The Limpkin Times

Apalachee Audubon Society Mission Statement:

Protecting the rich biodiversity of the Florida Panhandle through education, appreciation, and conservation.

February 2024

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Two Longleaf Pine trees on Annie Schmidt’s property. Longleaf on the left is 80 plus years old, the one on the right is over 200 years old!

 In this Issue:

Chapter Programs at FSU's King Life Sciences Building Auditorium

• Thursday, Feb. 15; A Labor of Love and Collaboration, with four remarkable women presenting
• Upcoming Programs

AAS T-shirts for Sale!

Feb. 17: Wildlife-friendly Yard Tour - TICKETS GO ON SALE SAT., FEB. 3

Chapter Outings

• Feb. 17, Tall Timbers tour with Jim Cox
• March 17, St. George Island State Park Youth Camp, with Dori Eldridge and Sheila Klink

Apply for the Ben Fusaro Conservation Grant

And then, there was One (Tundra Swan)

Lake Elberta Park

• February Bird of the Month
• Sat. Feb. 3, Trash Cleanup

Come on out to the Red Hills Fire Festival this Saturday and stop by our table and say hello. If you want to see fire, there will be a prescribed burn at 2:30 PM!

President's Message

Thank you Bella! A big shout out to volunteer Isabella (Bella) Stachewicz (left) who has been serving as our Welcome Wagon Ambassador.

Since December 2022, she has been sending welcome letters via USPS to new chapter members. In late fall 2022, she reached out to AAS in an email saying, "I am reaching out with great interest in volunteering for the Apalachee Audubon Society. I am very passionate about our local environment and conserving its beauty and biodiversity, and am looking to help in any way I can."

And that she has done, hand-addressing envelopes (for a personal touch) and sent out welcome letters every month.

She recently graduated from Florida State University with a BS in Biological Sciences and this month she will begin a career as a Biology Science Technician for the State of Tennessee. Congratulations on your new job, Bella, and thank you so much for all that you've done for AAS!

Volunteer Request for a new Welcome Wagon Ambassador: With Bella moving on to her new job, we need someone to take on the Welcome Wagon job. This is a task that can be done at home, and AAS supplies all the materials. If you can spare an hour or so a month to address and mail out welcome letters, please send an email to ApalacheeAudubon@gmail.com. 

Hope to see you at this month's program!

Kathleen Carr

Chapter Programs

Jean Huffman, Helen Roth, Susan Carr, and Annie Schmidt

A Labor of Love and Collaboration

Social with coffee and snacks at 6:30 p.m.

Announcements at 7:00 p.m.

Program begins at 7:15 p.m.

Four remarkable women are working together to restore and protect 700 acres of privately owned sandhills and steephead ravines in Gadsden County Florida. Join us for this program and hear Jean Huffman, Helen Roth, Susan Carr, and Annie Schmidt talk about the work they have been doing.

This program will meet in person and via Zoom.

Click for more information about this program and Zoom registration.

Register early and you will receive a meeting reminder before the meeting.

FSU's King Life Science Building

319 Stadium Drive, Tallahassee 32304

NOTE: Please park in the Spirit Way parking garage on the second floor and above.

Upcoming 2024 Programs-Save the Date!

For details, visit www.apalachee.org.

March 21 - Julie Wraithmell, Influencing Conservation Policy 

April 18 - Dr. Christopher Werner,

The Underwater Caves of the Woodville Karst Plain

Sunday, May 19 - Annual Meeting & Potluck Picnic

AAS T-Shirts for Sale!

T-shirts for sale: We are excited to announce that we have new AAS t-shirts and will have them available for sale at the February program meeting. They come in two colors, are $25 each and we have sizes small through extra large. Help promote and support Apalachee Audubon with this fun-raiser!

At this time we are accepting only cash or check payments. To reserve a shirt to purchase at the meeting, please email Juli deGrummond.

2024 Wildlife-friendly Yard Tour

2022 Wildlife-friendly Yard Tour, Dana Bryan's House

Join us on Saturday, February 17 for our 16th annual fundraiser! Still only $10, tickets will go on sale at Native Nurseries and Wild Birds Unlimited Saturday, February 3. Visit the event webpage for location and contact information for both stores. When you buy a ticket, you'll receive a sheet with the yard locations. 

This year's tour will feature four yards, each of which has unique features to attract a variety of birds and other wildlife such as wintering hummingbirds, orioles, tanagers, goldfinches, and kinglets as well as our year-round residents. This year, we have a wide variety of sizes and features from our yard hosts, plus some new ideas for inspiration for your own wildlife-friendly yard.

Apply for the Ben Fusaro Conservation Grant

Limpkin with Apple Snail, Audubon Photography Awards, by Robert Blanchard

AAS is now accepting applications for the Ben Fusaro Conservation Grant.

Have an idea for a project that can help birds or educate people about birds? Or do you know a school, church, or club that might? It might involve planting trees, putting up nest boxes, establishing a pollinator garden, creating materials to educate people about birds, or doing a bird-related study.

Apply for a Ben Fusaro Conservation grant and you could get $500 to fund your project! Visit our grant webpage for application information and to see what previous grant awardees have done. The application deadline is March 15, 2024.

And Then There was One (Tundra Swan)

Wikipedia. Tundra Swan at Pine Grove Waterfowl Park, Virginia. By Dick Daniels

Read Juli deGrummond's heartfelt account of this event and how she believes we can still work to make the world a better, safer place for people and wildlife. 

As many of you may have heard through reporting by the Tallahassee Democrat and WCTV News, a celebrated visit at Lake Jackson by a pair of Tundra Swans, rarely seen in Florida, turned to tragedy when a hunter illegally shot, then captured and killed one of the swans.

The birds were first reported on eBird Friday, January 26 by FSU student Lucas Pittman (also our chapter's CLI student), who discovered them while birding by kayak on Lake Jackson. He notified board member Juli deGrummond and by Saturday morning a number of birders were on site at daybreak to see the birds. Sadly, they also witnessed the horrific assault on the swans. Juli called FWC– as did two hunters– who arrived at the scene. They confronted the hunter and issued him two misdemeanor citations –violating the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, for the taking of a Tundra Swan, and violating the Migratory Bird Stamp Act, hunting migratory birds with an invalid migratory bird stamp.

As a tribute to the killed swan and its bereft partner, and to support conservation, you can buy this year's Duck Stamp. Ironically, this year's stamp features a trio of Tundra Swans in flight. Read about this stamp's artist Joseph Hautman. You can purchase one at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge or You can purchase one for $25 at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center or purchase a souvenir sheet with the stamp for $25 through the USPS online store.

Anyone can contribute to wildlife habitat conservation by purchasing a Federal Duck Stamp. Since quality wetland habitats provide habitat for a myriad of species – including threatened and endangered plants and animals – as well as provide clean water, aid in flood control, and reduce the effects of soil erosion and sedimentation a current Federal Duck Stamp purchase allows you to be an active conservationist.

Chapter Outings

Jim Cox leading a wagon tour.

Tall Timbers with Jim Cox

Saturday, February 17, limited to 20 participants.

Visit the webpage to register.



St. George Island State Park Youth Camp with Dori Eldridge and Sheila Klink

Sunday, March 17, 8:30 - 10:30 AM, limited to 15 participants.

$6 per vehicle state park admission fee, or annual park pass.

Carpooling is encouraged.

Visit the webpage to register.

Lake Elberta Park

February Bird of the Month

Click to learn about this winter visitor often seen foraging around the lake in February!

February Trash Clean-Up:

Sat. February 3, starting at 9:00 a.m.

Join us in keeping this beautiful ecosystem healthy!

• Additional parking is available on FAMU Way, close to Stearns St. There's also a 20-spot parking lot off of the roundabout at FAMU Way and Robert and Trudie Perkins Way (just west of Stearns St.). It’s about a 3-minute walk from the parking lot to the Stearns St. entrance of the park.
• Kayakers and canoeists are welcome and needed!
• Gloves, trash bags, and other supplies provided
• Water is provided, but please bring your reusable water bottle

November 2023 Cleanup Crew

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.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: 2023-2024

Officers

President: Kathleen Carr

Vice President: VACANT

Treasurer: Harvey Goldman

Secretary: James Carr

Directors

Cindy Baisden

Charlie Baisden

Kristin Cohea

Juli deGrummond

Kristan Godbeer

Ben Rangel

Rebecca Wall

Student Directors

Traysea Auger

Christian Watson-Kerr

STANDING COMMITTEE CHAIRS

OTHER COMMITTEES & CHAPTER ACTIVITIES