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The DDWS staff has been busy bringing the healing sunshine and beauty of the Refuge to the public through 30-second social media videos. Follow on
Facebook
t
o see our #DailyDoseofDing, brief virtual visits to the Refuge for those
who can't make it.
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Your Backyard Nature
Whether you live on Sanibel Island or in a completely different environment in faraway places like Connecticut or New Mexico, we want to see what you're seeing in your habitat while you are staying safe at home.
Thank
you to Helen Mildon for sharing backyard nature photos of a Northern Cardinal and a Cooper's Hawk in Ottawa, Canada.
Please
email
your nature photos so we can share them in "Ding" on the Wing and by social media. Include details about the photographer and where the photo was taken.
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Thanks so much to those who responded to the "invitation" to our Symbolic Baby Shower last week to help us reach our initial goal of $5,000. To cover ongoing COVID-19 hits to our store and other fundraising needs, we have increased our online goal to $7,500.
Baby Shower Gifts help us continue our mission of sustaining the Refuge's wildlife, research, and education. Join your "Ding" family in participating in our virtual and symbolic
"Ding" Baby Bird Shower
!
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Virtual Summer Camp Runs Through July
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Last week's Experimentation Thursday taught a lesson in bird nest-building. |
Those who participate by responding on summer camp Facebook posts three times this summer get a free prize.
Email
the Education Team for more information.
Did you miss a lesson? No worries,
all videos and activity sheets are
archived on the DDWS website.
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Although the height of birding season has ended at the Refuge, photographers and birders are still finding Roseate Spoonbills along Wildlife Drive.
Photo by David Jeffrey |
In Case You Missed It: Tarpon Bay Explorers
has restructured its Sealife and Nature Cruises schedule. Currently, the tours depart every Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday at 11, 1:30, and 6.
Keep current on developments via our
COVID-19 web page.
In the meantime, we urge you to #StayHome as much as possible, get out in nature when you can, and maintain social distance and mask guidelines when you must go out.
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If you haven't already completed the survey, your input is important. Please help the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society by taking this
five-minute survey
by July 30
. We will be using the results to better understand how visitors, volunteers, donors, and board members perceive our organization. Thank you so much for your time.
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Limited Edition Spoonbill Masks
For a limited time only, our popular Roseate Spoonbill face coverings are available in both kid and adult sizes. Hurry and get yours before they fly away. Also keep your eye out for new kids masks arriving soon
and featuring some of the Refuge's most familiar animals.
Curbside Pickup
Curbside pickup for on ShopDingDarling.com purchases is as easy as
1, 2, 3, 4:
1. Shop for all your favorite items on ShopDingDarling.com and select local pickup when checking out.
2. Wait for our staff to contact you with pickup instructions.
3. Drive to The Nature Store to pick up your items at the time our staff scheduled with you.
4. Receive contactless delivery of your items into your vehicle by our mask-wearing staff.
Now you can follow the latest available gifts by online order at our ShopDingDarling.com
Instagram page. Follow today to keep in the loop about products as they become available.
Remember, profits from all Nature Store sales go directly to the Refuge for educational programs and wildlife research.
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Bird sketches incorporated into classroom murals will teach the difference between migratory and resident species. |
WoW Progress
The importance of the Refuge
Wildlife on Wheels (WoW) mobile classroom grows as school visits to "Ding" Darling will be curtailed indefinitely because of COVID-19. WoW and the Education team will be able to fill that gap with visits to the schools themselves for visits up to a week in length to meet Florida standards. The team has spent the summer creating lesson plans for the program as the mobile unit undergoes fabrication.
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Kids will learn about how some of the animals they see in their neighborhood actually live in the wilds.
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DDWS plans to unveil the completed WoW mobile classroom in October, in time for fall visits to schools, libraries, conservation-minded events, and economically challenged and minority communities in the five-county area. It will teach about water quality, the local ecosystem, wildlife, and other topics that meet the Refuge's mission.
Anyone interested in making a tax-deductible donation to support ongoing needs for the WoW project can contact
Birgie Miller at 239-472-1100 ext. 232 or Click
HERE.
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Native Blue Porterweed provides easy-care ground cover and both color and nectar for butterflies. Photo by Jim Metzler
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An Easy Roadmap to a
Native Garden
by Phyllis Gresham, Chair of the Vegetation Committee, City of Sanibel; Jenny Evans, SCCF Native Landscapes & Garden Center Manager; and Jim Metzler, DDWS Advocacy Committee Co-Chair
This is the second in a two-part series that discusses how using native plants improves the quantity and quality of our water resources. The
first article in the series
discussed the impact that exotic plants have on our water resources. This article will provide input on native plants from Sanibel's Vegetation Committee and describe how the Native Landscapes & Garden Center at SCCF
makes it easy for you to design and READ MORE
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A Georgia home-schooler concentrates on an owl pellet.
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Education Outreach
The "Ding" Education Team often extends its outreach well beyond local schools and events. Recently, at the request of Homeschooling Kingsbay parents, the team conducted a virtual owl pellet dissection class with 10 home-schooled students and their parents in Georgia. The parents bought owl dissection kits, and "Ding" staff sent learning materials and taught them online how to dissect the pellets to learn more about the diet of owls that live in Georgia.
"The kids were amazing and had a great time!" said Conservation Educator Sara Soderholm. "They asked some great questions including, 'Do some owls eat other owls?' They were shocked to hear that yes, some do."
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Support Those Who Support Us
The local and island business community needs us now, more than ever. Each week, we are highlighting local businesses that have provided support for conservation efforts at the Refuge through the years. They have invested in the community and the Refuge, and we hope the community will do what they can to help them.
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Tino's Southwest Kitchen
: Serving lunch, dinner, and takeout Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday 4 to 8 p.m. throughout the summer, Tino's has built a faithful following of islanders and other lovers of its flavorful, stylized Southwestern cuisine. Call 239-313-5521 for takeout or visit the restaurant in the Publix shopping center at 15880 Summerlin Road in Fort Myers.
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Heidrick & Co.: Take care of all your insurance needs - residential, commercial, and supplemental health insurance - at the firm islanders depend upon. The locally owned insurance agency located at 1648 Periwinkle Way on Sanibel Island specializes in the specific insurance needs of coastal Sanibel and Captiva islands and Southwest Florida. Call 239-579-0660.
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RE/MAX of the Islands: When you're in the market to buy or sell real estate locally, the team at RE/MAX can expertly guide you. Besides sales listings for family homes, condos, lots, and commercial properties, it can also take care of your rental needs. With offices on Sanibel at 2400 Palm Ridge Road, RE/MAX is a family-owned, full-service real estate brokerage firm. Call 239-472-2311.
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Blast from the Past
As we approach the official
75th Refuge Anniversary
on December 1, 2020, we take a look back,
through historic photographs,
at the past three-quarters of a century that the Refuge has been in existence.
These pictures chronicle two important dates for one of the Refuge's hiking trails. The photo to the left was taken
in 1998 as the then-called Shell Mound Trail was being built through hardwood hammock habitat. In 2011, the "Ding" Darling Wildlife Society funded interpretive cultural exhibits and the Refuge renamed the boardwalk Calusa Shell Mound Trail, after the tribe who lived on and around Sanibel and built the ancient midden mound the trail leads to.
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Roseates Live from the Refuge
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service has been featuring tailor-made educational tool kits about wildlife, geared toward students during stay-at-home learning. Each weekly, half-hour
Facebook Live event
offers lesson plans and at-home activities for students. Join Conservation Connect Live at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursdays for real science with live interaction from FWS staff. On August 6, the lesson will focus on Roseate Spoonbills at the Refuge with Ranger Toni Westland on camera.
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| Photo by Rebecca Clemens |
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Here's the upcoming schedule:
July 23 - Condors
July 30 - Small mammals
August 6 - Roseate Spoonbills/"Ding" Darling NWR
August 13 - Humpback Chub
August 20 - Monarch tagging
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As many plan road trips this summer, it's a good time to review some tips for car travel that are easy on the environment.
·
Buy a fuel-efficient, low-emissions vehicle.
·
Drive slower and smarter.
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Keep up with regular maintenance.
·
Give renewable fuels a try.
·
Check your tires regularly.
· Use the right kind of oil.
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'America's Best-Kept Secret'
In each issue of "Ding" on the Wing, we showcase one of the more than 560 refuges across the U.S.A. that is open to the public.
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Images courtesy of
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service |
Location:
2,286 acres near Rock Hall, Maryland
Totemic Fauna:
Tundra Swan, Bald Eagle
Visitor's Tip:
Seven different trails lead to panoramic views of the refuge. Fishing is permitted from the
Tundra Swan Boardwalk.
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| Tundra Swans |
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Ensuring wildlife has a place to thrive in the future is as easy as naming "Ding" Darling in your will, or designating the Refuge as a beneficiary to your retirement plan, IRA, or other financial account.
Learn more about our 45/82 Society. |
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Click
HERE to see this week's wildlife sightings.
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| Photo credit: May Jernigan |
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Roseate Spoonbills in the mangroves make the most beautiful contrast. Did you know that there are six different species of spoonbills around the world? We are awfully lucky that our's is pink!
T
o see more wildlife photos click on our social media links:
If you have taken any beautiful, interesting, or just plain goofy photos at the Refuge, send them to Development Officer
Sierra Hoisington
, for a chance to be featured in upcoming newsletters.
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75th Anniversary Island "Spoonie" Island Scavenger Hunt Kick-off
- TBA
National Public Lands Day - September 26, 2020
75th Anniversary "Ding:" The Man, The Art, The Stories Exhibition Opening
- October TBA
75th Anniversary Proclamation at City Hall - November 3, 2020
Official 75th
Anniversary Celebration
- December 1, 2020
75th Anniversary Gala Celebration
- December 1, 2020 - Sponsorships needed!
Clyde Butcher Book Signing - December TBA
National Bird Day - January 5, 2021
Lecture Series - January 29-March 19, 2021
Bi-Weekly Film Series - January-April, 2021
Earth Day at the Refuge - April 22, 2021
Volunteer Training
- January 14, 2021
2021 Annual Fundraiser - February 10, 2021
Earth Day at the Refuge
-
March 22, 2021
Artist-in-Residence Exhibition
- October 2021
Niki Butcher Photographic Exhibition - November 2021
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These are just snapshots of some of the things taking place at your Wildlife Refuge. Please check our
website to learn more!
Sincerely,
"Ding" On The Wing composed by Chelle Koster Walton. Designed by April Boehnen & Sierra Hoisington.
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