Issue link: https://newsleader.uberflip.com/i/146256
Sarasota News Leader July 26, 2013 Page 37 ters that can sometimes be seen early in the A WELCOME IMPROVEMENT morning and a pair of nesting prairie warblers that are listed as a Species of Concern in Flor- The project will restore the land at Red Bug Slough to a state approximating its original ida. habitat and water flow. The restoration project is one of the county's largest wetland restorations to take place over Sarasota Audubon President Jeanne Dubi said recent years. The Southwest Florida Water the project would be a welcome improvement Management District (SWFWMD) is funding at a preserve that is home to many butterflies about half of the project's cost, with the re- and dragonflies and 96 species of breeding maining expense borrowed against county and migratory birds. penny sales tax revenue. The local Audubon chapter alternates twoSarasota County also recently completed waterway improvements at Alligator Creek and Phillippi Creek. In an upcoming project, the county will work with Sarasota Audubon to plant native vegetation at the Celery Fields preserve and stormwater collection area east of Interstate 75. year bird counts at parks throughout the county. During a recent count at Red Bug Slough, volunteers spotted red-shouldered hawks, barred owls, Copper's hawks, pileated woodpeckers and red-bellied woodpeckers all nesting in the preserve, as well as a pair of the nesting prairie warblers found only in Flori- Paul Semenec, project planner with Sarasota County, points out the invasive Cogongrass.