Latest News

June 7, 2010. Debra Woodall Powerpoint Presentation.

At the March Meeting, Dr. Woodall talked about the ocean currents, the good, the bad and the ugly. Many folks wanted to see a copy of her presentation online. It is here.

June 1, 2010. Bird Rescue in NSB and Edgewater.

Bird rescue in NSB and Edgewater is now a three-party operation. For full details, check out this page or the link on the bottom of the left navigation bar.

May 7. 2010. April meeting minutes posted.

Read them here.

Apr 7, 2010. April eSkimmer is online.

Read it here.

Mar 20,2010. March meeting minutes posted.

Read them here.

Mar 15, 2010. Farmton to be reviewed at VCGMC.

The Volusia County Growth Management Commission will review the Farmton proposal at its meeting on March 24th at 7 p.m., at 123 West Indiana in Deland. Here is the email I sent to the commission asking them to vote NO! on Farmton.

Mar 4, 2010. March meeting set.

The March meeting will be held on March 17th. Our guest speaker will be Dr. Debra Woodall of Daytona State College. Her topic will be: "Ocean Currents 101- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly."

Mar 4. 2010. The March eSkimmer is online.

Read it here.

Feb 22, 2010. Farmton update.

At the last meeting, I briefed on the latest updates to the Farmton project, including the meeting between Charles Lee, the Conservation Chair of Audubon of Florida ant the presidents of SEVAS, Halifax River and West Volusia Audubons. The members voted unanimously to continue our objection to the Farmton project. I sent an email to the members of the Volusia County Council asking them to vote the project down. As you probably know, Farmton passed with a vote of four to two, with Andy Kelly and Carl Persis voting No!

As a result of our vote, I intend to send another email to the Volusia County Growth Management Commission before their meeting later this month asking them to vote NO on the project. I will also send an email to the state Department of community Affairs asking them to renew their disapproval of the project.

Feb 22. 2010. Tomoka Regional Science Fair.

As has been our custom in the past ten years, the SEVAS partnered with the Halifax River and West Volusia Audubons to provide judges and prizes for the Tomoka Regional Science Fair. We each contributed $100 to be distributed as $100 first prizes and $50 second prizes. Our judges looked for the best senior and junior participants in projects involving environment/conservation/birding projects. Our congratulations to all the participants we judged and especially to the winners:

First place Senior: Kelton Williams, Deland H. S. "Environmental Effects on Banana Ripening and Sugar Content"
First Place Junior: Chase Antilla, Buddy Taylor M. S. (Flagler) "What duration of ultraviolet exposure kills bacteria?"
Second place Senior: Katelyn Zeringue, Deland H.S. "What is the most effective fuel: B-100 bio-diesel, B-50 Bio-Diesel, or 0-Bio-diesel?"
Second place Junior: Michelle He, Creekside M. S. (Port Orange) "What are some natural ant repellents?"

Feb 22, 2010. February meeting minutes posted.

Read them here.

Feb 15. 2010. Volusia County Council and Farmton.

On Feb 17, the Volusia County Council will take up the Farmton issue for a second time. As you may recall, the state Department of Community Affairs rejected the proposal in December, and the county and Farmton went back to the drawig boards to attempt to please the DCA. Here is the email I sent to the council members asking them to reject Farmton.

Feb 10,2010. The February eSkimmer is online.

Read it here.

Feb 9, 2010. February meeting set.

The next meeting will be held on February 17th. Our speaker will be Dr. Michael Reiter, Associate Professor at Bethune-Cookman College. His topic will be "Global Warming and what we can do about it."

Feb 9, 2010. Winter Shorebird Survey.

SEVAS was invited by the Volusia County Environmental Section to assist in the Volusia County portion of the 2010 Winter Shorebird Survey sponsored by the Florida Shorebird Alliance.Thanks to all who participated in the survey on Feb 4-5. Read Ken's report and check out some of the great pics the folks took.

Jan 28, 2010. Announcing the Great Backyard Bird Count for 2010.

The next big citizen science event of the year is the Great Backyard Bird Count February 12th through 15th. This one is really as easy as 1-2-3 since it can be in your own backyard. This is a great way to get your children or grandchildren involved in. You can also use a park or other area to count birds in. And don’t forget large store parking areas. Help the kids learn the names of some species. Get friends involved, especially if they have yards with good natural areas or have feeders because they enjoy watching birds at the feeders. For more information, check out the eSkimmer or click here.

January 25, 2010. Farmton update.

The News-Journal reports that the revised Farmton plan will be discussed at the County Council meeting on Jan 18. It also mentions the petition being circulated on the web opposing the development. If you would like to sign the petition, see it here.

January 24, 2010. January presentation online.

Michael Brothers gave an incredible talk on the Natural History of Volusia County. Many of the members asked for a copy of his slides. Here is the full Powerpoint presentation (56 Mb) and here is a browser-friendly version which will be easier to download and will not require Powerpoint viewer.

January 24, 2010. January meeting minutes online.

Read them here.

January 13, 2010. The January eSkimmer is online.

Read it here.

January 13, 2010. CBC results announced.

Our thanks to the 31 volunteers who participated in the 110th Christmas Bird Count. Roughly 38,000 birds in 125 species were counted. Special thanks to Jeff Jones, Landfill Manager, who greatly assisted our team at the landfill. See the results in Microsoft Excel format or in Microsoft Works format.

December 31, 2009. January meeting set.

The next meeting will be on January 20th and will feature Mr. Michael Brothers, Director of the Marine Science Center in Ponce Inlet. Dr. Brothers will discuss the Natural History of East Central Florida.

Dec 31, 2009. We wish you all a Happy and healthy 2010.

Dec 22, 2009. Christmas Bird Count.

Our annual CBC will be held on January 2nd. If you would like to participate, please contact Gail Domroski or show up at the Brannon Center at 7:00 a.m. for team assignment.

Dec 22, 2009. Minutes of last meeting are on line.

Read them here.

Dec 22, 2009. Volusia Shorebird Partnership.

An organizational meeting of varous parties and government agencies interested in protecting nesting and resting shorebirds was held on 12 Dec 09. The minutes of the meeting are here.

Dec 4, 2009. The eSkimmer is on line.

Read it here.

Dec 1, 2009. Atlantic Flyway Initiative.

National Audubon is concerned about the loss of habitat from global climate change and rampant development along the Eastern Seabord. As a result, they are initiating a grass-roots, science-based program to map and protect important areas for birds and other animals, with emphasis on those that migrate seasonally. For more information, read the Atlantic Flyway Initiative document.

Dec 1, 2009. December meeting set.

The December meeting will be held on Wednesday, Dec 16. Our speaker will be Gary Knight, Director of the Florida Natural Areas Inventory.

Dec 1, 2009. Good news on Farmton!

The Farmton project for Brevard County was denied by the DCA with many of the same reasons we had. They will now take up the Volusia County part and are expected to decide by Dec. 24.

Nov 18, 2009. Letter to DCA on Farmton.

The Farmton project sailed throught the Edgewater City Council and the Volusia County Commission. Here is our letter to the Florida Department of Community Affairs denouncing the project.

Nov 18, 2009. November meeting minutes and presentation.

The November meeting minutes are on line. Dr Mosher, meteorologist and Prof at Embry-Riddle University gave an engaging and technical presentation on global climate change. A pdf version of his presentation is here. It is 13Mb, so a broadband connection is useful for the download.

Nov 16, 2009. Lee Bidgood elected Conservation Chair Emeritus.

In recognition of his past service to the club and the environmental community, Lee Bidgood has been elected to the post of Conservation Chair Emeritus. Congratulations, and thanks for all you have done and will continue to do.

Nov 6, 2009. The November eSkimmer is on line.

Read it here.

Nov 6, 2009. Climate change the subject of the November meeting.

Our guest speaker will be Fred Mosher, Ph.D., a meteorologist for the last 30 years and now Assistant Professor at Embry-Riddle University. For more about his background and his topic, click here.

Oct 12, 2009. The October eSkimmer is on line.

Read it here.

Sep 26, 2009. Club supports National Estuary Day.

On Saturday, the club celebrated the National Estuary Day by participating in an event sponsored by the Marine Discovery Center at their facility in NSB. Dick, Gail, Fern and Don manned a booth and had conversations with lots of people hoping to engage them in our organization’s pursuits. Dick’s son, Richard, made a banner for our booth. Mayor Sally McKay read a proclamation from the City of NSB proclaiming the necessity of preserving and protecting the Indian River Lagoon as one of the most diverse estuaries in the country and a nursery for the ocean. She also graced our booth with her presence. Click the image for a larger view.

Sep 25, 2009. September meeting minutes posted online.

The minutes will no longer be read at the meetings in order to shorten the length of the business meeting. Check out the September meeting minutes
to see what you missed. It is a Microsoft Word .doc file.

Sep 11, 2009. September eSkimmer is online.

Sep 7, 2009. Announcement of Meetings.

The first meeting of the season will be on the 16th of September at the Edgewater Library at 7 p.m. NOTE the change. Meetings will be on the third Wednesday of the month this year. Meeting nights and presenters are on the Meetings page. Some of them are already posted. Field trips will be posted shortly. Join us in educational and engaging events.

Aug 9, 2009. Tell us your birding stories.

Our hosting service provides the capability to use the blog on our site. I am using it as a forum for members to tell their birding stories. It is live and there are stories from Ken and me. It allows pictures and movies too. So please send me your stories and I will post them. You can see it by clicking the Birding Story blog in the menu at the left.

Aug 9, 2009. Old stuff archived.

The site was getting a little long so I decided to cut it off and archive the old stuff. You can find it by clicking the News Archives link on the menu bar.

Jun 2, 2009. Plovers at Smyrna Dunes Park.

The Wilson's Plovers at Smyrna Dunes Park are apparently doing quite well. We saw two today, one female and the other is believed to be a juvenile. Check out the video clip. Note: It is a Quick Time movie and about 4 Mb. Let me know how it worked for you.

Jun 2, 2009. Myrtle Avenue Park butterfly garden.

Remember the Myrtle Avenue Park butterfly garden? We had our last meting of the year at the NSB Middle School. It is the Science Club, under the direction of teacher Barbara Hawes who will be doing it. Ray Jarrett from the State Dept of Agriculture attended and provided some great insight to the students on the way ahead. We will start planting in the fall when the students return to classes. All the approvals have been obtained.

May 19, 2009. Spring Migratory Bird Count results.

The Spring count was held on the 9th of May. It was a beautiful day to be outdoors. The participants counted 3812 birds from 89 species. Our thanks to all who participated. To see the tally sheet, click here.

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