Wednesday, March 30, 2011

There's still room for you ...

Burrowing Owls - Field Trip, Thursday 31 March, 5 pm

Here's your chance to meet with Marco Island's Burrowing Owl specialist, Nancy Richie, at 5 pm at City Hall. We'll pack into a few cars and visit some active owl neighborhoods on the island. A great way to meet other folks who share your interest in nature, birds, Marco Island, and wildness in general. Space is limited. To register, please reply (below) with first name and number in your party.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Volunteer Opportunity - Shorebird Monitoring

Visit the link below to read this on our website.
http://www.cityofmarcoisland.com/index.aspx?page=22&recordid=93


Collier County Shorebird Stewards Program
Posted Date: 3/21/2011

Collier County SHOREBIRD STEWARDS PROGRAM

Two great opportunities for volunteering on the beaches of Collier and Lee County are upcoming: Shorebird Beach Steward and Rooftop Nesting Steward programs.

The Steward programs are in coordination with agencies that monitor shorebird nesting in Lee and Collier Counties: Florida Fish & Wildlife, Audubon, City of Marco Island, Collier County and Rookery Bay NERR.

Volunteers are needed to assist in educational outreach and monitoring of shorebird nesting in our area. Lee and Collier County have combined their efforts for training.

Last year’s Collier County Beach Steward program was very successful. We are hoping to continue this success in Lee County and also incorporate rooftop monitoring in both counties.

Nesting shorebirds occur between April through August each year for the following species: Snowy Plovers, Wilson Plovers, Least Terns and Black Skimmers. Last year in Collier County, no Snowy Plovers were observed and Black Skimmers were in high numbers and nesting only on Marco Island. Wilson Plovers and Least Skimmers were in good numbers also.

Over the past years, roof top nesting has been documented at Coastland Mall, Gulf Coast High school, numerous Publix stores, Naples Daily News and the South County Water Reclamation Plant. These colonies need to be monitored for chick mortality and numbers in the colonies.

New stewards and alumni stewards will benefit from the following training:

BEACH SHOREBIRD STEWARD TRAINING
Saturday, April 30
9 AM
Delnor Wiggins Pass State Park
At the Pavilion, Parking Lot 5

ROOFTOP SHOREBIRD STEWARD TRAINING
Saturday, May 14th
11 AM
Veterans Park Community Center
1895 Veterans Park Drive, Naples FL 34109

If you are interested in being a Shorebird Steward, sign up for training or have additional questions, please contact:

Nancy Richie, Environmental Specialist, City of Marco Island,
nrichie@cityofmarcoisland.com or 239-389-5003 or

Brad Cornell, SW FL Policy Associate, Audubon,
millercornell@mindpring.com or 239-280-6278.


Monday, March 7, 2011

Speaking of turtles ...

2011 is the year of the turtle. Learn more here ...

On Marco Island, in addition to the gopher tortoise and sea turtles, we have a population of freshwater turtles in Mackle Park - native Florida softshells and red-eared sliders (non-native) among others.

March 2011 - Great things for Marco Island nature-lovers

Whether you're a local or a visitor, don't miss hearing Julie Ross speak on Marco Island's gopher tortoises at 7 pm on Wednesday, March 16 or Nancy Richie lead a field trip to visit burrowing owls at 5 pm on Thursday, March 31.

Also, big news: our Eco Marco website is now online - check it out here.

Lots more to report ... stay tuned!