November 2006 Shorelines Newsletter Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

8/9/2019 November 2006 Shorelines Newsletter Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

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CAS monthly meetings are heldthe first Thursday of eachmonth (August to May) at 6:30PM at OWC Niceville LearningResources Center (LRC), Room131. Non members arewelcome.

November Program:

Nov 2Wolves. Cynthia andWayne Watkins will tell us aboutSeacrest Wolf Preserve wherethey provide a safe and humanehabitat for wolves needingplacement and rescue. Theyteach tolerance and respect forthese incredible carnivores byproviding a place for individualsand school groups to visit andlearn about wolves in a naturalsetting.

Fieldtrips & More:

Eglin Debris SurveyNov18th Volunteer with EricaSchnarr at 850-883-1177 for theNational Debris MonitoringProgram

November 3AudubonEventureCall Nonie at 862-9588 for location

November 4Bird Walk toGlenwood and Ferry Parks.Meet at FWB Kmart ParkingLot. Call Thelma Phillips 218-9620

December 2 Bird walk toNiceville Valparaiso Area. Meetat Niceville Badcock parking lot.Pat Baker 678-2953

December 18: FWB areaChristmas Bird Count. Tovolunteer call Donald M. Ware862-6582

I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E :

Ivory-Billed Woodpecker 2

Wildlife Festival Highlights 2

War Birds 3

Environmental Forum 3

Little Things / Great Things 3

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CALENDAR OF EVENTS:

NOV 2006

The Newsletter of the Choctawhatchee Audubon Society

VOLUME XXXV, NUMBER 8

CAS is dedicated to the protection of bird and wildlife habitat, environmental education, and a greater appreciation of Northwest Floridas natural beauty.

Fall Migration Count Results,Walton -2006. Donald M. Ware, BirdCount Coordinator

This report includesFall NorthAmerican Migration Count results forWalton County. Twenty-six people in 12parties participated in our 12th NAMC on

September 16th. I assigned leaders to 5

of the 6 main areas; Bob Reid at Foxhill,

Mary Theberge for the DeFuniak Springs

area, Chet Winegarner for Pleasant Ridge,

Thelma Philips for Portland, and Carole

Goodyear for all of Walton south of the

Bay. We lacked a leader for the FreeportEast area. Mary recruited 8 people to

assist her and survey their local areas,

and Carole recruited 6 others to assist

and survey two state parks and a fish

camp. Together they counted 5326 birdsof 102 species, and 24 species were mi-grants.

The 24 migrant species were; 35

Brown Pelicans, 5 Double-crested Cormo-

rants, 1 Northern Harrier, 1 Merlin, 2

American Coots, 3 Black-bellied Plovers, 1

Spotted Sandpiper, 82 Sanderlings, 162

Laughing Gulls, 1 Ring-billed Gull, 1 Her-

ring Gull, 2 Royal Terns, 3 SandwichTerns, 26 Common Terns, 18 Forsters

Terns, 2 Whip-poor-wills, 1 Yellow-belliedSapsucker (14 days earlier any than previ-ous reports), 3 House Wrens, 1 Yellow

Warbler, 8 Palm Warblers, 1 Worm-eating

Warbler, 1 Northern Waterthrush, 1 Bobo-

link, and 2 American Goldfinches.

The 12 species found in Walton

that Okaloosa birders did not find are; 1

Common Loon (probably a young that

stayed for the winter), 4 Canada Geese, 6

Northern Bobwhites, 2 Clapper Rails, 2

Purple Gallinules, 18 Common Ground-

Doves, 1 Chuck-wills-widow, 3 House

Wrens, the Worm-eating and Kentucky

Warblers, the Bobolink, and 2 American

Goldfinches.

The most numerous species

counted this year were 654 Cattle Egrets,

316 American Crows, and 309 Mourning

Doves. I thank all that participated and

hope that you will mark your calendar now

for the Christmas Bird Count on December

18th.

When I was at the Air Force Rome NY Labs inthe mid 1960s, we studied bats extensively tofigure out how their "RADAR" worked.

Their ultra sonic chirp (above human frequencyrange) is actually a perfect linear frequencymodulated pulse starting low and endinghigh. The chirp pulse has to be long enough intime to have the energy to create useable echoesyet short enough in apparent time travel to deter-mine how far an object is in mere inches. Thattranslates to many feet in transmitted chirp timetravel yet just inches after the received echo isprocessed. Resolution is necessary for flyingthrough a leafy tree or catching a bug. Chirppulses can be relatively long and spaced far apartwhen just "looking" around in a big space likeyour yard yet very short and rapid in the finalstage of catching a flying bug.

Further, their funny little mouth / nose featuresare actually shaped like a narrow beam direc-tional transmitter antenna - it's not just a pudgyugly little face. The ears are receivers physicallyseparated from the mouth so that they can beginprocessing the echo returns while the end of thechirp is still being transmitted.

We had a big test pen with optional crossedwires. Bats with two ears could easily fly aroundin the pen and through the wires with 100% suc-cess of avoiding the wires. If either ear wasstopped up, the bat "RADAR:" was still work-ing well enough for a bat to fly within the pen

walls without wires. However no bat could avoidthe crossed wires with only one functioning ear.

A bat is "blind as a bat" with only one ear?

Now here is "the rest of the story". My hugeSpace Track Radar at Site C-6 in Portland FLwas built using this bat technology. Linear fre-quency modulated chirp pulses were actually cre-ated and processed in acoustic sonic dispersedelay lines, just like a bat.

Rick Hastings

Blind as a Bat?

BREAKING NEWS!!!! Our Christmas Party willbe held at Defuniak Springs Chautauqua

Building on December 14th 6-9 pm. Members

Only Pot Luck Dinner and Christmas light dis-

play viewing. Please RSVP at CAS website or

call Thelma Phillips at 651-0508.


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Page 2 VOLUME XXXV, NUMBER 8

Bobby Harrison and his Ivory-Billed Woodpecker Decoy

at the Panhandle Birding and Wildflower Festival

I Believethats what it says on the pin I bought after Bobby Har-

risons keynote speech at the Panhandle Birding and Wildlife Festi-

valand I really do believe!

Several other members of the Choctawhatchee Audubon were

also at the festival, and shared the pleasurable opportunity of ex-

periencing Bobby Harrisons lively presentation about his search

for the Ivory-Billed Woodpecker in the Big Woods of Arkansas. Not

surprisingly, Bobby had also spent a few days earlier that week outsearching the Choctawhatchee River Basin to help find our local

Ivory-Bills and told us he did hear Kent calls!

With the sponsorship of Eagle Optics (I met the Eagle Optics folks

when I lived in Wisconsinnice people!), Bobby will be searching

again this winter returning to the Big Woods of Arkansasas well

as spending time locally searching the Choctawhatchee River Ba-

sin. With any luck, this winter he may get the first good still photo-

graph of an Ivory-Billed Woodpecker (and I could only wish for the

second)!

Along with the previously published well-analyzed Leneau video,

Bobby showed us some footage taken by a motion-sensor camera

placed in the Big Woods that had been focused on one of his de-

coys, as shown in the photograph. In the film were not one, but

two flybys of what I see as an unmistakable Ivory-Billed Wood-

pecker. Not yet analyzed by the experts, to me this footage is

clearer and even better evidence to the existence of the Ivory-Bill

in Arkansas.

Anyone still in doubt needs to see Bobbys presentation for them-

selves. Although I cant see how anyone could still be in doubt

after reviewing all the evidence available online, both on the Ar-

kansas search available at http://www.ivorybill.org/ and on the

local Florida search at the University of Windsor Website.

Panhandle Birdingand Wildflower Festival small,

but certainly a success!The Panhandle Birding and Wildflower Festi-

val might possibly be the smallest and most

exclusive birding related festival that Florida

hostsbut this years festival certainly had alot to offer those birders who attended (along

with those who enjoy wildflowers and butter-

flies).

While the larger Central and South Florida

festivals might draw bigger crowds, I certainly

believe that those individuals who attended

this years Panhandle Festival were well re-

warded for their time! From St. Marks to Port

Saint Joe, Floridas Forgotten Coast certainly

doesnt lack in beautiful scenery, great bird-

ing, wildflowers galore, and butterflies every-

where! All of this makes for a wonderful set-

ting for this festival. Combine that with well-

planned field trips, great presentations andthe luck of nice weather, and a good time was

inevitable!

From every comment I heard, every field trip

was enjoyed, and every presentation was fun

and informative. Several other Choc-

tawhatchee Audubon members and I enjoyed

birding St. Marks on Friday with Alan Knothe.

We had a great day with lots of good birds and

good company, topped off by a nice dinner

overlooking the water in Panacea. My Satur-

day was a little quieter in the morning, but

was topped off nicely by Bobby Harrison pres-

entation and a great shrimp boil.On Sunday, I still saw familiar faces in the

nature photo workshop and field trip, where

we were treated to an informative overview of

tips, techniques and practice on the art of

nature photographylargely focusing on

macro photography. This trip was led by Bill

Boothe, who did a great job of making the day

both fun and educational.

Jean Williams
http://www.ivorybill.org/http://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/IBWO/IBWOindex.phphttp://web2.uwindsor.ca/courses/biology/dmennill/IBWO/IBWOindex.phphttp://www.ivorybill.org/


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Shorel ines Page 3

WAR BIRDSWe all should take a look at the September 2006 issue of the Armed Forces Journal. An interesting article titled War Birds by Christopher

Griffin describes how some soldiers in Iraq are studying the countrys natural environment to relieve stress and boredom. The article is

especially pertinent because one of the soldiers profiled is our own CAS member John Duresky.

In a September 17 posting on his personal blog, The Fourth (http://johnthefourth.blogspot.com), John wrote that one of the things he has

liked about his deployment in Iraq is:

The Birds. The birds are a wonderful diversion. I have found many great birds here, and I'll proba-

bly have even more stories to tell about them after I leave. Some of the birds are colorful and exotic. Some aredull, drab and incredibly challenging to identify in the field. My only regret: I don't have my scope to really

zoom in on them at my favorite location.

John took his birding a step further and created a Yahoo member group called Operation Iraqi Birds (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/

oilbirds; also linked through his blog) for discussion of birds in Iraq. It is intended to help birders of all skill levels find and identify birds,

which often requires a team effort, especially without adequate guidebooks. It urges: Beat the boredom, find some birds! Way to go,

John!

You can read the entire article online at

http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/09/2001474. It includes a list of several other blogs and websites about Iraqs birds and

other wildlife, plus information on restoration of Iraqs southern marshes.

Carole Goodyear

2ND ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM UNITES ENVIRON-

MENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Walton County, Fla. - (September 18, 2006)-

The Environmental Forum, a conference uniting environmental effortsthroughout Walton County, will be held Friday, November 17 at the Hilton

Sandestin Beach Golf Resort and Spa from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Created

by the Walton County Tourist Development Council Nature Based Tour-

ism Committee, the forum will unite established environmental groups

and organizations to meet, discuss and work together for the overall eco-

logical benefit of Walton County.

"This is an excellent opportunity for local organizations and

individuals to come together and learn more about Walton County's

various environmental efforts and resources," said Kriss Titus,

executive director of the Walton County Tourist Development Council.

All established local, regional, and state environmental groups,organizations and agencies are invited to attend the event and give a

brief, five minute presentation on their organization's mission and

current projects that pertain to Walton County. Tables will be

placed around the conference room for displays and brochures and

organizations will have an opportunity to present their platform to a

mult i tude of forum attendees. Preregistration is required.

To participate or for more information, please contact Tiffany

McCaskill, new product development manager Walton County TDC at

850-267-1216 or via email at [email protected] by

November 10.

From Little Things,Great Things AriseFive times the total annual power con-

sumption of the human world is produced by mi-

croscopic marine plants that form the far flungfoundation of the food chain.

The amount of power stored by phyto-

plankton alone (in the form of new matter) is be-

lieved to be 63 trillion watts. Last year humans

produced (ok, converted for use) and consumed

an estimated 14 trillion watts. Roughly 1 trillion

of these watts are given up by the phytoplankton

in an investment in mixing. That is the phyto-

plankton is consumed by swimmers who then, by

their very movements stir the oceans. This is

believed to be just as significant as the stirring of

the deep by the tides above.

Why is this stirring important? This mix-

ing appears to provide about 1/3 of the power

necessary to bring the cold water from the deep

ocean to the surface which is a vital part of the

oceans conveyor belt system so critical for its

circulation as well as our global climate.

Unfortunately humankind has been deci-

mating the whale and large fish populations. This

means far fewer swimmers. Fewer swimmers

means less stirring and less cool water brought to

the surface. This has consequences we can only

imagine.

2ND ANNUAL ENVIRONMENTAL FORUM UNITESENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
http://johnthefourth.blogspot.com/http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oilbirdshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/oilbirdshttp://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/09/2001474http://www.armedforcesjournal.com/2006/09/2001474http://groups.yahoo.com/group/oilbirdshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/oilbirdshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/oilbirdshttp://groups.yahoo.com/group/oilbirdshttp://johnthefourth.blogspot.com/


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Join Flagler Audubon on a birdwatching Cruise to the Western CaribbeanHighlights will be a special birding trip on Grand Cayman Island to be hostedby the National Trust for the Cayman Islands. The tour may include the Mastic Reserveand Trail and the Governor Michael Gore Bird Sanctuary. At the Port of Calica, Carnival offers an ex-cursion to Xceret, an eco-archaeological park with exhibits and activities including a museum of Ma-yan Cities, an archaeological zone, two underground rivers, an aquarium, abutterfly pavilion and a bird breeding aviary. During the days at sea, we will have our own meeting

room on board and are planning movies, lectures and side shows. To book cruise, contact:KellyWorld of Travel, Inc. (800) 771-8728 Email: [email protected]

Chapter Representatives

President: Nonie [email protected]

Vice President: Thelma [email protected]

Treasurer: Karen [email protected]

Recording Secretary:Bretta Berger .729.2049

[email protected]

Corresponding Secretary:Sharon Weaver ... 897.5464

[email protected]

Bird Count Coordinator:Donald M. Ware.....862.6582

[email protected]

Conservation:Danny Dean... 683-0591

[email protected]

Education: Nonie [email protected]

Field trips Coordinator:Bob Penhollow....729.2602

Hospitality: Sharon Weaver897.5464. [email protected]

Membership: Theresa [email protected]

Publicity: Linda [email protected]

Programs: Thelma [email protected]

Shorelines Editor: Jean [email protected]

Choctawhatchee Audubon Society Membership

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Discounts at Audubon Sanctuaries and Nature Centers

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To join, mail this form and a check, payable to National Audubon Society, to;

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CAS ONLY memberships are available and include SHORELINES NEWSLETTER ONLY.

To join CAS ONLY mail this form and a check payable to CAS to; P.O. Box 1014 Fort Walton Beach, FL 32549.

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DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE (800-435-7352) WITHIN THE STATE. REGIS

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Thank you to Association for Bayou Conservation, Inc. for a $100 Donation

Thank you to Winn Dixie, Bluewater Bay for their contribution toward refreshments for Octobers Meeting

Donations are welcome, and all contributions are tax-deductible. Feel free to specify a particular fund/eventthat youd wish to sponsor.

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November 2006 Shorelines Newsletter Choctawhatchee Audubon Society