FEB 2009

VO LUME XXXVIII ,NUMBER 1

The Newsletter of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Here’s Wishing You a Gorgeously Green 2009!

Bird Count Results
CAS Retreat
Member Adventure
Conservation Corner
By: Theresa Dennis, editor
We are entering into a new year that is shining with optimism. We have a new presi-
dent with new promises; a market full of new green alternatives for just about everything;
2 and countless new opportunities to make the world around us a better place. As I look back
2
on 2008, I see heart ache and pain, but I also see a lot of blessings that I am thankful for. One
of these blessings is my CAS family. I would like to thank those of you that took time to send
me your thoughts, or better yet, your articles to share in the Shorelines; this made my job so
3
much easier. I try very hard to produce something that is worth the tree it is printed on and I
3 have to admit that I can not do it alone. This being said, please keep them coming! I f you
know of any events that sound like fun, any places you have been and would go back to ( the
farther off the beaten path the better) or just beautiful pictures to share, please email them .

Beginner’s Bird Walk, 10 Jan 09

By: Don Ware
We found 55 species north of Ft. Walton Beach, and Linda Holloway got some good bird photos. Bob Penhollow and I were
joined by Stacy Meader and Linda, so we all fit into my Prius as we went to; the Wright Landfill Pond, the "vagrant trail", the FWB STF
holding pond, and then the Okaloosa County holding ponds up Robert's Road. We parked under the power line and walked around the
triangular spray field east of the vagrant trail. Linda had a list of over 100 bird species she has photographed. I think this walk allowed
her to add eight species to her photo list; Green-winged Teal, Hooded Merganser, Red-shouldered Hawk, Vermillion Flycatcher, Log-
gerhead Shrike, American Pipit, Vesper Sparrow, and Savannah Sparrow. The male Vermillion, more common to Mexico, seemed
to favor perches at the east end of the city pond. Linda also collected some interesting photos of large groups of the same species; hun-
dreds of starlings, dozens of robins, and several each of Pine Warblers and American Goldfinches perched on bare branches. We en-
joyed the exercise and fresh air, and were thankful the rain waited until we were finished.

Calendar of Events:
CAS monthly meetings are held the First Thursday of each month at 6:30 PM at NFSC Niceville Learning Resources Center
(LRC), Room 128. Non members are welcome.

CAS Programs:
FEBRUARY 5: “Geology of the Choctaw Basin” Dr Jonathan Bryan, Professor of Earth Sciences at NWF State
College will tell us all about the origin of the Choctawhatchee Basin and some of the strange creatures that once lived
there.
MARCH 5: “RcW’s“ Kelly Jones, Project Manager of the VA Tech Red-cockaded Woodpecker project at Eglin will
present an overview of the status of the RCW. Also, about how longleaf pine ecosystem management has preserved
biodiversity in addition to the target species.
APRIL 2: “Gopher Tortoises” Biologist Bob Walker of Nokuse Plantation will give a presentation on the conservation
of gopher tortoises and the success of reestablishing tortoise populations from specimens relocated from throughout
Florida.
Field Trips and Bird Walks:
2/13-16: CAS annual retreat, Port St Joe, watch CAS website for details.
2/28: Bird Walk - Valparaiso area, meet at Badcock at 7:30 AM. Pat Baker..... 678.2953
3/6: Eventure 6:00 PM
3/14: Bird Walk - Shoal River Sanctuary, meet at Badcock 7:30 AM. Larson. 651-0392
3-28: Bird Walk - Bluewater Bay/ Lake Pippin area, meet at Bluewater Winn Dixie 7:30 AM. Carole Goodyear at
897.2666

CAS is dedicated to the protection of bird and wildlife habitat, environmental education, and a greater appreciation of Northwest Florida’s natural beauty.
 Page 2 V O L U M E X X X V I II , N U M B E R 1

2008 Christmas Bird Count Yellow -throated Vireo

Donald M. Ware, Bird Count Coordinator

On 15 December 40 participants in the Choctawhatchee Bay, FL CBC found 22,612

birds of 150 species, plus 6 Count Week species.
species This is a threshold number of spe-
cies for special recognition. Thanks for your good work. Species new to the count this
year included a Black-
Black-headed Grosbeak found by Tom Fleck on his feeder in the north
section of Ft. Walton Beach. Also, I spotted a count week Jaeger species two days be-
fore the count when I was scouting the FWB South area. It was making a pass on a
group of Bonaparte’s Gulls and Red-breasted Mergansers just beyond the breakers.
We reported five species of Hummingbirds: 3 Rufous, 2 Ruby- Ruby-throated, 1 Black-
Black-
chinned, 2 Buff-
Buff-bellied, and 1 Calliope. Fred Bassett had banded each species. Other
rare finds were: a Yellow-
Yellow-throated Vireo found by Bob Reid, two groups of three Barn
Swallows that were late migrants, a Wilson’s Warbler found by Kathy Gault, and a Blue Grosbeak that I found
scouting and again early on count day. The 8 Black Scoters and 4 Surf Scoters found by Bill Bremser were also
good to report. The bird that caused the most excitement was identified by experts to be a dark phase, Harlan’s,
Red-
Red-tailed Hawk,
Hawk thanks to the excellent photography of Rob Palmer, a visiting birder.
Other Count Week birds were: a flock of White Pelicans that flew low over my house on 12 December, a new yard
bird for me; a Northern Harrier on the FWB spray fields; a Dunlin feeding with Sanderlings on the beach, and three
Black Skimmers at the east jetty that I found scouting; a Brown Creeper in Fred Gannon SP, and a Winter Wren at
the Destin Point lake that I found while searching for missed birds. We had record high numbers for five species
on our CBC: 88 Canada Geese, 145 Mallards, 277 Hooded Mergansers (101 being our previous high), 1,035 Red
Breasted Mergansers, and 511 Rock Pigeons.
I assigned leaders for our 14 designated areas: Lenny Fenimore,
Fenimore Base; Don Ware,
Ware Spray Fields West;; Lois Gilman,
Gilman
Shalimar; Kelly and Sarah Jones,
Jones FWB East; Bill Bremser,
Bremser Okaloosa Island (roving in the afternoon): Kathy Gault,
Gault
FWB North; Ann and Dan Forster,
Forster Reservation and SF East; Morris Clark,
Clark Valparaiso; Bob Reid and Betsy Clark,
Clark
Niceville North; Bob Penhollow and Pat Baker,
Baker Niceville South; Carole and Phil Goodyear,
Goodyear White Point; Bob and
Lucy Duncan,
Duncan Destin West, Duane and Lynn Brown (from ( Alabama), Destin East; and Sandra Lefstad,
Lefstad FWB West.
Bob McKenney worked half a day independently in Niceville North, and Carol Goodyear recruited five additional
party leaders and a feeder watcher for her area. This year Bob and Lucy Duncan found the most species by a
small margin, 84.
Other species that were represented by a single bird were: Snowy Egret, Green Heron, Northern Shoveler, Northern
Pintail, Canvasback, Common Goldeneye, Peregrine Falcon, King Rail, Virginia Rail, Eastern Screech Owl, Barred
Owl, Whip-poor-will, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Nelson’s Sharp-tailed Sparrow. Our most numerous species this
year were 2665 European Starlings, and 2018 Mourning Doves, and 1486 Laughing Gulls.
I thank all participants for their time, effort and expertise. The complete database can be accessed at
www.audubon.org/bird/cbc. The count code is FLCB.
FLCB Please mark your cal-
endars for our next CBC on 14 Dec 09 and the next migration count on 9
May.
Pictured is a Calliope Hummingbird.

CAS ANNUAL RETREAT

APPALACHCOLA, FLORIDA FEBRUARY 13-16
BIRDING/OWLING/STAR GAZING Directed by expert birder :
Alan Knothe
Camping and motels available
Please register With Pat Baker-678-2953 flabirder@cox.net
or Bob Penhollow-729-2602 bobpenhollow@cox.net
Daily agendas will be given to registrants
Page 3 V O L U M E X X X V I II , N U M B E R 1

CAS Member Adventure

By: Bob Penhollow
I took a birding/vacation trip in the week following Christmas. We went to a campground near Or-
mond Beach for the week. Although we had a good time, we did not see as many birds as we did
last year. We did see Bald Eagles nearly every day. We ended up seeing 76 species mostly wading/
shore birds. The highlight for me was a Sora and a Clapper Rail. The most common bird was the
Pied-billed Grebe, but there were also a lot of Northern Pintails, American Wigeons, and Blue-
winged Teals.
One site we visited, called Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge, was the only one with some
song birds. There were Downy Woodpeckers, Palm Warblers, Eastern Phoebe, an Eastern Bluebird, a
Pileated Woodpecker and several Sparrows which I was unable to identify. We also saw our only
Sandhill Cranes there.
We also visited The Alligator Farm in St. Augustine. It was a very interesting place to visit and we
saw all three kinds of Night Herons and some Roseate Spoonbills along with all the alligators and
crocodilia you can imagine.
Altogether a very nice visit. I am only sorry that I wasn't able to add to my life list although my wife
Norma added the Sora and a Great Horned Owl to her's.

Conservation Corner
Gary Parsons Conservation Chair
One of the reasons I joined Audubon was because it has a reputation as a volunteer organization that
gets conservation projects done. I thought you might be interested in some of the activities we partici-
pated in during 2008.
Members of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society (CAS) participated as volunteers in Jackson Guard’s
Barrow Pit Restoration Project. Several hundred sites were selected for five species of native trees and
the ground was prepared for planting. Heavy rainfall pushed the actual planting date into January 2009.
The CAS Education Committee participated in the International Beach Clean-up at Beasley Park on Sep-
tember 20th. The 6 CAS members helped to educate the public and volunteers on the importance of keep-
ing trash and debris out of our waterways. While we don’t yet have a report on the project, based on last
years data we expect we collected about 200 lbs of trash per linear mile of waterfront.
CAS attended a meeting hosted by the USFWS to propose designating the Flatwoods salamander as two
species and identifying critical habitat. Salamanders west of the Apalachicola River have been deter-
mined to be the Reticulated Flatwoods salamander and those East of the river, the Frosted Flatwoods
salamander. The reticulated is considered endangered because most of the population is centered in flat-
woods north of HY98 on Eglin property in several small disconnected areas. The significance of this action
is the impact it could have on the proposed Northwest Florida Transportation Corridor. While CAS sup-
ports actions to improve transportation on HY98 between Gulf Breeze and Fort Walton Beach, we are not
convinced that a limited access toll road north of 98 running through some of the last remaining habitat
for the Reticulated Flatwoods salamander is necessary or justified. We analyzed the USFWS data and
publicly supported the endangered listing and the critical habitat designation.
CAS participated in an Environmental Forum hosted by the South Walton County Tourist Development
Council. Two displays were set up. The first described the Chapter, our activities and provided literature
and membership application forms. The second documented evidence collected by CAS members and
Auburn University to support the existence of the Ivory Billed Woodpecker in the Choctawhatchee River Ba-
sin. Approximately 60 people participated in the forum.
CAS conducted both a fall migration and Christmas Bird Count. Results were tabulated, screened for ac-
curacy and forwarded to the National authorities .

Chapter Representatives
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
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• Our local Shorelines newsletter
• Inclusion in Audubon of Florida's advocacy network
• Discounts at Audubon Sanctuaries and Nature Centers

President: Thelma Phillips • Opportunities for Audubon Ecology Camps and specially priced travel adventures
TCMagures@aol.com……..…651.0508 To join, mail this form and a check, payable to National Audubon Society, to;
NAS Membership Data Center, P.O. Box 51005, Boulder, CO 80323-1005.
Vice President: Carole Goodyear CAS ONLY memberships are available and include SHORELINES NEWSLETTER ONLY.
carolegoodyear@msn.com…. 897-2666 To join CAS ONLY mail this form and a check payable to CAS to; P.O. Box 1014 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549.
Treasurer: Karen Newhouse
□New Member Newsletter Only- $10.00 □Renewal Member Newsletter Only- $10.00
newhouse@earthlink.net….897.3745
FL Dept of Agriculture REG # CH4619 A copy of the Official registration and financial information may be obtained
Recording Secretary: Kathy Tidwell from the division of consumer services by calling toll-free (800-435-7352) within the state. Registration does not
Mysty6266@aol.com...........
...........651-5156
........... imply endorsement, approval, or recommendation by the state.
Corresponding Sec: Sharon Weaver Chapter Code: E-11 7XCH
slw243@cox.net……………….897.5464
Bird Count Coordinator:
Donald M. Ware……………....862.6582
donware@embarqmail.com
Conservation: Gary Parsons Printed on Recycled Paper
parsonskg@cox.net ……….678-1461
© 2007 by Choctawhatchee Audubon Society. All rights reserved.
Education: Nonie Maines
nonie@noniesark.com……...862.9588
Field trips Coord Bob Penhollow
bobpenhollow@cox.net…...729-2602
Hospitality: Sharon Weaver
A great big THANK YOU to all CAS sponsors !
slw243@cox.net……………….897.5464
Membership: Trish Reynolds
Donations are welcome, and all contributions are
phreynolds@cox.net
Publicity: Nonie Maines
tax-deductible. Feel free to specify a particular
nonie@noniesark.com……...862.9588 fund/event that you’d wish to sponsor.
Programs: Thelma Phillips
TCMagures@aol.com…..……651.0508
Shorelines Editor: Theresa Dennis
tinkinneverland@yahoo.com…………….
Historian: Pat Baker
flabirder@cox.net .…………...678.2953
P.O. Box 1014 Nonprofit Organization
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549 U.S. Postage PAID
Fort Walton Beach, FL
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