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"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society Newsletter
October 29, 2015
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Solar Community Meetings
Tuesday, November 3, at 5:30 p.m. in the "Ding" Darling Visitor & Education Center auditorium. Refreshments will be available. No reservations are necessary to attend the meeting. Subsequent Solar Community meetings are scheduled at the Center for 5:30 p.m. on
Tuesday, November 17, and
Thursday, December 3
. Representatives from
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Click here to read and hear WGCU's NPR report on the initiative.
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Members of the SanCap Solar Connect Implementation Committee meet to plan public informational meetings.
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Happy Hour
Holiday
Shopping - December 3
Save the date -
Thursday, December 3 - for our annual Happy Hour Holiday
Shopping at the Refuge Nature Store in the Visitor & Education Center. Free wrapping, prizes, and holiday treats fill the after-hours occasion with good cheer, starting at 4:30 p.m.
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The Refuge Nature Store has stocked up on lots of new fun items for holiday gifting.
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The Refuge's 2015 wildlife holiday cards are now on sale. Click this image to see it enlarged.
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Next Year This Time:
Surprise in Planning Stages
Stay tuned for upcoming news about a nearly three-month special exhibition the Refuge will be hosting in partnership with the
Smithsonian
and
Florida Humanities
Council
.
It
will begin shortly after next year's "Ding" Darling Days.
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| Vortex Optics was on hand for "Ding" Days Family Fun Day with information on how to correctly and most efficiently use binoculars. |
Binoculars Donation
A big "Ding" thank you to
Vortex Optics for the donation of one high-quality pair of binoculars to auction off at our February Go Wild for "Ding" fundraiser, plus 25 pairs for visitors to borrow while touring the Refuge and another 15 pairs to use in Refuge kids' education programs. The Refuge Nature Store also carries Vortex binoculars.
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Farewell to Lise
Lise Bryant, our Nature Store Manager for some 15
years, has retired from her position effective October 30 to pursue her independent artwork and business. "Lise made a true impact on the support the Society was able to provide the Refuge and the impact this work has had on the millions of visitors and future conservation stewards over the last 15-plus years," said DDWS Executive Director Birgie Miller.
We will miss Lise and wish her the best of luck
.
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Federal Duck Stamp winner Jennifer Miller, Federal Junior Duck Stamp winner Andrew Kneeland, and Florida Junior Duck Stamp winner Mason Theurer fielded questions from a packed room.
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Conservation
Art
Day
Memories
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Plein-air artists painted along Wildlife Drive and sold their work in the Visitor & Education Center.
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"Ding" Darling Days ended with a burst of color on Saturday, Conservation Art Day. Kids, their families, artists, and nature-minded guests gathered to hear rousing presentations by 2015-2016 Federal Duck Stamp winner Jennifer Miller from New York State and Federal Junior Duck Stamp winner Andrew Kneeland from Wyoming. Plein-air art, cartooning, painting and sculpturing demonstrations, and hands-on painting and nature photography filled the day with art devoted to conservation.
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Click the logo ABOVE to visit the website.
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First Place: Kent Jager's "Bath Time"
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2015 Photo Contest Winners
As part of Conservation Art Day on October 24, DDWS announced the winners of its
28th annual "Ding" Darling Days Amateur Nature Photography Contest at a special presentation. Earlier, on October 7, judges had selected 13 winners out of 76 entries from 14 states, Switzerland, England, and Italy. Ties and gridlocks made for an exciting contest. All photographs entered were shot at J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge on Sanibel Island. First place went to
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Second Place: Matthew Ryan McFarlane's "Why Did the Heron Cross the Road?"
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Third Place: Ellen Trevor's "Little Blue/First Spring"
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Welcome New Refuge Maintenance Supervisor
 Donnie Swingle stepped into the position of Maintenance Mechanic Leader earlier this month, having arrived from Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area near Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he also worked with the maintenance crew. "I love every bit of it," he said about his introduction to "Ding" Darling. "The other day I went kayaking and had a dolphin following me around. That was neat."
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Clear Your Gear
A reminder to properly dispose of your fishing gear in and around the Refuge.
It kills wildlife. Here, a tally of what our Monofilament Busters team collected this past season from Refuge waters and vegetation:
290 Lead weights
140 Bobbers
28 Non-lead weights
519 Hooks
160 TKO Shrimp, Assassins, Jigs, etc.
39 Spoons
14 Flies
142 Lures
One 5-gallon bucket filled with collected monofilament
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National Refuge Association Photo Contest Deadline
Nature photographers! Now that we've
announced our annual "Ding" Darling Days Amateur Nature
Photography Contest winners, you may be inspired to enter the 2015 Refuge
Photo Contest sponsored by the
National Wildlife Refuge Association
, the national refuge friends group. Deadline is November 15, 2015. We hope to see "Ding" Darling well-represented.
Click here
to learn more about the contest.
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Had a terrific Refuge visit? Please review it on
TripAdvisor
. Here's a recent five-star review:
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Solar Community Meeting - November 17, 2015
Kids Fishing Derby - November 28, 2015
Annual Meeting - December 2, 2015
Happy Hour Holiday Shopping - December 3, 2015
Solar Community Meeting - December 3, 2015
Friday Winter Lecture Series - January 8-April 15, 2016
Biweekly Winter Film Series - January 13-April 6, 2016
Stokes Birding Tour (Filled) - February 19, 2016
Volunteer Luncheon - February 19, 2016
Go Wild for "Ding" - Dance of the Reddish Egrets - February 23, 2016
Federal Junior Duck Stamp Judging at the Refuge/Earth Day - April 22, 2016
Fifth Annual "Ding" Darling & Doc Ford's Tarpon Tournament - May 6-7, 2016
27th Annual "Ding" Darling Days - October 16-22, 2016
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These beautiful photos were captured near the Refuge in July. The one above shows the stark difference between flamingos and their more common-to-the-Refuge pink relatives, Roseate Spoonbills. The Flamingo visited the Refuge for only a few short weeks before it headed home, but it will be remembered fondly here at "Ding" Darling.
Photos by Ron Morgan
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Thank You Sponsors
Please be sure to thank and patronize our loyal sponsors of
"Ding" Darling Days 2015
Roseate Spoonbill Sponsor:
Great Egret Sponsors:
Great Blue Heron Sponsors:
97.7 Latino & Juan Radio,
Arthur Printing,
Bailey's General Store, Mike & Terry Baldwin,
Bank of the Islands,
Island Sun,
Jensen's Island Resort & Marina,
Jerry's Foods,
Mitchell's Sand Castles,
Ocean's Reach Condominiums,
Sanibel Captiva Community Bank,
Sanibel Moorings,
Spotlight Graphics
,
Jim & Patty Sprankle,
Sanibel-Captiva Beach Resorts
Reddish Egret Sponsors:
Sarah Ashton
& Jim Metzler,
Big Red Q Quickprint
, Casa Ybel Resort, Sally & Rich Ennis, Florida Weekly, Glen & Phyllis Gresham, Gulf Breeze Cottages, Painting with a Twist, Ed & Lynn Ridlehoover,
Sanibel-Captiva Kiwanis Club,
Stewart and Sons Insurance, Inc.,
West Wind Inn
Snowy Egret Sponsors
:
Barefoot Charley's Painting Co., John Brennan, Butterfly Estates, Cedar Chest Fine Jewelry, Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program (CHNEP), Colony Inn, Jerry Edelman & Maryanne Daly, Grounds by Green Ways, Dave Horton, Island Therapy Center Sanibel,Over Easy Cafe, Sally Rich, Sanibel Art & Frame, She Sells Sea Shells,Winston & Barbara Spurgeon, Suncatchers' Dream, Tents 'n' Events, Santiva Chronicle
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