View the SJRA on-line
presentation, eBird and Merlin Bird ID by Sue Killeen.
Link to the webinar
St. Johns Regional Audubon
promotes the protection, preservation, and restoration of the habitats of birds and other wildlife through education, stewardship, and science-based advocacy.
URGENT! Current Volunteer Needs
St. Johns Regional Audubon is excited to be building some partnerships that will expand our outreach into our local community.
While we are always looking for volunteers, we currently have two specific areas we need help with right now:
- We are currently developing an Education Committee and are specifically looking for volunteers who want to work with kids (retired teachers are especially needed!)
- We need volunteers to help at our event tables.
More Details on Educational Volunteer Opportunities…
St. Johns County Parks & Rec partnership
Bird walk leaders for children and families. Most walks are held at Alpine Groves and Vaill Point Parks and take about 1-1/4 hours of your time. It is not necessary to be a birding “expert,” as these are generally an introduction to birding types of events and may include a short activity such as a scavenger hunt or identification game. It can also be helpful to have two leaders working together.
Girl Scouts and Homeschool Groups
Lessons about birds for youth. Ages can vary from kindergarten through high school. These educational activities would generally take between 1 and 2 hours, but volunteers would also need some prep time to assemble materials and review resources. For the educational projects, we plan to have an in-person meeting for those interested in volunteering to review lesson plans, materials, and resources, possibly in January 2025.
If you have a preference in age ranges to work with, please include that in your email response:
- Early childhood through elementary school
- Middle and high school
- Adults
- General public
Tabling Events
We periodically set up an information table at community festivals and events. We are looking for members who enjoy meeting new people and sharing our topics of interest. We usually also have a game or activity for kids. Volunteers are needed for 2 to 6 hours. The ability to transport and help set up the table, display, and canopy tent would be particularly helpful.
SJRA On-Line: Dr. Karl Miller on Florida Scrub Jays!
January 15, 2025 at 7:00 PM
We’re pretty excited about this on-line event!
Come hear an overview of current research projects that provide new insights into the current status of Florida’s only endemic bird species.
Our speaker, Dr. Karl Miller, is a Research Scientist at FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute and a Courtesy Associate Professor in Wildlife Ecology at the University of Florida. He has 30 years of experience designing and implementing research and monitoring projects for Florida’s birds and has published more than 60 peer-reviewed papers on avian research and conservation topics.
Dr. Miller has worked with Florida Scrub-Jays since 2000. He serves on federal and state recovery teams, and he currently leads an interagency team that monitors scrub-jays at Ocala National Forest and conducts experimental translocations to other sites.
To join us, use this link:
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87285886438?pwd=AwQezlg7RSNENe4RMXVB4ifrRyPs5O.1
Donate to the SJRA St. Augustine Native Plant Garden Maintenance Fund
After months of careful planning and hard work, our Native Garden has been planted at the St. Augustine Visitors Center and our volunteers are hard at work to maintain it. You can help us keep the garden beautifully native with a DONATION.
New Documentary: "The World Through Binoculars"
We hope you enjoy this lovely 15-minute documentary, The World Through Binoculars,” About three years ago, Sue Killeen and Amy Koch attended the Georgia Ornithological Society meeting at Jekyll Island where three young SCAD students were making this documentary. It has just been released via Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/789586356. Both Sue and Amy were featured in the film.
Congratulations to young filmmakers, Jennifer Yingling, Nina Miller, Sana Saif, and Zehngyang Lu, for such a lovely and informational film on birds and birding!
Resources for Birders
Here are some good web resources for birders.
Our Hot Spot Page: https://stjohnsaudubon.com/hotspots/ This will give your information about and directions to some our the best birding spots in St. Johns County.
eBird: www.ebird.org: Run by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, this is a database where you can add your sightings, as well as find local hotspots, research specific bird species, etc. The app is free.
Merlin Bird ID: https://merlin.allaboutbirds.org/ A terrific and free app for your phone that will help you identify birds by description, photo and recently, by bird call! Most birders are now using this app. A great tool for new birders!
National Audubon Society: www.audubon.org: Everything birds!
Plants for Birds: https://www.audubon.org/plantsforbirds: This database will give you the native plants and trees good for birds for our area.
American Bird Conservancy: www.abcbirds.org: This group engages in scientific research and advocates for the conservation of birds and bird habitat. It is a good source on how individuals can help birds.
Homegrown National Park: https://homegrownnationalpark.org: Dr. Doug Tallamy’s excellent effort to increase habitat one backyard at a time.
Palm Warber