PORT ORANGE
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
DUCK DERBY PAGE 3 FREE
VOLUME 5, NO. 3
RAPTOR vs. songbird
YOUR TOWN VOLUNTEER HERE
The Volunteers in Police Services, otherwise known as V.I.P.S., are looking to the community for more volunteers. Those who join this program will be trained in various areas of police operations, including city patrols, fingerprinting, house watches, special events, records and traffic. Uniforms will be assigned to each individual at no cost. Visit www.port-orange.org, then click on “Public Safety,” “Police Department,” and download VIPS application) or stop by Police Headquarters.
Osprey
THOMPSON PUMP HONORED
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BCH FL PERMIT #447
Thompson Pump and Manufacturing Co., one of the nation’s leading manufacturers of heavy-duty portable bypass and dewatering pumps, is honored to be named a 2021 Cigna Well-Being Award recipient for creating a healthy place to work and do business. This year, Thompson Pump’s wellness committee created a walking challenge during the first quarter, rewarding everyone who achieved 10,000 steps per day in a week; in the second quarter, everyone was encouraged to complete four videos about the importance of stretching, relaxing and meditating; during the third quarter everyone was given a copy of the book “Who Moved My Cheese?” by Dr. Spencer Johnson; to wrap up the year, Thompson Pump is doing a Fitbit walking challenge of 10,000 steps per day; it also donated $75 for the first 50 Fitbits. Thompson Pump has also been putting out fruit for everyone to enjoy on Fridays and sending out newsletters each month full of healthy tips. “The health and well-being of everyone who works here is a top priority for us,” said Chris Thompson, president. “Happy and healthy employees are vital to our success and the relationship between productive, satisfied teams and business performance.”
JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
T
he mockingbird — Mimus polyglottos, meaning the mimic of many languages — has been Florida’s state bird since 1927. But the mockingbird is also the state bird of Texas, Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi. Is it really the right bird for Florida? A proposal to remove the mockingbird as the state bird was offered by Sen. Jeff Brandes, a Republican from St. Petersburg, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is reopening the debate on who should be the state’s avian representative, offering a new alternative: the osprey, Pandion haliaetus, also known as the fish hawk. But given a choice between the mockingbird and the osprey, the choice for some local birders is clear: Neither. Flagler Audubon President Jason Giraulo said his chapter members tend to favor making the Florida scrub-jay — the only bird that lives exclusively in Florida — Florida’s state bird. It’s an idea also favored by two legislators, Sen. Tina Polsky (D- Boca Raton) and Rep.
• NOVEMBER 2021
Sam Killebrew (R-Winter Haven). “Both times over the past two decades, the scrub-jay has been suggested, and for some reason or another, was always shot down,” Giraulo said. He suspects developers, in particular, may not be enthusiastic about making the state bird a species that’s been decimated by development. When Giraulo started birding in Flagler eight years ago, he said, birders knew of three scrub-jays remaining in Flagler; now, as far as they know, there are none. Using the scrub-jay as the state bird would have the benefit of making Florida’s state bird unique, Giraulo noted. But when the switch to the scrub-jay had been proposed in the ‘90s, the mockingbird had also earned an enthusiastic supporter in the person of Marion Hammer, a lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. Hammer’s backing of the mockingbird helped kill the campaign for the scrub-jay, said Halifax River Audubon President and Conservation Chair David Hartgrove.
Florida legislators propose replacing the mockingbird with the osprey as the state bird
Mockingbird
But the osprey, like the mockingbird, is found nationwide; other species of osprey are found on all continents except Antarctica. And, Giraulo said, ospreys don’t really scream “Florida” — not nearly as much as, say, the state pie (key lime) or the state flower (the orange blossom). For that purpose, something like the flamingo might be a better pick, he said. Hartgrove agreed. “Personally, I would prefer to see a bird that’s suffered population declines and is an iconic, easily identified species, like the roseate spoonbill, become our state bird,” Hartgrove said. When the FWC put the question of the state bird before 77,000 elementary- and middle-schoolers in 2008, there had been a clear winner — the osprey.
THE COMPETITORS HABITAT: Mockingbird: Open areas like fields and parks, edges of forests, suburbs Osprey: Coastal areas, rivers and lakes, swamps DIET: Mockingbird: Insects, berries, seeds, fruit Osprey: Overwhelmingly fish, but occasionally invertebrates or small reptiles, mammals or birds READ MORE ABOUT THE BIRDS:
Local Postal Customer
Dunes Brewing opens as Port Orange’s first beachside brewery
Visit 59 Dunlawton Ave., Unit 102, Port Orange.
Courtesy photo
Dune’s Brewing, the first-ever brewery on Port Orange’s beachside, opened Friday, Oct. 1, at 59 Dunlawton Ave., Unit 102. “We wanted to design a place where people could drink up the coastal lifestyle, feel at home and have some fun,” said Courtney White, Dunes Brewing Designer. “After a long day, being able to head to Dunes and sink into one of the couches or chairs while enjoying an amazing brew, there’s
nothing like it.” Local brewing legend Jeremy Shaw created the unique flavors that make up Dunes Brewing’s first six craft beers – Black Tide Schwarzbier Lager, Mrs. Bumstead Blond Ale, Undertow Porter, Down Under Classic IPA, Sunglow Saison and Farmhouse Ale. Dunes Brewing General Manager Kila Wenkart said, “We look forward to being an integral part of our local community.”