Speaking of Brook Byrnes, we are thrilled to share that Brook is our Fall Intern working closely together with me as well as LONF Co-Lead Mike Taylor of the Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens, and longtime LONF volunteer Lindsay Mahovetz-Myers, also from the Zoo. Brook is a photographer, artist, designer, conservation supporter, birder, nature lover, gardener, traveler, dog mom, and a born and raised Floridian. As someone who has always loved nature, she discovered the fun and rewards of birding just over a year ago. She continues to learn more about conservation and sees how much our animals and ecosystem need protecting. As a student of design, she decided to intern with Lights Out Northeast Florida to help make Jacksonville a little safer for the birds.

As a non-for-profit volunteer chapter, all our conservation work is funded from grants or from the donations of our members. We thank you for your confidence in us, and if you would like to support our work, here is the link. If you want to support a specific project, email me and we will work together.

Board Member Spotlight: Mike Taylor

by Johnna Bellen, President

‍We’re excited to spotlight Mike Taylor, our newest Duval Audubon at-large board member! Mike spent 30 years at White Oak Conservation, working primarily with cranes, curassows, and cassowaries. From 1994–2012, he was involved with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Mississippi Sandhill Crane Repatriation Project, helping with captive breeding of crane chicks that were released into the wild in Mississippi. He also made two trips to Colombia to support Blue-billed Curassow conservation.

For the past 14 years, Mike has worked at Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens. As Curator of Herps, Birds and Others, he oversees the Herpetology and Bird Divisions, as well as fishes, Ambassador animals, and Pest Control.

Mike has been an avid birder since 1987, when he completed his first sunrise-to-sunset birding trip to Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. Since then, he has birded across Africa, Europe, South America, and Central America, and has made the winter trip to Merritt Island nearly every year.‍

For the past seven years, Mike has also been heavily involved with Lights Out Northeast Florida, helping to protect migratory birds from the dangers of nighttime lighting and reflective windows.

‍Favorite bird: The Double-Wattled Cassowary—specifically Mushroom, a bird Mike knew at White Oak. She arrived in 1989 as a tiny two- or three-month-old and eventually grew into a formidable 169-pound bird. Although she could be fiercely protective outside of breeding season, Mike and his colleagues were able to safely work with her during breeding season under very specific circumstances. Mushroom was the mother of many chicks, including the male cassowary now at Jacksonville Zoo and Botanical Gardens. She lived to old age before complications from arthritis and other age-related issues led to her humane euthanasia.

‍We’re thrilled to welcome Mike to the Duval Audubon board and grateful for the decades of conservation knowledge, birding experience, and passion he brings to our community!

Birding Through Deaf Eyes

by Deborah B. Penrose

‍Note from editor: We are thrilled to share about a new book by local birder and author Deborah B. Penrose!

"Grounded in extensive, firsthand field experience, Birding Through Deaf Eyes captures a personal, localized "Little Big Year" tracking species entirely across the rich birding habitats of Duval County. The adventure expands into a sweeping cross-country exploration, bringing to life the diverse bird ecosystems and critical birding habitats across the United States. From a vivid birding diary documenting a transformative journey through the legendary coastal birding habitats of Texas to rich observations of critical nesting grounds and migratory flyways nationwide, the book celebrates birds as surviving dinosaurs with extraordinary visual abilities.

‍The book shines an urgent spotlight on vulnerable and threatened species—such as the endangered Florida Scrub-Jay featured on its cover—while championing grassroots conservation solutions. Crucially, it highlights the Lights Out Northeast Florida initiative, a vital bird-saving campaign supported by the Duval Audubon Society to reduce urban light pollution and protect migratory species along the Atlantic Flyway. In deep appreciation of our local community, this book is proudly dedicated to the Duval Audubon Society and the birding community of Duval County, with 100% of my author royalties donated directly to them to support habitat preservation and bird protection.

Because all author royalties will directly help to fund the Duval Audubon Society, picking up a copy today directly impacts local wildlife protection. Thank you for supporting diverse, inclusive voices in nature education and for our feathered friends everywhere."

Deborah, a graduate of Marie Katzenbach School for the Deaf, Gallaudet University, and McDaniel College, spent 30 years teaching science at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind before retiring in 2023. Now, she enjoys birding, camping, bicycling, and traveling with Sara and their black tuxedo kitty, Happy. Thank you, Deborah!

‍Upcoming Events

‍Here's what's happening in September: 

• Fall Migration Field Trip at Hanna Park: Saturday, September 5 @ 8:00 am - 12:00 pm ($5 entry fee per vehicle)
• Bird Walk for Beginners at Tillie K. Fowler Regional Park: Thursday, September 10 @ 9:00 am - 11:00 am (FREE)
• Duval Audubon Society | Florida Young Birders Club Hanna Park Birding Outing: Saturday, September 19 @ 8:00 am - 10:00 am ($5 entry fee per vehicle) (REGISTRATION REQUIRED)
• Online Program: Why We love Birds: Monday, September 21 @ 6:30 pm - 8:00 pm (FREE) (REGISTER HERE)
• Open House and Volunteer Work Day at Crosby Sanctuary: Saturday, September 26 @ 8:00 am - 12:00 pm (FREE)
  
• National Public Lands Day with St. Johns RIVERKEEPER: Saturday, September 26 @ 8:00 am - 12:30 pm (FREE)

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