President's Message
It’s August already! Throughout this month, look forward to events and activities starting to populate our website Calendar. More will be added as final details are confirmed, so please check frequently in the weeks to come. Our first Tuesday Program Night will be Tuesday, October 21st.
As you read in this ChipNote about the rooftop nesting Least Tern colony downtown and the final summary of our Purple Martin Watch season, know that dedicated volunteers are behind these projects from beginning to end. We’re indebted to each person who offered their time and enthusiasm to ensure successful outcomes, even during the long, hot months of summer!
Thanks also to the creative efforts of Tonya and Steve Bramlage and Steve Weinberger, who straightened and strengthened the Pollinator Garden’s wooden trellis and border fence so that several long-established pipevine plants can thrive once again. If you like to get your hands dirty, plan to join us this fall for our Volunteer Saturdays beginning in October. The garden always has projects waiting for a few hearty folks armed with gloves, trimmers, and an appreciation for growing things.
Lastly, I’m inspired by William Cullen Bryant’s poem, A Summer Ramble, written in 1826. The poem begins with:
The quiet August noon has come,
A slumberous silence fills the sky,
The fields are still, the woods are dumb,
In glassy sleep the waters lie.
Throughout the poem, Bryant speaks of experiencing nature’s ability to restore one’s spirits and grow in joy through sights and sounds. Readers are reminded to notice and enjoy what’s around them in the moment. It’s worth looking up the poem to breathe in his words of encouragement especially as we clamor to stay in our air-conditioned environments.
As summer’s hiatus leads to Fall and the upcoming season filled with many wonderful events and activities, I think William Cullen Bryant knew what we needed today, 200 years after he wrote A Summer Ramble. For that, I give thanks.
- Jean Pichler, President
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Purple Martin Colony Season Recap
BY BARBARA ZITTEL
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The first Purple Martin of the 2025 season returned to the Audubon Rookery from Brazil, just after the New Year! That’s the earliest arrival since we first started providing apartments for this species. So on January 9, Duke Snyder, Neil Milligan, and Bob Zittel erected the T-14, a wooden house containing 14 apartments, with four gourds attached beneath the structure. That provided apartments for 18 mating pairs of birds. Soon, other reports verified that more Martins were in our area.
On January 25, a crew of 14 volunteers arrived to assist in preparing 48 gourds with pine straw and then hung them, in numeric order, on our two other poles.
Of the 66 apartments provided for our colony, 61 were used. We monitored the cavities twice a week and delighted over newly laid eggs and newly hatched nestlings. Watching these little creatures grow, occasionally holding them in our hands as we cleaned out cavities and feeling their tiny hearts beat, is an awesome experience!
Our parents laid 311 eggs, of which 250 hatched and 208 fledged for a success rate of 67%, figured by calculating fledged divided by eggs. That figure is down a little from the last two seasons, and sadly, we had 25 deaths from unknown causes. Nevertheless, we can be proud that through the efforts of many volunteers, 208 new Purple Martins were added to the world. |
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From left to right: mated pair, eggs, hatchlings (pinkies), nestlings, begging for food, almost ready to fledge. Photos by Barbara Zittel. |
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Least Terns Nesting in Downtown Venice
BY TOM LITTERAL |
This year was a good year for nesting seabirds and shorebirds here in Venice. We finally had a breeding season without a hurricane, major storm, or red tide event! Most of our 20 or so expected Florida nesting seabirds and shorebirds choose a site either alone or in a colony by the shore of the Gulf. They prefer nice wide beaches or secluded fore dunes with sea oats or other cover to hide their nests.
Least Terns, a Florida “threatened” species, will often choose unconventional locations such as roof tops for a colony. In particular, rooftops with a pea gravel base with enough space to allow easy fly in and out options. One such rooftop was at the downtown United States Venice Post Office.
Venice Area Audubon Society (VAAS) volunteer Bob Clark has been monitoring local rooftop Least Tern sites for nearly 10 years and has had his eye on the Venice Post Office location. The activity hasn’t been consistent through the years but this summer it has been very good. With a total of nearly 30 active nests it was a challenge to do weekly counts, even with a courtesy location nearby that gave a “bird’s eye view” of the colony.
Bob, with the help of other VAAS members and with coordination from Audubon Florida’s shore bird monitoring program, was able to collect data on the colony throughout the spring to summer nesting season and contribute to the Florida Shorebird Database administered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission.
Of special interest was a situation that came up late in the nesting season when some chicks found themselves accidentally off the roof. The staff of the Post Office and volunteers trained by Audubon Florida collected a majority of found chicks and returned them to the rooftop. Our VAAS President, Jean Pichler really hustled to organize needed support. We applaud the effort of Bob Clark as observer, all the volunteers who assisted in the “chick checking” and the incredible cooperation of staff members of the Post Office. Hopefully, the Least Terns will return next season. |
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Bob Clark demonstrating a “chick-a-boom” device to return Least Tern chicks to rooftop colony at Venice USPS main office. Photos by T. Litteral.
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Galapagos Islands Trip 2026
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Reservations are now open for Venice Area Audubon Society’s Spring Adventure to Ecuador’s iconic Galapagos Islands. Our fifteen-person cruise aboard M/C Tip Top V will run from May 6 - May 18, 2026. The itinerary is uniquely curated for us by eco-specialists Holbrook Travel and your host, Eileen Gerle, to include exploration of the eastern islands as well as Isabela Island, affording the opportunity to observe the most “must-see” bird species.
The Galápagos Islands are a UNESCO World Heritage Site, so listed due to their unique wildlife. The Islands are home to some of the highest levels of endemic species: about 80% of the land birds, 97% of the reptiles and land mammals, more than 30% of the plants, and more than 20% of the marine species living in the Galapagos are found nowhere else in the world!
Notable birds we can expect to see include Great Frigatebirds, Red-footed, Blue-footed and Nazca Boobies, Red-billed Tropicbirds, Galápagos Doves, Swallow-tailed Gulls, the Galápagos Short-eared Owl, Galápagos Shearwaters, Galápagos Hawks, Darwin's finches, Galápagos Mockingbirds, American Flamingoes, Waved Albatross, and with luck, Galápagos Penguins and Flightless Cormorants.
For pricing, the complete itinerary, and to reserve your spot, visit the Holbrook Travel website at: https://holbrook.travel/vaas-gps26. Spaces are limited. Don’t miss out on this fabulous trip! Questions? Contact your host, Eileen Gerle at egerle@veniceaudubon.org. |
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Fish Crow
BIRD OF THE MONTH BY MARGARET F. VIENS
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Photo by Margaret Viens –Stump Pass Beach State Park, Manasota Key, FL - Nov. 22, 2023. |
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The Fish Crow is a relatively small, glossy crow that is endemic to the United States. It is fairly common near the coast all along the southeastern US, has been documented as far north as Maine, and is expanding westward as well. Its current population is estimated at about 500,000. The Fish Crow can be very difficult to distinguish in the field by sight alone from the also common American Crow. It is slightly smaller in size with shorter legs, but the most reliable way to determine its identity is from its nasally “uh-uh” call, rather than a “caw-caw.” Some say it sounds like an American Crow with a bad cold. Fish Crows often hunch their back and fluff up their throat feathers to call. They may line up on telephone wires, which American Crows rarely do.
Despite their name, Fish Crows are also found away from the coast at landfills, parking lots of fast-food restaurants, and around dumpsters. They have adapted well to co-existing with people and eat just about anything, from crabs, carrion, fruits, grains, insects, and, unfortunately, the eggs and nestlings of shore birds. Like most Corvids, they are curious and seem to enjoy pecking and pulling at anything they find.
Despite their abundance, there is little scientific study of this species. We do know that Fish Crows will nest once per year in high trees near the coast, usually in April here in Florida, with typically 4-5 eggs per clutch.
References:
https://www.audubon.org/magazine/long-overlooked-and-understudied-fish-crow-worth-your-attention
Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.
iBirdPro, Version 13.51 – Fish Crow
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Ohio Spiderwort/Blue Jacket
PLANT OF THE MONTH BY ALETHA BOYLE
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Ohio Spiderwort, Tradescantia ohiensis, also known as Blue Jacket, is a clump-forming herbaceous perennial which grows up to 3' tall. It has dark bluish-green, arching, grass-like leaves and clusters of blue/lavender, three-petaled flowers (0.75-1.5" diameter) which bloom from late May into early July. Each flower opens up for only one day. The blueish petals surround 6 bright yellow anthers on purple filaments.
Ohio Spiderwort is easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade. Although very tolerant of part shade, the blooms may be less profuse. You can divide clumps when they become overcrowded, and cut back plants to 6-12" in mid-summer to encourage new growth and a possible fall bloom. Spiderwort will self sow.
This is an edible wildflower. The edible parts are the flowers, leaves and stems. Flowers harvested are best used raw in salads. The stems can be cooked like asparagus. No guarantees on taste! Medicinally, Spiderwort has been used for kidney problems, digestive problems, stomach ulcers and insect bites.
I have two of these clusters in my small Florida yard and they are quite striking.
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