The AuCoin Report is an editorial service of AuCoin & Associates, Inc., St. Petersburg, Florida. Comments welcome. Contact Bill AuCoin, wmaucoin@verizon.net

The AuCoin Report

News Briefs from the Great Outdoors

April 2010

When the Warblers Return to St. Petersburg

April 15 is tax day in the U.S. but in the St. Petersburg-Clearwater area it is also known as Warbler Day. Birders gather round the increasingly famous Mulberry Tree on Fort DeSoto Park near Tierra Verde, to celebrate the return of warblers, grosbeaks, buntings, vireos, tanagers, orioles and other migrant songbirds. Lush purple berries are breakfast, lunch and dinner for the migrant songbirds, arriving hungry after flights of up to 5000 miles from their winter homes in Central and South America. ( Canadian Geographic )

Alabama May Lower State Park Fees

Alabama legislators are debating a tourism-stimulus that would cut in half summer entry fees at state parks and room rates at state park lodges. However, park officials say the parks need the summer revenue to continue operating at current levels, and some parks would close if such a bill were passed. ( Muscle Shoals Times Daily )

Fossil of Cockroach-Eater Found in Pittsburgh

Scientists in Pittsburgh have uncovered the fossil of a new species, a two-foot, amphibian with tusks that used to kill and eat giant cockroaches. The fossil is 300-million-years old. The extinct animal is being called Fedexia strieglei to recognize FedEx, which owns the land where the fossil was found, and Adam Streigei, a University of Pittsburgh geology student who found the fossil on a 2004 field trip. ( National Geographic )

Get out! April's average temperatures

St. Petersburg, Florida ~ 64-81

Tahneta Pass, Alaska ~ 19-38

Canyon Lake, Texas ~ 57-79

Rhinelander, Wisconsin ~ 29-52

Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona ~ 32-60

Pagosa Springs, Colorado~ 24-59

Mobile, Alabama ~ 57-78

Death Valley, California ~ 60-89

Millinocket, Maine ~ 30-51

Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina ~ 49-70

(Weatherbase.com)

Wanted: More anglers, boaters.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will provide a grant of more than $13 million to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation to recruit more boaters and anglers. ( RBFF )

Do Big 3D Eyes Attract Fish?

MirrOlure, famous for its record-producing “hard” lures, continues its expansion into the “soft” lure category. The brand has recently introduced Provoker®. This is a 5-inch soft plastic twitch bait with big 3D eyes, also a signature feature of the brand's hard baits. Provoker has something hard lures do not ~ a secret scent. “I'm not talking,” said MirrOlure's Eric Bachnik. Provoker has a large belly pocket for different hook-in-plastic configurations. Provoker follows the successful introduction last year of four other Mirrolure soft plastic lures, Soft Mullet, Soft Minnow, Soft Shad and Soft Sardine. For information call 727-584-7691 or go to www.mirrolure.com

Bifocal Sunglasses Styled for Narrow Faces

Ono's Trading Company, the pioneer of polarized sunglasses with bifocal magnification, introduced three models styled for narrow faces or small facial features. The new ophthalmic-quality sunglasses have low profile bifocal magnifiers for reading and other close up tasks. The upper portion of the lens is for normal distance vision or for distance vision corrected by bifocals. The new models have reader powers of 1.5, 1.75, 2.00, 2.25, and 2.50. New models are Ocracoke™ with tortoise frames/amber lens, Grand Lagoon™ with black frames/grey lens, and Tuscadero™ with pink frames/grey lens. Visit www.onostradingcompany.com or phone 866-865-4695. ( Ono's Trading Company , Media contact: Bill AuCoin, wmaucoin@verizon.net . 727-522-2371)

Florida by Water Website

Boaters are always looking for waterfront restaurants, campgrounds, marinas and hotels. Now boaters in Florida have a new website ~ FloridabyWater.com -- listing more than 1,500 such places, including GPS coordinates. ( Floridabywater.com )

Popular Mosquito Repellent Goes Green

Mosquitoes, horse flies, no-see-ums and other biting insects have a new enemy. Bugband, the brand that introduced natural, safe Geraniol to the repellent wars, has added a new weapon-delivery system to the battle. The new 6-oz pump spray bottle "it is green, naturally" does not contain any artificial propellants. Instead it relies on a metered pump spray to dispense a fine mist directly on vulnerable areas, including exposed skin. Bugband repellent is also available in wristbands, ideal for children for everyday use and towelettes for heavy-duty applications as well as various commercial applications Visit www.bugband.net or phone 800-473-9467. ( Bugband )