August 2007
VOLUME XXXVI ,NUMBER 5
The Newsletter of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society
INSIDE THIS ISSUE:
Spring Migration
Results
Going Batty:
Members’ Adventures
Thank you to our Sponsors 4
Membership Application
CALENDAR OF EVENTS:
CAS monthly meetings are
held the First Thursday of
each month at 6:30 PM at
OWC Niceville Learning
Resources Center (LRC),
Room 128. Non members
are welcome.
August 2: Dr Richburg,
OWC President will discuss
plans for the Mattie Kelly
Environmental Institute and
answer all questions
August 3: Eventure with Nonie
at Turkey Creek in Niceville at
7:30pm. RSVP to 862-9588
.August 18: IBW Habitat
Adventure! We will meet at
Badcock ’ s in Niceville at 7:30
to carpool or meet at Morrison
Spring at 9:00. Bring lunch,
swim gear, kayaks, etc. Contact come guests and encourage them to
Don Ware at 862-6582 for more
information.
Sept 6: “Falconry ”
Summer Hargraves and her red- us know. We all know everything is less
tailed hawk Polo
Sept 15: Migration Count and
Coastal Clean-up
CAS is dedicated to the protection of bird and wildlife habitat, environmental education, and a greater appreciation of Northwest Florida’s natural beauty.
AREN’T THEY WORTH IT?
2
Calling out to unsung heroes! Our chapter is in desperate need of a Membership
Chairperson and a Conservation Chairperson. The Conservation Chair description
is as follows: The conservation committee and its chairperson provide the focus
3
for the chapter’s commitment to ad-
vancing the Audubon mission in the
community. Many chapters work on
several important conservation issues
4 and most chapters carry out at least one
major conservation project each year.
The conservation chair oversees the de-
velopment and implementation of goals,
objectives and strategies for all conser-
vation issues and projects. Our chapter
also appreciates a fifteen minute speaker before our guest speaker at our
meetings to keep us apprised of the goings on of our area, the chair would be
able to choose these speakers . This could be so much fun! I wish that I had the
time to take it on! We are not talking gigantic projects, just something to make our
little corner of the world better for all that we love. A schoolyard, a park, a trail,
helping out a zoo in trouble or a wildlife sanctuary. The only limits are what you
can dream up and how many people you can convince to help you! We would also
need you to write for the Shorelines to help keep everyone informed. If you want to
be a part of the committee but you don’t have the time to chair it please let us know
so we can work together to share the responsibility.
The membership Chair description is as follows: In most chapters the member-
ship committee is responsible for helping to maintain membership records and
recruiting new members. CAS currently requires the membership chair to up-
date the local membership database and also check the national database for
errors. We are looking for someone
that is enthusiastic about participating
in our meetings and other functions. It
is important that they be visible to wel-
become members. If you like people
and have a computer this job would be
great for you! Again, if you would like to
help share this job with others, please let
intimidating when you have a friend there
to help! Contact Nonie or Theresa if
you have any questions.
Page 2 V O L U M E X X X V I , N U M BE R 5

Spring Migration Count Results (2007)

Donald M. Ware, Bird Count Coordinator

Forty field birders and 3 feeder watchers participated in our 16th Spring North American Migration Count on
May 12th, 12 in Okaloosa County and 28 in Walton County. Although I found qualified leaders for only 6 of
the 8 areas of Okaloosa and 5 of the 6 areas of Walton, Mary Theberge recruited 8 people in six parties near
Defuniak Springs, and Carole Goodyear recruited 8 people in four parties in South Walton County. Carole
and her recruits topped the list of species found with 98, and Mary and her recruits found 83 species. San-
dra Lefstad had agreed to survey the Ft. Walton Beach South area, but cancelled when an her arm was put in
a cast that prevented her holding her binoculars, so she spent the day birding her yard on Bass Lake and
found 41 species. Bass Lake is in my FWB North area, and five of hers were species that I could not find,
boosting that area total to 92 species. There were 9851 birds of 144 species counted in the two counties
that included 43 species that do not breed here, 111 species in Okaloosa and 129 in Walton County.
I want to thank all participants and I hope they enjoyed their time in various natural habitats listening to bird
song. I especially want to thank the other area leaders counting in Okaloosa; Patricia Reynolds,
Reynolds Lenny Feni-
more,
more Pat Baker,
Baker Virginia Spisak and James Kowalski,
Kowalski and in Walton County; Bob Reid,
Reid Chet Winegarner,
Winegarner
Mary Theberge,
Theberge Thelma Phillips,
Phillips and Carole Goodyear.
Goodyear The 34 species found in Walton County and not found
in Okaloosa were; 5 Anhinga, 1 Tricolored Heron, 3 Black-crowned Night Herons, 34 White Ibis, 1 Bald Eagle,
4 American Kestrels, 1 Merlin, 1 Clapper Rail, 3 Solitary Sandpipers, 3 Spotted Sandpipers, 2 Ruddy Turn-
stones, 1 Bonaparte’s Gull, 10 Ring-billed Gulls, 1 Herring Gull, 3 Royal Terns, 2 Forster’s Terns, 3 Great
Horned Owls, 1 Eastern Wood Pewee, 1 Acadian Flycatcher, 10 Swainson’s Thrushes, 1 Wood Thrush, 8
American Robins, 1 Yellow-throated Vireo, 4 Yellow Warblers, 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler, 1 Yellow-throated
Warbler, 1 Palm Warbler, 1 Cerulean Warbler, 1 Worm-eating Warbler, 12 Bachman’s Sparrows, 2 Chipping
Sparrows, 1 very late Song Sparrow,
Sparrow 1 Baltimore Oriole and 3 American Goldfinch. It is obvious we were
short on party-hours-on-foot in the coastal and northern regions of Okaloosa County. Kowalski could only af-
ford 4 ½ hours in the Destin area, leaving at 10 AM to band a bumper crop of Red-cockaded Woodpecker
babies.
The most numerous species this year were 660 Mourning Doves, 630 European Starlings, and 511 Northern
Mockingbirds – our state bird. Please mark your calendar now for the fall migration count on September 15th

Mockingbird

Cerulean Warbler.
 Shorelines Page 3

Going Batty! Members Adventure

On June 12 Nonie, myself and my two
daughters Taegan and Skylar got up in-
credibly early to drive to the Mississippi
Delta. We arrived after six hours and got to
rub elbows with the best and the brightest
bat researchers and a few crazy bat fans
like ourselves. We were reminded of what
we have already learned: that bats serve a
purpose better than any other creature,
much less any pesticide that humans can
create. They eat copious amounts of in
sects. Every night. The only emission? A highly prized fertilizer that is
poop that got a special name: guano. We learned
about what is being done in other states to help
promote a peaceful relationship between people
and bats, we learned about the bats that need
help more than others. We learned that there is
much to look forward to in the world of bat biol-
ogy. We also got to help with that last part. We
joined researchers and went out into the field to
net for bats. We caught the amazing creatures in
fine nets and helped measure and weigh them
while cataloguing what species were present in
various areas. We went on a field trip while the
bats slept to see a maternity roost of over fifty
bats that are a species of special concern. It was an amazing experience
and I am grateful to the Mississippi Bat Working Group for allowing us to
be a part of it. Theresa Dennis

There’s always Pictured above on left:

Time to hug a Nonie holding an Evening
Tree! Nonie, bat.
Skylar, Taegan, Pictured above: Theresa
And Theresa hug holding a Southeastern
A 200 year old Myotis.
Sweet gum Tree
In the Delta Nat- Don’t get any ideas; we
Ional Forest. Had to get pre-exposure
Rabies shots to handle
The bats!
 Choctawhatchee Audubon Society Membership
Name:_____________________________________ Address:_________________________________________
City:____________________________________________________ State:______ Zip:____________________
Phone: ___________________________ E-mail: ___________________________________________________
□Introductory New Member- $20.00 □Individual Member Renewal- $35.00
□Introductory Student/Senior- $15.00 □Renewal Student/Senior-$15.00
When you join you will be part of national, state, and local Audubon groups and will receive...
• Audubon magazine
• Florida Naturalist Magazine
Chapter Representatives • Our local Shorelines newsletter
• Inclusion in Audubon of Florida's advocacy network
• Discounts at Audubon Sanctuaries and Nature Centers
President: Nonie Maines
nonie@noniesark.com……...862.9588 • Opportunities for Audubon Ecology Camps and specially priced travel adventures
Vice President: Thelma Phillips To join, mail this form and a check, payable to National Audubon Society, to;
TCMagures@aol.com………651.0508 NAS Membership Data Center, P.O. Box 51005, Boulder, CO 80323-1005.
Treasurer: Karen Newhouse CAS ONLY memberships are available and include SHORELINES NEWSLETTER ONLY.
newhouse@earthlink.net….897.3745 To join CAS ONLY mail this form and a check payable to CAS to; P.O. Box 1014 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549.
Recording Secretary: Kathy Tidwell □New Member Newsletter Only- $10.00 □Renewal Member Newsletter Only- $10.00
Mysty6266@aol.com............
............651-
............
5156 FL Dept of Agriculture REG # CH4619 A copy of the Official registration and financial infor-
Corresponding Secretary: Sharon
mation may be obtained from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-
Weaver ….………………………..897.5464 7352) within the state. Registration does not imply endorsement, approval, or recommen-
dation by the state.
slw243@cox.net
Chapter Code: E-11 7XCH
Bird Count Coordinator:
Donald M. Ware……………....862.6582
donware@earthlink.net
Conservation: Position Available Printed on Recycled Paper
Education: Nonie Maines
© 2006 by Choctawhatchee Audubon Society. All rights reserved.
nonie@noniesark.com…….862.9588
Field trips Coordinator:
Bob Penhollow……….….…..729.2602
bobpenhollow@cox.net
Hospitality: Sharon Weaver A great big THANK YOU to all CAS sponsors !
slw243@cox.net…………….897.5464
Membership:
Thelma Phillips and the Howard Group made generous cash
Position Available donations.
Publicity: Linda Daugherty
Donations are welcome, and all contributions are tax-deductible. Feel free
wbudestin@earthlink.net….269.0665
Programs: Thelma Phillips
to specify a particular fund/event that you’d wish to sponsor.
TCMagures@aol.com…..……651.0508
Shorelines Editor: Theresa Dennis
tinkinneverland@yahoo.com…………….
.
Historian: Pat Baker P.O. Box 1014
Nonprofit Organization
flabirder@cox.net .………….678.2953 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549
U.S. Postage PAID
Fort Walton Beach, FL
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