SCBWF Weekend (Trip K) – William Beardall Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area

**Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival Weekend**
A group of local trip leaders, tour guides, and industry vendors are planning the return of the SCBWF in 2024. As a ‘warm up’ to the festival’s return the foundational group is conducting a birding weekend to showcase the immense diversity of bird species found in our area. The weekend will include a series of field trips from 19-23 January. Space Coast Audubon is providing support through promotion, hosting, and field trip leader involvement.

**TRIP K: Tosohatchee Wildlife Management Area**
Trip Leaders: Gina and Adam Kent

Enter the park, sign in and pay the daily entrance at the kiosk on the right. Exit the pay station and park on the left (across from the hunter check in station). Daily entrance fee is $3 per person (this is a rate change, as it used to be a per vehicle fee). Free entrance if you are a WMA annual pass holders (https://myfwc.com/license/recreational/how-to-order/)

Space Coast Audubon is delighted to welcome Gina and Adam Kent to the Space Coast Birding Weekend field trip series. Gina and Adam have been regular presenters and leaders of the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival in the past. Their expertise and research include specialization in Swallow-Tailed kites, Sparrows, and Crested Caracara. Join us bright and early for a field trip that will include a variety of habitats and wildlife diversity in this 28,000 acre property.

**Gina Kent, Senior Conservation Scientist**
Gina Kent has worked for ARCI since 2000. She grew up in Wisconsin and received a B.S. in Wildlife and Biology at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in 1998. Upon graduation, she served as a field biologist on various studies of birds, reptiles and amphibians, small mammals and invasive plants from New Mexico to New York and Missouri to Australia. Once hired as a seasonal field biologist on ARCI’s Short-tailed Hawk project, Gina became hooked on field studies of birds in Florida. Gina earned her M.S. degree in Biology from Georgia Southern University in 2004 with important research on the stop-over ecology, habitat associations, and parasites of Swallow-tailed Kites. Gina’s field duties include finding and monitoring nests, climbing nest trees, trapping, radio tagging, and tracking birds as part of the organization’s studies of nesting ecology, habitat selection, demography, migration, and conservation biology for over a dozen species. Gina writes proposals and reports, manages telemetry datasets, conducts GIS and data analyses, as well as hires, trains, and supervises field technicians.
**Adam Kent**
Adam is known by many as the sparrow aficionado. He has guided trips from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego and many points between. An Anhinga sparked Adam’s passion for birds when he was a young kid. Since then, a love of nature has led Adam on various pursuits including assessing sites for the Great Florida Birding Trail, working as Florida’s first Scrub-Jay Conservation Coordinator, and serving as President of the Florida Ornithological Society. He also enjoys travel and sharing his enthusiasm for nature. One of Adam’s birding highlights was making recordings that led to the description of a new species of bird in Mexico, the Nava’s Wren. He also had fun competing in two Birding Rally Challenges in Peru. Adam has been leading sparrow identification workshops since 2000.

Logistics: This trip will combine driving and walking. We will explore several sections of this property, including observations while driving and while hiking through woods/trails. The route will be adjusted based on the current hurricane repairs and birds being seen.

Restrooms: Outhouse type building located next to the Pay Station at the entrance. There is also a restroom near the Youth Camp area.

What to Bring: Water, refreshments, snacks, bug repellent, jacket (it’s may be chilly early in the morning) and binoculars. Direct message host if you need a loaner pair of binoculars.

For specific questions about the field trip, please email: [email protected]. Thank you.