President's Message
It’s a busy time of year as we begin to celebrate the holiday season. The coming months have plenty of opportunities to join in. We invite you to take in a bird walk, attend an interesting program, or offer your help as a volunteer.
Speaking of volunteers, Venice Area Audubon Society’s volunteers do it all from our Board members, field trip leaders, Rookery docents, Purple Martin colony monitors, 2nd Grade Birdwatchers field trip helpers, Volunteer Saturday gardeners and more. Our cadre of volunteers learn new information, meet interesting people, have a lot of fun, and know they’re making an impact both now and for the future.
We depend on our fantastic volunteers to bring our mission to life: to promote an understanding of and interest in wildlife and the environment that supports it, and to foster the cause of conservation with an emphasis on birds and their habitats. Interested? New volunteers are always welcome. Please email us at info@veniceaudubon.org and we’ll get you connected and provide any training needed.
Supporting our mission also comes in other ways:
- Renew your membership
- Become a new member (individual, family, student, lifetime)
- Gift a membership to family or friends
- Make a donation of your choice, one time or recurring
- Spread the word! Share the ChipNote, invite someone along, wear the “swag”
- Stay informed about local conservation issues in your neighborhood or area
- Take action by promoting a positive change for the environment, attending a meeting, writing a letter
- Be conscious of your actions and the impacts of your choices.
Each day challenges us to do and be better than the day before. How can every one of us finish 2024 as a strong advocate for the environment and wildlife around us?
Happy holidays!
- Jean Pichler, President
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The first hatchling of the season was reported by Bill Fairbank this past week. An Anhinga chick popped up in its mid-island nest, with hopefully more to follow soon among our early nesters. In addition to multiple Anhinga nests, Double-crested cormorants and Great blue herons have established nests. Increasing numbers of White ibis along with several heron and egret species are gathering to roost for the night.
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Below is an updated list of VAAS field trips for November. Please see the listing in the calendar on the VeniceAudubon.org website for current field trip details and changes.
Old Myakka Bridge/Crowley Museum - Dec 6 CANCELLED
The birdwalk at the Old Myakka Bridge/Crowley Museum has been cancelled as the Crowley Museum has not reopened yet due to hurricane damage.
State College of Florida – Wednesday, December 11
Christmas Bird Count – Sunday, December 15
Grand Lake at Wellen Park – Wednesday, December 18
South Venice Lemon Bay Preserve – Saturday, December 28
Please consult the Calendar on our website for timing, possible changes and other details. Bird walks may be cancelled due to inclement weather and additional bird walks may be added which are not mentioned above.
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The Florida Scrub Jay Story
MONTHLY PROGRAM NIGHT |
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Jim Rogers has come to know many of the Florida scrub jay families in our local area as a citizen scientist with Audubon Florida's JayWatch Program and as a wildlife photographer. Learn about this endangered scrub jay species' unique characteristics, what has been gleaned about their natural history through JayWatch's studies, and what the future may hold for Florida's only endemic bird. This promises to be an informative evening accompanied by Jim's outstanding photography.
Jim will also lead a Scrub Jay bird walk at Oscar Scherer State Park on Tuesday, January 14 at 8:30 AM. Details on the Calendar.
December 17, 2024
6:00 pm refreshments
6:30 pm program begins
Venice United Church of Christ, Naar Hall
620 Shamrock Blvd, Venice
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Christmas Bird Count - December 15
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You Can Help!
This year marks the 125th anniversary of the National Audubon Christmas Bird Count, a citizen science effort to survey birds throughout the country. For Venice Area Audubon Society, this will be our 52nd year of participation. On Sunday, December 15th, volunteers working in teams will tally all the birds they can find that day within the 7½ mile radius of the official Venice/Englewood Circle. (See map below.)
The deadline has passed for adding new volunteers to counting teams, but you can still help, according to Bob Clark, who is leading the project for the 12th year. Anyone living within the count circle can still participate by documenting the birds they see in their yards on count day.
Here’s how to participate:
- Check the Venice/Englewood CBC map to make sure you live within the count circle. We can’t count birds outside the circle.
- On Sunday, December 15, keep track of any birds you see in your yard on that day only.
- List each species and, for each species, count the largest number of birds you see at one time. (We are trying to gauge the estimated total number of birds, not total trips of one bird to a feeder!)
- Keep track of the amount of time you spend watching for birds.
- If possible, take a picture of any less common birds, as we will have to document any rare birds.
- If you hear owls at night, add those to your list.
- By Monday, Dec. 16, send your list via email to Eileen Gerle at eileengerle@gmail.com. Please include your name, address and phone number, as well as the amount of time you spent watching.
Thank you in advance for your participation. Your contribution to the overall count is very important.
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CBC Social
Attention, all Christmas Bird Count volunteers! Plan to attend the post-Count social at the Venice Audubon Center on Sunday, December 15 at 4 PM. Snacks and soda will be provided; byob. It’s a nice opportunity to meet other Count volunteers, tell the tales of your CBC experiences and hopefully hear about a few rarities that were spotted in the area.
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New Swag
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Are you looking for a last minute gift for that someone special (including yourself)? Our new Venice Area Audubon hats are only $20 and will be available for sale at our December 17th Program Night.
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Red-headed Woodpecker
BIRD OF THE MONTH BY MARGARET F. VIENS
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Red-headed Woodpecker at Carlton Reserve by Margaret Viens
The Red-headed Woodpecker is a distinctive, medium-sized woodpecker (approx. 8.5 - 9.25”), with its full red head, throat and neck, black back and tail, and white rump, wing patches and belly. Males and females are similar, but juveniles are black/brown where the adults are red. It occurs year-round in the Southeastern and Central US and can be found as far North as central Canada, but is scarce in the Northeastern states.
Red-headed Woodpeckers prefer open savannah or grasslands with scattered trees and are often found in swamps or burned forests where the trees are dead and the areas are more open. In our area of Florida, they are often seen in pine or oak forests where there are controlled burns.
While the Red-headed Woodpecker is one of 57 woodpecker species found in North America, it is one of only four that stores its food, and the only one to cover its food with pieces of wood and bark, tightly wedged into a crevice. It also behaves more like a flycatcher, sitting on a snag and sallying out to catch an insect and then returning to the same perch, or it may forage on the ground much like a Northern Flicker. Its diet consists of spiders, grasshoppers, beetles, other insects and also nuts and berries.
Unlike most woodpeckers it does not excavate holes to find insects, but does need dead limbs in either live or dead trees, to drill out a cavity to lay its 4-7 pure white eggs. Incubation is just 12-14 days and is done by both parents.The Red-headed Woodpecker is often found in family groups. Some of the best local places to find them are at Carlton Reserve and Deer Prairie Creek, both right in Venice. |
References:
- Crossley, Richard; The Crossley ID Guide to Eastern Birds, Princeton University Press, 2011
- https://ebird.org/species/rehwoo
- Frei, B., K. G. Smith, J. H. Withgott, P. G. Rodewald, P. Pyle, and M. A. Patten (2020). Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rehwoo.01
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veniceaudubon.org / PO Box 1381 Venice, FL 34284 / 941-496-8984
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