EVERGLADE KITE NEWSLETTER

OF THE
AUDUBON SOCIETY OF THE EVERGLADES
Serving Palm Beach County, Florida
Volume 47, Number 2
November 2006

Program for Tuesday, November 7th

CALENDAR
SAT. Nov. 11, 4:00 p.m. Our Offshore Reefs: Ed Tichenor
Wakodahatchee Wetlands Mr. Tichenor, a retired environmental scientist, moved to South
SUNSET walk. 13026 Jog Rd., Florida in 1991. As an avid diver, he has observed the degradation
Delray Beach. Meet at board- of our offshore reefs. Ed prepared and submitted numerous reports
walk. East side of Jog Rd. 1.5 to both state and federal agencies depicting the reefs’ decline due
miles north of Atlantic Ave. to Red Algae Bloom. In 2004 Ed, along with other divers, formed
TUES. Nov. 14, 9:00 a.m. Palm Beach County Reef Rescue to educate the local scuba diving
Wakodahatchee Wetlands community about protecting the coral reef ecosystem of south Palm
Delray Beach. Meet at Beach County. Most recently Ed and his organization were successful
boardwalk, as above. Leader: in petitioning the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to
Dorothy Brindle. withhold permits to renew the Boynton/Delray ocean sewer outfall
SAT. Nov. 25, 8:00 a.m.
until requirements of the Clean Water Act are met. Other activities
Green Cay, Boynton Beach.
the Reef Rescue is involved in include coral reef monitoring, beach
Meet at the Nature Center on
Hagen Ranch Road, 1 mi south restoration, and destructive fishing practices.
of Boynton Beach Blvd. Leader: Please join us, Tuesday, November 7th at 7:30 pm at Howard Park to
Ben Kolstad. meet Ed and learn about the status of our most important reefs.
SAT. Dec. 9, 8:00 a.m.
IMPORTANT MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION
Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee
New and Renewals
National Wildlife Refuge,
Boynton Beach. Meet at Marsh
September’s Kite provided incorrect information on membership
Trail. Lee Rd. Rd. west side of renewals. Many of you, wanting to help the chapter receive more
441, south of Boynton Beach money, followed those directions as instructed; however we were
Blvd. Admission to Refuge is $5 wrong!
per car. Leaders: Marge Eaton ONLY NEW MEMBERSHIPS should be mailed to our membership
and Gloria Hunter. chairman with a check made payable to National Audubon Society
TUES. Dec. 12, 9:00 a.m. accompanied by the form on the back page. It would help us if you
Green Cay, Boynton Beach. would include our chapter code, EOO 7XCH, on your check.
Meet as above. Leader: Barbara The reason we want new members to do this is we can get you on
Liberman. our mailing list immediately without waiting for National to process
SAT. Dec. 30, Christmas Count. the application. You will get the Kite much quicker. AND with
Chuck Weber, compiler. For the chapter code shown on the form, we will receive 100% of the
information, call 561-585- funds for the first year only. THIS ONLY APPLIES TO CHAPTER
7714.
GENERATED MEMBERSHIPS. Should your friends receive a direct
For more outdoor activities in the
mail solicitation asking them to join National Audubon, have them
county, see page 3—STA-1E tours
are beginning, as are regular
fill out our form instead.
walks and presentations by After the first year only a small percentage of dues is returned to
Audubon members at Riverbend the chapter. When you receive your renewal notice from National
Park in Jupiter. These are not ASE Audubon, please complete it and mail it directly to them.
events, but they are fun! We hope this clears up any misunderstanding and look forward to
a growing membership in Audubon Society of the Everglades.
 The Everglade Kite
is the newsletter of the Audubon
Society of the Everglades, published
12 times a year.
President
Marcella Munson 445-7102
marcellamunson@adelphia.net
1st Vice President
Cynthia Plockelman 585-1278
2nd Vice President
Rick Byrnes 798-6566
Secretary
Paton White 818-7574
Treasurer
Leah Schad 848-9984
Coastal Cleanup Report
Over 150 volunteers appeared at the Southern Boulevard Causeway on
September 16 to enthusiastically participate in the International Coastal
Cleanup!
The event was coordinated by PBC Environmental Resources Management,
the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Keep Palm Beach
County Beautiful, Lagoonkeepers and our Audubon chapter. Special
thanks to our volunteers Beth Berger, Deborah Smith, Susan and Roy
Snyder, Kristin and Katie Wentz, Roberta Wesley and friend Theresa, and
Esther Zaretsky and her son.
Over 2000 pounds of trash was picked up from the Audubon Sanctuary
Islands.
See you there again next September!
Claudine Laabs, Sanctuary Chair

YES, WE HAD BIRDS!…. NORTH AMERICAN MIGRATION COUNT, FALL 2006

Cynthia Plockelman, coordinator
This Fall, we had more birders (58 in had 71 species/570 individuals, reddish egret (Weinrich) made
28 parties) to cover one of the largest including the 3rd swainson’s thrush, appearances, and 4 parties got
Florida counties and still could have and the only blue grosbeak, chat, bobolinks. Thrashers and shrikes are
used more help. My thanks to all the chestnut-sided, and black-throated doing better. You could have had all
team leaders and their birders, for a green warblers. the anhingas, moorhens, white ibis,
hugely successful migration count. It egrets and herons, grackles, exotic
Warblers and vireos are migration
was a little frustrating on the coast, as doves, you wanted on Sept. 16th.
indicators for most birders. This
the seabirds, gulls and terns seemed Three parties had snail kites, for a
Fall, PB County racked up 4
to have deserted us for a bit. The total of 50 birds.(47 at LNWR). Barn
species of vireo (including blue-
only frigatebird was spotted about 6: owls, great-horned and screech owls
headed and 2 yellow-throated) and
30 PM, flirting with a condo roof in came from owling teams. Liberman’s
21 species of warblers. “Goody”
West Palm Beach. team in STA1W wrote the only notes
warblers included a 2nd magnolia
for rare bird: Purple Swamp Hen, a
Nevertheless, WE HAD BIRDS: and the only blackburnian (Schad/
turkey-sized exotic.
155 species for a total of 36,586 Vanarman), prothonotary (Kolstad/
individuals. That’s our highest ever Fredrickson), Canada (2-Kawecki), 4 Participating birders were from
and we could have had more. wormeating—4 parties. ASE, Loxahatchee Group-Sierra
Teams were closed out of Corbett Club, LNWR, Palm Beach County
Indigo buntings, but no painted(!),
and DuPuis due to hunting season. ERM, MacArthur St. Park, Florida
rose-breasted grosbeak, wild
You could tell from all the mourning Ornithological Society, & SFWMD.
turkeys at Riverbend, early bald
doves in town, that hunting was in Thanks to all who participated!
eagle, merlin and kestrel, plus 1
process. The erratic rainy season
left some places dry and others too ASE Is Looking For Photos/Artwork
wet. (Of course, development is
also impacting birds heavily with It’s official: ASE members have a ton of talent. We know, because the
continual loss of habitat!) Members’ photo night is always overflowing with fabulous nature
photography. We are currently revising our educational materials and
Highest team count was Weber/ our promotional brochures. Please consider sending us one or two of
Cohen with 82 species and 6231 your best photos, and we’ll show off your work and our organization.
individual birds. Didn’t hurt to You’ll receive full credit, our educational outreach will be jazzed up, and
have all those dowitchers, peeps , everyone wins! Please contact Susan Snyder with any submissions.
sandpipers, woodstorks, stilts and Kaufman Field Guide en Espanol
egrets to look at out in the glades. The Black Swamp Bird Observatory has donated 10 copies of Kenn
They also counted the only yellow Kaufman’s Guia de campo Kaufman a las aves de Norteamerica to help
warblers, 2 swainson’s thrushes us broaden our outreach. If you run across a promising birder who you
and a least tern which should have think would benefit from being given a copy, please let me know! I’ll be
been long gone. Hope/McCandless bringing them to our field trips as well.
 Riverbend Park General Public Birding Walks WITH APPRECIATION
Sun Nov. 12 8-11:30, Ed Kawecki We would like to thank the people who responded
Tues. Nov. 21, 8-11:30, Walt Hackenjos to a mailer prior to the Coastal Cleanup of the
Sun. Dec. 10, 8-11:30 Ed Kawecki Sanctuary Islands. By selecting the Pelican Gift the
Tues. Dec, 19, 8-11:30 Walt Hackenjos donor also received a chapter membership. We are
Presentations grateful to:
Wed. Nov. 15, 6-8 PM, Beginning Birding, Ed Kawecki Anita J. H. Michaels
Wed. Dec. 18, 6-8 PM, Birds of Riverbend, Ed Kawecki
C. Dimick Reese
For more information, contact Ed Kawecki, or go
M. L. Poisson
to http://www.co.palm-beach.fl.us/parks/locations/
Lotsie and Rick Holton
riverbendprograms.htm
Judith Maddock
STA-1E Birding Tours Mary Hulitar
The South Florida Water Management District and Pine Angelica K. Ilyinsky
Jog Environmental Education Center are partnering to for their generosity.
offer FREE birding tours of the Stormwater Treatment New members responding to the mailer include
Areas. Helen Boynton, Lindsay Grow Hartz and Per
The stormwater treatment Lorentzen.
STA-1E Tour dates
areas, owned and operated by Audubon Assembly Report
2006 2007 SFWMD, are vast, constructed I was one of two board members ASE sent to
Oct 14 Jan 13 wetlands that use vegetation to Cocoa Beach for the annual Audubon of Florida
Oct 28 Jan 27 naturally cleanse excess nutrients Assembly. I really enjoyed meeting with other chapter
Nov 11 Feb 10 from water before it enters representatives and hearing talks on global warming
the Everglades. These remote, (a major new commitment from AoF and National),
Nov 25 Feb 24
shallow water marshes attract conservation progress from around the state, and going
Dec 16 Mar 10 many species of nesting wading on field trips on the Space Coast. Everyone knows
Dec 30 Mar24 birds, migratory and other water Black Point Drive; it was great to see some of the other
Apr 7 fowl such as great blue herons, sites up there! --Ben Kolstad
Apr 21 wood storks, snowy egrets and
Field Trip Reports
roseate spoonbills. Tours are
open to anyone, but participants must register before Frenchman’s Forest, October 7: 16 birders led by
the desired date to reserve a space on the trip. Marvin Greenberg and ably assisted by Chuck Weber,
went into the field and returned with sightings of
To register for the tour or more information, contact
over 30 species. Several migrant warblers were found,
Helen Beers at Pine Jog Environmental Education
including Magnolia, Yellow-throated, Ovenbird, etc.
Center (561) 686 6600.
Ruby-throated Hummingbirds appear to own the
place these days. Perhaps most notable was a Northern
Public Comments Needed for Flamingo Lodge Flicker, formerly common in the county, but growing
Flamingo Lodge in Everglades National Park was rarer and rarer. (I’ve been in Florida since 2001, and this
destroyed when Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma is the first one I’d ever seen in the state!)
passed through in 2005. The National Park Service Spanish River Park, October 14: Ray Buchholz of ASE
is seeking public comments to solicit ideas, gather led 11 birders through the park which, like nearly
information, and discuss the range and type of everywhere else in the county, is showing signs from our
services that should be provided at Flamingo. active hurricane seasons. “The Tree” in the field is dead,
The public meetings were all in October, but and activity there seems more hit or miss than in years
the comment period won’t end until November past. Nevertheless, the trails provided excellent views
17th. Please submit comments via the web (http: of Chestnut-sided Warblers, Black-throated Green, and
//parkplanning.nps.gov), or by mail: Everglades an abundance of Black-throated Blues. All 3 expected
National Park, Attn: Fred Herling, Flamingo CSP, falcon species were seen overhead, as were a family of
40001 State Road 9336, Homestead, FL 33034. Ospreys loudly proclaiming the arrival of breakfast. A
For more information or questions, please call Fred memorable sighting was aline of a dozen majestic Great
Herling, project manager, 305-242-7704, or email Blue Herons, normally a solitary species, flying single file
him at fred_herling@nps.gov. south over the Intracoastal Waterway just after sunrise.
 Memberships in the National Audubon Society make great gifts!
In Florida, a special 3-way membership automatically makes you a member in the National Audubon Society,
Audubon of Florida, and Aubon Society of the Everglades. Your membership will include
subscriptions to AUDUBON magazine and the EVERGLADE KITE.
Recipient of Gift Membership:
Name ____________________________________
Name _____________________________________
Address __________________________________
Address ___________________________________
City _______________ State ____ Zip _________
City ______________________________________
Phone _______________________
Make check payable to: National Audubon Society
e-mail _______________________ and send to:
Membership Chair
How did you hear about us? __________________ Audubon Society of the Everglades
PO Box 16914
_________________________________________
West Palm Beach, FL 33416-6914
Regular membership $20.00 E00 7XCH

The Audubon Society of the Everglades General Meetings are held the first Tuesday of every month
at 7:30 p.m. at Howard Park Community Center in West Palm Beach. The phone number for the Community
Center is (561) 835-7055. The public is welcome to attend.
Reminder: Deadline for submissions for the December 2006 issue is November 10th

Audubon Society of the Everglades Nonprofit Org

PO Box 16914 U.S. Postage Paid
West Palm Beach, FL Permit 46
33416-6914 West Palm Beach, Florida

Dated Material -- DO NOT DELAY

The Everglade Kite is a monthly publication of the Audubon Society of the Everglades, P.O. Box 16914,
West Palm Beach, Florida, 33416-6914. Also available on the web: www.auduboneverglades.org.
Members: Advertise in the Kite. 3 lines for $10. Contact newsletter@auduboneverglades.org