Co-President’s Message

Brian Dusseault

 

 

The 2024 Florida Audubon held its Annual Assembly of 44 named Chapters on November 7 – 9 in Daytona Beach, celebrating “125 Years of Audubon in Florida.” Amidst the presentations on various topics of interest to birders and conservationists in our State, a summary of a few are mentioned:

 

   1)  The latest “Jay Watch Report” noted that our rare and endemic Florida Scrub-Jay, located in 46 known habitat patches in central Florida, now number 671. There are 235 family groups, 183 juveniles, and 488 adults. 112 volunteers spent 1050 hours surveying these truly Florida birds. The general consensus was that overall, populations were stable, and with some areas showing more juveniles than previously.

 

  2)  The “Eagle Watch Annual Report” is compiled on observations of 764 volunteer nest-watchers of 1278 bald eagle nests in 53 counties, and that 92% of these nestlings fledged, similar to results from the previous year. Perhaps surprisingly, 20 percent of the nests monitored are on cell phone towers. There are numerous nests in our area, particularly Tyndall Air Force Base.

 

  3)  The Audubon Florida Coastal Program monitors and stewards beach, island, and rooftop nesting sites for coastal waterbirds. Maps of volunteer activity show mainly concentration in the Panhandle (Pensacola to the Big Bend), the West Coast from Clearwater/Tampa/St Pete south to Naples, the Jacksonville/St Augustine area, and a few in the “Big Bend” area. Colony monitoring, monofilament cleanup, and pelican banding were highlighted.

 

  4) And, Finally, in the closing minutes on November 9, Audubon Florida announced Bay County Audubon Society was  “CHAPTER  OF  THE YEAR”  for 2023-2024 (for chapters less than 500 members, which is most). The Award presentation praised our solid Chapter finances, our conservation leadership outreach with the Region and the State, our involvement with diverse people in our programs, and our community-based education conservation programs such as the Nature Connection. Congrats to all those many “YOU” who dedicate time, effort and finances resulting in this special accolade.

 

 “Chapter of the Year” awarded to Bay County Audubon Society.