Public Programs

2025/2026 Programs

September 14, 2025

Bats:  Masters of the Night Skies by Ariel Horne

Did you know that bats are the only mammals capable of flight? Or that one bat can consume up to 3,000 insects in a single night? Or that they are not actually blind? Ariel Horner of the Florida Bat Conservancy will present myth-busting facts about the critical environmental services that bats provide.

October 12, 2025

Big Sit at Lake Jesup Park

This event replaces our regular monthly meeting. This is an annual, international event hosted by New Haven (Connecticut) Bird Club. They compile the count data. We sit inside a circle and count all the bird species we see or hear. Tent available for shade. All levels and ages of birders are welcome. Come for an hour or two or for the entire time. Bring your own binoculars, chair, water, and snacks.

7:00 to 11:00 am – Lake Jesup Park
5951 Sanford Avenue, Sanford, FL
Accessible parking space. No restrooms.

We welcome all those who would like to enjoy time in nature. This gathering is accessible for all, including those who have a disability, persons with a mobility challenge, blind or low vision, deaf or hard of hearing, persons who are neurodivergent or persons with any other intellectual, developmental, or physical disability or concern.

Website: gis.audubon.org/birdability
Coordinator: Leslie Martin woodstork.martin@gmail.com

November 9, 2025

May All Your Blues Be Birds by Faith Jones

Bluebirds are among the favorite backyard visitors.  With their striking colors, musical voices and gentle habits, who wouldn’t want to welcome these beauties into the backyard? This Florida Bluebird Society program includes information about bluebirds, their history in America, and some of the challenges they face.  It also includes information you need to know before putting up a nest box, how to install a nest box, what to anticipate if you have a nest box, and the native plants the birds like.

Former Secretary, President, and Birding Instructor at SAS, Faith is a founding member of the Florida Bluebird Society and continues to serve on their Board of Directors. Faith currently resides in Penney Farms, Florida, where she monitors and maintains a 40-box Bluebird Trail.

Bluebird nest boxes, built to Florida Bluebird Society specifications by Jim Peters, will be available at the meeting.

December 14, 2025

Birding at Ponce Inlet and a Birdy Christmas Card by Joan Tague

Joan Tague will present a two-part program with a seasonal twist. The beginning of winter birding at Ponce Inlet brings in many migrants, vagrants, and more. Influenced by tides, currents, storms, and human activity, the comings and goings of the birds at Ponce Inlet can be diverse and unpredictable. Joan will draw on her experiences as a guest guide on the Marine Discovery Center’s Winter Bird Tours, offering stories and observations. To wrap up her presentation, Joan will examine a holiday classic and its connection to birds.

Joan Tague is the President of Halifax River Audubon. In 1987, when she walked through the doors of the Pittsburgh Aviary, an all-bird zoo, she never looked back. Looking for an interesting volunteer opportunity, she instead discovered her passion. Joan is an enthusiastic birder. Her path through birding resembles many others who love the pursuit—studying, doing field work, traveling, building skills, giving back through volunteering for surveys, and teaching both adults and children. She regularly guides field trips and nature walks for Halifax River Audubon, the Ormond Beach Environmental Discovery Center, and various other organizations and events, sharing her love for her adopted home of Central Florida. Outside of birding, Joan enjoys all things nature, music (in the form of the tuba—the mightiest of all instruments), discussing the merits of craft beer, baseball (Go Tortugas), and more. Before retiring, Joan worked as a Marketing Design Engineer at Bell Atlantic/Verizon.

January 11, 2026

Florida Scrub-Jays by Alan Alshouse

Learn about this round-headed, blue and gray Florida Scrub-Jay, including its habitat and lifecycle. It is the only bird species that lives exclusively in Florida, where it appears in patches of low-growing scrub oak in sandy soils. Extensive development and habitat fragmentation in Florida threaten this bird’s already small population, placing it on the threatened species list. Conserving and managing its habitat is essential for its survival. Alan will also explain how habitat is managed at Yankee Lake Treatment Facility, the only habitat in Seminole County for Florida Scrub-Jays. Along with Audubon Florida, SAS played a key role in preserving this habitat in 1993 when the treatment facility was being planned.

Alan Alshouse is a wildlife ecologist, previously with Alshouse & Associates, LLC, a multi-service environmental consulting firm based in Central Florida that provided services throughout North America. Alan consults with private and public landowners in the areas of wildlife, forest, range, aquatics, prescribed fire, ecosystem management, permitting, land acquisition, invasive/exotic plant control and wildlife diseases.  He is currently with Environmental Science Associates which manages the Yankee Lake Florida Scrub-Jay habitat among other projects.

February 8, 2026

How to Landscape for Bird Habitat by Fred Milch

Fred will provide an overview of Low Impact Development (LID). LID is a land-planning and engineering design approach to manage stormwater runoff as part of green infrastructure. It emphasizes conservation and use of on-site natural features to protect water quality. Fred will explain how he worked with his Wekiva HOA so they could understand how traditional landscaping is adversely impacting Wekiva Springs and the river.   The HOA subsequently changed how they address violations and are more tolerant of yards that include more native vegetation.  These techniques will help us provide a better landscape for wildlife, especially birds.

Fred Milch is retired from East Central Florida Regional Planning Council where he coordinated the Development of Regional Impact review programs, Low Impact Development training, local comprehensive plan and ordinance writing, grant management, hurricane preparedness studies and traffic impact studies.  He attended the University of Wisconsin and Texas A&M University for his master’s degree in urban and regional planning.

March 8, 2026

Bird Anatomy by Jenny Bouchenot

Jenny will provide an overview of avian anatomy including feathers, bone structure, internal organs and muscles of birds through a lens of homology. Homology explains the similarity in anatomical structures between organisms of different taxa due to shared ancestry, regardless of current functional differences.
 
Jenny Bouchenot is a University of Central Florida Integrative and Conservation Biology PhD candidate. She received a bachelor’s degree in biology and then a master’s degree, defending her thesis on non-lethal predictors of organ-level metal contaminants in Red-shouldered Hawks. Her current PhD dissertation research investigates pollutants in 23 species of Florida raptors. She is presently a graduate teaching assistant for the comparative vertebrate anatomy dissection laboratory at UCF. Jenny has volunteered for eight years with the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey, was a founding officer of the Knighthawk Audubon campus chapter at UCF, and a Florida Audubon CLI alumna, class of 2017.

April 2026

Enjoy Local Earth Month Events