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Tell Your Friends Tell your friends about the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey and this free electronic resource, Florida Raptor News. Visit Us The Center is open to the public and located at 1101 Audubon Way, Maitland, FL 32751. Hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 10am until 4pm. We are closed to the public on Mondays and Federal holidays. Help Contribute We are asking for your help to donate generously in support of Center programs. Your contribution will directly affect the Center's continuing treatment of Florida's raptors.

Audubon Center for Birds of Prey
Florida Raptor News, April 2010

Welcome to Audubon Center for Birds of Prey Florida Raptor News!  This quarterly publication will inform you on activities, programs and events with Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.  We invite you to share with friends and other birders and conservationists the exciting events and opportunities going on in Central Florida.  Though everyday is Earth Day at Audubon, check out the many activities going on in April and beyond.  Spring has sprung so get outside and get involved. 

Dark phase short-tailed hawk

Highlights From Our Busy Clinic

If this March is a sign of what to expect when baby season hits us in full bloom, then we are going to be very busy! March brought our clinic 57 raptor patients, including 19 Bald Eagles (eight baby eaglets and 11 adults)!  Thankfully, we have been able to either foster eaglets into other wild nests, return them back to their own nests, or hold them for a week or two until they are flighted. (Putting older babies back in a nest doesn’t work well because they just jump back out). Other babies admitted in March include seven Great Horned Owls (four were healthy and could be placed back in their own nests) and two Barred Owls. Our very own resident Barred Owl "Owen" has already adopted one baby and is a wonderful mother. We hope she adopts the new one too. A BIG thank you goes out to our climbers, Jim Lott and Brian Fresk.  We would not be able to reunite families without these wonderful volunteers!

Resident Barred Owl "Owen" acting as adoptive mother to baby. Three baby Bald Eagles admitted to the Center this Spring.

Another very interesting bird admitted in March was an adult, dark phase Short-tailed Hawk (showed in above photo) a very rare and handsome bird admitted with injuries caused by entanglement in barbed wire. We were able to release (or return to nest) 16 raptors in March; we will have a lot more to release once we get all the others through the rehab process.

Look out baby season, we are here to help!


Bald Eagle Update

This eagle season has not been kind to our Florida birds. The terrible weather, combined with the usual hazards of collisions with vehicles, electrocutions and territory fights, has contributed to an unusually high eagle admission rate at the Center.  Since January, the Center has admitted 39 Bald Eagles (22 adults, one sub-adult, six nestlings and ten fledglings.) The good news is that three of the nestlings were fostered into new nests (sadly, three died in falls), and we are getting the fledglings out as soon as they are flying in our flight enclosure.  One of the most amazing and endearing traits of Bald Eagles is their acceptance of foster chicks.  Center staff has successfully done this multiple times, and have yet to have a foster eaglet rejected by its new parents. Currently there are three eaglets in new homes, all in Pinellas County. All are doing well and are expected to fledge soon. The Center for Birds of Prey has released 387 Bald Eagles back to the Florida skies. Four recent releases were fledglings. We are happy to see them fly safely back into the wild!

Education Programs & Events: April through June

April 8 – 6:30 PM at Bunnell Elementary School.  Flagler Audubon Society hosts a presentation on falcons and hawks by Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. Free and open to the public.
 
April 16 - 17 – Northwest Florida Birding Festival, Panama City Beach.
 
April 17 – Earth Day with Eileen Fisher – 112 North Park Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789 (407-628-9260) from noon until 4 PM.  In honor of Earth Day, stop by the Eileen Fisher Store as we exhibit the work of acclaimed photographer (and sales associate) Pamela Z. Daum. 50% of all photography sales will benefit Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.  All clothing purchases receive double reward points.

April 22-25 – Florida's Birding and Fotofest, St. Augustine.

Baby Barred Owl drawing © Maria Bolton-Joubert

BABY OWL SHOWER: Sat., May 8th, 10 AM - 2 PM

Join us for a day of fun educational activities, crafts and baby birds to celebrate Mother’s day and spring! Admission to the Center that day is free with a “baby gift” that is used in caring for these young raptors. Each year we ask for folks to donate with in kind gifts to help offset the Center’s increased expenses during baby bird season. Won’t you help? Read on for our detailed wish list and how to get involved.  Thank you to our participating organizations: Orange Audubon Society, Kissimmee Valley Audubon Society, The Orlando Science Center, South Florida Water Management District and the Orange County Environmental Protection Department.

TogetherGreen Volunteer Days:
TogetherGreen is all about helping you get involved in creating a brighter, healthier future. This dynamic and innovative Audubon program is funded by Toyota and aims to provide inspiration, leadership and opportunities that inspire people everywhere to take action at home, in their communities and beyond to improve the health of our environment. All volunteer events will take place at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. Enjoy refreshments and giveaways after you lend Mother Nature a helping hand. You must register for these events. To get involved contact Katie via email or call the Center 407-644-0190.

Last TogetherGreen events for this season; sign up now.

April 24 – 9:30am – 12:30pm Celebrate Earthday with us! Butterfly Buffet: Learn how to save money, water and time.  Transfer your yard into a haven for birds and butterflies.    Local experts will teach us about some of the best plants to attract butterflies to your yard and where to find them locally.  Dig in the dirt and help us create an addition to our existing garden.

June 6 – 2PM – LakeFront Clean up.
Take action to improve water quality and wildlife.  Join Eco-action and Audubon to clean up Lake Sybelia via foot and canoe. Canoes are limited, you must register.

Volunteer Spotlight: Benjamin Steinhauser

Benjamin started with us this February and is volunteering a year at the Center through the Internationaler Bund Program.  The "Internationaler Bund", IB, is one of the largest NGO’s of youth work, social work and educational work in Germany. It serves the community and offers the voluntary year to young people between ages 18 and 27 years old who want to volunteer in social, pedagogical or cultural institutions. The social voluntary year abroad offers young adults the possibility to make valuable experiences in a different country.  Benjamin primarily helps out in the aviary/rehabilitation department but is gaining experience in all areas of the Center.  "I have learned that these wild birds have unique personalities and traits.  Different species and the permanent residents will surprise you with their habits and behaviors.  I enjoy learning new things each day," states Benjamin.  We are thrilled to host him at the Center for a year and hope to have his German influence rub off on staff and visitors.  Welcome Benjamin!

Partnership Spotlight: Massey Services, Orlando, FL

The past few months have been exciting for both the Audubon Center and Massey Services! As the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey celebrated its 30th anniversary in the fall of 2009, Massey Services is commemorating its 25th anniversary in 2010. Massey Services is very proud to celebrate the milestones and achievements of the Center, such as the more than 375 bald eagles that have been released to date, the 13,000+ patients that were admitted (including more than 1,000 Bald Eagles), as well as the more than 40,000 individuals who were reached through various educational activities.

Donate Now

As we begin to head into the busy baby bird season, Audubon Center for Birds of Prey needs your help!  Please donate online.  Your contribution will directly affect the much needed funding to continue treating Florida's raptors. Thank you in advance.

In addition to the community support relationship that Massey Services has maintained with the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, the pest management company happens to possess several distinct similarities with the not-for-profit organization. Primarily, both deeply care about the environment. As the Audubon Center is known for its “voice of conservation,” Massey Services is also known within its industry as a leader in protecting the environment. Developed under the leadership of Harvey L. Massey, the pest prevention service model spurred a great deal of change in the pest industry as a whole. Following Massey’s lead, many companies throughout North America have moved away from the heavy use of pesticides and followed Massey Services’ Pest Prevention model by focusing on how to prevent pests from ever entering the home.

Established in 1985 in Orlando, Massey Services has evolved into a more than $70 million operation and is now the 5th largest pest management company in North America, as well as the largest family-owned company in the industry.  Massey provides services to more than 300,000 residential and commercial customers from Service Centers throughout Florida, Georgia and Louisiana. Having successfully completed 25 years of uninterrupted growth, Massey has become one of the most recognizable organizations in the pest management industry and a pillar in Central Florida and many of the communities where the company has a presence.

EARTH IN FOCUS: IN FOCUS Ezine is an online digital ezine-no paper, printing or waste.  Monthly publications are delivered directly to your inbox via email.  IN FOCUS contains news, behind the scenes, photography from the valuable archives and features and special offers about Nicholas A. Price Fine art photography.  Check out the featured story and front photo cover on Dianna Flynt and Audubon Center for Birds of Prey.

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