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The Limpkin Times
Apalachee Audubon Society Mission Statement:
Protecting the rich biodiversity of the Florida Panhandle through education, appreciation, and conservation.
April 2023
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Wintertime view of the Apalachicola River from the Garden of Eden Trail. Photo by Kathleen Carr
In this Issue:
Introducing the FSU Spoonbill Society
Chapter Programs
- Thurs. April 20, Protecting Florida’s Mighty Apalachicola River, with Georgia Ackerman
Chapter Outings
- Sat. April 8, Bear Creek Educational Forest
- Sun. April 16, Guided Walk at Elinor-Klapp Phipps Park
Volunteer Event
- Sat., April 15, Litter removal at Lake Elberta Park
Events of Interest
- Thurs. April 6, Native Plant Society program with Peter Kleinhenz
- 2023 Florida Native Plant Society Annual Conference
- Tues. April 18, Sierra Club Program, Ecology of Lake Munson with Dr. Sean McGlynn
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Persistence. Osprey perched on its new nest location on the tower, rebuilding in another section after its previous nesting attempt was blown down on March 10. Photo by Kathleen Carr.
President's Message
Sunday, May 21 Potluck Picnic: Save the date for next month’s potluck picnic! We’ll start at 4:00 PM with socializing and birding, eat dinner at 5:30 and have a presentation at 6:15 by Tall Timbers staff, Fire in the Hills: How Butterflies Evolved with Fire in the Red Hills Region. Reduce waste! Bring a covered dish and your own dining utensils.
Osprey nest update: Our tower-nesting Osprey saga continues. On March 10 the two birds were video-recorded making good progress on their nest, and it looked like the female was beginning to brood. Then a storm blew through and two hours later the entire nest had fallen apart. Check out our web blog on this pair and get the latest updates.
Retaining the Audubon Name: Some of you may have heard that, during the past year, the National Audubon Society has been considering whether or not to keep “Audubon” in the organization name. In a March 16 press release, NAS stated:
The National Audubon Society was founded in 1905 and named after John James Audubon, fifty years after his death. Audubon was a naturalist and illustrator whose work was an important contribution to the field of ornithology in the mid-19th century. He was also an enslaver, whose racism and harmful attitudes toward Black and Indigenous people are now well-understood. NAS has committed to ensuring that it continues to promote an awareness and understanding of the problematic legacy of John James Audubon, the man, and the inequalities that have been inherent in the conservation movement.
After a thorough and inclusive process to examine the legacy of its namesake, over the next five years NAS will be allocating $25 million to a new fund that expands their work in Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. You can learn more at the following links:
Letter from the CEO
FAQ
Press release
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Sincerely,
Kathleen Carr
President, Apalachee Audubon
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Introducing the FSU Spoonbill Society
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By Traysea Auger
The Spoonbill Society is proud to be Florida State University’s first birding club on campus! The mission of this club is to encourage enthusiasm about birding and to foster curiosity about the natural world among young adults. The club seeks to do so by creating a nurturing environment of birders from all levels of experience to better enjoy nature together while strictly adhering to the ABA Code of Birding Ethics. We hope to branch out from strictly birding and coordinate events that benefit FSU and the Tallahassee area as a whole in promoting local pollinator populations and by decreasing the number of bird strikes that occur on campus.
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Riverkeeper Georgia Ackerman
Protecting Florida’s Mighty Apalachicola River, with Georgia Ackerman
Thursday, April 20, 2023
7:00 PM 9:00 PM
FSU King Life Science Building (see map below)
This program will be in person and live-streamed via Zoom. Registration is required for Zoom participants. Register early and you will receive a meeting reminder 24 hours before the meeting.
Zoom Registration Link: https://bit.ly/3Lm7U2S
With headwaters in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Apalachicola River is Florida’s largest river in volume of flow. Its floodplain is also Florida’s largest forested floodplain and the region is internationally recognized for its biodiversity. Join Georgia Ackerman, Riverkeeper and Executive Director of Apalachicola Riverkeeper, to learn more about the connected Apalachicola River and Bay system. Apalachicola Riverkeeper is celebrating a 25-year anniversary soon. You’ll also hear highlights and challenges of the organization’s work to protect and restore the Apalachicola River and Bay.
Learn more about our speaker, Georgia Ackerman
For information about our May Potluck Picnic, visit www.apalachee.org
Watch recordings of previous programs on our YouTube Channel.
|  | March 19 Wakulla Springs State Park field trip participants. Photo by Kathleen Carr . | |
Please use the sign up email link to register for each outing so we can keep you updated with any last minute changes. Be sure to include your mobile phone number in your email. Thank you!
Saturday, April 8, 2023, 8:30 - 11:00 AM
Birding Social at Bear Creek Educational Forest
Sign up for this trip
Sunday, April 16, 2023, 7 AM - 11 AM
Guided Walk at Elinor Klapp-Phipps Park with Michael Dayton. Limited to 10 participants.
Sign up for this trip
Save the Date:
May 13, 2023, Birding Social at Joe Budd WMA, Youth Conservation Center. Explore the bluebird nest box trail, where AAS interns and volunteers from the FAMU Outdoors Club installed 8 nest boxes in 2022 and continue to monitor in 2023. Open fields surrounded by wooded areas can make for interesting birding. Afterwards, we might bird along the roads at the WMA.
Sign up for this trip
| Let's keep Lake Elberta beautiful! Join us at Lake Elberta Park at 10:00 AM on Saturday, April 15 and help us pick up trash. We expect the event to last about two hours. Plan to park along FAMU way and enter the park via the Stearns St. entrance. | Thursday, April 6, 7:00 PM at the King Building auditorium, 319 Stadium Dr. Native Plant Society Magnolia Chapter program, conserving the Mysteries of the Aucilla River Watershed with Peter Kleinhenz. Peter is the Aucilla River Watershed Coalition Coordinator at Tall Timbers Land Conservancy. | |
Adaptations: Florida Native Plant Society
Calling all outdoor enthusiasts! Registration is open for the 2023 Florida Native Plant Society Annual Conference. The Conference will kick off virtually on the last weekend in April 2023, starting with a game night on Friday, April 28th, followed by a full program of speaker sessions Saturday, April 29th, and Sunday, April 30th. Register at https://www.fnps.org/conference/register.
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In-person Conference Field Days will follow around the state. The Field Days will include field trips and opportunities to socialize and network – and are being hosted by the Chapters in those areas. Field Day capacity is very limited, so check out your options and book one or more days around the state soon!
The Tallahassee Field Days Program includes two field trip options Saturday, May 13th and two options Sunday, May 14th. We'll have a program and social event Saturday afternoon. It will be a great chance to reconnect with old friends and make new ones!
Register at https://www.fnps.org/conference/tallahassee-field-days
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Lake Munson, photo by Nick Evans
Tuesday, April 18, 7 pm, Waterworks (map): Sierra Club Program: Ecology of Lake Munson with Dr. Sean McGlynn
Social begins at 6:30 PM. Arrive early and order a beverage or scrumptious sandwich.
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Land Acknowledgement Statement
Apalachee Audubon acknowledges that the region it serves is located on the ancestral and traditional homelands of the Apalachee Indians of the Talimali Band, the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, the Seminole Tribe of Florida and the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma. We pay respect to the resiliency of their tribal members, past and present, and to all Indigenous peoples. We encourage all to learn about the significance of Indigenous peoples in this region and throughout this continent.
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BOARD OF DIRECTORS: 2022-2023
Officers:
President: Kathleen Carr
Vice President: VACANT
Treasurer: Harvey Goldman
Secretary: James Carr
Directors:
Cindy Baisden
Charlie Baisden
Caleb Crow
Howard Kessler
Peter Kleinhenz
Heather Levy
Rob Williams
STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS
Conservation Peter Kleinhenz
Education Bryan Danford
Field Trips Heather Levy
Membership VACANT
Program VACANT
Publications and Publicity Kathleen Carr
+ Newsletter Chris Grossman
+ Web Team Elizabeth Georges, Kathleen Carr
+ Annual Report (President)
OTHER COMMITTEES & CHAPTER ACTIVITIES
Bookkeeper Adrienne Ruhl
Birdathon Harvey Goldman
History Caleb Crow, Karen Wensing
September Coastal Cleanup Donna Legare
Wildlife-Friendly Yards Tour Tammy Brown
Lake Elberta Park Kristin Cohea
Volunteer Coordinator Rebecca Wall
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