baycountyaudubonsociety

Thanks to our 2012 underwriters and sponsors for making the film series possible:

Underwriters:

Doral Bank Florida

The Jelks Family Foundation

Los Antojitos Restaurant/Harbison Family

Bay County Tourist Development Council

Sponsors:

Bill Cramer Chevrolet-Cadillac, Buick, GMC

Boars Head Restaurant

Callaway Animal Hospital

Carmody Family Trust

Coin & Bullion Reserve

Dermatology Associates

Dick & Annette Lippincott

Elizabeth K.Kelly, DMD Segers, Sowell, & Stewart

Gulf Power Company

Paul Komarek, PA

Fred and Gail Casteel

Ray A Morse, DM

Surgical Associates of NW Florida, PA

The News Herald

Johnson & Brill, PA

Jinks & Moody, P.A

Wild Birds Unlimited

Palep N, Rao, MD, Digestive Diseases Center

Southern Orthopedic Specialists, PA

Dr. G. Joseph Parell - ENT and Plastic Surgery

Peaden Air Conditioning, Heating & Plumbing

Vision Bank FSB

Audubon Center for Birds of Prey -Bald Eagle Stamp Program

This is a fund-raising project to help offset the cost of caring for injured and non-releasable raptors at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. Collectable stamps are sorted, appraised and sold to collectors by volunteers; 100% of the proceeds go to help the birds.

Collectable stamps include:

 Any stamp collections

 Any foreign, commemoratives, airmail or special handling stamps

 Any State or Federal hunting and fishing licenses stamps

 Mint plate blocks (especially older ones)

 Please, no current single-letter rate ($.44): this includes Christmas Stamps

We accept both canceled and uncanceled stamps. We can sell only undamaged stamps. We cannot use stamps that are cut, punched, torn, scuffed, thinned, with part of sides cut off, or with heavy smeared cancels. No metered stamps please (printed indicia).

Please cut the stamps from the envelopes, at least ¼” around the stamps to avoid damage. Do not include postmark. Exceptions: with commemorative envelopes, First Day issues and old (pre-1960) envelopes, send the entire envelope with the stamp attached, as the envelope may also have significant value.

Please include your name and/or the name of your organization printed legibly on the inside and outside the package. Donations will be acknowledged with a charitable contribution tax receipt. Donors wanting a professional appraisal, for tax purposes, are responsible for

obtaining the value of their donation from a professional. Audubon stamp volunteers are not license appraiser’s; they can not put a value on

any stamps donated.

Mail your donations to: Audubon Center for Birds of Prey

Bald Eagle Stamp Program

1101 Audubon Way

Maitland, FL 32751

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Note: to save even more on postage, mail your donation “Media Rate” (book rate) from US Post Office

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Audubon of Florida is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization,

and contributions are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. Federal EIN: 59-0245495.

A copy of official registration and financial information may be obtained from the

Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling toll-free (1-800-435-7352) within the State.

Registration does not imply endorsement, approval or recommendation by the State.

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www.audubonofflorida.org

(407) 644-0190

.Rare Bird Alert - Report any rare or unusual bird sightings to Tony Menart at (850)234-8042 or e-mail him at amenart@bellsouth.net. Your cooperation and help in keeping the public informed about what birds are in the area is very important. These records are sent to the Florida Ornithological Society for submission to the Florida Field Naturalist publication. They are also sent to the American Birding Association for inclusion in their reports. The photo of the Cassin's Kingbird was taken by Neil Lamb during BCAS' 2011 CBC. It was the first reported sighting in Bay County.

Christmas Bird Count - Our Annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count was held on Saturday, December 17, in Panama City, Florida. Begun

over a century ago, the Christmas Bird Count has been a beloved part of our local birder's holiday season for 48 years. Contact CBC Coordinatior Lisa Keppner at Lkeppner@bellsouth.net or (850)769-6247 if you have any questions.. See our Jan/Feb 2012 newsletter for more information on the results of our count. All of our CBC data can be accessed at http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc/.

The Great Backyard Bird Count is held annually in February. Individuals are encouraged to participate in this count independently but if you need help with bird identification or with data entry, our members are available to help. For more information and to participate, go to http://www.birdsource.org/gbbc/.

Bay County Audubon has participated in the North American Migration Count since Fall 2004. Counts are conducted on the second

Saturday of May and the third Saturday of September each year. Feeder watchers living anywhere in Bay County and birders of all levels are encouraged to join us for this county-wide count.

Adventure Film Series This is our only fund-raising activity for the year. This January and February we are offering four high quality nature/travel films which are personally narrated by the cinematographer. The films are held at Arnold High School Auditorium at 550 Alf Coleman Road near Back Beach Road at 7:00 PM. Tickets are $6.00 per film; season tickets for all four films are $20.00 For no waiting in line, purchase season tickets at the January membership meeting or at the first film. A nice door prize will be given at each film

The 2012 films are:

Jan 17 (Tuesday)- "Majestic Montana" by Steve Gonser- Montana is our fourth largest state, but cattle outnumber people three to one. Within its boundaries are two national parks, ten national forests, seven Indian reservations, and several national monuments and historic sites. Yet Montana’s people define it – they are self-reliant, with personalities so expansive that so few people really do fill the state. Join Steve Gonser on his journey to explore the majestic qualities that make Montana a special place.

Jan 31 (Tuesday)-"The Big Cypress Swamp" produced by Elam Stolzfus

Covering more than one million acres of diverse protected wetlands in Southwest Florida, this documentary explores how the Big Cypress

almost didn’t happen, how the lands are currently managed, and overviews animal behaviors, and stunning landscapes.

Feb 9(Thursday) - “The Road to Oberammergau” by Stan Walsh (Note-this is a change from our previous announcement)

In this film, viewers will visit cities in Italy, including Rome, Assisi, Florence, Pisa and Venice; Lucerne, Switzerland and Munich, Germany before they arrive at Oberammergau. This city is in the hills of Bavaria. Since the Middle Ages pilgrims have traveled here to witness the now famous drama called "The Passion Play," which depicts the final days of Jesus. It was first performed in 1633 by the villagers to hopefully exempt them from the plague that was ravishing Europe. The village was only mildly infected and they vowed to present the drama every decade.

Feb 16(Thursday) - " Return to Sweden" by Dale Johnson

An American of Swedish descent, Dale Johnson journeyed to Sweden hoping to see the land of his ancestors. Unexpectedly, he found much more. Sweden is a country of sheer physical beauty; the midnight sun, Lapland reindeer herders, forested mountains, the Nobel Peace Prize, farming traditions, Viking ancestry, Stockholm, Venice of the North, and much, much more.

These are outstanding films. If you missed out last year, plan to attend this next series in January, 2012. For additional information or if you wish to be a sponsor, please contact Richard Ingram at 850-871-1736.

BCAS Backyard Bird Tally

The BCAS Backyard Bird Tally is an event conducted by our local members for the pleasure of observing birds in ones own yard throughout the entire year. We started this event back in 2005 and now we are in our 7th season. The rules are very simple. One must see or hear a bird in

your yard or observe in from your yard. Each species counts one. If you do not want to use your yard, one can also report birds from a designated area like a park, golf course, etc. In this special event, we keep track of our yard or area birds the entire year and report the totals after our CBC dinner has been completed. Go to our Jan/Feb newsletter to see the results for 2011. Give it a try, and maybe you could win too. Backyard birding is great fun!