We Support Amendment 4

On Nov. 2 Florida residents can vote for an amendment to the State Constitution that might preserve much of what remains of wild and rural Florida and the birds and other animals that depend on those habitats. Called the Florida Hometown Democracy amendment, it would allow voters to veto any change to county or city comprehensive land use plans. Publicity and debate in many forums is already ramping up, and Sarasota Audubon Society (SAS) members should be informed.

About a hundred environmental and citizens' organizations, including SAS and seven other Florida Audubon societies, Florida Sierra, Florida Wildlife Federation, Friends of the Everglades, Environment Florida, and local or regional organizations such as ECOSWF, CONA, Citizens for Sensible Growth, and Control Growth Now have endorsed and recommended passage of Amendment 4.

What is Amendment 4 about? Each county and municipality in Florida is required to have a long-term growth plan projecting what land will be developed and for what use (commerce, residential, industrial, etc.) and how densely. A State agency (DCA) must approve changes adopted by the county or city commissions, and Amendment 4 would add voter approval as the FINAL step. The amendment would not apply to zoning changes, which would, as now, be subordinate to the comprehensive plan.

Developers should find land in the proper use category under the comprehensive plan, request a zoning change as appropriate, and build accordingly. But some developers, particularly those with a mega project (like the recently-foreclosed over-5,000-acre Isles of Athena project in eastern Sarasota County), find cheaper land that the long-term plan designates at a density only appropriate for agriculture or natural habitat. Then they have the local commission, perhaps elected with their financial support, approve the requested change in the long-term plan, push it through the State agency (some legislators are even trying to eliminate the requirement for State approval), and there goes another mega-development blocking a wildlife corridor.

Polls of voters in many parts of Florida show that most citizens deplore the sprawl and overdevelopment of the State that is destroying much of what brought or kept them here. The theory behind the Hometown Democracy amendment is that allowing voters a veto on such plan changes will discourage developers from even making many such requests, thereby channeling development into urban infill already allowed by the comprehensive plans. If a really good, generally supported change in the long-term plan is proposed, then voters will presumably approve it.

The two main arguments against Amendment 4 are: First, that it would flood the ballot with complicated proposals, and second, that it would discourage job-creating construction. However, the complicating details would obviously be consolidated, as already happens with such measures on the ballot now, with the ballot language concisely referring to the project. Second, with 300,000 homes already vacant in Florida and commercial space rates in free fall, the last thing we need now is low-paying jobs building more dwellings and shopping malls in environmentally sensitive areas. Instead, we should channel jobs into clean energy and high tech manufacturing, and after the present building glut is absorbed, direct new housing and commercial work to urban infill.

-Wade Matthews, Conservation Chair, Sarasota Audubon Society

Become a Chick Checker for Our Critical Beach Monitoring Program

Each year, dedicated volunteers jump through hoops trying to help our beach nesting birds survive. The picture is grim. Last year on Siesta Key beach, 36 eggs hatched from 8 Snowy Plover nests; two chicks survived one night, and the rest did not due to predation from crows, dogs, cats, raccoons, and human disturbance of nest sites.


You may have noticed the buffered zones on Siesta and North and South Lido. This year, we have a new strategy: we are going to have pre-posting parties—everyone invited. This means we will buffer historical nesting sites in order to create a “safe zone” for birds to set up their nests. Come help us or just watch and learn.

When are the parties? On Siesta Key on Friday, March 12 at 10 am at Access 7. On Lido on Friday March, 26, meet at the corner of Ben Franklin and Ringling at 10 am. What will we do? We’ll install stakes every 20 feet or so around a designated site, attach string, colored tape and information signs.

Prior to parties, I will be giving a presentation about our beach nesters at Beach University in the concession area on Siesta Key (public beach) on March 10 at 9 am. All are welcome. In addition, Sarasota Audubon is leading three Chick Check walks on Lido Key: March 20, April 17 and May 21. These walks are designed to look for courtship and nesting activities and to monitor the progress of Snowy Plovers, Least Terns, and Black Skimmers as they go through their breeding cycles. Meeting place is the parking area at the corner of Ben Franklin and Ringling on Lido Key at 8 am.

I hope you can join us to learn about the birds that allow us to share their beaches. For more information, call 355-1709.

Jeanne Dubi, President, Sarasota Audubon Society

Awesome Photos from Sarasota Audubon's Trip to Puerto Rico

Sarasota Audubon Society recently returned from a birding trip to Puerto Rico. The group found 15 of the 17 listed endemic bird species there.

Here's Rick Greenpsun's report and his photography:

Conditions were tough for birding and photography. The vegetation was thick and dark most of the time, and the birds were reluctant to show themselves. We birded the southwestern part of the island were it was lush but drier and then put in two days in the northeast corner near and in El Yunke Rainforest, where it was lush and wet. El Yunke gets about 200 inches a year in rainfall, so most days you can expect to get wet!!

The Puerto Rican Owl was taken at 4 in the morning with a flash and a flashlight.

Puerto Rican Tody:

Bananaquit singing:

If you'd like to come with us on our next trip, be sure to visit our website for more information. We travel locally, from county to county and every now and then, outside of the U.S.

Results of January 2 Christmas Bird Count..Man, That's a Lot of Birds

• Team 1: John Ginaven, Stu Wilson, David Manchester, Peter Rice and Marc Hayman checked off 68 species;
  
• Team 2: Rick Greenspun, Kathryn Young, Kathy Meaux, Mark Davis, Sandra Van Hullenaar, Michelle Van Deventer and Rebecca Lazarus covered Siesta Beach and all of Siesta Key and found the day’s only Peregrine Falcon and the single Lesser Black-backed Gull;
  
• Team 3: Valeri Ponzo, Carolyn Primus and Barbara Covey found a few onlies: A Mute Swan flyby, Wilson’s and Semipalmated Plovers, and a N. Rough-winged Swallow
  
• Team 4: Lynn Jakubowicz, Jane Brandhorst and Mary Heinlen got a very respectable 55 species in their urban area;
  
• Team 5: Edith Miller, Barry Rossheim, Ruth Ellen Peipert, and Lucy Pace found a pair of Baltimore Orioles, rarities for Sarasota. They also located a Hermit Thrush in Pinecraft Park;
  
• Team 6: Ellen Richardson and Ann & Tim Seidenkranz plugged away all day and found one of only two American Bitterns and an usual American Redstart;
  
• Team 7: Paul Lewis, Jane Shannon and Connie & Tom Plaskett found the count’s only Solitary Sandpiper;
  
• Team 8: Bill & Margaret Dunson, Nancy Edmondson, Greg Voigt, Sue Stam, and Roxanne Williamson covered the Celery Fields and surroundings and found the wintering Common Goldeneye and the only Sora for the day, and were only one of two teams to find Indigo Buntings;
  
• Team 9: Tina Mossbarger, Joni Bos Gray and Jeff Carson came up trumps with the day’s only N. Parula, and were one of only two teams to find Indigo and Painted Buntings;
  
• Team 10: Alison & Mike Bishop, Lorrie Muldowney and Chris Beaton found one of only two Merlins for the count; Team 10a consisted of several groups covering communities within Palmer Ranch: Harriet Siegel, Wade & Betty Matthews, Judy Meksraitis, Sue Hamilton and Rachel Nylen (Prestancia); Michael Hamilton, Kathleen Jones, Jim & Ann Eachus, Michael & Nancy Barnes (Village Walk); Sally Seeger and Michael & Nancy Barnes (The Isles); Michael Hamilton, Penney Rist with granddaughter Zoe Burge, aged 7 (Turtle Rock); Don & Karen Schneider (The Hamptons); and Sandy and Rena Cooper (Oaks Clubside). Collectively these groups found the only Green-winged Teal, the only Caspian Tern, and the other American Bittern. They clocked up 6,588 birds and 76 species—great stuff!
  
• Team 11: David Williamson, Barbara Singer, Steve Black, Peg Beeman, Daniel Somodi, Daniel Somodi, Jr., Al & Suzanne Semago, Matt Holman, Hugh Dinkler and DS Paige got the only American Wigeons and Redheads for the day;
  
• Team 12: Jeanne Dubi, Suzanne Daughtrey, Kelley Berkey and Steve Gansz found the only Gadwalls and Marsh Wrens;
  
• Team 14: Jeff Palmer and Tommy Elliott found the day’s only Ovenbird and Least Bittern;
  
• Team 15: Karen Jensen, Jerry & Sandy Ulrickson, Russ & Carole Hoffman and Rhonda & Bill Dix came up with 48 species in their urban area;
  
• Team 19: Rett & Priscilla Owen, Lou Kovach, Gloria Mankewicz and Bob Thomas covered Spanish Point and the intracoastal in that region and found the only Horned Grebe for the entire count, the lone Dunlin and the only Short-billed Dowitchers.

Owlers Jeff Palmer and Jeanne Dubi covered separate mainland areas, and Rick Greenspun and Kathryn Young owled on Siesta Key. Between them they found Eastern Screech-Owls, Great Horned, Barred and Barn Owls.


Backyard counters and neighborhood spotters really pulled their weight again.

• Area 1: Len Newman and Mary Allyn counted birds in Plymouth Harbor and contributed Green Herons;
• Area 2: David and Tatiana Staats added Ruddy Turnstone, a juvenile Bald Eagle and a Common Loon, and Beverly Peyser added a Green Heron;
• Area 3: Terry Proeger walked his neighborhood and contributed House Sparrow, Carolina Wren and Hooded Mergansers;
• Area 4: Jeanne Dubi added an early Eastern Screech-Owl and Mike Dubi smoked cigars on the patio until the Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Painted Bunting showed up;
• Area 6: From her backyard after a hard day’s slog, Tina Mossbarger turned up the only Northern Bobwhite and the only Brown Thrasher and contributed Black-Hooded Parakeets and Am. Goldfinches for the area. Jeanne Dubi contributed a Barn Owl and 2 Barred Owls, and Henry Wagler found 3 Eastern Bluebirds;
• Area 7: Charlie Everly monitored his yard all day and turned in a nice list and Sue Herring added a rare Pine Siskin, seen at her feeder and photographed for the record;
• Area 8: While leading a scheduled walk for Venice Audubon, Barry Rossheim confirmed the Bufflehead at the Founders Club pond, located a Green Heron for the area then went off to join Team 5. Jeanne Dubi found a Barn Owl before daybreak on Center Road.
• Area 9 had the valuable help of Peter & Frances Rice who added Pied-billed Grebe, Tricolored Herons, Blue-winged Teal, Limpkins, American Coots, Belted Kingfisher and Savannah Sparrows, all from Heritage Oaks.
• Area 11: Karen Jensen helped out by adding a Barred Owl and Eastern Screech-Owl, and Betty Matthews monitored her yard too.
• Area 12: Sheila Springer added Tufted Titmice, House Finch and Yellow-throated Warbler. Marcy Packer and Sandy Hasenjager emailed their list from Lakeridge Falls.
• Area 15: Joanna Bear watched her yard and contributed a Bald Eagle, Red-winged Blackbirds and 200 Tree Swallows.

A special mention goes to 12-year-old Campbell Lee. Along with friend Alexandria Atkins and his Mom, Robin Thomes, he covered his neighborhood and threw in Potter Park and Red Bug Slough too! The three of them added Carolina Wren, Common Grackles and Tree Swallows for several areas and came up with an impressive 40 species. We’ll all be scrambling to get him on our team next year.



Note: Tommy Elliott, a great birder and birding friend died a sudden and untimely death on Jan 14. Tommy was on every CBC since I can remember. Those who knew him will miss him terribly. I hope he’s birding from a cloud now.

 
The report above includes a record 90 counters in the field and 18 backyard/neighborhood watchers all helped to come up with 154 species for the count (last year we had 160). The day’s total of 1,233,126 birds was augmented by a 1 million+ Tree Swallow roost found on private property. Even without the roost, more than three times the average number of Tree Swallows was counted. It’s a great year for them. Some species were up and others were down over last year; it’s impossible to see trends over 2 years. The weather kept many small birds tucked down—cold and windy—and the numbers definitely reflect that.

Population Growth and Climate Change

Almost all rational and informed people who have passed beyond believing that the earth is flat accept the scientific data that heat-trapping gasses, especially carbon dioxide, are causing climate change. This change includes melting glaciers and polar icecaps, acidifying the oceans, increasing extreme temperatures and desertification in many areas, and reducing habitats and numbers of numerous species of wildlife. The fifteen hottest years on record since modern global temperatures have been kept have all occurred since 1991 and we have lost a third of our Arctic sea ice in the past thirty years.

Countless scientific studies have shown overwhelming evidence that most of this damaging climate change has been caused by human activity. Concentrations of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are already at their highest levels in at least the last 400,000 years, thirty percent above those of the pre-industrial era. Audubon, Sierra, and almost all environmental organizations are lobbying for drastic measures to stop this disastrous process. These measures would include either mandatory limits on warming gas emissions or economic-based mandatory cap-and-trade treaties and legislation The successful system that mostly stopped sulfur emissions from acidifying northern lakes in the U.S. shows the effectiveness and modest cost of such legislation.

But neither Audubon, Sierra, nor most environmental groups have been clear in making the obvious linkage of damaging emissions and negative climate change to rapidly increasing human population. The inevitable striving of the roughly eighty million additional inhabitants of earth each year for a better standard of living that includes electricity, water, food, transportation, and such causes of global warming, in addition to depletion of natural resources, will negate much or maybe all measures against climate change. Some of those concerned by climate change may have been lulled by population stabilization in some countries, including parts of Europe and Japan. However, while the percentage rate of increase of the world's population has dropped because of the larger base on which it is calculated, the absolute number of additional people each year has remained essentially at its unsustainable high level.

One of the few environmental organizations that has made the obvious linkage of damaging climate change to human overpopulation is the rapidly-growing Center for Biological Diversity (http://www.biodiversity.org/) In addition to its frequent litigation to protect endangered species, it is actively campaigning for environmentalists and the public to push for governments and international bodies to give greater support for international family planning, smaller families, and more education of women who gives them options to excessive child-bearing. Perhaps we can encourage Audubon, Sierra and other major environmental organizations that once linked their former strong population programs to protecting wildlife and their habitat to renew and increase them with a focus also on the linkage to Climate Change.

-Wade Matthews, Conservation Chair

Noted Bird Photographer Arthur Morris to Share Award-Winning Photos

On Monday, February 8 at 7:30 p.m., world-famous bird photographer Arthur Morris will present some of his award-winning nature and wildlife photos at the free monthly meeting of Sarasota Audubon Society.

More than 11,000 of Arthur Morris’s photographs have been published in national publications including American Birds, Audubon, Birder's World, Florida Wildlife and Nature, National Geographic, Natural History, Nature Photographer, Outdoor Photographer, Ranger Rick, Wildbird, and other magazines, as well as in hundreds of books and calendars.

Our meetings take place at the First Congregational Church Fellowship Hall, 1031 South Euclid Avenue in Sarasota. Call (941) 355-1709 for more information. Hope to see you there!

The Sarasota Audubon Society is the local chapter of the National Audubon Society. The 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization is dedicated to protecting birds, wildlife, and the environment. Sarasota Audubon’s active education campaign includes monthly meetings featuring environmental topics and speakers, weekly trips to local parks and natural areas, annual overnight and international birding trips, and road clean up activities adjacent to the Celery Fields.  Learn more about us here.

Over 400 Show Up for Sandhill Crane Sunset!

Friday evening, over 400 people gathered at the Celery Fields to join Sarasota Audubon as we welcomed local Sandhill Cranes coming in to roost. One of our members counted 165 cars parked along Palmer Boulevard.

Last year this time, hundreds of cranes were roosting at the Celery Fields. Accordingly, we planned a "Sunset at the Celery Fields" activity for this year. Though we haven't seen those numbers this year, our crowd was not disappointed.

Over an hour-long period, we watched almost 50 cranes come in, bugling away as they flew over the Fields. We were able to get many people on the cranes with our spotting scopes, which delighted all. A great showing. Thanks to everyone who joined us!