Annual HOLIDAY POT LUCK DINNER and LECTURE “Working Birds of Florida” by Susan Faulkner Davis, Award-winning Bird Photographer, ASE Board Member

Tuesday, Dec 6, Dinner 6:00 p.m. Meeting & Lecture 7:00 p.m.

 Our speaker’s statement:

“I found nature photography after a career in design…my way to escape the urbanization that plagues coastal south Florida.

 As the child of a career Army soldier I grew up moving between the wild arid lands of central Texas and the lushly manicured farms of Germany’s southernmost state of Bavaria. My grandmother, a school teacher and amateur biologist, introduced me to the plants and animals of my native northern Pennsylvania hills at an early age. In time, the woods, fields, creeks, marshes and their inhabitants became my haven and a place to learn and explore. Each time my family moved it was easy for me to adjust since I found commonality in every new landscape. As a result, I have always seen nature as my true home.

Florida is, in many ways, a paradise. Living at the northeast corner of the Everglades, I am focused on the many water and wading birds and animals that live here. My goal is to learn as much as I can about every species I encounter and to understand their part in our environment. I like to show others the great intricacy I witness in each animal I capture with my camera.

My photography has directed me along a new path in the past two years. I increasingly felt that I was simply cataloging the demise of species as I worked. I joined Audubon as a way to learn more and to see how I could help reverse that trend. Now actively involved in conservation, I serve as an ASE board member and also as a member of Project Perch, an organization that aids our native Burrowing Owls.

The ultimate goal of my photography is to show you the beauty that I see so that you will do your utmost to act to preserve our precious natural earth and her inhabitants.”

The meeting is free and open to the public. Bring a dish and join us at Pine Jog Environmental Education Center, rooms 101 and 102, 6301 W. Summit Blvd in West Palm Beach. Doors open at 5:30 p.m., the food will be served at 6:00 p.m., and our annual holiday meeting will start at 7:00 p.m. People with last names that begin A–J will bring main dishes; K-R salads and veggies; S-Z desserts. Please bring ready-to-serve food since we have no kitchen. We will supply the drinks. There are great items donated for our traditional raffle. Come join in the fun -we look forward to seeing you!

 ALSO AT THE Dec 6 MEETING: Bird of the Month: Black-bellied Plover. Come learn from Clive Pinnock about this bird.