President's Message by Norm Capra

When I agreed to serve as President I never imagined that I would be addressing a membership that has just lived through a storm of unbelievable destruction.  A storm that regardless of personal damage sustained, would impact all of our lives in ways that would not be resolved by enduring a few days without power and a bit of cleanup.  As I type these words, many of you are still without water or power, or worse.  Some of you may no longer have a home.  Being among the more fortunate with respect to personal loss of property, I am left to wonder what useful role, if any, Bay County Audubon might play in your life as you pick up the pieces and move on.  In my search to collect information on Board members as to their safety and whereabouts, I have come across many stories of determination in the face of enormous adversity.  Some of you just regaining power are probably just now seeing the extent and magnitude of the damage.  

I am going to take the risk of trying to find light at the end of the tunnel and try to insure that when you are ready, and I fervently believe that day will come, that Bay County Audubon, with the help of our neighboring chapters will be here to provide you with the things you have enjoyed including our educational offerings, bird walks, and advocacy to protect our environment for future generations.

In addition to helping my neighbors and perhaps some of you clean, remove debris, and put your homes in order, I am going to take the following measures.  First, I am going to speak individually with my Board members to get a realistic assessment of where they stand and honestly assess whether or not they can possibly perform some of their chapter activities.  Once that is accomplished, those who are able will work with me to prepare a realistic contingency plan.   Second, I am going to begin the task of identifying a venue for our chapter meetings until the Science and Discovery Center has finished its monumental task of cleaning and repair.  Third, I am going to visit our conservation management areas including Laidlaw and the Parker Preserve to gather information to share with Neil Lamb and Al Clare, respectively in order to develop a management plan.  I expect restoration may require outside assistance from contractors.  As I collect more information, I will meet with members of other Chapters who have offered some assistance to let them know how they can help.  Lastly, we will communicate our progress to you so that we can get together for the love of birds and nature.

I went to the Audubon Florida Assembly on  October 18^th.   The first good news that I received after the storm was that Bay County Audubon was given an award for the Best Educational Program of the year.  On my way home, my plane as landing when I overhead a young brother and sister marveling over a rainbow over the sky and it was to the East side of Bay County.  The little girl asked her younger brother, “Do you know what you find at the end of a rainbow?  He said “Of course silly, a pot of gold.”   I couldn’t help but smile.

I am proud to share a tiny bright spot in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.  A few days before the Audubon Florida Assembly, I received a call from Jacqui Sulek, the  Chapters Conservation Manager.  She was calling to inform me that we had won the Chapters Award for the Best Education Project for 2018 and, as is the custom, that I should prepare a few words about the project to share with the Assembly.

As a prelude to announcing the award, Jacqui recounted Neil Lamb’s “pre-Michael” Facebook posts detailing his concern for hummingbirds in need of food and shelter in the face of the oncoming storm.  The audience was awed by his concern for our avian friends in the face of imminent personal danger as he described putting up the feeders he had just taken down.  After the Award announcement I made the following comments.

“Our project, a symposium entitled Birds, Bugs, And Berries, aimed to promote Audubon’s Plants for Birds initiative.  It involved a unique collaboration of four organizations with separate but overlapping areas of expertise. 

Our common goal was to educate homeowners on the importance of integrating native plants into their landscaping for sustainability and to enhance the diversity and numbers of resident and migratory birds in the Florida Panhandle. 

Participating organizations included Bay County Audubon Society (BCAS), Bay County Master Gardeners (University of Florida/IFAS Extension (MG), Bay County Conservancy (BCC) and the Sweetbay Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society (SBFNPS).  

I am humbled to be able to represent and thank folks who aren’t here today.  I am sure they are busy restoring their homes and habitats in the aftermath of Hurricane Michael.  

Jody Wood-Putnam - SBFNPS, MG, and BCAS

Ron Houser - BCAS Plants for Birds Coordinator, BCC, and SBFNPS

Mary Jo Capra - BCAS, SBFNPS, MG

Julie, McConnell - UF IFS Extension MG (Director)

Teresa Nooney - BCC, BCAS, SBFNPS

Jonnie Smallman - SBFNPS,MG, BCAS

Susan Llorca - BCAS,SBFNPS

Dr. Linda Fitzhugh - Professor of Biology Gulf Coast State College, SBFNPS. Linda was responsible for providing our outstanding venue and for media production. 

Last but not least, I would like to thank the National Audubon Society, Plants for Birds Burke Grant program established with generous support from the Coleman and Susan Burke Center for Native Plants. We are proud to be a charter recipient of a grant from this program.

We had more than 120 attendees and we sent them home with information, native plants, and native wildflower seeds.  We had tremendous volunteer support from each sponsoring institution at the event.

We also had a Facebook live feed that attracted 150+ viewers and you may access the entire program via a link on our website.

A hard working group put this project together and I am quite sure that as we approach normalcy in the Panhandle, they will return with a vengeance to continue cultivating the seeds that were sown by this program.”

How To Avoid Mosquito And Tick Bites

By Ron Houser  

The great outdoors has much to offer to all of us and as outdoor people we take advantage of that when we go on field trips, bird walks and other adventures. But as we all know, the enjoyment we get is sometimes dampened by something else nature has to offer:  insect bites.  Most of us have learned to take insect repellent with us but which ones are best? And what else can we do to avoid being bitten? First, if you are going to be using binoculars and cameras, avoid any insect repellent with DEET unless you are able to wash it off your hands. This is because DEET will dissolve the rubberized coatings of many binoculars, cameras and lenses. And, there’s nothing you can do to get rid of the sticky mess that results. This comes from personal experience!  But are there good alternatives to DEET?  Yes.  Repel Lemon Eucalyptus works as well as other repellents and lasts up to 7 hours.  It is no more expensive and is widely available. It has a pleasant smell and will not harm your binoculars or other equipment.  Other “natural “products work too, but they may not last as long. Be sure to spray your ankles and socks.

What else can you do?  Wear closed-toe shoes, long sleeve shirts and pants, tuck your pants into your socks and wear light colored clothing. Not only do mosquitoes prefer dark clothing but light colored clothing makes it easier to see ticks.  Avoid walking through the brush or high grass where ticks live. If you do find a tick already attached to you, try to lift it up with a pair of tweezers without squashing it.  But the best way to avoid leaving the head under your skin is to buy and carry a little tool called Tick Twister Pro, available online. You slide the notch of the device under the tick and just give it a twist. This lifts up the tick, head and all. It comes in different sizes so it’s best to get one of each for different species of ticks. Be sure to clean your skin with alcohol and apply antibiotic ointment afterwards. If you have itching insect bites, you might want to carry a small tube of anti-itch ointment, available at drug stores. This fits nicely into your carry bag.  

So rather than avoiding nature because of fear of what may be out there, use these simple precautions and concentrate on watching those beautiful birds.

Conservationist of the Year

By Ann Ruple

Dale Cronwell was selected as BCAS’s 2018 Conservationist of the Year! Dale was instrumental in getting the Envirothon program established in Bay, Walton, Holmes and Washington Counties by engaging with school personnel, securing/coordinating numerous volunteers and obtaining $10,000 in grant funding from the Atkins Foundation. 2018 marked the seventh year for the Emerald Coast Regional Envirothon (ECRE). Dale modestly asserts that ECRE is successful because of the committed volunteers and sponsors. Dale had volunteered for Envirothon when he resided in Brooksville, Florida; he observed that the Envirothon makes a positive difference in environmental education and succeeds in its mission to develop knowledgeable, dedicated citizens who are conservation-minded and environmentally aware. 

2018 was the first year ECRE had a team that placed first at the State Envirothon competition -- the North Bay Haven Charter Academy High School team Underbrush! Underbrush then advanced to the National/International Envirothon competition held in Idaho where the team placed thirteenth (of 50 teams competing). 

Those who attended the BCAS November 2017 program heard Dale’s presentation about the Envirothon, a problem-solving, natural resource education program for high-school students. It is a field-oriented program in which five-member student teams learn to use critical thinking skills, to work as a team, and to develop problem-solving and communication skills to answer written questions or conduct hands-on investigations about environmental issues. Teams work collaboratively in preparation for the annual Envirothon competition in which they demonstrate their knowledge of environmental science and natural resource management at testing stations. The program focuses on five areas of study: aquatic ecology, forestry, soils/land use, wildlife, and a current environmental issue. (Visit baybest.org for 2018 study guides.) The current environmental issue is different each year. 

Dale currently serves as the city engineer for the City of Panama City, a position he has held almost three years. Prior to that, he spent over 28 years in private consulting working for firms in Lakeland, Brooksville, and Panama City as an environmental specialist and civil engineer. Dale graduated from the University of Florida in 1986 with a BS in environmental engineering and is a member of Panama City Kiwanis Club, is Scout Master of Troop 310, Lake Sands District and an annual contributor to the Tyndall Air Force Base International Coastal Cleanup. He has participated in numerous conservation initiatives in Bay County including the successful effort to gain funding for an ADA-compliant kayak launch in Millville. Dale has been playing in the woods and streams (and ditches) of Canada and Florida since he was a little boy and tries to do so as often as he can, even now.

Slow Day At The Park

By Ron Houser

Recently I went to St. Andrews State Park for an early morning bird hike around Gator Lake and the Turpentine Still trail. Although 2 days earlier I had a very good day at Camp Helen, seeing a good number of migrants, this time there were few birds to be seen.  I ended up with “only” 14 bird species, 9 of which were not seen but just heard. It was what birders call “A slow day”.   We’ve all experienced it. But was it wasted?  No, definitely not. There is always something else to see; other animals, plants, wildflowers and insects are always there for you to study and enjoy. Just being out there is enough for me. And you never know what you’ll find. The next time I go there may be lots of birds hopping around in the branches and calling.  You almost always run into someone else birding or someone you know taking photos. I encountered a young birder from Kentucky who told me what he’d found and I gave him some information too. The point is, no day at a state park is wasted. You can wait until the park opens at 8:00 but I strongly recommend buying a yearly pass. With that you can get the code to the gate and go in whenever you want. That way you will beat the crowds and be home before most of them even get there. It’s also the best time for birding. An individual pass is around $50 and a family pass is about double that but there are discounts for military service.  Just stop in the headquarters building just past the main gate and ask for it. The pass is good for all state parks for one year, but each park has its own gate code. This is a bargain if you go frequently.

See St. Andrews State Park photos by Ron Houser in the Member Photos section below.