“When one tugs at a single thing in nature, he finds it attached to the rest of the world.” John Muir

The last year as been one of positive changes and growth to provide a better variety of experiences for not only our wonderful members, but for the community as a whole. We have moved forward with having a mix of in-person and virtual meetings and programs, and we are back to fully in-person workshops for Teacher Ecology Camp. With more of our neighbors spending time outside and observing the world around them, many of us have been sharing our knowledge of the natural world, and we have loved meeting new friends on our field trips. The start of our 2024-2025 season was met with two extreme back-to-back hurricanes, and we were thankful to be able to provide support to our friends at Seaside Seabird Sanctuary as they worked to rebuild for their feathered patients. Although our very first meeting was cancelled, the following meetings of the season were a resounding success, with the latest program covering the Lights Out program from Tropical Audubon Society that aims to reduce harmful window strikes during migration. We can’t wait for you to join us for the remainder of this season’s programs that will include topics such as gopher tortoises, American oystercatchers, and the State of the Bay.

We held our first annual Let’s Go Birding event at Boyd Hill Nature Preserve! The goal of this event was to educate non-birders, experienced birders, and everyone between about the joys of birding. Tables set up along a short path introduced visitors to binocular handling, digital field guides, bird-watching, native plants to benefit birds, and more! We were happy to see such a successful first-time event in our area.

We teamed up with the Friends of Boyd Hill and the Sierra Club to organize a benefit beer crawl for Tampa Bay wildlife rehabbers. The goal was to provide funding for rodenticide testing in raptors, although we were also able to raise additional funds for Seaside Seabird Sanctuary’s rebuilding efforts.

Teacher Ecology Camp was yet another success in 2024! Our student teachers spent time at Hillsborough River State Park, paddled down Weeki Wachee River, and checked out two different preserves to learn about freshwater wetland ecology and freshwater wildlife and their habitats. All participants in these workshops received Project Wild certification and curriculum materials to use in their classrooms. You can learn more about their experience on our Teacher Ecology Camp webpage.

As we enter our 117th year, we have an exciting schedule of meetings and field trips planned, and we look forward to seeing old and new friends in the coming year. As we look forward, we want you to know we truly appreciate everything you do, for the birds. None of our accomplishments would be possible without our dedicated volunteers, donors, and members. Help us continue to grow to make next year even better, where we can continue our outreach efforts and protecting the critical, local bird populations. Would you be able to help us with our programs this year? If you would like to help you can make a donation using the button above or become a local member.

Thank you,

The St. Petersburg Audubon Board of Directors