By Paula Lickfeldt

Did you know there are two Audubon Clubs in Sun City Center? The SCC Audubon Club meets monthly in the Florida Room, while the Eagle Audubon Club meets on the third Monday of each month October through April at St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, 1239 West Del Webb. Doors open at 1 p.m. for signups; meeting and program began at 1:45. This year the Eagle Audubon Society will celebrate its 40th year.

The emphasis of the club is on climate change, conservation, preservation, and of course, birds. In February, the meeting topic will be Sandhill Cranes, March is Bluebirds, and April will have a speaker from the National Audubon Society talking about how climate change is affecting Florida. Meetings are open to anyone interested. To become a member the dues are $15 per year.

Steve Burkholder of Kings

Point is an excellent birder. He can identify birds by sight and sound. Anyone interested in going out with him can meet in the parking lot in front of the clubhouse at KP at 9 a.m. every Tuesday. The group will go out in golf carts from 9 a.m. until 11 a.m. At the gate, if you are from outside KP, tell the guard that you are meeting with Steve to go on a birding field trip.

As well as a monthly meeting, the club goes on two or three field trips a month. While anyone is welcome to attend monthly meetings, you must be a member of the club to go on the field trips

The National Society conducts a national bird count during the two weeks before and after Christmas. Bird species are counted all over the nation. Kings Point identified around 50 different species, Sun City Center around 25 and Apollo Beach around 55 species. For more information about the Eagle Audubon Society go to “eagleaudubonflorida.org”.