If you'd like to be added to our email list to be advised when we're having an event, that may be the likes of a talk at the library, fund raiser or a river/creek clean-up, please send us an email to northportfowl@gmail.com so we can add you to our list. We do not share your contact information. FYI, typically our talks take place October - April.
PLEASE REFER TO THE 'NEWS' TAB FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TORTOISE DAY YOUTH CONTEST. THANK YOU!
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PLEASE REFER TO THE 'NEWS' TAB FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE TORTOISE DAY YOUTH CONTEST. THANK YOU!
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April 21, at 7pm Sarasota Audubon Society and North Port Friends of Wildlife will be sponsoring a virtual presentation “Blakiston’s Fish Owl – A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl” by Jonathan Slaght. This you do not want to miss!
Jonathan Slaght, wildlife biologist and author, works full time for the Wildlife Conservation Society as their Russia & Northeast Asia Coordinator. Jonathan will discuss his fascinating book "Owls of the Eastern Ice" in which we'll join a small team in Siberia for late-night monitoring missions, and fireside tales of the fish owls: careful hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and irrepressible survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat. If you haven't already, you will no doubt want to read the book after hearing this talk!
Here's the link where you can register: https://scgovlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/blakistons-fish-owl-quest-find-and-save-worlds-largest-owl-live
May 19, at 6pm North Port Friends of Wildlife will be hosting a presentation by Dan Quinn titled “An Incipient Population of Invasive Lizards in Charlotte County: The Argentine Black and White Tegu”
In this presentation Dan, a Biologist for Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Program, will discuss invasive wildlife ecology and how the Nonnative Program functions to mitigate nonnative wildlife issues.
Dan will focus on a case study of a high priority nonnative reptile with an emergent population in rural Punta Gorda: the Argentine black and white tegu (Salvator merianae). This tegu species has a generalist diet and the ability to survive in a variety of habitats and climates, enabling it to establish throughout much of the state of Florida.
The threat that tegus pose to Florida’s’ native wildlife and ecosystems warrants their designation as a high priority species for management action.
The emergent tegu population in Charlotte County was first discovered by the FWC in 2018 and over 170 tegus have been removed from FWC trap lines to date. In addition to tegus, there are also a wide variety of other high priority and/or uncommon reptile species that have been found in the same area as the tegus in Punta Gorda.
Dan Quinn works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission as the Senior Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Biologist for Southwest Florida. Originally from Kansas City, MO, he graduated with a B.S. in Biology from Truman State University and received his Master’s in Wildlife Conservation from the University of Georgia. He has conducted ecological research domestically and abroad and has been working in the field of wildlife conservation/management in the Southeastern United States for the past ten years. Dan currently leads a nonnative office out of Fort Myers, Florida with a team of nonnative biologists focused on managing priority nonnative wildlife populations. Dan is also responsible for coordinating early detection and rapid response efforts for priority nonnative wildlife throughout the state. His team has worked on many projects involving invasive wildlife population management in Southwest Florida including Argentine black and white tegus, Nile monitors, black spiny-tailed iguanas, cane toads, African clawed frogs, and Burmese pythons.
To register for this virtual meeting, please go to: https://scgovlibrary.librarymarket.com/events/north-port-friends-wildlife-lecture-series-live-2