Established in the 1940s and incorporated in 1972, we serve the Greater Hillsborough County region, including Tampa, Lutz, Plant City, Brandon, Riverview and Seffner. 

By Mary Keith, Conservation Chair A Carolina Chickadee - one of the species spotted on the Chinsegut walk. Five people joined Mary for a great morning birding at Chinsegut. The weather was lovely, and you cannot have a better start to a birding day than watching a Bald Eagle sail in and perch in a tree across the road from your gathering point! The sun was barely up as it sat there and surveyed its domain! Then we had our first Red-headed Woodpecker of the day within the

The imperiled Southeastern American Kestrel, a small non-migratory falcon, lives in open sandhills, prairies, and pastures, and increasingly in some of our urban areas. FWC researchers are continuing their study of urban-dwelling kestrels in the Tampa Bay region. We need your help locating urban and suburban nests in Pasco, Pinellas, and Hillsborough counties! If you have information that you would like to share, please visit Rare Upland Bird Sightings ( https://app.myfwc.com

By Susan McIntrye Susan McIntyre and Her Mother Jane McIntyre Susan McIntyre is a licensed clinical social worker and is the director of Counseling and Wellness for The Centre for Women. She is currently an Eagle Watch volunteer and is the exasperated but loving owner of two rescue parrots. Below is a recount of a special memory regarding a recent donation in honor of her mom, Jane McIntyre: The February Audubon meeting fell on what would have been my mother’s 100th birth

April 2026 By Jessica Parrish, Outreach Coordinator, and Jim Hengelbrok, Membership Coordinator Welcome New Members: Ashley R., Justine M., Rachel F., Lisa F., William V., Sean K., Suzanne L., Tiffany M., Jake G., and Maurielle R., Brittain P. and Carolyn N. Thank you Renewing Members: Zoe T., Anita D., and Edith S. Thank you Tampa Audubon Supporters: Jessica S., Elizabeth B., Carla M., Melina C., Johnnie P., Ronald H., James D., Mary S., Christine W., Heather V., and Desiree

By Gary Gibbons Florida’s outdoors lost a true hero in April. Rocky Milburn, a leader in Sierra Club for decades, passed away peacefully, surrounded by close friends who loved him deeply. Rocky’s passion was to take people (especially young people) on outings to discover the wonders of nature. He trained dozens of people (including me) to lead outings and taught First Aid training as part of his extensive outings training. Rocky was an expert birder as well, and he loved do

Ann Paul, President By Ann Paul, Tampa Audubon President I think it’s something that us birdwatchers have known for a while – that when we see a bird, identify one that we didn’t know before, or even recognize an old winged friend – we feel a jolt of joy. We detect within ourselves a happy feeling, a sense of accomplishment associated with wonder; an altogether good feeling. This is why when we see and appreciate a bird on a field trip or in our backyards, we want to see ano

By Shauna Justi Exciting news! Hillsborough birders were featured in a news segment with Channel 28 News regarding the study that Tampa Audubon President Ann Paul referred to in this month's President's Letter. The study explores if birding increases cognitive flexibility in birders. Reporters took quotes from birders who arrived in Hillsborough County to observe and count a Wood Stork colony. Members of both Tampa Audubon and Florida Audubon were interviewed at this colony

The window film at the Audubon Resource Center at Lettuce Lake Park is helping prevent bird collisions. (Photo by Jonathan Hoiles) Preventing bird window strikes is a shared responsibility that benefits wildlife and people. By making simple changes to windows, lighting, and landscaping, you can significantly reduce bird collisions. Creating bird-safe environments supports biodiversity and promotes coexistence with nature in our daily lives. The good news is that anyone can in

This year, we had 59 submissions and votes from 63 people. Prizes are: first place: $300; second place $200 and third place $100. Congrats to the winners!

May 7, 2026 Nesting Roseate Spoonbills Presented by Jeff Liechty, Sanctuary Manager Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries, Audubon Florida Tampa Garden Club, 2629 Bayshore Blvd., Tampa 6:30 pm - Potluck. Bring a dish to share 7:15 pm - Announcements 7:30 pm - Presentation In person and on Zoom https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84959398693 Audubon Florida Coastal Islands Sanctuaries has been protecting waterbirds in Tampa Bay since 1934 through monitoring and management of nesti

Bluebird removing fecal sac from nest box. Below are the 8 BB Trail Reports: Carrollwood Village: 2 BB nests, with 10 chicks Flatwoods Park: 37 nests (31 BB, 6 CC), 51 BB eggs, 15 chicks (2 BB, 13 CC) Hunter's Green: 4 BB nests, with 11 eggs, & 5 chicks, & 1 Evening Bat Lake Park: 18 nests (12 BB, 3 CC, 1 CW, 2 TM), 35 eggs (27 BB, 4 CC, 4 CW, 4 TM), 27 chicks (15 BB, 5 CC, 7 TM) Lettuce Lake: 1 CW nest with 5 eggs Lithia Springs: 1 BB nest, with 3 chicks MacDill AFB: 6 BB ne

By Mary Miller, Bluebird Trail Box Coordinator Below are the 8 BB Trail Reports: Carrollwood Village Park: 2 BB nests, 8 BB eggs Flatwoods Park: 20 nests (15 BB, 5 CC) & 5 eggs (1 BB, 4 CC) Hunter's Green: 3 BB nests, 1 Bat Lake Park: 7 nests (3 BB, 2 TM, 2 CC) Lettuce Lake Park: 1 Carolina Wren nest Lithia Springs Park: 1 BB nest with 1 egg MacDill AFB: 6 BB nests, with 5 eggs & 4 chicks. Sargeant's Park: 1 BB nest It was a cool, windy day on the Flatwoods BB Trail and the

TAMPA – The four-day Florida Birding and Nature Festival features field trips, boat excursions, seminars by experts, nationally renowned keynote speakers, a free nature expo and a free-flying birds of prey show. It will be April 9-12, 2026, at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Suncoast Youth Conservation Center, 6650 Dickman Road in Apollo Beach (just south of Tampa). Scheduled to coincide with peak of spring migration, the event previously was during th

By Shauna Justi, Newsletter Contributor What is the City Nature Challenge? The City Nature Challenge, an effort to produce an accurate and citizen-science based report of the biodiversity in specific areas, begins April 24th through April 27th. This challenge encourages citizens to become more involved and observant of their environment, recording what you notice to accumulate data to save and protect local species. Hillsborough County is registered to participate in this eve

By Jessica Parrish, Tabling Coordinator Tampa Audubon Society attended two festivals in February: Florida Regional Braille Challenge and Hope in Action. Mic McCarty at the Florida Regional Braille Challenge. The Florida Regional Braille Challenge gathered blind and low vision children together to compete in the braille challenges. With the theme being “Birds of a Feather, Braille Together,” TAS had to attend! Although blind and low vision children cannot bird by eye, it was h

By Jim McGinity, Florida Young Birders Club Young birders with Tammy and David McQuade. Photo by Tiffanie Bendever. A rare Black-headed Gull was spotted by young birders on their field trip to Southeast Florida. Photo by Jim McGinity. Jim McGinity led the Florida Young Birders Club on a weekend of birding in southeast Florida in January. The club made an extra stop to look for a rare Black-headed Gull behind a Winn-Dixie in Belle Glade, Florida. The group looked around with

By Will Laurie, Nominating Committee Chair We will hold elections of Tampa Audubon Officers and Directors at the May 7 membership meeting. Members can vote in person or on Zoom. Please plan to attend and vote! In addition to the board-endorsed slate of candidates, TAS Bylaws allow nominations from the floor at the May meeting, provided: 1) the nominee has consented to be nominated; and 2) the nominee publicly states their willingness to serve, and why they would be a good can

By Jessica Parrish, Outreach Coordinator, and Jim Hengelbrok, Membership Coordinator Welcome new members : Michael K., S G., Jay Y., J M., and Nirmala B. Thank you Tampa Audubon Supporters: Martha L M., Carolyn B., Cary S., Charles C., Robin P., John S., Kristen N., Christopher L., Morrow B., H P., Linda F., Ross A., Deborah M., Darlene K., and Jennifer T. Finally, a special thanks to all who said they would volunteer with Tampa Audubon! As an all-volunteer organization, our

Volunteer for the Florida Birding & Nature Festival in Apollo Beach and Sun City Center on Friday and Saturday, April 10 and 11, 2026. Most shifts are approximately 3 hours, and you can volunteer multiple days and for multiple shifts. If you need to stay seated, grab the Registration Worker spot or evening Ticket Checker spot. Morning and afternoon Ticket Checkers only work for about 20 minutes per hour. Day shifts get a free lunch and access to seminars outside of their wo

Dear Tampa Audubon members and Bird Enthusiasts, We are thrilled to announce a limited number of free subscriptions to Birds of the World, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s premier online resource that has taken flight to become the leading authoritative source for everything avian! 🌍🐦 If you're a volunteer and currently have a subscription, your subscription expires at the end of May 2026. However, by continuing to volunteer, you can renew your subscription with a new code