End-of-Season Picnic: Lake Townsen Regional Park

5:00PM – 8:00PM

Lake Townsen Regional Park is at 28011 Lake Lindsey Road (County Road 476), east of U.S. 41.

A bird walk is at 5 p.m., and dinner at 6 p.m. Participants are asked to bring their own place settings and a side dish to share. 

Make reservations here: https://www.mobilize.us/audubon-chapters/event/698947/

For more information, contact Vera: billandverahuckaby@gmail.com or 352-848-5776.

Managing Florida’s Wild Places: Creating Habitat for Northern Bobwhite (Quail), with Speaker Steve Brinkley

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

Make reservation here

About the presentation: Steve Brinkley is a long-time biologist and land manager for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. He will be talking about the successful management of public lands for species like the Northern Bobwhite (Quail), including the use of prescribed burns. What does it take to manage our public lands to ensure the survival of both common and threatened species? What does the population health of Northern Bobwhite and their unique needs tell us about public lands in our region?

About the speaker:

• Born and raised in Columbia, TN (mule capital of the world) 

• Began birding and bird banding at the age of 10 with a family friend who banded birds on his properties in Tennessee and North Carolina

• BS and MS degrees in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville 

• Seven years studying Northern Bobwhite at Babcock-Webb Wildlife Management Area (WMA) with Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) 

• Twelve years as a Wildlife Biologist/Land Manager in the WMA system 

• Currently a District Biologist with FWC in the Wildlife and Habitat Management Section overseeing FWC lead areas: Chassahowitzka WMA, Hilochee WMA, Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental area (WEA), Janet Butterfield Brooks WEA, Perry Oldenburg WEA, and Little Gator Creek WEA, and FWC co-op areas: Croom, Weekiwachee WMA, Green Swamp, Green Swamp West Unit, Upper Hillsborough, and Lower Hillsborough WMAs

• Enjoys spending time with his wife and son, nature, hiking, birding, campfires, music, beer, building stuff, hanging out with friends and family, and following University of Tennessee sports

Florida Scrub-Jay Habitat Restoration - If You Build It, They Will Come 

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

Make reservation here

About the presentation: The Florida Scrub-Jay is Florida's only endemic bird. This fascinating bird is imperiled, but restoring essential habitat can bring this bird back. Join us for an evening of education and discussion about the public lands conservation work it takes to recover this species, and what you can do to be a part of it.

From Local to Global: Coastal Restoration and Resilience, with speaker Dr. Rene W. Brown

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

About the presentation: Dr. Rene W. Brown will discuss Ecosphere Restoration Institute's coastal habitat restoration and resiliency projects. Rene will explain the benefits of living shorelines and how Ecosphere's living shorelines projects held up through Hurricanes Helene and Milton. Rene will also discuss her role as a member of the Expert Review Group of the United Nation's Race to Resilience and how local projects contribute to global goals of addressing climate change.  

About the speaker: Dr. Rene W. Brown is the Senior Director of Habitat Restoration of Ecosphere Restoration Institute. She is Chair of the Florida Wildlife Federation and Vice President of the Tampa Bay Conservancy. She is also an appointed member of the Expert Review Group of the UN Race to Resilience and a Civil Society Observer of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change. 

Red-headed Woodpeckers and 5 Years with 9 Nest Cameras, with Speaker Siah St. Clair 

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

Make reservation here

About the presentation: Over the past five years, nine nest cameras were installed on more than 25 Red-headed Woodpecker nest and roost cavities at Cedar Creek Ecosystem Science Reserve near Minneapolis, Minnesota. The cameras record 24 hours a day all year. The result is half a million amazing videos and pictures of behaviors, many never before documented. These images show intimate nesting behavior and night life, nestlings, fledglings, predators, usurpers, competition for cavities, and dozens of other vertebrates that interact with these cavities. This program will show pictures and videos and discuss observations about these images. 

About the speaker: Siah St. Clair has a Master's degree in Environmental Interpretation from Michigan State University and was a nature center director for 42 years. He served on the board of directors of the Audubon Chapter of Minneapolis for nine years as the field trip chair and secretary. He also has been the compiler and coordinator for the North Minneapolis Christmas Bird Count for over 25 years. He is the Chair of the Red-headed Woodpecker Recovery Project, a private non-profit organization, and is a member of a University of Minnesota research team that is conducting research on Red-headed Woodpeckers. He is a nature photographer and did the photography for A Field Guide to the Natural World of the Twin Cities, a popular book in Minneapolis, published in 2018 by the University of Minnesota Press.  

Pot Luck Dinner and Members' Favorite Photos

Dinner starts at: 6 p.m.

Program starts: 7:00 p.m.

Make reservations here

There will be a pot luck dinner. Bring your own place setting plus a side dish to share.

During a PowerPoint presentation, members will show off their favorite pictures that they have taken during the last year.

To have your pictures included in the program, please send 15 pictures or fewer to Bev:

bevalhansen@gmail.com or 352-686-0460

What’s Happening to Our Breeding Birds, with Speaker Dave Goodwin

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

Make reservation here

About the presentation: We will discuss what has happened to the populations of breeding birds in Florida over the past thirty years. We will look at changes in both the range and estimated population size.

About the speaker: Dave was born in Greenville, South Carolina, but in 1954 his family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1965, while still in high school, he began keeping a life list of birds he had seen.

Dave is a founding member and two-term past president of the Florida Ornithological Society (FOS). He was Regional Coordinator for both Florida Breeding Bird Atlas Projects. He was on the FOS Records Committee for seven years. He also served for four years as president of the St. Petersburg Audubon Society. Dave has participated in over 320 Christmas Bird Counts in Florida since 1971. He started and compiled the North Pinellas Count for 10 years. He has participated in the St. Petersburg Christmas Bird Count for 53 consecutive years.

Over the past 50 years he has led hundreds of field trips for Audubon chapters, the Florida Ornithological Society, the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, the Florida Birding and Nature Festival, the Big "O" Birding Festival, and the Wings and Wildflower Festival. He also led many trips for Florida Nature Tours. He participated in or led over 130 pelagic trips into Florida waters, including 30 years to Dry Tortugas. Dave has birded throughout the US, the Caribbean, and Europe, and has a Lower 48 ABA area life list of 720 species. The 492 species on his Florida life list ranks him at number 3. 

Dave is a retired teacher, having taught history for 39 years in the public school system in Pinellas County, Florida. He also is an environmental educator for the Summer Nature Camp program at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.

Supporting Public Lands and Citizen Science at Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area, with Speaker Hana Brinkley

Please note that the meeting is one week earlier than usual, on the third Thursday of the month.

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

Make reservations here

About the presentation: Hana Brinkley is the director of Chinsegut Conservation Center, administered by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). She will speak about all the ways to connect with nature at Chinsegut Wildlife and Environmental Area. Hana will also be discussing volunteer and citizen science opportunities with FWC, and the results of a recent Herpetological Survey. From Red-headed Woodpeckers to Gopher Tortoises, Chinsegut is an amazing place showcasing the value of our public lands.

About the speaker: For the last three years, Hana Brinkley has been the center director at Chinsegut Conservation Center in Brooksville, Florida. There she leads a small team of education specialists and volunteers on a mission to educate people about wildlife, enable them to enjoy wildlife, and empower them to take action to benefit wildlife. 

End-of-Season Picnic: Lake Townsen Regional Park

5:00PM – 8:00PM

Lake Townsen Regional Park

Lake Townsen Regional Park is at 28011 Lake Lindsey Road (County Road 476), east of U.S. 41.

A bird walk is at 5 p.m., and dinner at 6 p.m. Participants are asked to bring their own place settings and a side dish to share. 

For more information, contact Vera: billandverahuckaby@gmail.com or 352-848-5776.

Conservation Biology of the Imperiled Southeastern American Kestrel in Florida, with Speaker Ken Meyer

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

About the presentation: Hear about the research and outreach efforts of Avian Research and Conservation Institute (ARCI) and their Audubon partners to inform the management and conservation of our declining population of this small-but-spectacular raptor. Learn how we all can contribute to protecting these inspiring birds while also helping to ensure the future for other fascinating species that depend on similar prey and habitats. 

About the speaker:  Ken Meyer is Executive Director of Avian Research and Conservation Institute. Dr. Meyer, who received his B.S. in Zoology from the University of Maine and his Ph.D. in Zoology/Behavioral Ecology from the University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill), has studied the conservation biology of birds in Florida and beyond since the 1980s, beginning with his research on Swallow-tailed Kites, which continues to this day. After serving as a Post-doctoral Associate and then Research Associate at the University of Florida from 1988 to 1992, he conducted studies of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers and the bird communities of south Florida pinelands for the National Park Service in Big Cypress National Preserve and Everglades National Park. In 1997, Ken co-founded ARCI and soon branched out to other research challenges on a broader range of species. He has served on species status-review committees for state agencies and biological review panels for National Wildlife Refuges; and as a graduate student advisor and committee member in his position as an adjunct Associate Professor in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation at the University of Florida. Ken, who received a Partners in Flight Research Award for his contributions to bird conservation, provides frequent university guest lectures, conducts training workshops for conservation professionals, and presents many programs each year to citizen conservation groups on ARCI’s research and its implications for bird conservation. He feels very fortunate that, in his many roles for ARCI, he seems to have found the best of many professional worlds.

Birds Do It, Bees Do It – Migrate, of Course, with Speaker Mary Keith

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

About the presentation: Mary will discuss why, where, and when birds migrate. She will also explain how we are finding out so much more about migration, and how birds know where they are going.

About the speaker: Mary Keith has been birding most of her life. She grew up in rural Pennsylvania where she spent most weekends in the state parks and woods. She has lived and birded in Florida since 1992. Her degrees have nothing to do with birds (Chemistry and Food Science), but they have supported a life of work around the world where she managed to watch birds as well. She retired from the University of Florida Extension Service and now has more time to lead bird walks for the Tampa Audubon Society (TAS), watch birds, monitor Bald Eagle nests and wading bird colonies, count Florida Scrub Jays, help organize the Florida Birding and Nature Festival, and participate in Christmas Bird Counts. She gives talks to various groups around the area about birds and birding, including helping with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute program that TAS teaches annually. She has served as a mentor for Audubon Florida’s Conservation Leadership Initiative, and worked with several local university students or projects. She was president of TAS and currently is serving as the organization’s chair of the Conservation Committee. In 2023 she was elected to the Board of Directors for Audubon Florida as a regional representative for the Gulf Coast region.

What’s Happening to Our Breeding Birds, with Speaker Dave Goodwin

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

About the presentation: We will discuss what has happened to the populations of breeding birds in Florida over the past thirty years. We will look at changes in both the range and estimated population size.

About the speaker: Dave was born in Greenville, South Carolina, but in 1954 his family moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. In 1965, while still in high school, he began keeping a life list of birds he had seen.

Dave is a founding member and two-term past president of the Florida Ornithological Society (FOS). He was Regional Coordinator for both Florida Breeding Bird Atlas Projects. He was on the FOS Records Committee for seven years. He also served for four years as president of the St. Petersburg Audubon Society. Dave has participated in over 320 Christmas Bird Counts in Florida since 1971. He started and compiled the North Pinellas Count for 10 years. He has participated in the St. Petersburg Christmas Bird Count for 53 consecutive years.

Over the past 50 years he has led hundreds of field trips for Audubon chapters, the Florida Ornithological Society, the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival, the Florida Birding and Nature Festival, the Big "O" Birding Festival, and the Wings and Wildflower Festival. He also led many trips for Florida Nature Tours. He participated in or led over 130 pelagic trips into Florida waters, including 30 years to Dry Tortugas. Dave has birded throughout the US, the Caribbean, and Europe, and has a Lower 48 ABA area life list of 720 species. The 492 species on his Florida life list ranks him at number 3. 

Dave is a retired teacher, having taught history for 39 years in the public school system in Pinellas County, Florida. He also is an environmental educator for the Summer Nature Camp program at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve in St. Petersburg.

Pot Luck Dinner and Members' Favorite Photos

Dinner starts at: 6 p.m.

Program starts: 7:00 p.m.

There will be a pot luck dinner. Bring your own place setting plus a side dish to share.

During a PowerPoint presentation, members will show off their favorite pictures that they have taken during the last year.

To have your pictures included in the program, please send 15 pictures or fewer to Bev:

bevalhansen@gmail.com or 352-686-0460

Swallowtails to Skippers: the Butterflies of Hernando County, with Speaker Don Fraser

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

About the presentation: The presentation will discuss most of the butterfly species known to still occur in Hernando County, grouped by each of the five families of butterflies found here. It will point out characteristics to differentiate among similar-looking species, and provide life history information on the habitat preferences and general distribution of some of the butterflies found in central Florida, including several very rare ones. Recommendations on resource material for when and where to find butterflies will be provided, as well as tips on how to observe, photograph, and identify them, including field guides and available on-line data sources.

About the speaker: Don Fraser is a retired wildlife biologist who lives in Dunedin. Until he moved to Florida in 2013, he lived and worked in Ontario, Canada, where he first developed what became a life-long love of natural history -- particularly birds -- in his teens. What began as a weekend hobby soon morphed into a full-scale obsession and eventually developed into a vocation, as Don parlayed his passion for wildlife into a long career in environmental consulting. His recent move to Florida has allowed Don to once again return to the hobby side of birding and butterfly study. He is an avid wildlife photographer and has shared over 10,000 observations of fauna on iNaturalist. He has observed over 130 species of butterflies in Florida; over 50% of these have been documented in Pasco and Hernando counties. 

Living with Wildlife, with Speaker Heather LeBlanc

Socializing: 6:45 p.m.

Meeting starts: 7 p.m.

Program starts: 7:15 p.m.

About the presentation: Join Heather from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Assistance Program for a talk about Living with Wildlife. From bears and coyotes to snakes and raccoons, she will discuss different species of local wildlife, ways to find sustainable resolutions to conflict, and strategies to coexist with native wildlife. 

About the speaker: Heather LeBlanc received her B.S. in Wildlife Ecology and Conservation from the University of Florida in 2017. She then completed her M.S. in Veterinary Medical Sciences with a concentration in wildlife science, also from UF in 2019. She started her career as a zoo educator and has worked throughout the years in zookeeping, wildlife research, and wildlife rehabilitation. She currently works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Wildlife Assistance Program educating Florida residents who are experiencing conflict with local wildlife on how to live successfully with our native species.