NEWS

The Suncoast Grapevine Newsletter of the Suncoast Native Plant Society, Inc.

EDITORIAL Our position: Robbing the Florida Forever land program makes no sense April 12, 2008 So much for the public's overwhelming support of critically important environmental conservation programs. House Republicans this year signaled they're not interested, intending instead to substitute goose eggs for the $300 million and $200 million the Legislature is supposed to provide Florida Forever and the Everglades restoration, respectively. That's not because they don't believe in those programs as much as the next guy, they say. It's just that they've got to -- got to, mind you -- use it to help shore up the state's $3 billion budget shortage. Nevermind that their Republican counterparts in the Senate, who likewise dominate their chamber and acknowledge the need to repair the budget, say they're committed to bankrolling all of the $300 million for land purchases and $100 million for the Everglades project. They know, as does anyone following the history of public-land purchases in the state, that the program driving those buys has taken repeated beatings apart from the one hammering it this budget year. Yes, Florida Forever and its predecessor, Preservation 2000, for 18 years annually have provided $300 million for prized environmental lands that otherwise might be developed. But the $300 million Florida authorized in 1990 for those yearly purchases will buy you less than a third today of what it would have then. Another beating this year -- a pummeling that would rob it of all $300 million -- would devastate the cause of safeguarding thousands of irreplaceable acres. Acres like those in Osceola's Adams Ranch, critical to the restoration of the Kissimmee River. Like those in the Lake Wales Ridge Ecosystem in Lake, Osceola and Polk counties, the last remaining private parcels of rich scrubland. And like those in the Wekiva-Ocala Greenway, desperately needed to complete a wildlife corridor running from Wekiva State Park to Ocala National Forest. Those and thousands more acres are contracted for or poised for purchase by Florida Forever. Without the $300 million this year, the commitments to acquire them could collapse. And the land could fall to developers. Prospects for the Everglades are no better. Efforts to restore The River of Grass sorely are behind schedule. While the state has delivered its restoration obligations more than Congress, floating nothing this year for its repair would send an awful message to Washington about the urgency of resuscitating it. House leaders in Tallahassee appear unswayed. They need convincing. Senate leaders must keep up the fight. And Gov. Charlie Crist needs to enter it. Last year, the governor championed Florida Forever. This year, he's playing the bystander. Copyright © 2008, Orlando Sentinel

Preserve Florida Forever Palm Beach Post Editorial Friday, April 11, 2008 Florida Forever, the state's 2-decades-old land-buying program, faces a tough time getting money. This year's tight budget, however, does not justify a bad compromise Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson is touring the state, pushing his plan to snag 5 ''percent of Florida Forever money to buy easements on "working lands." Those could include farmlands, or, with amendments to Senate Bill 542 and House Bill ENRC 08-09, marinas on state lands. It's a bad idea, and both bills have big problems. Mr. Bronson is negotiating for slices of a still-undetermined pie. The Senate has $300 million for Florida Forever in its budget; the House has nothing. Though budget deal-making has begun, Florida Forever shouldn't be a part of it. The state's premier land-buying program, which began as Preservation 2000 under Gov. Bob Martinez, always has been about buying property for conservation. Already-approved legislation unrelated to Florida Forever provides a way to buy agricultural easements, to assist farmers and prevent development of rural lands. But no money ever has been appropriated. Commissioner Bronson wants some. He hopes to get Florida Forever money that ordinarily is set aside for the state's five water management districts. In South Florida, that money could go toward Everglades restoration. Yet a coalition of environmental groups that last month came out against changing the formula for distributing Florida Forever money to water districts and the Department of Environmental Protection now seems to be wavering. The groups are having trouble keeping up with the rapidly changing - there's a hearing today in the House - legislation. In addition to shifting money to agriculture, it could open more waterfront access to boaters on conservation lands, affecting manatees and other wildlife. Preserving farmlands by buying permanent conservation easements from farmers would make sense if details were clearly spelled out and there were no loopholes. That is not the case with these bills. But taking money from Florida Forever, which in the past 19 years has saved 2 million acres - including parks and beaches in Palm Beach, Martin and St. Lucie counties - from development is not a good plan. Commissioner Bronson is trying to save Florida Forever by changing it. His trade-off would not be worth the bad precedent it would set. For more information, click here.

Published on Monday, March 31, 2008 by the International Herald Tribune Did Your Shopping List Kill a Songbird? by Bridget Stutchbury Though a consumer may not be able to tell the difference, a striking red and blue Thomas the Tank Engine made in Wisconsin is not the same as one manufactured in China - the paint on the Chinese twin may contain dangerous levels of lead. In the same way, a plump red tomato from Florida is often not the same as one grown in Mexico. The imported fruits and vegetables found in our shopping carts in winter and early spring are grown with types and amounts of pesticides that would often be illegal in the United States. In this case, the victims are North American songbirds. Bobolinks, called skunk blackbirds in some places, were once a common sight in the Eastern United States. In mating season, the male in his handsome tuxedo-like suit sings deliriously as he whirrs madly over the hayfields. Bobolink numbers have plummeted almost 50 percent in the last four decades, according to the North American Breeding Bird Survey. The birds are being poisoned on their wintering grounds by highly toxic pesticides. Rosalind Renfrew, a biologist at the Vermont Center for Ecostudies, captured bobolinks feeding in rice fields in Bolivia and took samples of their blood to test for pesticide exposure. She found that about half of the birds had drastically reduced levels of cholinesterase, an enzyme that affects brain and nerve cells - a sign of exposure to toxic chemicals. Since the 1980s, pesticide use has increased fivefold in Latin America as countries have expanded their production of nontraditional crops to fuel the demand for fresh produce during winter in North America and Europe. Rice farmers in the region use monocrotophos, methamidophos and carbofuran, all agricultural chemicals that are rated Class I toxins by the World Health Organization, are highly toxic to birds, and are either restricted or banned in the United States. In countries like Guatemala, Honduras and Ecuador, researchers have found that farmers spray their crops heavily and repeatedly with a chemical cocktail of dangerous pesticides. In the mid-1990s, American biologists used satellite tracking to follow Swainson's hawks to their wintering grounds in Argentina, where thousands of them were found dead from monocrotophos poisoning. Migratory songbirds like bobolinks, barn swallows and Eastern kingbirds are suffering mysterious population declines, and pesticides may well be to blame. A single application of a highly toxic pesticide to a field can kill seven to 25 songbirds per acre. About half the birds that researchers capture after such spraying are found to suffer from severely depressed neurological function. Migratory birds, modern-day canaries in the coal mine, reveal an environmental problem hidden to consumers. Testing by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration shows that fruits and vegetables imported from Latin America are three times as likely to violate Environmental Protection Agency standards for pesticide residues as the same foods grown in the United States. Some but not all pesticide residues can be removed by washing or peeling produce, but tests by the Centers for Disease Control show that most Americans carry traces of pesticides in their blood. American consumers can discourage this poisoning by avoiding foods that are bad for the environment, bad for farmers in Latin America and, in the worst cases, bad for their own families. What should you put on your bird-friendly grocery list? Organic coffee, for one thing. Most mass-produced coffee is grown in open fields heavily treated with fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides. In contrast, traditional small coffee farmers grow their beans under a canopy of tropical trees, which provide shade and essential nitrogen, and fertilize their soil naturally with leaf litter. Their organic, fair-trade coffee is now available in many coffee shops and supermarkets, and it is recommended by the Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center. Organic bananas should also be on your list. Bananas are typically grown with one of the highest pesticide loads of any tropical crop. Although bananas present little risk of pesticide ingestion to the consumer, the environment where they are grown is heavily contaminated. When it comes to nontraditional Latin American crops like melons, green beans, tomatoes, bell peppers and strawberries, it can be difficult to find any that are organically grown. We should buy these foods only if they are not imported from Latin America. Now that spring is here, we take it for granted that the birds' cheerful songs will fill the air when our apple trees blossom. But each year, as we continue to demand out-of-season fruits and vegetables, we ensure that fewer and fewer songbirds will return. Bridget Stutchbury, a professor of biology at York University in Toronto, is the author of "Silence of the Songbirds."

ACTION ALERT! Please ask our County Commissioners to support our county's Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program (ELAPP) - our nature preserve program. Tell them to call off Pat Bean's attack of this program, and let the citizens decide whether or not to continue ELAPP. E-mail your County Commissioners: Jim Norman normanj@hillsboroughcounty.org Brian Blair blairb@hillsboroughcounty.org Mark Sharpe sharpem@hillsboroughcounty.org Rose Ferlita ferlitar@hillsboroughcounty.org Al Higginbotham higginbothama@hillsboroughcounty.org Kevin White whitek@hillsboroughcounty.org Ken Hagan hagank@hillsboroughcounty.org Or call them: 272-5660 Or mail a hard-copy letter to each (this has a lot of impact): P.O. Box 1110, Tampa, FL 33601 Sample letter + reference material below: Dear Commissioner, ELAPP is set to expire in 2011 unless we vote to extend the program again. Citizens have begun raising money to poll county residents to see if they want to put the issue on the ballot this year, or whether they'd rather consider other options (like waiting until the 2010 election). But even though we have not asked the county to fund the poll, the county administrator, Pat Bean, has already come out against it in The Tampa Tribune (March 31)*. The county administrator's role is not to set policy, but to carry out policy that has been publicly set by our elected officials. As you know, our county's strategic plan supports ELAPP. Please direct Pat Bean to refrain from expressing any position on behalf of the county, other than the board's public position. Several of Pat Bean's remarks about ELAPP were incorrect. The Tampa Bay Conservancy has put together a fact sheet which responds to the points she raised, and refutes them. Wildlife Fellowship, Inc., has compiled facts & figures concerning the economic value of ELAPP. Please see both papers (links below my signature)*. Without ELAPP we would lose the state funding which has matched ELAPP so far to the tune of $75 million. Although we are all facing tight budgets at the moment, it is important to take the long view as we consider whether to renew this program into the decades ahead. Today's economy provides excellent opportunities to acquire environmentally valuable land at bargain prices, and there is still a lot of ecologically significant land in this county that we need to protect while we still can - for the sake of our natural resources, our water quality, our quality of life, and for future generations. Before you take a position against ELAPP, please allow the citizens to conduct a privately-funded poll, and please listen to the public with an open mind. I hope you will all support ELAPP, today and into the future, and I thank commissioners Ferlita & Sharpe for their assurances of support. Sincerely,

ACTION ALERT! Tampa Audubon Society supports continuation of the Environmental Lands Acquisition and Protection Program for Hillsborough County. Please send the following to your county commissioners: Dear Commissioners, I am writing to you on as a citizen of Hillsborough County and a member of the Audubon Society. You may wonder why hundreds of birders, hikers, paddlers, and outdoor enthusiasts from two counties away would be writing to you about ELAPP. Many of our members regularly travel to Hillsborough County 's public lands available to them via ELAPP. We spend money in local businesses, with local outfitters, purchase gas, and spread the word to others in the region about the recreational opportunities in Hillsborough County available via ELAPP. Ecotourism, wildlife viewing, and outdoor recreation create economic activity. We explore and enjoy ELAPP lands. The money taxpayers invest in ELAPP benefits the county in numerous ways. This year the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released a report which documents the economic value of tourism and resident wildlife viewing and outdoor recreation (please visit http://myfwc.com/whatsnew/08/statewide/News_08_X_WLV.htm). This report states that: In 2006, 3.3 million Floridians viewed wildlife at or near their homes, and 1.6 million Floridians and tourists traveled around Florida for the sole purpose of wildlife viewing. These viewers generated more than $3 billion in total economic impact throughout Florida. Retail sales account for approximately $1.8 billion of this total. While other areas of the economy may be experiencing a downswing, the FWC’s report finds retail sales for wildlife-viewing activities have almost doubled from $1.575 billion in 2001. Overall, 4.2 million people participated in some form of wildlife viewing in Florida in 2006. (Source FFWCC) Today’s economy provides excellent opportunities to acquire environmentally valuable land at bargain prices, and there is still a lot of ecologically significant land in Hillsborough County that needs to be protected while you still can — for the sake of our natural resources, our water quality, our quality of life, and for future generations. Ms. Bean's statements that ELAPP has run its course assume that any and all open space in Hillsborough County from this day forward has no ecological value, and in that sense would be appropriate for development. Surely Hillsborough County residents, and residents of the greater Tampa Bay region expect and deserve more. We are proud of Hillsborough County because the ELAPP is an incredible program with a proven record of success. Its work is not done. Please support the steps necessary to continue this valuable program and continue investing in nature. It is a wise investment. Sincerely,

This is a bird-reporting interactive site for Florida. There is a lot of discussion on it, so be ready, if you sign up, to get an abundance of email about birds in Florida. Enjoy! http://listserv.admin.usf.edu/archives/brdbrain.html Ann Paul

Report from the Flatwoods Bluebird Trail We had 4 new second nestings today, for a total of 10 for the year. I think that's a record. We're up to 90 fledglings, well ahead of previous years, with 28 eggs and 11 chicks. The box for next year's spy cam has 2 new chicks in the second nesting. That is going to be a terrific box for the camera. We also had 3 bluebirds flying around that nest, and we wondered if they were perhaps the first fledglings from that box. I've read that older siblings help feed new babies. See the attached spreadsheet for complete details. Sunday was my volunteer day at the Audubon Resource Center at Lettuce Lake Park and the water level was extremely low, which was great for the wading birds. Most of the Florida wading birds were present including 30 roseate spoonbills! I have never seen so many spoonbills together. Rob, I thought you would be interested in this if you didn't already know it. Mary Miller Bluebird Trail Fact sheet Bluebird Trail Bird List

Great Backyard Bird Count Sets New Records - MArch 2008 Bird watchers flocked to annual winter survey New York, NY & Ithaca, NY, March 2008- Bird watchers outdid themselves during the 2008 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC), sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society. Participants submitted more than 85,700 checklists during the four-day event, February 15-18, surpassing last year’s all-time record by several thousand. Participants also identified a record 635 species and sent in thousands of stunning bird images from around the continent. Birders who had heard about the massive seed production failure in trees across northern Canada were expecting a huge influx of northern finches coming south to look for food. “As predicted, there were record numbers of GBBC reports for Pine Grosbeak,” says Rob Fergus, Senior Scientist with the National Audubon Society. It was also a banner year for Common Redpolls and Evening Grosbeaks, reported in their highest numbers in several years. In this year’s GBBC, Yellow-billed Magpie numbers hit a new low. Magpies, crows, and jays are especially susceptible to the West Nile virus. For the past few years the population of Yellow-billed Magpies has declined following the spread of the virus to California. Nationwide, American Crow and Blue Jay numbers appear to have stabilized somewhat, but bear continued monitoring as the populations of these birds continue to adapt to the presence of this new disease. The GBBC charts the explosive geographic expansion of Eurasian Collared-Doves. The species has spread aggressively since it was introduced in Florida in 1980 and made new inroads this year. For the first time, GBBC records of this bird came from British Columbia, Manitoba, and Oregon. Some species showed up in Great Backyard Bird Count reports for the very first time, including a Masked Duck in Texas a bird that is usually found in the tropics. An Arctic Loon, seldom seen outside Alaska, was spotted in California. An Ivory Gull wandered down from the high Arctic to show up on a checklist in South Dakota. “Each year, awareness of the GBBC seems to spread,” says Cornell Lab of Ornithology Citizen Science Director Janis Dickinson. “Committed individuals, nature centers, parks, and schools adopted the GBBC as their own in an unprecedented way this year. They held bird walks, ID workshops, and many other events tied to the count.” Preschoolers built feeders out of milk jugs. An artist painted a mural of urban birds in Hollywood. One participant commented, “Participating in the bird count has given my children a little taste of what it is like to be a scientist." For an even more detailed summary of this year’s results, visit the GBBC web site at www.birdcount.org. You can explore maps, see beautiful photos, prize-drawing winners, and the list cities and towns that topped their state or province for the number of checklists submitted our “checklist champs.” The Great Backyard Bird Count returns February 13-16, 2009! Top 10 most-reported birds in the 2008 GBBC: 1) Northern Cardinal 2) Mourning Dove 3) Dark-eyed Junco 4) Downy Woodpecker 5) American Goldfinch 6) Blue Jay 7) House Finch 8) Tufted Titmouse 9) Black-capped Chickadee 10) American Crow

Florida Forever Campaign Dear Friend of Wildlife, Defenders of Wildlife is working hard to build support for continuing the landmark Florida Forever Act, established by the state of Florida as the largest public land buying initiative in the nation. Florida Forever was established to conserve environmentally sensitive land and wildlife habitat, protect and restore water resources, provide parks for people, and preserve cultural and historical sites in our state. But Florida Forever is in danger of losing funding this year! And the ten year program is soon coming to an end-a successor program is urgently needed if we are to protect the environmental future of Florida, its people and wildlife. You Can Help ensure that the Florida Forever program gets the funding and support it needs. We will send you 50 post cards ( or whatever number more or less you prefer) that you can pass out to your group or friends; then gather the cards back and send them on to us. We will see to it that they get personally delivered to the proper legislators and your voice will be heard. Just let us know if you have the time to help and we will send the cards. RSVP now! Thank you for helping to protect the future of Florida Pat Kiesylis Program Coordinator 233 Third Street North Suite 201 St. Petersburg, Florida 33701 Tel: 727 823 3888 Fax: 727 823 3873

We are pleased to announce Orange Audubon Society's 2008 (20th Annual) Chertok Open Nature Photography Contest (OASCNPC), which may be of interest to your membership and others. The contest was created with the objectives of creating interest in Florida's [remaining] native flora and fauna and encouraging nature photography. To that end, the 2008 contest themes for this digital competition are: Florida's Avian Wonders and Florida--Beyond Birds. The subject matter must be native (to Florida) plants and animals and may not contain any trace of humans, human-made objects or artifacts. We hope you will announce the contest to your membership and others during upcoming meetings and other appropriate places prior to the entry deadline of May 15th. Note that there is also an optional pre-screening deadline. Entry forms with contest rules may be copied from the *.pdf file attached, or downloaded and printed from our website: www.orangeaudubonfl.org using free Adobe Acrobat Reader software. Interested parties can also call, e-mail or write to obtain forms and information: 407-644-0796; mwilliams@cfl.rr.com; or OASCNPC, 2303 Randall Road, Winter Park, FL 32789-6044.

"Spoonbill's struggles worrying researchers" An Audubon official said that the spoonbill's shrinking numbers indicate the Everglades is in dire need of water and help can't come soon enough. Click here to read the Miami Herald article: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/story/445761.html

Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's An Easy Call The nation's leading cell phone makers, service providers, and retailers have teamed up with the EPA to launch a national campaign encouraging Americans to recycle their unwanted cell phones. Partners supporting the Recycle Your Cell Phone. It's An Easy Call Campaign include AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, LG Electronics, Motorola, Nokia, Office Depot, Samsung, Sony Ericsson, Sprint, Staples, and T-Mobile. Note: You may want to call local partners in your area to see if they are participating before you make the trek to the actual business. http://www.epa.gov/cellphones

In Memoriam I met Peter when he visited Tampa for the 65th Anniversary Celebration of the Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries. He reminded me of Superman -- handsome, strong, dynamic, and powerful. He led National Audubon Society for 10 years, and was a thoughtful, hard-working leader for conservation. Succeeded by current President of Audubon John Flicker, he remained generous to Audubon in his time and energy. He broke his back in an accident on his farm, this fall, and finally died from those injuries, while in rehabilitation. I was so sorry to hear about his accident, and am deeply saddened by his death. Peter was a good person, a hard-working Audubon conservationist, an inspiration to me. Ann Paul "The National Audubon Society lost one of its greatest leaders when Peter A.A. Berle died on November 1, 2007. Peter served as President of National Audubon from 1985-1995. Peter came to Audubon well prepared to lead our organization. He was a lawyer and a litigator, a Democratic State Assemblyman representing one of Manhattan’s Districts on the Upper East Side from 1976 until 1979. He was the Commissioner of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation where he led many important efforts to address the need to control toxic wastes, clean ours waters and protect open space. He launched the clean up of Love Canal and other hazardous waste sites. He led the efforts to combat the contamination of fish by Mirex. Mirex is a bi-product of chemicals which were being dumped into rivers flowing into the Great Lakes. Peter’s work on Mirex issues resulted in a “possession ban” on fish contaminated with this toxic chemical through bio-accumulation. Peter also led the efforts to clean up PCBs in the Hudson River and identified “hot spots” for dredging for PCBs. Peter Berle, like Russ Peterson before him, was a warrior for the environment. His interests were not necessarily birds and wildlife (he once said “Audubon was no longer just for the birds”), but the “core issues,” the “root causes” that cause environmental problems. Peter’s primary “core issues” were clean air, clean water and global warming. While President of Audubon, Peter launched Audubon’s Acid Rain Campaign on a National level and also on a State-by-State level. Peter also followed Russ Peterson’s lead in addressing over population as the planet’s major concern. Peter considered one of his mistakes was an effort to move Audubon away from its traditional birds image. To this end, he sought to change the Audubon logo from the Great Egret to the Blue Flag. This was not well received by the Board, Chapters and Membership. Peter quickly admitted his error. The Blue Flag ceased to wave and the Great Egret quickly returned as our logo. In the Adirondacks, Peter personally made great contributions from passing the APA law as an Assemblyman to purchasing land as a DEC Commissioner to authoring the Berle Adirondack Commission Report in 1990 while President of Audubon. He led the Society’s Everglades campaign. He took on the Platte River legal battle to a new level for the Sandhill Cranes and won. He was relentless in his fight to protect the Ancient Forests and Spotted Owl habitat. He took these fights to the nation’s capital and was a dedicated advocate on the Hill on issues from the Arctic to wetlands. He supported Regional Campaigns as well. In the Northeast, this was particularly true for Long Island Sound, the Adirondacks as well as the great Northern Forests. He wrote a CO2 Diet for citizens with Jan Beyea in 1992 to combat Global warming. He was ahead of his time on this most critical issue. One of Peter Berle’s major environmental efforts led to the acquisition of “Audubon House” which became one of the most environmentally efficient buildings in New York City, if not the nation. Peter chose 700 Broadway, a historical building on the corner of Fourth Avenue near the New York University Campus, as the site for “Audubon House.” Peter, with Board support, helped to create a process whereby grass roots leaders would automatically be elected to the Board of Directors. As a result, nine Directors are elected from the nine Regions. This practice continues to this day and has proven to be highly successful in bringing Chapter leaders to the Board where they serve as equals with the Directors-at-Large. Peter showed all the determination in fighting his severe injuries as he did during the height of his strength and vigor. He was a determined and affective environmentalist who never backed down and who sought to complete his environmental agenda to the very end. He will long be remembered. Peter’s Memorial Service will be held at St. Paul's Church in Stockbridge, Mass on Saturday, November 10th at 11am. St. Paul’s Church is on Main Street in Stockbridge right across from the Red Lion." Yours sincerely, Donal C. O’Brien, Jr.

Junk Food and California Condors by David Voigts From a low point of 22 California Condors, all in captivity, in the 1980s, they have gradually recovered through captive breeding and intensive management to a population of 285 birds today. However, a new problem may threaten the condors' fragile reestablishment. A recent study found that condors in California are bringing unprecedented amounts of human trash to their nestlings. Although adult birds can regurgitate most trash that they ingest, the junk lodges in the crops and gizzards of nestlings. Some chicks in California have died as a direct result of junk-related complications. The body of one chick contained 30 metal items, 54 glass fragments, and 28 pieces of plastic. Supplemental feeding is necessary because much of the birds' natural food is game that was shot with lead bullets but not retrieved. The bullets then poison the birds when they are ingested. There is a complicated theory why condors in California, but not Arizona, are picking up so much trash. Wildlife biologists provide supplemental food for condors because much of the birds' natural food is game that was shot with lead bullets but not retrieved by hunters, and the bullets then poison the birds when they are ingested. In California the supplemental feeding site is relatively close to the nests. This gives the birds that are waiting for the next handout a lot of time to be attracted to trash -- and there is a lot of trash around. In Arizona, the birds are provided food far from their nests, and because they nest in the Grand Canyon, there is less trash and more natural food around. This all keeps the Arizona condors working harder for food with less idle time to get into trouble. The long-term solution is to have the hunters in the regions where there are California Condors use non-lead bullets, and there is hope that the California State Assembly will pass such legislation. However, a novel approach is also being tried. A pair of condors that had lost all their chicks over the last three years were captured and then exposed to junk that was wired to deliver mild electric shocks. They soon learned not to pick it up. After they successfully reared a chick in captivity, they were released. The condors are now being observed to see if their aversion training will have a lasting effect.

The Audubon Chapters Committee has voted “Cats Indoors” Program as the best Education Project for this year. Please join us in congratulating Jo Anne Hartzler, Pat Lewis, and Evelyn Mancin for their hard work on this project. CATS INDOORS POSTER CONTEST WINNERS: The Results Are IN! Nearly 200 children in Hillsborough County painted and drew creative posters wonderfully depicting happy safe indoor cats and happy safe outdoor birds during the 2008 Tampa Audubon Society Poster Contest, “Cats Indoors!”   After weeks of Hillsborough County school classes learning the benefits of keeping cats indoors as well as learning to recognize by appearance, to hear the difference in their songs and calls and to understand the different behaviors, diets and habitats, several poster entrants gathered at Lettuce Lake Park to participate in a nature walk and then announcement of the  winners. All of the  judges commented how outstanding the posters were and how difficult they were to judge.  Winners received an assortment of bird books, bird compact discs, bird feeders, bird beanie babies, and or/bird seed.  All entrants won either bird house kits, bird feeder kits, bird whistles, passes to the Florida Museum of Science & Industry, bird pictures signed by the artist, bird gliders, bird stickers, posters or bird books.  Each school that had a winning poster earned a bird identification book and a bird CD for their library. We really appreciate the participation of an support from the teachers in Hillsborough County who dedicated their time and energy to help their students participate. Posters can be seen at various locations around Hillsborough County including Lettuce Lake Park, Hillsborough County Cooperative Extension Services and Hillsborough County Animal Services. The winners in each age group are: Ages 6-7 2nd Place: #47 Joyous Podolsky Banda 1st Place #45 (Carrollwood Day School) Karianne Buser Ages 8-9 3rd Place #108 (Essrig Elementary) Aaron E. Matos 2nd Place #106 (Essrig) Heather Headrick 1st Place #31 (Essrig) Alexis Schultz Ages 10-11 3rd Place #97 (Cahoon ) Alexandra Bruns 2nd Place #65 (Anderson) Jessica O’Shaunnessey 1st Place #69 (Anderson) Eliana Rosado Ages 12-13 3rd Place #39 (Anderson Elementary) Corey Barandoe 2nd Place #43 (Essrig Elementary) Joshua Menendez 1st Place #41 (Anderson Elementary) Jason Jackson See the posters, birdhouses and winners in our newsletter!

GREAT BACKYARD BIRD COUNT IS GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO CONNECT WITH NATURE In February, volunteers throughout the U.S. and Canada are invited to "Count for Fun, Count for the Future!" New York, NY & Ithaca, NY, 23 October 2007-Millions of novice and accomplished bird watchers can make their fascination with nature add up for science and for the future during the 11th annual Great Backyard Bird Count, led by Audubon and the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. During "Presidents' Day" weekend, February 15-18, 2008, anyone can count birds from wherever they are and enter their tallies online at www.birdcount.org. These reports create an exciting real-time picture of where the birds are across the continent and contribute valuable information for science and conservation. "These volunteers are counting not only for fun but for the future," said Tom Bancroft, Chief Science Officer for Audubon. "It's fun to see how many different kinds of birds can be seen and counted right in your backyard or neighborhood park. Each tally helps us learn more about how our North American birds are doing, and what that says about the health and the future of our environment." "The GBBC is a great way to engage friends, family, and children in observing nature in their own backyard, where they will discover that the outdoors is full of color, behavior, flight, sounds, and mystery," said Janis Dickinson, Director of Citizen Science at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. People of all ages and experience levels are invited to take part wherever they are-at home, in schoolyards, at local parks or wildlife refuges, even counting birds on a balcony. Observers count the highest number of each species they see during at least 15 minutes on one or more of the count days. Then they enter their tallies on the Great Backyard Bird Count web site www.birdcount.org. The web site provides helpful hints for identifying birds. Participants can compare results from their town or region with others, as checklists pour in from throughout the U.S. and Canada. They can also view bird photos taken by participants during the count and send in their own digital images for the online photo gallery and contest. In 2007, Great Backyard Bird Count participants made history, breaking records for the number of birds reported, and the number of checklists. Participants sent in 81,203 checklists tallying 11,082,387 birds of 613 species. "Literally, there has never been a more detailed snapshot of a continental bird-distribution profile in history," said John Fitzpatrick, Director of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "Imagine scientists 250 years from now being able to compare these data with their own!" Already, the count results show how the numbers of some birds species have changed in recent years, such as a decline in Northern Pintails and an increase in Hooded Mergansers, consistent with trends from the Christmas Bird Count and Breeding Bird Survey. "People who take part in the Great Backyard Bird Count see the results of their efforts in the news and in bird conservation work taking place across the country, said Audubon Education VP, Judy Braus. "Whether the counts occur at home, at schools or nature centers, they're more than engaging and educational science activities for young people and adults, they're a way to contribute to the conservation of birds and habitat nationwide." Lt. Daniel Britt, who served in Iraq 16 months, is glad to be back home in Zimmerman, MN, where he and his sons plan to join the GBBC. "We get a bunch of birds in our backyard," Britt said, "but my oldest son, Daniel, and I may cross country ski into the Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge to count birds there." For more information on how to participate, including identification tips, photos, bird sounds, maps, and information on over 500 bird species, visit www.birdcount.org. The Great Backyard Bird Count is sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited.

"In The Sky" by David Voigts Read about what will be happening in the night sky in November!

The first Satellite tracked Bar-tailed Godwit to be tracked from New Zealand to the Yellow Sea on to Alaska is now returned and landed in New Zealand. This will mark a complete record of the most amazing annual migration cycle of a shorebird. For more on this fantastic journey, visit the USGS website that provides an excellent overview of all its PTT marked birds. http://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/shorebirds/barg.html

Bibliographies of recent publications on global climate change and birds on the Partners in Flight website: http://www.partnersinflight.org/climate_change/

Wal-Mart to Stop Selling Cypress Mulch From Louisiana Important Step Towards Preserving Endangered Cypress Swamps New Orleans, LA- Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. has informed its suppliers that, effective January 1, 2008, the company will no longer buy and sell cypress mulch that is harvested, bagged, or manufactured in the state of Louisiana. The Save Our Cypress Coalition, a group of environmental organizations, has been publicly pressuring the major retailers Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s to stop selling cypress mulch since November 2006. “It’s a tremendous step that Wal-Mart has recognized that cypress sustainability is a serious concern.” said Mark Ford, Executive Director of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, “The Save Our Cypress Coalition sincerely thanks Wal-Mart for the action they’ve taken in Louisiana, and we will continue to work to completely end the sale of unsustainable cypress mulch.” The decision comes on the heels of another recent action by a home retailer that acknowledges the concerns of the Save Our Cypress coalition, while failing to implement practical solutions to address those concerns. Lowe’s has stated it has implemented a moratorium on mulch from cypress harvested south of I-10/I-12 in Louisiana, excluding the Pearl River Basin. But there is no enforceable mechanism for ensuring that the moratorium is actually being upheld by suppliers. Home Depot and Lowe’s have claimed in the past that their suppliers do not source from coastal Louisiana, but the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper has gathered evidence proving this assertion to be false. The evidence is available at www.saveourcypress.org. “Suppliers of cypress mulch have proven willing to hide the source of their product in the past,” said Dean Wilson, from the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. “Wal-Mart recognizes the difficulties with verification and is acting accordingly by identifying the whole state as an unacceptable source.” A new interactive cypress map, at www.lmrk.org/cypressmap.html, demonstrates chain-of-custody concerns through documented examples of clear-cutting and cypress mulch production in Louisiana. As the map information shows, many of the brands of mulch produced in Louisiana are already labeled with addresses in Florida, Texas, and Arkansas. “We’re happy to hear that some cypress forests will be saved from the mulch machine, but how can Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s ignore Florida’s wetlands?” asked Joe Murphy, Florida Programs Coordinator for the Gulf Restoration Network. According to the University of Florida IFAS Extension, cypress trees in Florida are being cut out of the wetlands at a rate faster than they can regenerate, and almost half of the cypress cut is used for mulch. The Save Our Cypress Coalition continues to call on Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s to stop selling cypress mulch that is not certified as sustainable, no matter where the logging occurs. While cautiously celebrating Wal-Mart’s move in Louisiana, the coalition submitted formal letters signed by over 160 organizations, from across the US and around the world, to Wal-Mart, Home Depot, and Lowe’s asking the companies to stop selling cypress mulch. Supporters include conservation groups, garden clubs, anglers, eco-tourism operators, and members of the faith-based community. Cypress forests are heralded by scientists to be some of the Gulf’s best natural storm and flooding protection. The swamps also support a wide array of wildlife including fish and crustaceans, migratory birds, and threatened and endangered species like the bald eagle and Florida panther. The swamps are of national importance to protect the economy, the unique environment of the Gulf Coast, and people.

News from the Audubon Resource Center at Lettuce Lake Park It was hot, but 460 people visited in the Audubon Resource Center at Lettuce Lake Park in August and 588 in September. There were three teacher workshops held at the ARC in August. After a very dry spring, water levels are up along the river banks and the bottomland hardwood swamp is flooded again. Catbirds have returned for the winter and several Limpkins are foraging in the river shallows. Palm and other warblers are migrating, using the park's habitats. The Parks Department has been working on updating the facility. New paint was applied in the spring. The air conditioners have been replaced and new lighting is being installed in late October. New carpets are planned for the first of the new year. Meanwhile, the ARC should be ready to re-open after this current set of repairs by the first weekend in November. The two on-loan water management district informational kiosks are being returned to Nature's Classroom at the end of November. We are applying for a Friends of Parks grant to produce two new display kiosks that will accommodate changing presentations. It is exciting to be able to change the informational displays regularly, and our repeat visitors appreciate the new exhibits. Funding for a third kiosk is being considered by the Tampa Audubon Board. The rough estimate for the cost is $250 each. We are working on a new display on wetland spiders to be ready in November. We have a new display on invasive species on loan by the Invasive Species Task Force. In addition, there are interactive computer quizes on snakes and birds for visitors to use in the Resource Room. The boardwalk replacement project is almost complete. This last spring, a new observation tower was constructed. The park rangers have begun an invasive exotic plant eradication program. There will be a small prescribed burn in the park in December or January. The ARC is working to provide environmental education opportunities for the community because Tampa Audubon Society is providing the weekend docents and environmental education leadership, in partnership with the Hillsborough County Parks, Recreation, and Conservation Department. It's always interesting at Lettuce Lake Park!

Editorial Observer Millions of Missing Birds, Vanishing in Plain Sight By VERLYN KLINKENBORG Published: June 19, 2007 Last week, the Audubon Society released a new report describing the sharp and startling population decline of some of the most familiar and common birds in America: several kinds of sparrows, the Northern bobwhite, the Eastern meadowlark, the common grackle and the common tern. The average decline of the 20 species in the Audubon Society’s report is 68 percent. Forty years ago, there were an estimated 31 million bobwhites. Now there are 5.5 million. Compared to the hundred-some condors presently in the wild, 5.5 million bobwhites sounds like a lot of birds. But what matters is the 25.5 million missing and the troubles that brought them down — and are all too likely to bring down the rest of them, too. So this is not extinction, but it is how things look before extinction happens. The word “extinct” somehow brings to mind the birds that seem like special cases to us, the dodo or the great auk or the passenger pigeon. Most people would never have had a chance to see dodos and great auks on their remote islands before they were decimated in the 17th and 19th centuries. What is hard to remember about passenger pigeons isn’t merely their once enormous numbers. It’s the enormous numbers of humans to whom their comings and goings were a common sight and who supposed, erroneously, that such unending clouds of birds were indestructible. We recognize the extraordinary distinctness of the passenger pigeon now because we know its fate, killed off largely by humans. But we have moralized it thoroughly without ever really taking it to heart. The question is whether we will see the distinctness of the field sparrow — its number is down from 18 million 40 years ago to 5.8 million — only when the last pair is being kept alive in a zoo somewhere. We love to finally care when the death watch is on. It makes us feel so very human. Like you, I’ve been reading dire reports of declining species for many years now. They have the value of causing us to pay attention to species in trouble, and the sad fact is that the only species likely to endure are the ones we humans manage to pay attention to. There was a time when it was better, if you were a nonhuman species, to be ignored by humans because we trapped, shot or otherwise exploited all of the ones that got our attention. But in the past 40 years, we have killed all those millions of birds or, let us say, unintentionally caused a dramatic population loss, simply by going about business as usual. Agriculture has intensified. So has development. Open space has been sharply reduced. We have simply pursued our livelihoods. We knew it was inimical to wolves and mountain lions. But we somehow trusted that all the innocent little birds were here to stay. What they actually need to survive, it turns out, is a landscape that is less intensely human. The Audubon Society portrait of common bird species in decline is really a report on who humans are. Let me offer a proposition about Homo sapiens. We are the only species on earth capable of an ethical awareness of other species and, thus, the only species capable of happily ignoring that awareness. So far, our economic interests have proved to be completely incompatible with all but a very few forms of life. It’s not that we believe that other species don’t matter. It’s that, historically speaking, it hasn’t been worth believing one way or another. I don’t suppose that most Americans would actively kill a whippoorwill if they had the chance. Yet in the past 40 years its number has dropped by 1.6 million. In our everyday economic behavior, we seem determined to discover whether we can live alone on earth. E.O. Wilson has argued eloquently and persuasively that we cannot, that who we are depends as much on the richness and diversity of the biological life around us as it does on any inherent quality in our genes. Environmentalists of every stripe argue that we must somehow begin to correlate our economic behavior — by which I mean every aspect of it: production, consumption, habitation — with the welfare of other species. This is the premise of sustainability. But the very foundation of our economic interests is self-interest, and in the survival of other species we see way too little self to care. The trouble with humans is that even the smallest changes in our behavior require an epiphany. And yet compared to the fixity of other species, the narrowness of their habitats, the strictness of their diets, the precision of the niches they occupy, we are flexibility itself. We look around us, expecting the rest of the world’s occupants to adapt to the changes that we have caused, when, in fact, we have the right to expect adaptation only from ourselves.

Preliminary Data Shows Americans Spent $120 Billion on Wildlife Related Recreation in 2006 America's passion for wildlife and the outdoors continues to be a major engine of the nation's economy, according to preliminary survey data released today by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2006, more than 87 million Americans, or 38 percent of the United States' population age 16 and older hunted, fished or observed wildlife. They spent $120 billion that year pursuing those activities - an amount roughly equal to Americans' total spending at all spectator sports, casinos, motion pictures, golf courses and country clubs, amusement parks and arcades combined. "This very important survey shows in real economic and participatory terms the impact that wildlife has on the nation's economy, but simply talking about dollars and cents doesn't fully capture the importance of wildlife to our nation. Wildlife related recreation rejuvenates our spirit and gets us outside pursuing healthy activities," said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director H. Dale Hall at the Outdoor Writer Association of America's annual conference in Roanoke, Va. "Americans should be proud that the outdoor tradition continues to be such a prevalent part of our lives." Preliminary data from the 2006 National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation shows the importance of wildlife-related recreation to the American people. Of all Americans age 16 or older, 30 million or 13 percent fished and spent $41 billion on their activities, 12.5 million or 5 percent hunted and spent $23 billion, and 71 million or 31 percent observed wildlife and spent $45 billion. The National Survey of Fishing, Hunting and Wildlife-Associated Recreation has been conducted every 5 years since 1955 and is one of the nation?s most important wildlife recreation databases. It is considered to be the definitive source of information concerning participation and expenditures associated with hunting, fishing and other forms of wildlife recreation nationwide. The Survey is conducted at the request of State fish and wildlife agencies and is funded by grants from the Multistate Conservation Grant Program. A wide range of individuals and groups depend on the Survey to analyze participation rates, economic impacts of expenditures, demographic characteristics, and trends in participation and activities. "This expenditure of $120 billion highlights the benefits of these activities on national and state economies," said Survey economist Jerry Leonard. "It is roughly equivalent to one out of every one hundred dollars of goods and services produced in our economy. And much of this activity occurs in places which rely significantly on wildlife-related recreation expenditures for their economic well being." After losing ground in the early 1990s, wildlife-related activities such as bird watching and photography increased 13 percent over the last decade. In 1996, 62.9 million Americans observed wildlife; 66.1 million did so in 2001, and 71.1 million in 2006. Wildlife watchers spending increased 19 percent, from $37.5 billion in 1996, $43.7 billion in 2001 to $44.7 billion last year. The preliminary data shows decreases in both angling and hunting participation from 1996 to 2006. In 1996, 35.2 million anglers fished compared to 34.1 million in 2001 and 30.0 million in 2006, representing a 15 percent decline in participation of the ten year span. "Participation levels in 2006 were likely reduced due to several factors: higher gas prices, hurricanes, the increasing age of baby boomers, and continuing urbanization," said Leonard. Anglers spent $40.6 billion last year, which is similar to 2001 but 16 percent lower than 1996. While overall spending -- including trips, fishing equipment, special equipment, and other related items -- was flat from 2001 to 2006, spending on fishing equipment such as rods and reels and travel-related items such as food and lodging were up. For hunting, there was a 10 percent decline in participation from 1996 to 2006. In 1996, 14.0 million Americans hunted compared to 13.0 million in 2001 and 12.5 million in 2006. Hunters spent $22.7 billion last year, 3 percent lower than 2001 and 14 percent lower than 1996. Similar to fishing, while overall spending was down, expenditures on hunting equipment such as rifles and ammunition were up 3 percent since 2001. It is important to note that the National Survey is a snapshot for the specific year in which it is conducted and does not necessarily represent the total number of anglers, hunters, and wildlife watchers in the U.S. because they do not consistently participate every year. For example, examination of survey data shows that over the five year period from 2002 to 2006, cumulatively over 44.4 million fished and 18.6 million hunted. However, this information serves as a valuable tool to gauge general trends in the participation of Americans in wildlife related activities and related expenditures. The report is available at http://library.fws.gov/nat_survey2006.pdf . The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 97-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System, which encompasses 547 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies.

Common Bird Species in Decline http://www.audubonofflorida.org/PDFs/FloridaBID-FactSheet.pdf

IN MEMORIAM Dr. Glen Woolfenden died following surgery on June 19, 2007. He served the Tampa Audubon Society for over thirty years, participating and leading many Christmas Bird Counts and field trips, giving talks and seminars about birds and especially Florida Scrub-jays, and providing leadership for our Society. Glen was generous in his assitance to Tampa Audubon members and others interested in learning about birds. As a Professor of Ornithology at the University of South Florida, he trained many biologists active in the field today. He was an active participant in the American Ornithologists' Union and the Florida Ornithological Society, and was one of FOS' charter members. Those of us who had the privilege of sharing days in the field with him or hearing him speak about birds and wildlife of Florida will mourn his loss, and we offer our sincere condolences to his children and wife, Jan. Ann Paul ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ornithologist Was Scrub Jay Specialist By ANDRIY R. PAZUNIAK, The Tampa Tribune Published: July 4, 2007 LAKE PLACID - Glen Woolfenden was not a nerd. He was a meticulous researcher who devoted his life to studying birds and obsessed over details and organization, but he was not a nerd, says John Fitzpatrick, Woolfenden's former colleague of 35 years. 'It seems like a contradiction,' said Fitzpatrick, now the director of the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology. 'Glen was so meticulous, he sounds like a nerd. But he was always the life of the party.' A large man with a booming voice and wide smile, Woolfenden was a raconteur who could capture even the most difficult audiences, another former colleague said. 'My mother-in-law, who has no interest in science, once came over for dinner,' said Jack Fernandez, who taught with Woolfenden at the University of South Florida. 'She stayed up past midnight listening to him talk about his birds.' Woolfenden, 77, best known for his work with the Florida scrub jay, died June 19 from complications after abdominal surgery. One of the original 60 faculty members at USF when it opened in 1960, Woolfenden taught with the same demanding but caring approach that defined his career as an ornithologist, his former students and colleagues said. 'He set the bar high,' said Paige Martin, one of Woolfenden's former students. 'But he never expected more from you than what he thought you could give.' In 1969, 10 years after receiving a doctorate from the University of Florida, Woolfenden began a long-term study of the Florida scrub jay that helped bring public awareness to the plight of the threatened species. First intrigued by the bird's unusual social behaviors, Woolfenden tracked every Florida scrub jay that resided in the fields at Archbold Biological Station in Lake Placid from 1969 to his death. Unlike other birds, the scrub jay does not leave its nest for good once it is grown. Rather, the young birds return to their birth nests to help their parents raise the next generation. To study the lives and behaviors of the birds, Woolfenden and his colleagues developed an innovative tagging method that allowed them to track individual birds living in the station's 5,000-acre field. Woolfenden tagged each bird with a series of color-coded bands that acted as a name tag. 'We put them on when they were in the nest, as nestlings,' Fitzpatrick said. 'Then we followed them as they grew up, got married and even divorced.' The tracking method led to an unprecedented look into the lives of birds and helped make Woolfenden's reputation as an ornithologist. Woolfenden continued his study of the Florida scrub jay through his retirement from USF in 1999 until he died. By his side was his wife of 26 years, Jan, who served as his research assistant. Calling her husband a 'wonderful, complicated, interesting person,' she said he always would be remembered as a great ornithologist but also as a genuine, caring man with a great sense of humor. 'He cared,' Jan said. 'He was demanding, but he wouldn't demand anything he wouldn't demand of himself. He was one of a kind.'

West Nile Virus Decimates Suburban Birds By SETH BORENSTEIN (AP Science Writer) Associated Press May 16, 2007 2:11 PM EDT WASHINGTON - Birds that once flourished in suburban skies, including robins, bluebirds and crows, have been devastated by West Nile virus, a study found. Populations of seven species have had dramatic declines across the continent since West Nile emerged in the United States in 1999, according to a first-of-its-kind study. The research, to be published Thursday by the journal Nature, compared 26 years of bird breeding surveys to quantify what had been known anecdotally. "We're seeing a serious impact," said study co-author Marm Kilpatrick, a senior research scientist at the Consortium of Conservation Medicine in New York. West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquito bites, has infected 23,974 people in confirmed cases since 1999, killing 962, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the disease, primarily an avian virus, has been far deadlier for birds. The death toll for crows and jays is easily in the hundreds of thousands, based on the number dead bodies found and extrapolated for what wasn't reported, Kilpatrick said. It hit the seven species - American crow, blue jay, tufted titmouse, American robin, house wren, chickadee and Eastern bluebird - hard enough to be scientifically significant. Only the blue jay and house wren bounced back, in 2005. The hardest-hit species has been the American crow. Nationwide, about one-third of crows have been killed by West Nile, said study lead author Shannon LaDeau, a research scientist at the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center in Washington. The species was on the rise until 1999. In some places, such as Maryland, crow loss was at 45 percent, and around Baltimore and Washington, 90 percent was gone, LaDeau said. While crows are scavengers and often disliked, they play a key role in nature by cleaning up animal carcasses, LaDeau noted. Researchers will next look into what species benefit from the disappearance of crows. Researchers noted the die-offs came in patches, with many in some places and none in others. Maryland appeared to be the epicenter of bird deaths, though that was partly because the data were not as good from New York, where the virus first hit, LaDeau said. Chickadees, Eastern bluebirds and robins in Maryland were 68 percent, 52 percent, and 32 percent below expected levels in 2005. Tufted titmouse populations in Illinois were one-third of what they were expected to be. "It tends to be more suburban areas. Some of the common backyard species including the blue jays, the robins, the chickadees have suffered significant declines," LaDeau said. "That heavily packed urban corridor is a bad place to be a bird. The reason for that is that the mosquito prefers human landscape. They do very well in suburbia." The birds act as an early warning system for humans, said Wesley Hochachka, assistant director of bird population studies at Cornell Lab of Ornithology. "If you start seeing crows dying and dying in numbers, that means there could be a human outbreak," said Hochachka, who was not involved with the study. The researchers looked at 20 species that were regularly counted each breeding season and found that populations of 13 species were not down because of West Nile. Biologists say they have seen other species with many deaths, including owls, hawks, sage grouse and yellow-billed magpies, but there are no breeding surveys to quantify how bad the problem has been. Although entire small clusters of crows were "wiped out by West Nile virus in a single season," Greg Butcher, director of bird conservation at the National Audubon Society, remained hopeful. "All of those (bird populations) have the capacity to rebound," he said. On the Net: Nature: "http://www.nature.com" http://www.nature.com Centers for Disease Control and Prevention maps and figures on human cases of West Nile virus: "http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm" http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/surv&control.htm

Chasing the Ghost Birds John Christian of the US Fish & Wildlife Service has called whooping crane restoration, "the conservation equivalent of putting a man on the moon." My new book, Chasing the Ghost Birds, recounts the 60-year odyssey to save the whooping crane from extinction. The book includes a wealth of information about the birds' natural history, and lively first-person accounts by biologists, conservationists, pilots, and volunteers who are striving to save these magnificent birds. Tom Stehn, Whooping Crane Coordinator for the USFWS calls Chasing the Ghost Birds, "a thorough, accurate, and engaging account of how species can make a comeback." I've attached some information about the book. You can also visit my Web site at www.ChasingtheGhostBirds.com.

TECO Powers Bay Restoration By MIKE SALINERO The Tampa Tribune Published: Apr 12, 2007 APOLLO BEACH - Over the past 60 years, dredging, filling and construction have wiped out half the marshes and mangroves that once lined Tampa Bay. Click here to read the full article. Thanks to two of our long-term board members (Stanley Kroh and Tom Ries) for being an instrumental part of this project.

Audubon of Florida's Advocacy Center It's the easiest way to make a difference for conservation in Florida! Sign up now at http://audubonaction.org/florida/home.html.

The Tampa Audubon Society Board of Directors supports with appreciation the changes at the Visitor's Center at Lettuce Lake Park. It is a great step forward for environmental education and access to the exhibits that the Parks Department is funding staff to support having the Visitor's Center open every day during the week. The weekends are "manned" by Tampa Audubon Society volunteers, as has been the case for the last seven years. The exhibits are in a constant state of renewal and improvement, creating interest among our Center visitors. Please welcome Jason and his staff and thank the park rangers and managers for this positive move. For more information, see below. "Our Education Program is being continued under the able leadership of Mike and Barbara Mullins. To contact Mike or Barbara, please call them at 390-4696 or email to arcatthepark@yahoo.com. The Lettuce Lake Visitor's Center is now open 7 days a week. On Monday - Friday there will be an Interpretative Ranger there that may be able to provide programs or interpretative walks if scheduled in advance. Please feel free to call or e-mail me if you have any questions or would like to schedule something. I am also in need of volunteers so if you know anyone that may be interested in working at a nature center please contact me. We have made a lot of positive changes out here and I hope you can all make it out to the park. Below are the new hours to our Nature Center." Visitor Center Hours Monday - Friday 9:00 am - 3:00 pm (Staffed by Hillsborough County Park Rangers) Saturday - Sunday 1:00 pm - 5:00 pm (Staffed By Audubon Volunteers)

Raptor Migration- It's that time again: raptor migration! Refresh your raptor knowledge, play games, learn about raptor rehab, and find upcoming celebrations in your area at http://www.audubon.org/bird/Raptors/index.html.

Tampa Audubon Society gratefully acknowledges a recent grant from TECO Energy Foundation for $5,000.00. This generous gift will help fund our outreach efforts including our web site and the Avocet, our bi-monthly newsletter. And TECO Energy Foundation's generosity doesn't stop with Tampa Audubon. The Foundation also recently awarded $2,000.00 to St. Pete Audubon Society for their Beach Nesting Bird Project and is also a long-time Corporate Sponsor of Audubon of Florida. We salute TECO Energy's commitment to the environment of the Tampa Bay area!

"Florida's Bald Eagles rebuilt nests after slew of storms" Click here to read the Miami Herald article.

Birdhouses for sale on display at ARC at the Park. Click on photos below for more information.

Senate effectively blocks oil drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge Most of you know that for the last several weeks, intensifying over the weekend and the last few days, Audubon has been working, as part of a coalition, to insure support to strip the Arctic drilling provision that was placed in the Defense Appropriations Bill. This was what is often called a "backdoor" approach to get a controversial bill or provision to pass by placing it on another bill that absolutely must pass. Just a short while ago the Senate effectively blocked oil drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge by rejecting the "must-pass" defense spending bill. Drilling backers fell four votes short of getting the required 60 votes to avoid a threatened filibuster of the defense measure over the oil drilling issue. We expect Senate leaders to now withdraw the legislation so it could be reworked WITHOUT THE LANGUAGE AUTHORIZING DRILLING! The vote was 56-44. Audubon played a major role in this effort to achieve the more then 40 votes needed to sustain the threatened filibuster. While we can likley expect other tactics in the future on this issue, we have succeeded for now to continue to block drilling. This effort coordinated by Audubon's Public Policy Department in Washington, DC brought together every part of the Audubon family, from the state offices like Audubon Arkansas, Audubon Dakotas, Audubon Oregon, and Audubon of Florida, the chapters, our national board, state boards in places like Arizona and Arkansas, and thousands of Audubon activists. This is one of Audubon's finest hours, where everyone rolled up their sleeves, no stone was left unturned and we demonstrated real and sustained leadership. A particular congratulations goes to Mike Daulton in the Washington Office for keeping us all focused on this, aiming us at the right time for the right calls and visits.

President:Carolyn McKinney
Immediate past President: Ann Paul/Rob Heath