SPECIAL EVENTS
Monthly meetings
Atlantic Audubon Society meets January through October, on the fourth Wednesday of the month. During fair weather, we have outdoor meetings. Any questions, please email us at [email protected] or message us on Facebook. We hope that you will join us!
December 3, 2023 Holiday Party
Please RSVP to Janice Weisgerber as soon as possible as we will need to provide a head count very soon. Tickets can be paid by check, cash, Venmo, or Paypal. Checks can be mailed to: Atlantic Audubon Society, PO Box 63, Absecon, NJ.
2023 Scholarship Awards
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We had a meeting in May and someone (o.k. it was me) forgot to post photos and show the winners. So here they are.
One winner of a $2,000 Bristow Memorial Scholarship Award went to Kylie Lipstas. Kylie is a senior at Hammonton H.S. and in addition to the track and volleyball teams she does road cleanups with the Leo Club and is a 4-H Fair member. She plans on attending Stockton University in the fall majoring in Environmental Science. Another $2,000 Bristow Scholarship winner is Riley Ammann and she is a student at Egg Harbot Twp. H.S. She will be attending University of Delaware combining the fields of science and math. She is interested in biomedical engineering and hopes to design medical devices and prosthetics. She volunteers at the Community Food Bank, Funny Farm Rescue Sanctuary, and the Margate Terrapin Rescue. Our $2,000 James F. Akers Memorial Conservation Award honors a Stockton University student awarded in recognition of outstanding contributions to the preservation of wildlife and the natural environment. This year's winner is Aaron Gover. Aaron is a senior Environmental Science major at Stockton. He's worked on multiple environmental projects including a beach nourishment program designed to conserve the natural resources of a beach for nesting Piping Plovers and Least Terns. The $500 James S. Jones Memorial Award was established to honor the memory of Jim Jones, Conservationist, who died in 1985. This $500 award is presented to a private citizen who has made a significant contribution to the conservation of wildlife and/or the preservation of habitat in NJ. This year’s award is presented to John Rokita. John was one of Atlantic Audubon’s original members and actually knew and worked with Jim Jones. |
Kylie Lipstas' dad, Rich Lipstas picked up her award from our President, Josh Gant.
Riley Ammann getting her award.
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Our hero, John Rokitas getting his award.
A quick summary of John's contributions is he's worked on documenting bird window strikes at Stockton; researched nesting Barn Owls and banded them; worked with nesting birds (Least Tern, Piping Plover, and Black Skimmers) and was called upon to transfer Bald Eagle eggs during the Bald Eagle restoration project. He’s banded Peregrine Falcons and has participated in surveying Osprey nests and Bald Eagles. He is currently responsible for maintaining Stockton’s taxidermy collection of study skin…a majority of which were prepared by John himself.
He is Principal Biologist in the vivarium at Stockton University where he is in charge of taking care of all the animals housed there. He is the person police departments and the public call with their wildlife concerns.
John is involved with the Diamondback Terrapin project which is the largest project of its kind in NJ. Aside from the road killed females, where the eggs are extracted and hatched and then raised at Stockton, the project has expanded (thanks to some concerned kids and their parents) to include hundreds of terrapins that are rescued from storm drains.
John truly deserves the James Jones award.
(Robin Riley-Wright)
He is Principal Biologist in the vivarium at Stockton University where he is in charge of taking care of all the animals housed there. He is the person police departments and the public call with their wildlife concerns.
John is involved with the Diamondback Terrapin project which is the largest project of its kind in NJ. Aside from the road killed females, where the eggs are extracted and hatched and then raised at Stockton, the project has expanded (thanks to some concerned kids and their parents) to include hundreds of terrapins that are rescued from storm drains.
John truly deserves the James Jones award.
(Robin Riley-Wright)
May 13, 2023 New Jersey Audubon's World Series of Birding
The Sitting Ducks are back! This year's team members are Josh Gant, Marian Jordan, and Jason Nargiz. They will be competing in the "Big Stay" category. Our team’s chosen location is at the Gull Pond tower at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge in Galloway, NJ. Our goal is to get as many bird species from within a 17-foot diameter circle, encompassing the observation tower. Our strategy is to start before sunrise to get nocturnal species and for each team member to have their own spotting scope to search for species from the top of the observation tower, moving to different levels of the tower if necessary.
Your donation will go towards helping deserving, dedicated young people achieve their goals in higher education through Atlantic Audubon’s scholarship programs, providing free-to-the-public monthly educational programs, leading educational bird walks, and by recognizing those in the local community who have devoted their lives to conservation and stewardship of the natural world. Donations in any amount are welcome. A special thanks to Atlantic County Utilities Authority for paying our entry fees.
Feel free to visit us at the top of the tower! You can follow us live here as we submit eBird checklists throughout the day.
Your donation will go towards helping deserving, dedicated young people achieve their goals in higher education through Atlantic Audubon’s scholarship programs, providing free-to-the-public monthly educational programs, leading educational bird walks, and by recognizing those in the local community who have devoted their lives to conservation and stewardship of the natural world. Donations in any amount are welcome. A special thanks to Atlantic County Utilities Authority for paying our entry fees.
Feel free to visit us at the top of the tower! You can follow us live here as we submit eBird checklists throughout the day.
December 11, 2022 Holiday Party
Please RSVP to Janice Weisgerber as soon as possible as we will need to provide a head count very soon. Tickets can be paid by check, cash, Venmo, or Paypal. Checks can be mailed to: Atlantic Audubon Society, PO Box 63, Absecon, NJ.
Thank you to Sue Puder for her "Birding Belize" presentation at our August 24, 2022 meeting. Many members were inspired by her spectacular photos and stories.
A big thanks to Chris Thomas for his "Gull Identification" presentation. Chris was generous enough to share his PowerPoint presentation with us if you were unable to attend or didn't take notes. You can download a copy below.
| Gull Identification |
On February 23, 2022, Jesse Amesbury shared the local news from the summer 2021 beach-nesting shorebird season and his fall 2021 season as the official Hawk Counter at the Cape May Hawkwatch. The presentation was accompanied by Jesse's own stunning photographs. Thanks to returning presenter, Jesse, for a fantastic program, as always!
World Series Of Birding 2021.... Stock Fish Hawks...Lester, Tait, John, Scott, Arianna, Linda and Matt....
The results are in for the Stockton Fish Hawks World Series of Birding team. We counted 164 species in NJ alone, and 171 species TOTAL! (For those checking the math - 2 pf those species were seen in both Florida and NJ...so we included them in our NJ count. ) The extra 11 species contributed by our team member Carol Newcomb who birded in Florida.
Here is the list:
1. Snow Goose, 2. Brant, 3. Canada Goose, 4. Mute Swan, 5. Wood Duck, 6. Gadwall, 7. American Black Duck, 8. Mallard, 9. Blue-winged Teal, 10. Northern Shoveler, 11. Northern Pintail, 12. Green-winged Teal, 13. Ruddy Duck, 14. Wild Turkey, 15. Common Loon, 16. Pied Billed Grebe, 17. Northern Gannet, 18. Brown Pelican, 19. Double-crested Cormorant, 20. Great Blue Heron, 21. Great Egret, 22. Snowy Egret, 23. Little Blue Heron, 24. Tricolored Heron, 25. Cattle Egret, 26. Green Heron, 27. Black-crowned Night Heron, 28. Yellow-crowned Night Heron, 29. Glossy Ibis, 30. White Ibis, 31. Black Vulture, 32. Turkey Vulture, 33. Osprey, 34. Northern Harrier, 35. Sharp-shinned Hawk, 36. Cooper’s Hawk, 37. Bald Eagle, 38. Red-tailed Hawk, 39. Clapper Rail, 40. American Oystercatcher, 41. Black-bellied Plover, 42. Semipalmated Plover, 43. Piping Plover, 44. Killdeer, 45. Spotted Sandpiper, 46. Solitary Sandpiper, 47. Greater Yellowlegs, 48. Willet, 49. Lesser Yellowlegs, 50. Whimbrel, 51. Ruddy Turnstone, 52. Red Knot, 53. Sanderling, 54. Semipalmated Sandpiper, 55. Least Sandpiper, 56. White-rumped Sandpiper, 57. Purple Sandpiper, 58. Dunlin, 59. Short-billed Dowitcher, 60. Wilson’s Snipe, 61. Laughing Gull, 62. Ring-billed Gull, 63. Herring Gull, 64. Great Black-backed Gull, 65. Least Tern, 66. Gull-billed Tern, 67. Caspian Tern, 68. Common Tern, 69. Forster’s Tern, 70. Royal Tern, 71. Black Skimmer, 72. Rock Pigeon, 73. Mourning Dove, 74. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 75. Barn Owl, 76. Eastern Screech Owl, 77. Great Horned Owl, 78. Barred Owl, 79. Chuck-will’s Widow, 80. Eastern Whip-por-will, 81. Chimney Swift, 82. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 83. Belted Kingfisher, 84. Red-bellied Woodpecker, 85. Downy Woodpecker, 86. Hairy Woodpecker, 87. Northern Flicker, 88. Peregrine Falcon, 89. Eastern Wood-Peewee,,, 90. Eastern Phoebe, 91. Great Crested Flycatcher, 92. Eastern Kingbird 93. White-eyed Vireo, 94. Yellow-throated Vireo, 95. Blue Headed Vireo, 96. Red-eyed Vireo, 97. Blue Jay.98. American Crow.99. Fish Crow.100. Common Raven.101. Purple Martin.102. Tree Swallow.103. Northern Rough-winged Swallow.104. Bank Swallow.105. Cliff Swallow.106. Barn Swallow.107. Carolina Chickadee.108. Black-capped Chickadee.109. Tufted Titmouse.110. Red-breasted Nuthatch.111. White Breasted Nuthatch.112. House Wren.113. Marsh Wren..114. Carolina Wren.115. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.116. Eastern Bluebird.117. Veery.118. Hermit Thrush.119. Wood Thrush.120. American Robin.121. Gray Catbird.122. Northern Mockingbird.123. European Starling.124. Cedar Waxwing.125. Ovenbird.126. Worm-eating Warbler.127. Louisiana Waterthrush.128. Blue-winged Warbler.129. Black and White Warbler.130. Prothonotary Warbler.131. Common Yellowthroat.132. Hooded Warbler.133. American Redstart.134. Northern Parula.135. Yellow Warbler.136. Blackpoll Warbler, 137. Black-throated Blue Warbler, 138. Pine Warbler, 139. Yellow-rumped Warbler, 140. Yellow-throated Warbler, 141. Prairie Warbler, 142. Yellow-breasted Chat, 143. Eastern Towhee, 144. Chipping Sparrow, 145. Field Sparrow, 146. Savannah Sparrow, 147. Seaside Sparrow, 148. Song Sparrow, 149. White-throated Sparrow, 150. Dark-eyed Junco, 151. Scarlet Tanager, 152. Northern Cardinal, 153. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 154. Indigo Bunting, 155. Red-winged Blackbird, 156. Common Grackle, 157. Boat-tailed Grackle, 158. Brown-headed Cowbird, 159. Orchard Oriole, 160. Baltimore Oriole, 161. Purple Finch, 162. House Finch, 163. American Goldfinch, 164. House Sparrow
Florida Species:, 165. Anhinga, 166. Reddish Egret, 167. Sandwich Tern, 168. Roseate Spoonbill, 169. Magnificent Frigatebird, 170. Swallow-tailed Kite, 171. Great White Heron
Here is the list:
1. Snow Goose, 2. Brant, 3. Canada Goose, 4. Mute Swan, 5. Wood Duck, 6. Gadwall, 7. American Black Duck, 8. Mallard, 9. Blue-winged Teal, 10. Northern Shoveler, 11. Northern Pintail, 12. Green-winged Teal, 13. Ruddy Duck, 14. Wild Turkey, 15. Common Loon, 16. Pied Billed Grebe, 17. Northern Gannet, 18. Brown Pelican, 19. Double-crested Cormorant, 20. Great Blue Heron, 21. Great Egret, 22. Snowy Egret, 23. Little Blue Heron, 24. Tricolored Heron, 25. Cattle Egret, 26. Green Heron, 27. Black-crowned Night Heron, 28. Yellow-crowned Night Heron, 29. Glossy Ibis, 30. White Ibis, 31. Black Vulture, 32. Turkey Vulture, 33. Osprey, 34. Northern Harrier, 35. Sharp-shinned Hawk, 36. Cooper’s Hawk, 37. Bald Eagle, 38. Red-tailed Hawk, 39. Clapper Rail, 40. American Oystercatcher, 41. Black-bellied Plover, 42. Semipalmated Plover, 43. Piping Plover, 44. Killdeer, 45. Spotted Sandpiper, 46. Solitary Sandpiper, 47. Greater Yellowlegs, 48. Willet, 49. Lesser Yellowlegs, 50. Whimbrel, 51. Ruddy Turnstone, 52. Red Knot, 53. Sanderling, 54. Semipalmated Sandpiper, 55. Least Sandpiper, 56. White-rumped Sandpiper, 57. Purple Sandpiper, 58. Dunlin, 59. Short-billed Dowitcher, 60. Wilson’s Snipe, 61. Laughing Gull, 62. Ring-billed Gull, 63. Herring Gull, 64. Great Black-backed Gull, 65. Least Tern, 66. Gull-billed Tern, 67. Caspian Tern, 68. Common Tern, 69. Forster’s Tern, 70. Royal Tern, 71. Black Skimmer, 72. Rock Pigeon, 73. Mourning Dove, 74. Yellow-billed Cuckoo, 75. Barn Owl, 76. Eastern Screech Owl, 77. Great Horned Owl, 78. Barred Owl, 79. Chuck-will’s Widow, 80. Eastern Whip-por-will, 81. Chimney Swift, 82. Ruby-throated Hummingbird, 83. Belted Kingfisher, 84. Red-bellied Woodpecker, 85. Downy Woodpecker, 86. Hairy Woodpecker, 87. Northern Flicker, 88. Peregrine Falcon, 89. Eastern Wood-Peewee,,, 90. Eastern Phoebe, 91. Great Crested Flycatcher, 92. Eastern Kingbird 93. White-eyed Vireo, 94. Yellow-throated Vireo, 95. Blue Headed Vireo, 96. Red-eyed Vireo, 97. Blue Jay.98. American Crow.99. Fish Crow.100. Common Raven.101. Purple Martin.102. Tree Swallow.103. Northern Rough-winged Swallow.104. Bank Swallow.105. Cliff Swallow.106. Barn Swallow.107. Carolina Chickadee.108. Black-capped Chickadee.109. Tufted Titmouse.110. Red-breasted Nuthatch.111. White Breasted Nuthatch.112. House Wren.113. Marsh Wren..114. Carolina Wren.115. Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.116. Eastern Bluebird.117. Veery.118. Hermit Thrush.119. Wood Thrush.120. American Robin.121. Gray Catbird.122. Northern Mockingbird.123. European Starling.124. Cedar Waxwing.125. Ovenbird.126. Worm-eating Warbler.127. Louisiana Waterthrush.128. Blue-winged Warbler.129. Black and White Warbler.130. Prothonotary Warbler.131. Common Yellowthroat.132. Hooded Warbler.133. American Redstart.134. Northern Parula.135. Yellow Warbler.136. Blackpoll Warbler, 137. Black-throated Blue Warbler, 138. Pine Warbler, 139. Yellow-rumped Warbler, 140. Yellow-throated Warbler, 141. Prairie Warbler, 142. Yellow-breasted Chat, 143. Eastern Towhee, 144. Chipping Sparrow, 145. Field Sparrow, 146. Savannah Sparrow, 147. Seaside Sparrow, 148. Song Sparrow, 149. White-throated Sparrow, 150. Dark-eyed Junco, 151. Scarlet Tanager, 152. Northern Cardinal, 153. Rose-breasted Grosbeak, 154. Indigo Bunting, 155. Red-winged Blackbird, 156. Common Grackle, 157. Boat-tailed Grackle, 158. Brown-headed Cowbird, 159. Orchard Oriole, 160. Baltimore Oriole, 161. Purple Finch, 162. House Finch, 163. American Goldfinch, 164. House Sparrow
Florida Species:, 165. Anhinga, 166. Reddish Egret, 167. Sandwich Tern, 168. Roseate Spoonbill, 169. Magnificent Frigatebird, 170. Swallow-tailed Kite, 171. Great White Heron
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Our Team.....see below for the 2021 World Series of Birding Team Members.....Woo hoo!
Along with John Rokita, Lester Block and Tait Chirenje...Below are the team members and a short bio as they join together to form the Stockton Fish Hawks World Series of Birding Team 2021. The Stockton Fish Hawks are a team of Stock University faculty, alumni and current students who will bird on the Stockton Campus and beyond during the World Series of Birding.
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Other members and a short bio below....
Welcome to the newest Stockton Fish Hawks team member, Scott Breeman. Scott graduated from Stockton University in 2007 with a degree in Environmental Science. He currently works as a Land Steward at Duke Farms. He has experience working with threatened and endangered species of shore birds and has done native grassland bird surveys. This will be a real asset for the team.
Here is his bio: "Growing up in the Pine Barrens near the New Jersey coast, I have always had an appreciation for being outdoors. My love of nature, more specifically botany, ecology, restoration and conservation was refined in my professional experiences in Arizona, New York and back home in New Jersey. I am passionate about the study and protection of natural resources. In my spare time I can be found hiking, birding, kayaking, painting or playing musical instruments."
Here Scott goes live: https://youtu.be/hGn4g7OCUl0
https://youtu.be/_BBPPnnFdJw
Here is his bio: "Growing up in the Pine Barrens near the New Jersey coast, I have always had an appreciation for being outdoors. My love of nature, more specifically botany, ecology, restoration and conservation was refined in my professional experiences in Arizona, New York and back home in New Jersey. I am passionate about the study and protection of natural resources. In my spare time I can be found hiking, birding, kayaking, painting or playing musical instruments."
Here Scott goes live: https://youtu.be/hGn4g7OCUl0
https://youtu.be/_BBPPnnFdJw
Meet Arianna Efstatos, an Environmental Science major, with minors in Biology and Mathematics. She was also one of Stockton University's "distinctive students". You can read about her work on carbon and wetlands here: https://stockton.edu/news/arianna-efstatos-dep-intern.html Wetlands and birds seem to go together and Arianna is also a skilled birder. Glad to have her on our team.
This is team member Linda Atkins. She is a Professional Psychoanalyst and Psychotherapist in practice in New Jersey and New York City.
An avid and dedicated birder and Conservationist Linda is the Founder and President of the Keep Conservation Foundation. Alarmed at the decline of birds due to loss of habitat, Linda founded the Keep Conservation Foundation in 1999 to purchase and protect land necessary for the survival and well being of migrating and nesting birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Currently the Keep Conservation Foundation a 501 (C) (3) organization has protected land and created preserves in Port Republic, New Jersey, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, Germantown, New York, Tannersville, New York, and Maricopa, Arizona.
Linda previously participated in the NJ World Series as a member of the Keep Conservation Team.
Linda will be birding the KEEP Preserve in Port Republic and the surrounding area for our team. The team welcomes her prior experience in the World Series and well as her birding skills. https://njaudubon.org/.../PINEBARREN/Site/347/Default.html
An avid and dedicated birder and Conservationist Linda is the Founder and President of the Keep Conservation Foundation. Alarmed at the decline of birds due to loss of habitat, Linda founded the Keep Conservation Foundation in 1999 to purchase and protect land necessary for the survival and well being of migrating and nesting birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians. Currently the Keep Conservation Foundation a 501 (C) (3) organization has protected land and created preserves in Port Republic, New Jersey, Egg Harbor Township, New Jersey, Germantown, New York, Tannersville, New York, and Maricopa, Arizona.
Linda previously participated in the NJ World Series as a member of the Keep Conservation Team.
Linda will be birding the KEEP Preserve in Port Republic and the surrounding area for our team. The team welcomes her prior experience in the World Series and well as her birding skills. https://njaudubon.org/.../PINEBARREN/Site/347/Default.html
Member: Welcome to one of our newest team members, Matt Remuzzi. Matt is a 2010 graduate of Stockton University with a degree in Marine Geology. Matt is also married to fellow Stockton Fish Hawks team member, Melissa Laurino. He is the full time captain of the American Star, which sails out of Cape May for the Cape May Whale Watch and Research Center, Inc.. Matt has captained the boat on several pelagic magic birding cruises and he and Melissa will be birding from the boat for us on the World Series of birding.
Matt started his career with the Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center in 2011 as a Marine Naturalist aboard the Twilight. He obtained his Masters Captain’s license in 2011 and served as a relief Captain aboard the Twilight and American Star until 2013 when he took over as the full-time Captain of the American Star. Captain Matt founded the CMWW&RC internship program in 2013, and assists naturalists and interns daily in collecting data for their Cape May Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Catalog. He serves as a liaison to Whale and Dolphin Conservation and a member of the team that developed Clean Ocean Initiative (Marine Debris Awareness Program). Captain Matt is always motivated to ensure that passengers get to witness and appreciate all of the marine wildlife that the Cape May area has to offer. Other experience includes field work studying carbonate formations in the Florida Keys for two field seasons; Vessel Operator and Naturalist Whale Sense Certified.
Matt started his career with the Cape May Whale Watch & Research Center in 2011 as a Marine Naturalist aboard the Twilight. He obtained his Masters Captain’s license in 2011 and served as a relief Captain aboard the Twilight and American Star until 2013 when he took over as the full-time Captain of the American Star. Captain Matt founded the CMWW&RC internship program in 2013, and assists naturalists and interns daily in collecting data for their Cape May Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin Catalog. He serves as a liaison to Whale and Dolphin Conservation and a member of the team that developed Clean Ocean Initiative (Marine Debris Awareness Program). Captain Matt is always motivated to ensure that passengers get to witness and appreciate all of the marine wildlife that the Cape May area has to offer. Other experience includes field work studying carbonate formations in the Florida Keys for two field seasons; Vessel Operator and Naturalist Whale Sense Certified.
Drosera Road clean up Dec 13th 2020
It was a beautiful day for a road clean-up. Hopefully, with more notice next year, we can get help for the four 2021 clean-ups. Today Marian and Janice did all the trash and recycling pick-up. I was in charge of bags and supplies and photos and followed with flashers on so no one would get run over. I think it should be a law that every single Wawa should have to field a road clean-up crew if they want to build a store. Besides beer cans, the majority of recycling and trash consists of food wrappers, juice bottles, Red Bull cans and plastic bags, all from Wawa! Janice (black bag - trash) and Marian (white bag recycling)
AAS Holiday Christmas Party..... Dec 1st, 2019. Villa Rifici's
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Galloway Ace Hardware and our Audubon Society!
Atlantic Audubon was busy this week. On Thursday we had a table in the bird aisle at Galloway Ace Hardware's Ladies Night event. Becky Hedden, Janice Weisgerber, Marian Jordan and Robin Riley-Wright spent the evening talking about birds with patrons, passing out literature, and signing up 9 new members. On Sunday we had a table at the Fair Trade Fair at Stockton. Jan Dalheim Beauvais, Marian Jordan, and Robin Riley-Wright spread the word about our field trips, bird walks, and meetings, and the joys of having a wildlife refuge in our back yard. We signed up 11 new members.
Photo below: Marian, robin and Jan at the Fair Trade Fair.
Atlantic Audubon was busy this week. On Thursday we had a table in the bird aisle at Galloway Ace Hardware's Ladies Night event. Becky Hedden, Janice Weisgerber, Marian Jordan and Robin Riley-Wright spent the evening talking about birds with patrons, passing out literature, and signing up 9 new members. On Sunday we had a table at the Fair Trade Fair at Stockton. Jan Dalheim Beauvais, Marian Jordan, and Robin Riley-Wright spread the word about our field trips, bird walks, and meetings, and the joys of having a wildlife refuge in our back yard. We signed up 11 new members.
Photo below: Marian, robin and Jan at the Fair Trade Fair.
Atlantic Audubon Society Scholarships
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(LEFT ABOVE) The winners of the Patricia and Carol Bristow award. This award is for a female high school senior who plans a career in the field of science. From left to right: Award winners Kathryn (Katie) McLaughlin and Moira Sweeder, and chairperson of the Atlantic Audubon Society Scholarship Committee, Roz Herlands.
(RIGHT ABOVE) Anthony Zelinsky, who received one of two James S. Jones Memorial Awards. This award is given in recognition of outstanding contribution toward the protection of wildlife and improvement of habitat. Shown with Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Roz Herlands.
(RIGHT ABOVE) Anthony Zelinsky, who received one of two James S. Jones Memorial Awards. This award is given in recognition of outstanding contribution toward the protection of wildlife and improvement of habitat. Shown with Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Roz Herlands.
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(LEFT ABOVE) Anthony Zelinsky, who received one of two James S. Jones Memorial Awards. This award is given in recognition of outstanding contribution toward the protection of wildlife and improvement of habitat. Shown with Scholarship Committee Chairperson, Roz Herlands. The James F. Akers Memorial Conservation Award is in memory of founding AAS member Akers, in recognition of his contributions to conservation.
This award is given to a Stockton University Jr. or Sr. in recognition of outstanding contribution toward the protection of wildlife and improvement of habitat. This year's recipient is Alexander (Alex) Melchiore.
(RIGHT ABOVE) The second James S. Jones Memorial Award Winner is Alexandra (Allie) Van Ness.
This award is given to a Stockton University Jr. or Sr. in recognition of outstanding contribution toward the protection of wildlife and improvement of habitat. This year's recipient is Alexander (Alex) Melchiore.
(RIGHT ABOVE) The second James S. Jones Memorial Award Winner is Alexandra (Allie) Van Ness.
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Support our Yearly Fundraiser for the Atlantic Audubon Society. The AAS participates in local schools, offers curriculum....provides College Scholarships for local students. We are a Non Profit, so you get a tax deduction as well. Can't beat that, so ...give...give....give.....
Marian Jordan stated:...."The tapestry of spring greens kept their secrets as the wind shook our scope and binoculars so much that we couldn't pick out much in the distance. Our gusty day started at 4 am and ended mostly calmer at 8 pm with a spectacular scene of the setting sun reflecting on the clouds and water."
Christmas Party at Oyster Creek, 2016....were you there?
The Results of the BIG STAY and our Mighty Sitting Ducks....
Results of the Big Stay Contest and World Series of Birding...2016. Well.....the Sitting Ducks did not win.....they came in 4th with a bird count of 68. First place went to FARE of NJ/Chimney Rock Hawk Watch with 120 species, Deckcissels with 81 and Cornell was third with 79 species. So...we didn't see as many birds but, they had fun doing so. Now, continue to donate as this is our main fund raiser which we use to grant college scholarships. So please return to the HOME page and see how to donate. But, just because the Big Stay Contest is over, doesn't mean our 'giving' is done...so please give as the money goes to an outstanding cause and this is 'tax-deductible'.
Results of the entire World Series of birding can be found on this PDF. The Big Stay is in Category 5 but please look over the results of the entire World Series as it is interesting.
Image above....Left to Right: John and Kats Peterson, Kevin Lippert and Bill Schipper.
Results of the entire World Series of birding can be found on this PDF. The Big Stay is in Category 5 but please look over the results of the entire World Series as it is interesting.
Image above....Left to Right: John and Kats Peterson, Kevin Lippert and Bill Schipper.
The AAS Booth at Stockton College
Robin....'birding' the AAS booth at Stockton College, March 12th, 2016....for 27th annual Pineland's Short Course. The birds were provided by John Rokita and you can see that Robin is loving her spring bird watching day. One of those birds appears to lack wings. Yes, yes...it is a gray fox. No, not a red fox, go figure. The toe tag says gray fox. Someone must have been colorblind. She had quite a few -sign-ups as more joined the AAS and our membership grew. ....far out!
2015 and Earlier News and Events
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The 2015 World Series of Birding saw our Sitting Ducks place second in the The Big Stay category. This is where the team stays 'put' for the entire day and observes as many species as they can. Our team placed second, one shy of tying for first place. The weather was louse, the fog was present, the cold evident, but our team hung in there. To the right our Big Stay team members: John Peterson, Kris Arcuri, Kevin Lippert, Chris Marks, Kathy Peterson.....Robin Riley-wright.
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World Series of Birding--The Big Stay 2015
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Pineland's Short Course at Stockton
Another successful vendor day at the Pinelands Short Course at Stockton University. Robin Riley-Wright, Lisa Ryan, and Lester Block spent the day telling people about Atlantic Audubon, handing out literature, and signing up new members. Lester lent us some stuffed birds from Stockton's ornithology lab for our table and they really helped to draw people in. Below Robin Riley Wright manned the 'table' with Lisa Ryan and Lester Block. Notice the 'stuffed birds/taxidermy'.... Lester Block was kind enough to borrow these examples from the Ornithology Lab from Stockton College. The specimens were a Yellow Crowned Night Heron, a Black Crowned Night Heron and one lone Razorbill that was washed ashore in the 80's and maybe....maybe....found by Ed Goldman as a younger lad wandering the beaches of South Jersey. He remembers finding it and turning it over to Stockton College. So perhaps 'one and the same'...a full circle.
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Our visit to Ace Hardware in Galloway
On Saturday, February 21, Atlantic Audubon hosted a table at Ace Hardware in Galloway. Becky Hedden, Cindy Smith, Kevin Lippert and Robin Riley-Wright talked to Ace customers about bird watching, bird feeding and birding supplies. We signed up a few new members and had a great day talking about what we love....BIRDS! This Ace Hardware store is an particularly great store to purchase bird feeders, supplies etc. In the end, this store ended up donating money from the proceeds to AAS.... Nice going ! Thanks......
Atlantic Audubon celebrated our friend Helene Young's 100th birthday at our February meeting. Happy birthday Helene!!
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CHRISTMAS PARTY 2014.........Chirp chirp...what a blast.
Christmas Part at Oyster Creek Inn.....great food, great friends...."BIRD TALK".....BIRD DOOR PRIZES.....even BIRD Table Decorations. Bird, bird, bird, bird, bird.....
Becky Hedden and Donna Henry
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 Al, Lorraine, Charlie and Roz
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Becky Laboy, Becky Hedden, Tom, Avery, Lester, Tom and John.
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 Deidre, Colleen, Cynthia, Michele, Lisa and Dom.
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Ed, Deb, Dave, Mike and Karen
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Jim, Debbie, Rudy, Fred, Jamie and Pete at the Christmas Party at Oyster Creek Inn on December 7th
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Kathy, John, Marian, Cindy, Jan and robin
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 Janice, Kris, Warren, Jessica and Bob
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Al Martens
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Jessica Cuevas Blumberg,
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Donna, Diane, Jim and Mike
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Helene, Sylvie, Paula and Liv
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Past Events--
Members of the Big Stay:
Members of the Big Stay in May of 2014 'sat' atop Gull Tower to observe and ID any passing bird. As Becky Hedden (President of the AAS) commented in the local Atlantic Press "Is there any better place in Atlantic County to bird watch?" The concept behind the Big Stay is to sit in one location from dawn till dusk and observe as many birds as the team can see. It is helpful to have a scope and numerous eyes and binoculars as Gull Tower overlooks wetlands which stretch for hundreds of yards. Birds such as teals, falcons, gulls, peeps and passerines of all varieties swoosh past. This year the total count came to '94' . Not bad for 'parking it' in one spot and we were tied for first place with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology which is a fairly recognized group of folks. So way to go
AAS members!
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AAS members!
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