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On Wednesday, February 24 at 6:30 p.m. the Florida Keys the Florida Keys Audubon Society will present an online program, “Flamingos in the Keys: What’s The Deal?” The program will be a conversation between Dr. Steven Whitfield of Zoo Miami and FKAS executive director Mark Hedden. 

Whitfield, a conservation biologist and researcher, is a member of a small team of scientists who have been studying the American Flamingo, it’s history in South Florida and the Keys, as well as the species current status. The fout-foot-tall pink birds were once thought to be wiped out in the state, but in recent years have been shown to have a greater resiliency than expected.

“Whitfield is just such a great, compassionate and knowledgable speaker, and he knows so much about American Flamingos and their story in the state,” said Hedden.

The conversation will take place online using Zoom. Viewing will require a computer, a digital tablet, or a smart phone.

Here is the link for the Zoom webinar. ↓↓↓↓

When: Feb 24, 2021 06:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Topic: Flamingos in the Keys: What’s The Deal?

Register in advance for this webinar:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_RakaLVBEQJmaPFCGbSHQCQ

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Speaker details TBA

Details TBA.

Keys Audubon Spring Migration Bird Walk

The Florida Keys Audubon Society will host a bird walk on Saturday, April 27. The walk is timed to coincide with spring migration. Every year birds move themselves across the planet, racing to get to their breeding grounds in time to stake out some territory and meet a suitable mate. The Florida Keys is one of the prime stop off points for birds returning from the Caribbean and South America and offers unparalleled opportunities to see them.

Participants should meet in the parking lot of Indigenous Park at 1801 White Street at 8:00 a.m. The walk will last approximately an hour, possibly longer if there are a lot of birds.

The walk is free and open to anyone interested.

Participants are advised to bring a hat, binoculars, and a bottle of water.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com.

Westbrook on Investigating South African Penguins

The Florida Keys Audubon Society’s speaker series will continue on Wednesday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m. at the Key West Garden Club, 1100 Atlantic Boulevard.

The speaker will be Ellen Westbrook, a longtime Key West resident and a director of the Florida Keys Audubon Society.

Westbrook will give a talk entitled “Investigating South African Penguins.”

Westbrook visited South Africa for a hands on experience, volunteering with Project Earthwatch on a research project, though she had never worked with penguins before.

“With Project Earthwatch, specific training is provided on-site for all projects. All you need to bring is your interest and stamina,” said Westbrook.

Westbrook has been volunteering with Project Earthwatch since 2005.

There will also be a short birdwalk before the talk, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Garden Club.

Admissions is free and open to anyone who is interested.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 305-771-5807.

Gena Parsons at Florida Keys Audubon on March 6

The Florida Keys Audubon Society’s speaker series will continue on Wednesday, March 6, at 6:30 p.m. at the Key West Garden Club, 1100 Atlantic Boulevard.

The speaker will be Gena Parsons of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. 

Parsons will give a talk called “Navigating the Challenging Waters of the Florida Keys.”

“The sustained health of the nearshore marine environment is vital to the tourist-based Florida Keys economy, and supports the coral reef ecosystem in many ways. Hardbottom communities and seagrass beds provide important feeding and nursery grounds for numerous commercially-important fish and protected species. Sea turtles and birds forage in seagrass beds and tidal flats. Disturbance and direct impacts, including prop scarring, groundings, turbidity and water quality, are major contributing factors to declines in these habitats, which are essential for birds, fish and other animals,” said Parsons.

Parsons will talk about strategies for avoiding damaging marine habitats and a free online boater education course that will be released in April promoting responsible, sustainable boating Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary has developed.

Parsons moved to the Keys from Texas nine years ago, following a hankering for bluer waters. She has been with the sanctuary since 2017.

Admissions is free and open to anyone who is interested.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 305-771-5807.

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Caption: Gena Parsons, who will speak to the Florida Keys Audubon Society on March 6.

Doug Mader at Keys Audubon on Feb. 6

The Florida Keys Audubon Society’s speaker series will continue on Wednesday, February 6 at 6:30 p.m. at the Key West Garden Club, 1100 Atlantic Boulevard.

The speaker will be Dr. Doug Mader of the Marathon Veterinary Hospital. He has worked in the Keys for over 24 years.

Mader will give a talk called “Birds of the Amazon River.” The Amazon is one of the most environmentally rich areas on the planet.

“I spent 5 days going up the Northern Amazon river with my camera and a bird expert. I was able to capture over 125 different species. There are several other great shots of other rainforest animals mixed in with all the feathers!” Said Mader.

“Mader’s passion for animals and wildlife knows no bounds. His talks always just seem like fun and then you realize how much knowledge he has shoveled into your brain,” said Mark Hedden, Executive Director of FKAS.

Admissions is free and open to anyone who is interested.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 305-771-5807.

The Florida Keys Audubon Society will hold a Super Bowl Sunday Bird Walk on Sunday, February 3 beginning at 2 p.m. Participants will meet in the parking lot at Indigenous Park at 1801 White Street.

“We figure everyone will be home or in bars eating nachos and watching pre-game shows, so the parks should be pretty empty. Which makes it a pretty good time to go birdwatching,” said FKAS Executive Director Mark Hedden.

Participants will look for resident and wintering species of birds in the areas immediately adjacent to Indigenous Park, and then car pool to various sites around the city. The group may pause to admire the occasional butterfly. 

The walk will be led by Dr. Mark Whiteside and Mark Hedden.

The event is free and open to experienced birders, beginners, and even football fans, as most likely they will be able to get home in time for the kick-off.

The Florida Keys Audubon Society will hold it’s Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, January 5, 2019.
The Christmas Bird Count is an annual event in which groups all over the world spend a day surveying birds in their region, thus creating a snapshot of the health and numbers of bird populations. It is also a great way to learn about Keys birds and the environment. 
The first count was held on Christmas Day in 1900, and it has been a staple of nature-lovers calendar ever since.
Birders of all experiences and abilities are welcome at the count, but space is limited and the organizers ask those interested to contact them by January 2 (preferably sooner) at keysaudubon@gmail.com.

The Florida Keys Audubon Society invites people to kick off the new year by learning about the natural world that surrounds them. Our first speaker in 2019 will be Chris Bergh of the Nature Conservancy. He will be speaking on Wednesday, January 2 at 6:30 p.m. at the Key West Garden Club, 1100 Atlantic Boulevard.

Bergh is the South Florida Program Manager for the Nature Conservancy. He talk will be about “Natural Solutions for Coastal Hazards in the Florida Keys.”

“Natural systems and native species are intrinsically valuable and also vital to individuals and society in innumerable ways,” said Bergh.

Recent experience with Hurricane Irma demonstrated that natural systems helped reduce flooding and erosion as well as wind damage in the Keys. With coastal hazards, insurance rates, and awareness of these risks on the rise, people who already care about birds and their habitat may be interested to learn how these interests intersect,” said Bergh.

Bergh grew up in the Keys and has worked on many environmental projects in South Florida, ranging from pulling Brazilian pepper seedlings out of raccoon droppings to planning nature-based solutions for sea level rise adaptation in Downtown Miami. 
Admissions is free and open to anyone who is interested.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 305-771-5807.

Harty and Whiteside on Birds & Conservation

The Florida Keys Audubon Society will hold the February edition of its monthly speaker series on Wednesday, December 5 at 6:30 p.m. at the Key West Garden Club, 1100 Atlantic Boulevard.

The speakers will be Beryn Harty and Dr. Mark Whiteside who will give a presentation called “More Feathered Friends & Conservation Issues.” The talk will be structured like a virtual bird walk. Harty will surprise Whiteside with images of birds; Whiteside will identify the species, talk abut their habits, where they can be seen, aspects of their life histories, and what conservation issues affect them. 

Whiteside, a life-long birdwatcher, is president of the FKAS. He is also Medical Director of the Florida Department of Health for Monroe County. Harty is broad-based naturalist, nature walk leader, and nature photographer. She is also a realtor. 

Admissions is free and open to anyone who is interested.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 305-771-5807.

The Florida Keys Audubon Society will kick off it’s 2018/2019 speaker series with Dan Clark on Wednesday, November 7, at 6:30 p.m. at the Key West Garden Club at 1100 Atlantic Blvd.

Clark is the Wildlife Refuge Manager at the Florida Keys National Wildlife Refuges Complex. He'll give an overview of the refuge complex and its status following the Hurricane Irma. The refuges are comprised of 417,000 acres and support a variety of important habitats and species that also help fuel the economic engine of South Florida and the Florida Keys.

Clark has 25 years of experience in the stewardship and management of protected species and habitats in the tropics and subtopics. He previously was manager at the Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge/Battle of Midway National Memorial.

Clark is also an avid wildlife and landscape photographer whose work has been   appeared in the London Museum of Natural History, the Discovery Channel, and a number of other publications.

Admissions is free and open to anyone who is interested.

For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com or leave a voicemail at 305-771-5807.

he Florida Keys Audubon Society will kick off it’s 2017 Speaker Series on Wednesday, January 3 at 6:30 p.m. with a talk by Mark Hedden at the Key West Garden Club. 

Hedden is a writer, photographer, and birdwatching guide. He is also the executive director of FKAS. Hedden will give a talk called “Colombia: The Birdiest Place On Earth.” Hedden first visited Colombia in 2016, and will lead a trip there for FKAS in March of 2017.

“Colombia was off the grid for Americans for a long time, but it has been stable and safe for close to a decade,” said Hedden.

“It’s a country the size of France with about 2,000 species of birds in it. That’s two-and-a-half times more than all of the U.S. And it is an incredibly beautiful and under-visited place,” Hedden said.

FKAS talks are free and open to the public.
For more information email keysaudubon@gmail.com.

The Florida Keys Audubon Society will hold it’s Christmas Bird Count on Saturday, December 30, 2017. 

The Christmas Bird Count is an annual event in which groups all over the world spend a day surveying birds in their region, thus creating a snapshot of the health and numbers of bird populations. It is also a great way to learn about Keys birds and the environment. 

The first count was held on Christmas Day in 1900, and it has been a staple of nature-lovers calendar ever since.

Birders of all experiences and abilities are welcome at the count, but space is limited and the organizers ask those interested to contact them by December 26 (preferably sooner) at keysaudubon@gmail.com.