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EaglesEaglesEaglesEaglesOur 43rd Year of Environmental
Activism!
NestNestNestNestVolume 43 #3 March 2009
The
Kissimmee Valley Audubon Society
Book Review by Larry Rosen
Smithsonian Field Guide to the Birds of North America, by Ted
Floyd.New York, HarperCollins, 2008. 528 pages, with Bird Song
DVD.
ISBN: 978-0061120404. $24.95 list price.
The first thing I noticed about this field guide was the
photographs.They are well-chosen and nicely printed in this
attractive field guide.
Most of us are familiar with the Peterson and Sibley guides with
their
drawn and painted images. Of course those guides are useful, as
theartist gets to emphasize in multiple images coloration or
features tha
might be hard to capture in a photograph. But this Smithsonian
guid
is not satisfied with one photo per species like some earlier
photo-graphic guides; it has two or three images of most species,
and sometimes more. While I sometimes wanted a different angle or
more in-
flight photos, it does quite a good job at representing the
birds. Ithelped me ID winter Goldfinches much better than Sibleys
guide; thawas pretty good. It enabled me to add Mangrove Cuckoo to
my life
list; that was excellent!
I dont usually carry this book with me on birding hikes. While
it issmaller and lighter than the Sibley North American book, it is
biggerand heavier than the Sibley Eastern guide, which gets
backpack hon-
ors. However, I am often in luck, as a certain New Hampshire
snow-bird has started carrying the Smithsonian guide with him, and
I amnot too proud to mooch a peek now and then.
The book comes with a DVD with birdsongs of 138 species. It
uses
MP3 files, which you can copy to your computer or an MP3
player,
which is convenient. While the time and number of song
variations provided per bird is good, given that the
138 species are spread around the continent, the DVDs usefulness
is limited if you do most of your birding inFlorida.The photo
captions and species blurbs provide good information. There is a
28-page introduction on using
the guide and bird anatomy, identification, habitats, behavior,
and plumage changes. There is an informativ
page introducing each bird family. There is a range map on the
page with each species. The maps are fine,but I wish the different
field guides used the same color codes on the range maps!
I recommend this guide and I think most birders would put it to
good use as I have.
Eagles Nestis Going Green
KVAS has decided to cut back on the number of printed copies of
each newsletter issue. We are asking members who awilling to give
up having a paper Eagles Nestsent to them to notify us by email. To
make the change, email [email protected]. The newsletter will
be accessible (in color!) on our website in PDF format. You will
also get anemail announcing each issue with a link to get it from
the website. We will continue to send a paper newsletter for
thoseof us who would rather have a printed copy sent. This effort
is to help save some trees and some money in the process.So far we
have had only 10 volunteers. We need everyones help to make this
transition work. Please send us thoseemail addresses so we can keep
you informed electronically. Drop us a line with any questions!The
newsletter will be accessible on our website at
www.KissimmeeAudubon.org.
First baby eagle in January on Donegan St.Photo by David
Austin
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The Eagles Nest Page 2
The Eagles NestPublished by the
Kissimmee Valley Audubon SocietyPO Box 420115
Kissimmee, FL 34742-0115Articles for the newsletter are
welcomed.
Kissimmee Valley Audubon SocietyBoard of Directors
Officers
President Larry Rosen [email protected]
VP Peggy [email protected]
Secretary Sandie [email protected]
Treasurer Dick [email protected]
Committee Chairs
Conservation: Karol [email protected]
Education: Jenny [email protected]
Fundraising: Kimberly [email protected]
Membership: Susan [email protected]
Programs: Available!
Editor: Charles [email protected]
Field Trips: Peggy Cholley
Publicity: Grayce [email protected]
Members-at-LargeRoslyn Scheer
Kimberly TitteringtonMike Johnson
Snowbirds-on-Board
Frank BenhamNancy Benham
PRESIDENTS MESSAGE
Lets face it; natural Central Florida needs a bailout! Give us
some bucks so we cabuy back that part of the Tohoqua DRI the
developer wants to sell; lets make a niccounty park out of that
land near Lake Toho. While were at it, lets restore the hatat in
the new Anthem Park subdivision in St. Cloud so that the Bald
Eagles thatAmericas Builder chased away will choose to nest there
again. Give our wildlif
a stimulus package and reforest the land between the built parts
of Bellalago and Lerty High School where the utility connections
for never-built homes have been sitting in the bare sand for three
years. Lets let trees grow again east of John YoungParkway south of
the Donegan Street Bald Eagles nest, where the landowners cutdown
the woods ten years ago and still have not built anything. Its been
that longsince I heard a Chuck-wills-widow calling there.Who was at
fault? It was irresponsible speculation that drove a building boom
thahad developers, the real estate industry, and government
power-brokers starry-eyedwith glee. Who cared what nature could
provide when you can make so muchmoney in so little time by
destroying it? And with all the millions of people whowere supposed
to be moving here, it was such a sure thing!Where did the
enthusiasm go? Was it the hurricanes of 2004, the poor school
sys-
tems, the high-priced homes? I dont know, but the Florida market
was decliningbefore anybody knew the toxic waste dump of
mortgage-based securities waswhere inflated home-buying money was
going. Now that the hype is gone, so is thmoney, and we are looking
at half-built subdivisions and abandoned homes whereless should
have been planned in the first place. Not very attractive to people
whomight be thinking of moving here. Then again, overcrowding and
unwise development were already affecting quality of life in our
area. How many friends orneighbors do you have who have left
Florida for the Carolinas, Tennessee, or Vir-ginia? And lets
rethink this Destiny thing; do we really want or need another
ciwhere Yeehaw Junction is, no matter how well its planned?I hope
everyone is signed up to receive Internet action alerts from
Audubon of Florida and National Audubon; they can and do make a
difference. If you hear about
local news we should know about, please tell us. And did I
mention that we can usmore people to help on our Conservation
Committee? Thanks for letting me vent!Larry
www.KissimmeeAudubon.org
Birdathon Time is Almost Here!
This years KVAS Birdathon will be on Sunday, April 26. Please
participate!Teams will count species of birds on that day, and
people will pledge a certain amount perspecies. Audubon members are
urged to solicit pledges from family, friends, and co-workers. The
main team will be members on our April 26 field trip to Three Lakes
WildlifManagement Area and Joe Overstreet Rd., south of St. Cloud.
Good birds are expected onthis trip, including Red-cockaded
Woodpecker, Whooping Crane, Crested Caracara, Bald
Eagle and many more. Perhaps 60 species will be seen. At 10 a
species, this is only $6. course, you can pledge a dollar a species
if you feel flush. Or you can pledge a blanket sumlike $5, $10 or
more. You can also pledge a premium for a favorite bird, like $1
extra for aBluebird! You can print your own pledge form from
www.KissimmeeAudubon.org in theNewsletter section.If a member wants
to count on his own on the 26th in his favorite birding spot, that
is OKtoo. Just remember to pledge yourself and ask your friends and
neighbors. Remember toput this date on your calendar and join us in
this important fund-raiser. Many costs of run-ning our organization
have increased. We also would like to be able to purchase more
Audbon Adventures lessons for grade school students and do other
community projects.Questions? Contact Fundraising Chair Kim
Titterington at 321-624-2502.
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The Eagles Nest Page 3
Shingle Creek Recreational Preserveby Charles TitteringtonMy
family and I were unable to attend the recent grand opening but
still made it out there to visit both areas with eagerness to hike
and explore the areas. During our two visits to the recreational
sites we made a point to hike anlook for signs of wildlife in any
form. It did not take us very long to find tracks of deer, wild
pig, raccoons, andarmadillos along with some signs of bobcats and
some Wild Turkey. We saw a couple of Bald Eagles flying in tharea
and managed to get over to the eagles nest they have there. I took
a few images of the young eagle in thenest. Around 3:30 pm we
started to hear the crows in the distance. The next thing we knew,
there are a few hun-dred American Crows talking away in the orange
grove. I personally find them fun to watch. We have seen sev-
eral Red-shouldered Hawks and an American Kestrel hunting during
the day.I would highly encourage anyone who loves the outdoors to
visit both sites. These areas are still in the beginningstages with
room to grow. It is really nice that there are places to drop your
canoe or kayak in the water. I hearthey have plans for grills for
cooking outdoors. They already have trash cans and benches to take
a seat when yoare needing some down-time. I honestly can say if you
want to see wildlife here dont just stay on the marked traand visit
during the week when fewer people are there. We saw some really
nice stuff. We plan to drop our canoin the water in the near future
if all goes well.The preserve is on Babb Rd. off of Old Vineland
Rd. Please, when you visit these sites help preserve them by leaing
only footprints on your journey. And have fun! Oh! Don't forget the
cameras and video cameras.
Learning about Eagles on Donegan St.by Jenny Welch
In January my Daughter Kaity and I along with Peggy Cholley went
toHighlands Elementary School with Audubons spotting scope and
mycamera set up to be used as a scope to view the eagles up close
for thekids during recess.
The children were amazed! They wanted to come back again
andagain. Some of the children spent their whole recess over there
withus. Other children came out according to their classes. Their
ques-tions were limitless. The babies never popped up. The day was
beau-tiful weather-wise so it was a wonderful day to have the
scopesthere. Some of the children asked why they needed to look
throughthe scope when they could already see the eagle. But when
theylooked through the scope their eyes got huge and they
under-stood. After looking through the scope they said they didn't
know theeagles beak was yellow or that their eyes were so intense.
They didget to see the eagle eating which they thought was really
cool and
taught them that eagles do not eat worms like many of
themthought. It was an awesome teaching experience!
Upcoming Programs*
March 24, 2009Jenny Welch ofEagleWatch The Eagles of
OsceolaCounty
April 28, 2009
Dan Pennington of1000 Friends of Florida Wildlife-friendly
Planning and Land Management for Florida Com-munities and
Landowners
* Please note change in program schedule!
Meetings are at KUA, 1701 W. Carroll St., Kissimmee, at 6:45
pm
Upcoming Field Trip (and Birdathon!)
Sunday, April 26, 2009 Joe Overstreet Landing & ThreLakes
Wildlife Management Area
Outreach (and Fun!)
Kowtown Festival March 21, 11-5 pm, Toho Square, Kissimm
Education in the Park April 25, 10-3 pm, Kissimmee
LakefroPark
Dark Sky Festival April 25, 6-11 pm, Harmony
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TojoinKissimmeeValleyAudubonSocietygotoourwebsiteat
www.KissimmeeAudubon.or
gandclickJoin!Thenprintoutthe
membershipform,fillitout,andsendwithachecktoNation
alAudu-
bon.PutchaptercodeE39
onyourcheck.Youcanalwayscontact
KVAStomakesurethechapterhasyourcurrenthomeaddressand
emailThanks!
NONPROFIT ORG
U.S. POSTAGE PAI
PERMIT #40136
KISSIMMEE, FL 347
KISSIMMEE VALLEY AUDUBON SOCIETY
POST OFFICE BOX 420115
KISSIMMEE, FL 34742-0115
ProtectiveDoneganSt.Eagleparentleavingnesttochaseahawkaway.
Watchout!
PhotobyJennyWelch
