Salvador Dali | Crested Caracara
Edge | Red-tailed Hawk
Carson | American Kestrel
Nyx | Great Horned Owl

In an atmosphere of warmth and camaraderie, members of the St Petersburg Audubon Society shared their love of birds over a sumptuous potluck dinner at the Annual Members Meeting, held Tuesday, September 16 in the woodsy setting of Boyd Hill Preserve’s Hammock Hall. The 2025-26 Board of Directors was voted in and a 2025 Bylaws update was approved.

The 2025-2026 St. Pete Audubon Board:
Elizabeth Forys: President
Peter Plage: Vice President
Susan Benson: Second Vice President
Eve Waterman: Treasurer
Ryan Countess: Education
Francesca DiCosmo: Field Trips
John Ficken: Membership
Julia Gallagher: Communications
Abby McKay: Secretary
Laura Packard: Teacher Ecology Camp
Lisa Reich: Conservation
College student Board Members
Alex Hernandez: Assistant Director of Tabling and Outreach
Gale Raichart: Assistant Director of Field Trips

Bylaws update
The Membership calendar now runs from July 1 to June 30, to align with the fiscal and field trip calendars.

A 2024-2025 SPAS Retrospective

• Fund-raising for raptor poisoning prevention and local avian rescue and rehabilitation organizations

• Education and outreach at Pinellas festivals and events

• Installation of a gourd array for Purple Martins at Crescent Lake

• 12 completed field trips, after 4 weather-related cancellations

  Two special highlights: Oscar Scherer Park, featuring Florida Scrub Jays, and Circle B Bar Reserve Tram Tour, with ecosystems exploration and Sandhill Crane sightings

• Monthly programs on environmental topics, such as Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Lights Out Miami (prevention of bird window strikes), Gopher Tortoises as a Keystone Species, and Community Science Using eBird

• 2025 Teacher Ecology Camp, with workshops on Hurricane Impacts and Florida Saltwater Fish

• Collaboration with Audubon Florida to provide stewardship for threatened shorebirds during their nesting season

Looking ahead 2025-2026

• 20 field trips! Old favorites - Sawgrass Lake Park, Ft DeSoto, Roosevelt Wetland, John Chesnut Senior Park, Cypress Point City Park,

  Crescent Lake, Circle B Bar Reserve, and Largo Central Park Nature

  Preserve. New additions - Boca Ciega Millennium Park, Lake Seminole Park, War Veterans Memorial Park, Hammock Park, and Walsingham Park. Going further afield - Withlacoochee State Forest (Red Cockaded Woodpecker) and Davis Park (Wood ducks, Sandhill Cranes). Members Only Event! Eckerd College

• First Saturday Boyd Hill Bird Walks

• Monthly program topics this year include Migratory Bird Banding, Young Birders, Birding Technology, Birding Photography, SPAS Costa Rica highlights, The Kite and the Snail book talk with author Hillary Flower, Bird Stewarding, and hands-on chick shelter refurbishing

Presentations by SPAS-sponsored Gabe Vargo Research Grant Recipients
Dr Elizabeth Forys, Mentor

Donna Conroy with Edge, a Red-tailed Hawk
Mike Stott with Salvador Dali, a Crested Caracara

Jason Cowen, Executive Director of Friends of Boyd Hill, discussed the Birds of Prey Program and presented Nyx, the Great Horned Owl
Emily Algarin presented Carson, the American Kestrel

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125 Years of Audubon in Florida

October
Leader: Peter Plage

Saturday, October 4, 2025
8:00AM-10:00AM

November
Leader: John Ficken

Saturday, November 1, 2025
8:00 AM-10:00 AM

Location:
Boyd Hill Nature Preserve
1101 Country Club Way S
St Petersburg, FL 33705.

Meet in front of the Nature Center at 7:45am; walk will start at 8:00am.
Walk is on dirt trails and boardwalks.

What to Bring: Hat, Binoculars, Insect repellant, Sunscreen, Water

Public Restrooms: Located in the Nature Center

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War Veterans Memorial Park

Leader: Carl Shavers

Saturday, October 18, 2025
8:00AM-10:00AM

Location:

War Veterans Memorial Park
9600 Bay Pines Blvd.
St. Petersburg, Florida 33708

Meeting place: TBD (SPAS trips and events)

Terrain: Paved and dirt paths, grassy fields

Public Restrooms: At several locations in the park (Park Map)

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Backyard Birding with Laura Packard

Location: Laura’s Backyard
Wednesday, October 22, 2025
8:00 AM-10:00 AM

Members Only! Join SPAS Board member Laura Packard and a few others at her house in St. Petersburg on Wednesday, Oct 22 at 8:00 AM. View resident backyard birds, hope for a migrant or two. Talk about value of native plants and creating habitat for birds and other wildlife. Great for beginning birders and those with mobility issues or just enjoy observing plants & birds. We are capping this at 5 participants.

Please click here to reserve your spot for this unique field trip (you will receive directions to Laura’s house closer to the date of the field trip).

Mainly flat ground | Dedicated seating | On-street parking
Have accessibility questions | Reply to your registration email to confirm your requirements or request more information.

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What is the Big Sit?

• A birding event originated by the New Haven Bird Club in 1992.

• Free and open to anyone - individuals and teams - all over the world.

• This year a Big Sit can be held on Saturday October 11 or Sunday October 12 during any time period throughout the 24 hour day.

Local Leader: Peter Plage and other SPAS leaders

Sunday October 12
8:00AM-11:00AM

How many birds will SPAS team see from within a designated 17’ circle? Come find out!
Stop by for a while or stay the entire time

Location:
Lassing Park
15th-22nd Ave. SE and Beach Drive SE
St. Petersburg, FL 33705
Phone: (727) 893-7441

What to Bring: Binoculars, Hat, Sunscreen, Water, Chair or Blanket

Public Restrooms: None available on site

Admission and Parking: Free parking along the street. We will be in the northern section of the park, but in order to minimize congestion you may want to park further south.

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Meetings with Programs

October

Migratory Bird Banding
Florida Young Birders Club

Jim McGinity
Master Bird Bander
Environmental Resource Teacher

During this program we’ll hear from Jim McGinity, who will be sharing two of his most important projects with us – the Florida Young Birders Club and his work as a master bander. As a teacher, Jim works hard to foster a love of birds in young people and is a founding member of the Florida Young Birders Club. He is going to tell us about its development and share some results from his local Banding Stations. Jim is planning to finish up with a quiz, so there will be a chance to test your bird ID skills too! 

Tuesday, October 14, 2025
7:00-8:00PM

Location: Hammock Hall
Pioneer Settlement of Boyd Hill Nature Preserve
3010 31st St S, St. Petersburg, FL 33712
Please register to help us with seating set-up. Zoom links also available.

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November

Birding Made Easy

Speaker/Leader: John Ficken

Everyone from beginners to advanced birders can use Merlin and eBird to enhance their birding. Join us for our November Meeting and Program, when John will start with a slide presentation of the latest updates to these Cornell Lab of Ornithology birding tools. Afterward, we’ll head out into the field to try them in action.

 Sunday, November 16, 2025
10-11:30AM

Location: Boyd Hill Nature Preserve
1101 Country Club Way S, St Petersburg, FL 33705
Nature Center Classroom (Please check our website, SPAS trips and events, the week before to confirm completion of Nature Center renovations)

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Audubon Florida Assembly

Audubon Assembly is Florida’s premier conservation gathering, where grassroots leaders from around the state join Audubon’s professional staff and partners to grow their networks and increase knowledge and skills to protect Florida’s precious natural resources. This year’s venue is Mission Resort + Club in Howey-in-the-Hills, FL, near Lake Apopka, October 16-18.
Find all of the details and registration here: Audubon Florida Assembly 2025

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