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"Ding" Darling Wildlife Society Newsletter
February 11, 2016
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Why did the Otter cross the road? To get to the OTTER side!
Photo by Jill Spealman
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"Absolutely fantastic. We went in January, the greatest time to see all the "snow birds" which, along with humans, migrate to this warm spot for winter month. The birds were everywhere- white and brown pelicans with 6 foot wingspreads, gorgeous ibis and egrets, and even some pink spoonbills. We saw 3 alligators in one morning, contentedly sunning themselves. 20 feet away! Go! You and your children will love it!" NanWoodward, Concord, Massachusetts
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TOMORROW, February 12:
Stokes
Lecture
Longtime winter residents of Sanibel Island and nationally acclaimed bird authors and TV personalities,
Don and Lillian Stokes will present two programs beginning at
10 a.m. and 1 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 12, 2016, in the free Visitor & Education Center.
Their two "Better Birding" presentations will
celebrate birds and discuss how to find and
identify them, featuring the photography of Lillian Stokes and special information that the Stokes have gleaned while researching and writing 35 books
READ MORE
A BIG thanks to our 2016 Lecture Series
sponsors.
&
To view the season's lecture series schedule,
CLICK HERE
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Lectures pack the auditorium!
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Seating for the lectures is limited and available on a first-come basis.
It is encouraged to arrive one hour early. Early arrivals can save one seat each and then may explore the Visitor & Education Center or Indigo Trail before the lecture starts. Saved seats must be filled 15 minutes before lecture time or risk reassignment.
This is especially important this week, as the Stokes lectures are extremely popular.
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Lake O Water Release Affecting the Refuge Complex and Lee County Coastal Waters
Please call all elected state officials who represent Lee County
Click HERE to get contact information
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Photo courtesy of WINK News
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SANIBEL, Fla. - Water levels at Lake Okeechobee rose again overnight Saturday, reaching record-high levels despite 10 days of significant releases.
More than 3.7 billion gallons of water are being released daily from the lake and into the Caloosahatchee River and other Southwest Florida waterways following unusually high rains in January. Every day, 2 billion gallons of water
READ MORE
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Solution to Over-Filled Lectures
If you have ever been disappointingly turned away from a Friday lecture in the packed auditoriums, then you have probably heard our standard response that "a full house is a good problem to have".
Though we have recently tried to absolve this problem by increasing the number of Friday lectures from one to two (both at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.), our audience still packs the house.
Our new, creative solution to this problem is to upload recordings of the lecture's on the Society's YouTube channel.
Look for them early in the week following the lecture and on the next week's "Ding" on the Wing.
These are the two videos from Ellen Prager's wonderful lecture on February 5, titled
Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime. The book is still available for sale in the Refuge Nature Store.
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February 13-15: Free Wildlife Drive Admission
Celebrate President's Day weekend with free admission to Wildlife Drive and its trails on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. The Refuge offices will close on Monday in observance of the holiday, but the free
Visitor & Education Center, Wildlife Drive, Tarpon Bay Explorers, and Bailey Tract will be OPEN and fully operational.
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Come by the Visitor _ Education Center to see this wonderful photography exhibit
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First-Place Flamingo
Al's collection of flamingo and other wildlife photographs is currently on display in the Visitor & Education Center Auditorium through February 28, 2016. The flamingo images were all shot this year at "Ding" Darling and Bunche Beach.
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Project leader Gina White with the one white morph the team tagged.
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Reddish Egret Study
As we gear up this month to celebrate the beloved Reddish Egret, researchers from the Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) in Gainesville, Florida, have been busy outfitting three more birds with satellite transmitters partially funded by the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society. A portion of the proceeds from
Go Wild for "Ding" - Dance of the Reddish Egret on February 23 will benefit this important, first-of-its-kind Reddish Egret study.
The tagging of three more Refuge birds bring the total to five that are being tracked. The bird "Bunche," a white morph, was tagged January 6 in the Bunche Beach area. "San Carlos," a dark morph, was tagged January 25 in the same general area. Researchers tagged another dark morph named "Darling" on January 29 near Wildlife Drive. Stay tuned for links to the ARCI web site for tracking the travels of our five Refuge study birds.
Anyone interested in supporting the Reddish Egret study, a Mangrove Cuckoo study currently underway and any other research projects at the Refuge, please send Birgie Miller, Executive Director of the DDWS an email by clicking
HERE.
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Only 150 Chances at $150 each
Only 45 chances remain!
Don't miss your chance -
a first-ever opportunity
to own a Jim Sprankle Reddish Egret Feather Pin for only $150. The feather pins, including admission into the 50-member Sprankle Feather Club,
have sold at live auctions for $5,000 or more
. Only 150 chances will be sold. We will draw the winner at Go Wild for "Ding" - Dance of the Reddish Egret on February 23, but
you need not be present to purchase a chance or to win.
Click here
for more information on the chance drawing.
Other chance prizes include professional photographic and framed Reddish Egret portraits by Terry Baldwin and
Al Hoffacker
.
Winners need not be present to claim their prizes.
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Wednesday, February 17:
Sand Wars Film
The investigative documentary film Sand Wars continues the fourth annual "Ding" Darling Film Series on
February 17, 2016, at 2:30 p.m. in the Visitor & Education Center auditorium. The fight for one of the most consumed natural resources on the planet has been termed the "new gold rush." Sand is a component in objects we see and use every day - from computer chips to wine. With increased development and three-quarters of the world's beaches in decline, the question of the renewability
READ MORE
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| Watch the Sand Wars trailer. |
Many thanks to our 2016 Film Series sponsor for its generous support.
For brief synopses of this season's films, please
click here
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Our amazing sponsors have helped give wing to this fourth annual fundraiser.
Defender Level:
Big Red Q Quickprint,
Cast About Charters
,
Hightower Advisors Fort Myers
, Mike & Terry Baldwin, Doug & Sherry Gentry, Greenwood Consulting Group, Inc., Phyllis & Glen Gresham,
Gulf Coast Landscape Supply
, Dick & Emily Muench,
Queenie's Ice Cream,
Sanibel Sweet Shoppe
, TradeMarky Films,
Vortex Optics
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April 29: Tarpon Tourney Registration Deadline
A 100 percent purse promises to make the fifth annual "Ding" Darling & Doc Ford's Tarpon Tournament on
May 7, 2016, the hottest competition on the water. It pays out 100 percent of the entry fee as tournament awards. Registration deadline is April 29. The field is limited to 50 boats, and fills up quickly each year
READ MORE
Thanks to our tourney sponsors. To become a sponsor,
email or call
Bi
rgie Miller at
239-292-0566
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"Ding's" Farewell
February 12 marks the 54th anniversary of Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling's death in Des Moines, Iowa. This cartoon, penned by the
Pulitzer Prize-winning political cartoonist, appeared in the
Des Moines Register the following day. The cartoon depicts Darling's studio, which has been re-created in the "Ding" Darling Visitor & Education Center, and his devotion to conservation. As head of the U.S. Biological Survey, precursor to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, he instituted the Federal Duck Stamp Program to purchase and protect habitat nationwide, and designed the first duck stamp. In the annals of conservation history, "Ding's" name still gets mentioned along with Theodore Roosevelt, Rachel Carson, and Aldo Leopold.
Click on the cartoon to see it enlarged.
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Be wildlife chic with Chala: whimsical animal-themed handbags and accessories designed with the perfect blend of playful fashion and practicality. They put the FUN in FUNctional.
Starting at $15, styles include zip wallets, cell phone bags, key chains, totes, and hobos. Select from owls, raccoons, dragonflies, hummingbirds, turtles, and other woodland creature designs.
Email
or call 239-472-1100 ext. 241 to order your Chala gifts today. Remember, proceeds from all Nature Store purchases directly benefit Refuge wildlife and research and education projects.
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Perking up when you realize that Valentine's Day is in 3 days and you haven't gone shopping. Uh-oh!
Photos by Ed Morris
If
you have taken any beautiful, interesting,
or just plain goofy photos taken at the Refuge, send them to Society intern
Carrie Alexander
for a chance to be featured in upcoming newsletters.
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These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge. Please check our website at
www.dingdarlingsociety.org to learn more!
Sincerely,
"Ding" On The Wing composed by
Designed by Sarah Lathrop and interns Carrie Alexander and Anna Grubb
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