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According to this notice from PB County, Wakodahatchee Wetlands is closed until October 28 for “routine maintenance work on the boardwalk.”

According to our friends at the National Weather Service, the dry season is already upon us. But in this month’s Ripple newsletter from the SFWMD, we get a different story:
With the official start of Florida’s dry season less than a month away, conservation remains critical to protect the water supply for the 16-county South Florida [...]

The November 2008 issue of the Everglade Kite is now available.

12 people attended ASE’s Spanish River field trip on Saturday, October 11. The bird (family) of the day was the falcon: at least 3 perched Peregrine Falcons, in addition to several other flyers-by, afforded our birders excellent views of this magnificent species. There were also perched (and flying) Merlins, and a soaring Kestrel, making for [...]

The Bird of the Month for November is Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). Our friend Virginia, from Folke Peterson, will say a few words about this bird before the general meeting on Tuesday, November 4th. Feel free to bring in your own photos for display throughout the evening. You can also see our web gallery, with [...]

Press release from Fish & Wildlife:
Eighth Group of Endangered Whooping Cranes Depart on Ultralight-guided Flight to Florida
  On October 17, 2008, Fourteen young whooping cranes began their
  ultralight-led migration from central Wisconsin’s Necedah National
  Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and traveled five miles. Wind and rain has
  grounded the cranes in Juneau County, Wisconsin, for the last three
  days.
  This is the eighth [...]

Despite the damaging releases of polluted Lake O water down the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie “rivers,” the water is piling up all over south Florida: in the Big Cypress, in the Water Conservation areas, and in Everglades National Park itself. According to a story in this morning’s Miami Herald, the water levels are threatening deer [...]

About a half-dozen ASE members braved the wind and rain to have a pretty darn good field trip at Frenchman’s Forest on October 4. Many thanks to Chuck and Marvin for leading. 12 warbler species were noted, including Chestnut-sided and Blackburnian. Birding in stormy conditions can actually be quite productive, since the birds have no [...]

From the Southeast Regional office of the FWS:
Final Environmental Assessment for Interagency Florida Panther Response
Plan Available
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced the availability of a
final Environmental Assessment (EA) for the Interagency Florida Panther
Response Plan.
The response plan establishes guidelines for responding to and managing
potential interactions between people and Florida panthers, and for
educating the public [...]

Due to FALLOUT* conditions, ASE will have 2, that’s right 2 field trips on Saturday, October 4. Ray Buchholz will be leading in south county at Spanish River Park in Boca Raton, while Marvin Greenberg will be leading in north county, at Frenchman’s Forest. Conditions might be excellent. Unfortunately, the newsletter has only the Frenchman’s [...]