Southeast Volusia Audubon Society

Our February speaker was Ms. Gina Holt, a raptor rehabilitator and environmental educator.  She has been involved in bird rescue and rehabilitation for over ten years and providing environmental education classes with live birds for the last five.

The rescue of her first raptor was a life-changing event for her. She decided she wanted to work closely with raptors. She first volunteered and then became a staff member at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland.  She learned all she could about the care of these birds and finally got her permits to have raptors for environmental education programs.  About five years ago, she started her company, Wild About Birds, Inc., dedicated to environmental education, conservation and preservation of habitats for the benefit of Florida’s birds and other wildlife. Continue Reading »

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We had an excellent winter shorebird survey this year; if the weather had cooperated more, we would have had an even better one as the wind most certainly reduced the number of birds on the beach.

Thank you to everyone for your participation, to the boat and car owners for donating their vessels and vehicles and to the Marine Discovery Center for loaning us two kayaks. Special thanks to Capt Bill Rostock of Turtle Mound Enterprises for volunteering his time and boat to take Don and Nancy G. into Mosquito Lagoon. Continue Reading »

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We went to the gull fly-in  at Daytona Beach Shores.  Over 40 people participated from 4 Audubon clubs. There were representatives from West Volusia, Halifax River, Flagler, and of course SEVAS.  Once again, Michael Brothers proved to be a wonderful guide and teacher.

The fly-in consists of about 100,000 gulls that spend their daytime at the landfill and other places where they eat.  They come to the beach for a few hours and then spend the night in the water just beyond the breakers.  It is the largest concentration of gulls anywhere in the U.S. Continue Reading »

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Twenty-nine people split our fifteen mile diameter circle into 11 areas including one boat. The weather was blustery and rainy for the start but moderated later in the morning. We tallied 134 species and a total of 79,584 birds. We thought that 5,860 Laughing Gulls was a lot, but that number paled in comparison to the estimated 50,000 Tree Swallows Clay found himself surrounded by. For a complete list of birds found, click the appropriate format: Microsoft Excel; Microsoft Works. As usual, click the pix for a larger view.

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On a beautiful morning, 9 dedicated birders started at 6 A.M. to catch the sunrise over the Indian River Lagoon at Seminole Rest. We saw Common Loon, terns, Red-breasted Merganser and Gulls along the shoreline, observed many birds flying in from the Islands to the mainland and listened to the lovely bird-songs at daybreak. On the way to and at Merritt Island we saw all the usual birds plus a male Painted Bunting eating poke berries and a Great Horned Owl setting on a nest. A trip around the Scrub Jay trail found the friendly birds. Also, most everyone saw the Eurasian Wigeon, a life bird for some. We counted 80 species overall. The complete list and some pictures follow. Continue Reading »

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While in Nova Scotia in June, Beth and I decided to travel the Cabot Trail and, hopefully, see a whale. Weather was an issue throughout our trip and this segment was no exception. We crossed the Canso Causeway onto Cape Breton Island in driving rain and fifty degree temperatures. We located a B & B and checked in for the night. When we met the other guests at breakfast next morning, we learned they were from Deland, Florida, on their way south from the Cabot Trail. Continue Reading »

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The captain and crew walked across the parking lot and jumped aboard. There were a few ominous clicks, silence, more clicks, muttering, more clicks. After about 15 minutes the captain surfaced to advise that because of the weather, the boat had not been out for several days. The bilge pump had apparently run his battery down while keeping the boat from filling with rainwater. This is a real problem in a town with neither stores nor garage within an hour drive. Ah, but he would go and get his replacement battery. Continue Reading »

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Eleven of us, including two new folks we met at the November meeting, gathered for a relaxing day at Viera Wetlands.  The day was mostly cloudy and the high temp was about 80 degrees.  The wind was up, probably about 10-15 mph.  Great weather for birding.

We hadn’t heard anything about the Masked Duck that had been frequenting the place for the last couple of winters,so we didn’t expect it.  But we had hoped to see the Crested Caracara.  No joy!  Somewhat disappointing.  But we did have two really good sightings, a group of Horned Grebes and a Peregrine Falcon.

In all, we saw 62 species.  To see the full list as well as some photos, click the picture of the Loggerhead Shrike.

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I returned to Alberta the day after our October meeting. It’s been an interesting six weeks. Our cabin is west of the main flyways but we have local ducks and geese and get the odd small flock of migrating northerners.
On my first weekend I checked the sloughs around Cochrane for swans. These are magnificent, elegant birds and well worth looking for. Local ducks and coots were still on many of the puddles, standing on ice or busily swimming around to keep the water open. I checked eight sloughs and saw a lot of Mallards, some of them migrants, small numbers of Shovelers, Pintails, American Wigeon, Gadwall and Hooded Mergansers, a pair of Ruddy Ducks and several American Coots. Finally I found one pond with eight beautiful Trumpeter Swans, dunking in open water, just a few yards from the road. I spent a quarter hour just ogling! I did see several more Trumpeters during my stay but I didn’t identify any Tundra Swans. Continue Reading »

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Since the banning of DDT a long time ago, Ospreys have become ubiquitous in the watery areas of Florida.  I have seen as many as 18 of them in one field of view while kayaking on the Indian River.  Many people assume that since we see them here year-round, they do not migrate.  But consider how they would feed up North when the rivers and lakes freeze over.

There is an interesting story in today’s Orlando Sentinel about three Ospreys that were tagged up North and met with disaster during their migration.  Richard O. “Rob” Bierregaard Jr., a professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, has tagged nearly 50 ospreys with satellite transmitters in the past decade, including one that was recently tracked until it plunged from the sky over a ranch in Seminole County. The bird’s body was decomposing by the time it was recovered from a pasture, and the cause of death may never be known, though Dr Bierregaard thinks it was most probably shot down.

Bierregaard and other scientists think that Florida may be the planet’s busiest osprey crossroads. Some of the birds breed in Maine and winter in Florida. Others breed in the Midwest, New England and Southeast and follow the length of Florida toward wintering places in South America‘s Amazon forests.

Other Ospreys are routinely shot if they stray near the ponds of fish farms in Cuba and Venezuela, or chicken flocks in theDominican Republic.

To read the full article and get some interesting information on Ospreys, click here.

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