ChipNote

MAY 2024 NEWSLETTER

Plein air painting at the Rookery

My intention this month was to highlight our amazing accomplishments of this past year. The problem is, the long list of those accomplishments is impossible to put into this limited space. All the work of our Board of Directors, our Sarasota County government partners, our members, our volunteers, and the many visitors who are responsible for and participated in our programs, made 2023-2024 a year for the record book. Here are just a few of the significant highlights:

new adult daytime programs and weekly rookery walks, January through March
the return of the Birdathon fundraiser
more effective communication with members and the public through the improved website
new community outreach education programs and opportunities
environmental education for local daycare programs
training 60+ new and returning volunteers for the 2nd Grade Birdwatchers Program rookery field trips
committing to and completing substantial repairs and maintenance work to reopen the Venice Audubon Center

Our successful fundraising programs and efforts ensure the work will continue next year and beyond as we strive to achieve our mission: to promote an understanding of and interest in wildlife and the environment that supports it, and to foster the cause of conservation with emphasis on birds and their habitats.

This organization is a collective of amazing people. The time, talents and resources that are generously shared, along with the participation of so many people interested in learning about and responding to the changing natural environment, are a significant reason for this year’s success. Thank you seems inadequate but it is truly heartfelt. Thank you to those who volunteer in any capacity, to those who attend, spread the word, offer ideas and criticisms, and support Venice Area Audubon Society (VAAS). Thank you for embracing the natural beauty around you and caring enough to protect it. Because of you, VAAS is marking its 65th year in 2025.

Stay tuned. There’s so much more to come!
Jean Pichler, President

Second Grade Birdwatchers Program

In 2024, our award-winning program included 23 Rookery field trips from January through April. The classroom visits to elementary schools in South Sarasota County numbered 36 this year, led by
our VAAS knowledgeable, trained teachers who visited nearly 60 classrooms. That’s about 1200 eager students engaging in learning experiences in our Birdwatchers program! Many thanks go out to the schools’ second grade teachers who invited us into their classrooms and supported our program. We also extend special thanks and gratitude to our wonderful VAAS volunteers who helped with the field trips and some of the classroom lessons. You showed up for 150
volunteer opportunities! We could not offer this successful program without your time and talents. We so appreciate each of you.

This year, the Friends of the Venice Public Library gifted each second grader and their teacher who experienced the Birdwatchers Program with a copy of The Kids Guide to Birds of Florida by Stan Tekiela. This was the icing on the cake for our field trips and we thank this group for making the trips even more special. The support offered by Friends of the Venice Public Library helps our local children continue to grow in knowledge and appreciation for the natural environment and many bird species that surround us. What an amazing gift that will continue to give in the lives of these children!

Rookery Watch

Great Blue Heron
4 nests: 8 chicks

Great Egret
14 nests: 9 chicks

Double-crested Cormorant
2 nests: 2 chicks

Anhinga
15 nests: 10 chicks

Black-crowned Night Heron
0 nests: 0 chicks

Glossy Ibis
1 nest: 0 chicks

Extraordinary Ecuador

On March 13th, 13 birders embarked on the second Venice Area Audubon Society hosted trip to beautiful, birdy Ecuador. The trip, facilitated by Holbrook Travel, originated in Quito and included birding in Mindo, Puembo and Cosanga. Two hundred and eighty-nine species of birds were observed or heard under the expert eye of our guide Freddy Perez. As Gary Forbes put it so aptly, “Freddy was a fabulous guide who engaged everyone on the trip at their own level of skill and interest.”

Fundraising Updates

Thank you to all who supported our major fundraising efforts this spring! The final amount the Birdathon raised was a whopping $6,452, which was added to our dedicated Education Fund. In total, we raised $14,778 over the 2023-2024 fiscal year to fund our 2nd Grade Birdwatchers Program, which will provide full funding for the 2024 program and a surplus to carry over to 2025.

The biannual Giving Challenge raised $5,955 from 65 donors. With qualifying matching funds from The Patterson Foundation, we expect our total Giving Challenge amount to be close to $9,000. Funds will be received in June. The next Giving Challenge campaign will take place in April 2026.

Bird of the Month: Common Gallinule

Common Gallinules, formerly called Common Moorhens, are members of the rail family. They are a medium-sized bird, about 12-13 inches long, with a wingspan of 21-24 inches, and weigh up to a pound. They have a bright red shield above their red bill with yellow tip, which stands out against their charcoal-gray body with a white stripe down the side and white undertail.

Common Gallinules can swim like a duck but they also walk along the top of floating vegetation with their large yellow feet. Their diet consists of seeds, insects and snails that they find by flipping vegetation over with their large toes. They are found in marshes, lakes and ponds, but you will probably hear their noisy squawks and clucking before you see them.

In late April and early May, you can find the newly hatched fluffy black chicks, with a reddish bald spot on the top of their head and reddish bill, which will grow into the adult version. The chicks are quite comical, with tiny stumps of reddish wings and a scruffy white beard, as they follow the adults around almost immediately after hatching. They are often found nearby at the Venice Audubon Rookery, State College of Florida, Venice Campus, Celery Fields, or most any wetland area.

Photos and Information by Margaret F. Viens.
Photo taken at Grand Palm, Venice, FL – 21 Apr 2024.

References:

Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.
Cornell Lab All About Birds
iBird Pro 13.4 – Mitch Waite Group

Earth Day 2024

Venice Area Audubon Society celebrated a busy Earth Day on Saturday, April 20th. Board member Linda Soderquist provided educational materials and hands-on activities at Atwater Elementary School in North Port, offering families and members of the community an opportunity to commit to making a positive impact to protect the earth through their actions.

At Oscar Scherer State Park's 35th annual Earth Day event, Venice Area Audubon continued a long tradition of participation with a booth filled with information and activities for all ages. The booth was especially popular with the younger set who were engaged with bird identifications, learning how birds forage, making keychains, and designing and coloring bird pages.

Long-time organizer of the Venice Area Audubon booth Bill Fairbanks was especially pleased and grateful, commenting, "I would like to thank all the volunteers that helped staff the booth: Chris Behnke, Frank Blum, Cheryl Camp, Barbara Cohen, Cindy Donohue, Sharon Johnson, Franci Storey and Lisa Leibig-Zimmerman. They made the day a success!"

Atwater Elementary School's Earth Day event. Photo by Linda Soderquist.

Field Trip Recap for the 2023-2024 Season

Venice Audubon had a busy field trip program during our 2023-2024 season. In all we had 34 field trips – or about one a week between the beginning of October and the end of April.

We visited many of the old local birding hotspots we have enjoyed in the past and we also went to some new birding places that we had not been to previously. Some of the new locations included Lakeview Park, Grand Lake at Wellen Park, Stump Pass State Park, Babcock Webb Wildlife Management Area and Harns Marsh.

We also visited some out-of-town sites. Field trips to Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary and Archbold Research Station involved educational presentations and also guided bird walks.

We especially thank the field trip hosts who guided us on the birding walks and added so much to our enjoyment. Great thanks to Bob Clark, Bailey Cleveland, Rick Cordner, Jack Foard, Eileen Gerle, Patti Haynes, Tom & Linda Littoral, Jean Pichler, Lou Sharp and Mike Weisensee.

Field trips are suspended for the summer but will resume again in October. Did you especially enjoy a field trip to a location and think that we should go there again? Do you have any suggestions for new places to go for field trips? Please send any suggestion or comments you have about field trips to Bill Fairbank at wgfairbank@gmail.com.

Calling All Book Lovers

We’re kicking off a Venice Area Audubon Book Club this summer! Plan to join us the 2nd Monday of the month beginning in June. Two discussion groups will be available, the in-person group will meet at Venice Audubon Center and a second discussion group will meet online via Zoom. Whether you’re near or far, you can join in and stay connected.

June’s selection, Silent Spring by Rachel Carson, is a book that influenced the early organizers of our chapter. The July book will be Noah Stryker’s Birding Without Borders: An Obsession, a
Quest, and the Biggest Year in the World.

More details about the discussion groups will be in the June ChipNote and on the Events list of our website. We look forward to seeing you!

We are so grateful!

We recently received a donation of native plants from the Mangrove Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society. With the help of volunteers, we installed the new plants in our Pollinator Garden and various areas between the Venice Audubon Center and the rookery pond. As the plants become established, they will continue to improve habitats for the many insects and other animals looking for food and shelter in our gardens and near the oaks. Thank you, Mangrove Chapter – FNPS!

From the Archives

"Mrs. Vieta spoke briefly about the purple martin… She also had literature from a martin house firm. In response to a question as how to attract the martins, Mrs. Truchot said that the houses must be cleaned each year, for in contrast to the sparrows, the martins are clean housekeepers. Mrs. Vieta also brought up the proposed measure now pending in Congress in regard to the control of the chemical content of pesticides."

VAAS Monthly Meeting, April 26, 1966