Clay County Ditch Work

Clay County Public Works has decided it's time once again to clean out the ditch running along the entrance to the sanctuary. They made a mess of things for a while and are still not done. We had to file a complaint with the county for their sloppy work. Hopefully, all can be resolved in a manner beneficial to both parties. They have agreed to replant the banks and keep the ditch clean of invasive exotic plants, with a little help from Audubon volunteers.

The ditch up the hill from the sanctuary actually contains a seepage spring that constantly flows crystal clear water. This ditch also drains a good sized portion of the neighborhood nearby. As such, it has been lined with concrete in the past and recently re-lined for stabilization. The county really did a sloppy job as evidenced by the pictures.

This entire ditch run would be a great stream restoration project. A functioning stream/natural ditch would slow the water down and help treat it on the way down to the sanctuary swamp. Anyone interested in helping with such a project? It probably wouldn't be that hard to get grant funding. Just need the people to help organize and get it together.

Prothonotary Warblers at Crosby

Prothonotary Warblers are back as of mid May. One has been spotted in the swamp and the nest box appears active as of May 25. These beautiful yellow birds with blue wings are as pleasant to see as their sweet song is to hear! They are unfortunately listed as a declining species throughout their range of SE US and Central/South America. We are lucky to have them at Crosby!

2nd Annual First Coast Great Air Potato Roundup

The 2nd Annual First Coast Great Air Potato Roundup on March 1, 2008, was a huge success! We collected two and a half large trash bags of potatoes (approximately 300 pounds). Thank you to Barbara Beyerl, Andrew Thornton, Pat Anderson, Larry, Nikki and Taryn Fenwick, Lenore McCullough, Gerry Murphy, and John Mikl0s. Everyone had great fun searching out air potatoes of all shapes and sizes. It was kind of like an Easter egg hunt, only all the eggs were the same color! The largest potato of all roundup sites was found by Andrew Thornton and Barbara Beyerl. It measured 16.5 inches in circumference! Andrew generously let Barbara claim the grand prize of a guided kayak trip for two for half a day from Kayak Amelia.

See you there next year!

Feb. 2 -- Fieldtrip/Workday Report

Our Fieldtrip was a huge success! We had 11 Duval Audubon members out on a beautiful, cool February morning for a bird walk and work session. A big thanks go out to the following members for their help: Patrica Knowles, Duffy Kopriva, Karen Barnum, Melinda Eckert, Rachael Sulkers, Gerald Sim, Pat Anderson, John Miklos, Gerry and Cheryl Murphy! Special thanks to Gerry Murphy, John Miklos, Rachael Sulkers and Gerald Sim for their help installing a Wood Duck nest box (see picture)! Extra special thanks to Pat Anderson, Duffy Kopriva, Cheryl Murphy and Trisha Knowles for pulling a giant bag of weeds from the native plant bed!

The group spotted 25 bird species including such notables as Great Blue Heron, Red-shouldered Hawk, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Phoebe, American Crow, and Black-and-white Warbler. Other evidence of wildlife included white-tailed deer tracks, wild hog tracks, river otter scat and uneaten bowfin skull. The swamp was well inundated with water, which was flowing slowly to the east.

Mark your Calendars for March 1 Air Potato Roundup

2nd Annual First Coast Air Potato Round-Up

We need the help of all NEFL residents to preserve our
natural communities. Volunteers are needed to come help
clean our parks and preserves from Air Potato vine
(Dioscorea bulbifera) and other non-native invasive plants
that overtake our natural areas.

When: March 1, 2008
Time: 9 a.m. to noon
Where: Volunteers encouraged to participate at the Crosby Sanctuary (427 Aquarius Concourse, Orange Park, FL) or you can participate by removing invasive plants from your own yard!

Contact Pete Johnson at 904-536-4806 for more info and directions if necessary

No registration necessary unless you are bringing a large
group and prizes will be given for the largest potato collected!

Visit www.nature.org/floridainvasive or call 904-598-0004 for
more information.

Summer 2007 Update 1

It's been about 6 months since my last post. This has mainly been due to technical difficulties with blogspot and my busy schedule. Blogspot was bought out by google. The Crosby site didn't have a smooth transition and I didn't have much time to devote to dealing with it.

The wonderful young men and women of the FYCA conducted another workday out a Crosby in March. They were led by Scott Davis and did an excellent job of planting 9 native trees (donated by Robert Sanford of Sanford Landscaping), removing air potat0es and vines, as well as picking up trash and debris. They were also able to determine that all of their bird nest boxes appeared to be occupied or showed signs of activity. They also took a walk back through the swamp to just enjoy being outside in natural surroundings. Scott hopes to be able to bring the FYCA group out more often throughout the upcoming school year, as they really love outdoor activities at Crosby.

Prothonotary Warblers have been seen out along the swamp trail. It's likely they nested in one of two nest boxes installed by FYCA. Please go to www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Prothonotary_Warbler_dtl.html for info on these wonderful birds.

Officials with Clay County were given notebooks with information about the sanctuary in May. One notebook was given to Doug Conkey the county commissioner for Crosby. He is interested in helping our process by developing partnerships with the county and funding resources.

The Homeowners Association of Orange Park Golf and Country Club has contacted us about the donating additional land to the northwest part of the sanctuary. I will continue to update on the status and details of this interesting development!

Please feel free to contact me anytime. We need volunteers willing to help out! Especially someone local in Orange Park willing to spend about 1 hour every 2-3 weeks mowing the entrance area.

Pete Johnson
904-536-4806
petejohnson71@bellsouth.net

Successful Air Potato Roundup

The 1st Annual Northeast Florida Great Air Potato Roundup was a huge success! There were : 104 Total volunteers at 6 work sites
almost 400 pounds of Air Potatoes collected

A total of 3 volunteers picked up about 150 pounds of potatoes at the Crosby Sanctuary site!

Please go to the link below for an article in the Clay County Line newspaper.
www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/013107/nec_7644203.shtml

Please be aware that coming up in March is Invasive Awareness month in Northeast Florida.
Find out more at www.nature.org/florida

First Northeast Florida Great Air Potato Round-up

The Duval Audubon Society is sponsoring a clean up site at the Crosby Sanctuary. Please go to http://www.nature.org/florida or call (904) 598-0004 to pre-register for this worthy event. It is necessary to pre-register to guarantee sufficient supplies and prizes. Prizes will be handed out for the largest potatoes collected! Great fun and educational opportunity for kids and the whole family!

Air potato is an exotic vine from Asia that is considered one of Floridas worst invaders of native plant communities. These vines creep over every other plant and smother them out, similar to Kudzu in Georgia and North Carolina. It reproduces by dropping numerous bulbils, which look much like brown potatoes. For more info and pictures please see the previous post on this blog entitled Air Potato.

When: January 20, 2007
Time: 9 am to 12:30 pm
Where: Crosby Sanctuary or other sponsored sites
Meeting Place: Vystar Credit Union parking lot on NW corner of Blanding Blvd and Aurora Blvd in Orange Park (just south of Wells Road/Orange Park Mall)
Contact: Pete Johnson (904) 536-4806

4 December 2006 -- FYCA Workday

The Florida Youth Challenge Academy conducted their third workday at the Crosby Sanctuary on Monday December 4th. A mixed group of these young men and women worked on pulling more air potato vines, collecting air potatos, and mounting several bird nest boxes (see pictures) on trees within the swamp. These FYCA cadets were full of energy to take on the challenge of pulling and collecting air potatos. They did a great job!

The next FYCA workday will be sometime in mid January. They will be collecting more air potatos and helping to prepare test grass kill plots for the landscape demonstration garden site. Our goal is to begin construction/planting in Spring 2007!

9 November 2006 -- Planning Meeting On-site

Several of the parties involved/interested with this project met at around 5:00 PM to look at the site. These parties included: Rhino Johanson of All in One "Integrity Fencing" to estimate project fencing costs; Scott Davis of Florida Youth Challenge Academy; Dan Hays of SJRWMD youth education program; and two of Scott's advisors from the University of Florida Masters Program.

We discussed topics including fencing upgrade options, history of the property, current conditions, landscape garden project, community vegetable garden, exotic vegetation control, connectivity to other natural areas, FYCA projects, water quality monitoring, local drainage area signs to demonstrate connection between neighborhoods and downstream watershed, community involvement, local government involvement, Clay utility company involvement, and potential drainage/stormwater improvements to neighborhood ditches/outfalls.

It was exciting to have such a dynamic group discuss how to utilize the the Crosby Sanctuary to positively engage and educate people!

Pete Johnson

First Successful Workday October 14, 2006

Thanks to Scott Davis and his 11 member crew of 16-18 year olds from the Florida Youth Challenge Academy for an excellent workday last Saturday. They were very energetic and enthusiastic workers and they even learned a few things about naturally vegetated ecosystems verses those infested with exotic nuisance plants.

Talk about a group of nature hungry kids. They literally ate every minute of it up out there and asked me several times when they could come back.

Duval Audubon looks forward to a mutually rewarding relationship with the FYCA organization. We are also working with the Wave Action Volunteers of the St Johns River Water Management District to get them the materials to put "No Dumping" signs on the stormwater drains in the adjacent neighborhood. Scott Davis also plans to have them construct bird nest boxes for the kids to install and monitor in the main swamp area.
Things are really taking off!

Pete Johnson

Zoning Change Approved!!

Last night the Clay County BCC approved the zoning change from Residential to Private Services, thus allowing our native landscape demonstration garden/yard to move forward!

Please come out on October 28 (see details posted August 22) to visit the site and enjoy a guided fieldtrip of the entire Crosby Sanctuary. There will be experienced birders, botanists and naturalists on-site to identify plants and wildlife!

Please contact me at (904) 536-4806 if you are interested in helping out with this project in any way (volunteer, donate plants, donate materials, donate money).

Pete Johnson

Crosby Sanctuary Project

October 28, 2006 -- Crosby Sanctuary Field Trip

Time: 8:00 am -- 11:00 am
The group will meet at the Vystar Credit Union on the NW corner of the intersection of Blanding Blvd and Aurora Blvd in Orange Park.
We will then consolidate vehicles and drive approximately 0.25 miles to sanctuary entrance. From entrance we will walk about 2-3 miles, first through disturbed (lots of exotic plants) uplands and then through semi-mature bottomland hardwood swamp (very nice) along a dry trailroad grade. Once we emerge from the swamp, we will then walk along an open powerline through swamp forest edge and freshwater marsh habitat. Finally, we will traverse a broad seepage slope forest north of the powerlines and then return back through the swamp road to the sanctuary entrance.
Previously identified plant and bird lists will be provided. Please at least bring enclosed shoes that can get wet, water, bug repellent and a good attitude! See you there!

Call Pete Johnson at (904) 536-4806 or e-mail pjohnson@sjrwmd.com for further details or directions.

August 14, 2006 Update

The Clay County Planning/Zoning Department Staff have determined that our proposed zoning change is legal, as per previous zoning changes approved in the past.

Please note that the Clay County Zoning Change meeting has been moved to September 5th at 7:00 pm. If all goes well, then the Final Meeting before the Board of County Commissioners will be on September 26 at 7:00 pm.

The Clay Planning Department staff recommended to me that it is important to have as many people in support as possible in attendance at the meetings. If anyone wants to support the project but can not be in attendance, then a signed letter of support for the record is fine. Please e-mail me (pjohnson@sjrwmd.com) if you send in a signed letter so I can keep track of how many are sent.

If nothing else, then an e-mail (send to: planning@co.clay.fl.us and Cc to pjohnson@sjrwmd.com) of support for the project will also work.

Please send letters of support to:

Planning & Zoning Division
Department of Development Services
P.O. Box 367, 477 Houston Street
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-0367
Telephone: (904) 284/269-6375
email: planning@co.clay.fl.us

August 2006 Update

The Clay County Planning Commission has decided to review the codes to determine if the zoning change is legal. Therefore, the next public hearing will be on the first Tuesday of September 5th at 7:00 P.M. in Green Cove Springs on the 4th floor of the Clay County administration building.

Planning Commission members did express interest in working with Duval Audubon to accomplish this project regardless of the zoning change status.

Please call, e-mail or write the Clay County Planning & Zoning Division to voice your comments and support for this project.

Planning & Zoning Division
Department of Development Services
P.O. Box 367, 477 Houston Street
Green Cove Springs, FL 32043-0367
Telephone: (904) 284/269-6375
email: planning@co.clay.fl.us

June 2006 Update

Zoning Change from Residential (RB) to Private Services (PS-2), which will allow the property to be used for a Park and Xeriscape/Native Plant Demonstration Garden. There will be two public hearings on the zoning change: Clay County Planning Commission -- 7:00 P.M. on August 1, 2006; and the Clay County Board of County Commissioners -- 7:00 P.M. on August 22, 2006.

The Park and Demonstration Garden will be limited access due to tresspassing and vandalism concerns. However, Duval Audubon Society is looking for volunteers from the neighboorhood to help build/maintain the park and help facilitate walk-through access on weekends. Please contact Pete Johnson at (904) 536-4806 for further details.

The Park and Demonstration Garden is currently in planning and development phase by Duval Audubon Society with support from the University of Florida IFAS Clay County Extension -- Master Gardener Program Staff (internet address: http://hort.ufl.edu/mg/).

May Update

Crosby Sanctuary Project is currently on hold for the summer and until we can obtain a zoning change from Clay County. The zoning change should be complete by August 2006, which will give us plenty of time to finish planning and conduct more fundraising. Please feel free to contact me at (904) 536-4806 for sanctuary tours and information.
Here are some pictures of the Crosby Sanctuary from this spring.

Air Potato

Air Potato vine is an exotic plant that is noxious and very prevalent in the southern uplands at the sanctuary. It will eventually be eradicated as we work to restore native upland habitats.

If you see this plant in your yards and neighborhoods, then please eradicate it before it spreads!

Progress as of March 1, 2006

The development of the Crosby sanctuary is in the planning and development stage by the Duval Audubon Society Board of Directors and member volunteers. We are always looking for and in need of people to volunteer their time to help with all aspects of the project.
At the next on-site volunteer meeting and work day on Saturday March 18, 2006, we will begin planting a native plant, bird and butterfly demonstration garden. Meet at Vystar Credit Union parking lot on the corner of Blanding Blvd and Aquarius Concourse at 8 am sharp.
Please feel free to post your comments and any helpful information or ideas for recruiting volunteers and eliciting funding sources.