Ridge Ranger June 2018 Newsletter

Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission sent this bulletin at 05/30/2018 02:25 PM EDT

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Ridge Rangers are volunteers restoring wildlife habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge and nearby areas in Central Florida.

June 2018

June Ridge Rangers Events
Good News in the Kestrel Surveys

June Ridge Rangers Events

Saturday, June 2, from 8 am to around noon

Jay Watch Citizen Science Training

FWC Royce Unit, near Lake Placid

Jay Watch is a citizen-science project surveying the Florida Scrub-Jay in Central Florida and led by Audubon (and supported by FWC), and runs from mid-June thru mid-July at many conservation areas in central Florida. The surveys generally start around 7 am and are three to fours hours in length, and you can do as few or as many days as convenient for you. For more information on the jay Watch program, see the Audubon Jay Watch web page .

Details and sign up for the Royce June 2nd training at https://outreach.myfwc.com/event/JayWatchingTrainingRoyce2018

Wednesday, June 6, from 9 AM to around 3:30 PM

Plant Rare Clasping Warea

Lake Louisa State Park, near Clermont

The conservation department at Bok Tower Gardens is excited to announce the planting of this year’s introductions of Clasping Warea plants on June 6 at Lake Louisa State Park!

A thousand Clasping Warea plants are to be introduced via planting at two different sites at Lake Louisa State Park, and 25 people are needed to help. Lunch will be provided, and carpooling from Lake Wales is available. Learn more here.

This workday will be led by Whitney Costner of Bok Tower Gardens, and you're requested to sign up for the planting by sending Whitney an email at this link: wcostner@boktower.org

Saturday, June 9, from 9 AM to around noon

Survey Planted Scrub Oak Sprouts To Determine Restoration Impact

FWC Royce Unit, near Lake Placid

To determine the impact on habitat restoration and to improve plant suitability for future plantings, we'll be doing the one year survey of scrub oaks planted in May 2017 by the Ridge Rangers.

We'll be working in teams and walking from plant to plant determining height and health; and recording the results for analysis.

For the full details and to register, please see https://outreach.myfwc.com/event/RoyceJune2018

Ridge Ranger cuts down an intruding sand pine using a chain saw

Saturday, June 16, from 8 am to around 11 am.

Reduce Sand Pines to help Endangered Scrub Jays

FWC Holmes, near Lake Placid

We'll be cutting down sand pines at Holmes to create more usable habitat for Scrub-Jays. This type of pine will take over a Scrub Habitat, eliminating homes for endangered Scrub-Jays and harboring Scrub-Jay predators.

We’ll be using hand saws, sawsalls, and chainsaws (for qualified Ridge Rangers).

Please see https://outreach.myfwc.com/event/HolmesJune2018 for more information and to register.

Invasive Plant at Avon Park Air Force Range

Saturday, June 23, from 8 AM to around noon

Survey for Invasive Plants

Avon Park Air Force Range, near Avon Park

We’ll be working in small teams to walk through conservation areas at the Air Force Range looking for invasive plants. You’ll be trained in how to identify the plants and record the information on provided GPS units. This is a great way to see the amazing conservation sites at the Air Force Range, and to help protect the areas!

See the meeting location, full details, and registration at https://outreach.myfwc.com/event/June2018APAFR

The Ridge Rangers workday for Saturday, June 30 is to be determined. Please check back on the Ridge Rangers Online Calendar.

Good News in the Kestrel Surveys

Ridge Ranger holds viewer showing four Kestrel Chicks while another Ridge Ranger inserts a peeper cam in the nest box

5/8/2018: Ridge Ranger Diana Miller holds a remote viewer showing the transmitted image from a peeper scope camera that Ridge Ranger Jim Keltner is inserting into the kestrel nest box in the background. Those white fluff balls in the viewer are four kestrel chicks!

For the first time in many years, endangered Southeastern American Kestrels and their chicks have been documented at FWC’s Lake Placid Scrub site! Ridge Rangers first noticed that Kestrels had laid three eggs in this artificial nest box in April of this year, and in May the Ridge Rangers recorded four new chicks in the box using the peeper scope camera system. We’ll be doing the final survey for 2018 in early June, and hopefully will continue to have good news on how many of the chicks fledged.

See a short peeper cam video taken by the remote viewer of the kestrel chicks in the above nest box at http://flic.kr/p/J2A6Rg .

The Southeastern American Kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus) is a non-migratory subspecies of kestrel found in open pine savannahs, sandhills, prairies, and pastures in Florida and the southeastern United States. It is listed as threatened in Florida due to a decline in nesting and foraging habitat.

Learn more about Southeastern American Kestrels on the FWC website at this link.

Written by: Bill Parken, Ridge Rangers Coordinator, bill.parken@myfwc.com

Ridge Rangers are volunteers helping to restore wildlife habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge and nearby areas in Central Florida. Learn more

Ridge Rangers website: myfwc.com/ridgerangers

Upcoming schedule at Ridge Rangers Online Calendar.

Want to participate in the Ridge Rangers program? Apply here, or just look on our calendar, sign up for a workday and come on out! There are no dues and no commitments in the Ridge Ranger program.

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