All AAS Programs are free and open to the general public. Until further notice all programs are online via Zoom. The necessary information is provided in the descriptions.
It is our intent to record and post videos of as many of the programs as we can. You will find those below with their respective program descriptions.
Upcoming Programs
Hummingbirds!
HUMMINGBIRDS! This month we will focus on one of the area’s most popular birds, the hummingbird. Fred Bassett is known in this area as he frequently comes here to band hummingbirds from his base in Alabama. We asked Fred to give us a zoom talk and he replied that he has many requests and thus has created a recorded presentation that he hopes we will use. And we will!
After viewing Fred’s 30 minute talk we will have a panel of local bird enthusiasts who have a long history of contact with Fred and extensive knowledge of hummingbirds to field questions and tell of experiences with Fred. We hope you will join us on zoom. Just click on the link below.
https://zoom.us/j/93879266974?pwd=dkZQdGh1YkFjVnJXd0hhV3BlRFlxdz09
Past Programs
Breaking New Ground with Florida Scrub-Jay Translocations (16 March 2021)
Join us to hear Breaking New Ground with Florida Scrub-Jay Translocations. Dr. Karl Miller of FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute will share the latest findings from his translocation research on Florida Scrub-Jays. Karl and his team are translocating jays from Ocala National Forest to conservation lands in north and south Florida to achieve multiple objectives. New techniques, used at different times of the year, are proving beneficial for the safe and effective translocation of this threatened species.
Zoom failed to record the full program but what we have of it (including the excellent Q&A portion) will be coming soon.
Conservation Ecology of Short-tailed Hawks, Swallow-tailed Kites, and Snail Kites (15 February 2021)
The 2020 Christmas Bird Count In Alachua County, a Synopsis (21 January 2020)
Program: Bird Bling (3 Dec 2020)
Program: Building Better Birding Skills by Adam Kent (9 Nov 2020)
Do you know how to identify individual Downy Woodpeckers based on their head patterns; how to identify a Tricolored Heron based on bill length; or how to tell an American Crow from a Fish Crow when it is calling, even if you can’t hear it? Adam will answer these questions and more in this presentation geared toward birding in your neighborhood.
Here is a list of books mentioned in the program:
By Kenn Kaufman: Kaufman Field Guide to Advanced Birding: Understanding What You See and Hear (2011)
By Donald Kroodsma: The Singing Life of Birds (2005), Birdsong by the Seasons (2009), and Birdsong for the Curious Naturalist, (2020)
By Nathan Pieplow: Peterson Field Guide to Bird Sounds of Eastern North America (2017)
By David Sibley: Sibley’s Birding Basics (2002), The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior (2001), and What It’s Like to Be a Bird (2020)
And here is a link to the eBird Alachua County Bird Observations bar chart:
https://ebird.org/barchart?byr=1900&eyr=2020&bmo=1&emo=12&r=US-FL-001
Program: A New Wetland in Gainesville! (4 Nov 2020)
Gainesville Regional Utilities and their partners, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and Suwanee River Water Management District, plan to create a groundwater recharge wetland park near Diamon Sports Park (western Alachua County). The wetland park will create valuable wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities while simultaneously replenishing the Floridan Aquifer, which will help support flows at the Santa Fe River and its springs. During the presentation Kristen Sealey, GRU Engineer and Rick Hutton, GRU Supervising Engineer, will provide background about the project and share the multiple benefits the park will bring to the community and environment.
October Program – A Fight Against Time (8 Oct 2020)
Thursday evening, October 8 at 7:00 p.m.
Nordmann’s Greenshank is one of the most endangered shorebirds on our planet. Join UF grad student Philipp Maleko as he tells of his adventures in Eastern Russia working with Russian ornithologists wading through bog and forest to study this rare animal.
Urban Mockingbird Song Diversity
Wednesday, January 15, 2020, Millhopper Library, 6:30 p.m., (social time 6:00 p.m.)
The Northern Mockingbird is our Florida State Bird and Floridians love hearing its rich repertoire of calls and songs. A U of FL researcher is studying this bird right here in our Northwest Gainesville neighborhoods! Is there more song diversity in urban or rural Mockingbirds? What has been learned?
Saving Wildlife – Serving Community:
Tuesday, February 18, 2020, Millhopper Library, 6:30 p.m. (social time 6:00 p.m.)
Injured, orphaned, displaced wildlife are only part of our mission. Equally important are human interactions and conservation efforts.
Note: This talk precedes an Alachua Audubon field trip to look for birds on
the grounds of Sunrise Wildlife Rehabilitation in High Springs the following
Saturday, February 22. Public welcome.
A Fight Against Time
Wednesday, March 18, 2020, Millhopper Library, 6:30 p.m. (social time 6:00 p.m.)
Nordmann’s Greenshank is one of the most endangered shorebirds on our planet. Listen to Philipp Maleko tell of his adventures in Eastern Russia working with Russian ornithologist wading through bog and forest to study this rare animal.
Adventures and Discoveries Through Photography
Tuesday, April 21, 2020, Millhopper Library, 6:00 social time 6:30 program
Over the last 15 years, Drew Fulton’s photography has taken him to some incredible and unexpected places. From the swamps of Florida Everglades to the outback of Australia, from the sea floor in Turkey to the high forest canopy of Borneo, join Drew as he takes you on a journey through his lens and shares some of the natural history stories he experienced along the way.