Welcome to Duval Audubon Society

Do you have bird feeders in your landscape, or have a great habitat nearby that attracts birds? If so, you can participate in Project FeederWatch! FeederWatch is a November-April survey of birds that visit backyards, parks, and nature preserves, and by joining, you can be part of a huge community science project when you submit your FeederWatch sightings. Your counts allow you to track what’s happening with birds in your area and contribute to the scientific understanding of overall bird populations and movements across the continent during the winter months.

In fact, the more folks who participate in FeederWatch, the better! The information contributed by FeederWatch members gives scientists a far more accurate picture of bird abundance and distribution than any other method, so your contributions are important. You can count birds for as long as you like on days of your choosing, and then enter your counts online – FeederWatch makes it easy to participate. (Read more...)

Representatives from Sierra Club Northeast Florida Group attended an information session about the recent acquisition of the Jacksonville Beach Marina by the Windward Marina Group. Although Windward hasn’t finalized the specifics of the proposed developments, their website states that they are “embarking upon a major facelift to improve docks, increase storage efficiency, upgrade lighting and renovate customer service areas, seawalls and concrete areas among other improvements.” During the information session, the Windward representatives also mentioned residential and retail development.

The Sierra folks are concerned about possible impacts to the marshlands just north of the marina. They investigated the long-held belief that part of the marsh is a bird sanctuary. A deed from the original owner of the northern section of the marsh (from 9th avenue and north) to the City of Jacksonville Beach indeed designates that portion of the marshland as a bird sanctuary. (Read more...)

Our Lights Out Northeast Florida initiative in partnership with St. Johns County Audubon Society and the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens continues this fall to highlight the dangers that bright lighting at night can pose to migrating birds. 37 incredibly dedicated volunteers are walking one of four routes in downtown Jacksonville every week to find birds that have been killed or injured by window strikes. So far, volunteers have walked the routes 118 times since we started in mid-September and have found 197 dead birds and 35 stunned birds. This is in sharp contrast to our data collection effort last spring, where routes were walked 129 times but only 70 dead birds and 29 stunned birds were found.

Clearly, fall migration is a more dangerous time for migrating birds than spring. (Read more...)

Have you ever wondered what birds are found in Indonesia in June? How to keep track of your backyard visitors in a way that can be used by conservationists worldwide? Tips and tricks for submitting checklists from eBird Mobile? Join us on Monday, November 15th to learn more about eBird, one of the world's largest biodiversity-related science projects — available at your fingertips! Register here to participate in this free virtual presentation.

Here are our upcoming activites for November:

• Field Trip @ Egans Creek Greenway: 8 am, Saturday, November 6, 2021 (register here).
• Birding 101 @ Palmetto Leaves Regional Park: 8 am, Sunday, November 7, 2021 (register here).
• Birding @ Camp Chowenwaw: 8 am, Friday, November 12, 2021 (register here).
• Field Trip @ Ringhaver Park: 8 am, Saturday, November 13, 2021 (register here).
• "Make Your Sightings Count with eBird" Virtual Monthly Program: 6:30 pm, Monday, November 15, 2021 (register here).
• Nature Walk & Work Day @ Crosby Sanctuary: 8 am, Saturday, November 20, 2021 (register here).
• Open House @ Crosby Sanctuary: 8 am, Saturday, November 27, 2021 (no registration needed).

Best wishes for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. We look forward to seeing you soon!