Spring Migration Count Results (2008)
Donald M. Ware, Bird Count Coordinator

Fifty-two field birders and 5 feeder watchers participated in our 17th Spring North American Migration Count on May 10th, 17 in Okaloosa County and 35 in Walton County. I attempted to find eight qualified leaders for Okaloosa areas and six for Walton Areas. I was unsuccessful in finding qualified leaders for all three coastal areas of Okaloosa, so Carol and I left FWB North to spend nearly four hours looking for coastal migrants. That was fun and successful. There were 12, 432 birds of 154 species counted in both counties, 126 species in Okaloosa and 135 in Walton. Thirty-seven of these species are not known to breed here, 27 in Okaloosa and 28 in Walton.

Mary Theberge recruited four people in four parties (plus 2 feeder watchers) for her DeFuniak Springs area, and Carole Goodyear recruited 16 people in 8 parties (plus 3 feeder watchers) in South Walton. Pat baker got assistance from seven other people in Niceville. Audubon is developing a network of knowledgeable birders in State Parks, golf courses, developments, and various large private land parcels. Other area leaders were: Kelly Jones, Trish Reynolds, and Lenny Fenimore in Okaloosa; and Bob Reid, Robert Larson, Chester Winegarner, Thelma Phillips, and George Russell in Walton County. I thank you and all of your recorders, spotters, and feeder watchers.

The 16 species found in Okaloosa County, but not in Walton were: Common Loon, American White Pelican, Mute Swan, Lesser Scaup, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Common Moorhen, Black-bellied Plover, Black-necked Stilt, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willit, Semipalmated Sandpiper, White-rumped Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Black-billed Cuckoo, Gray Kingbird, and Bank Swallow. I found it interesting that: a pair of Mute Swans east of Ferry park had four young trailing behind; Joe Wyatt provided details on a White-breasted Nuthatch on a Hammock Bay trail while I have still never seen one in these counties; and there were nine Song Sparrows still here, though last spring produced the first May record for Northwest Florida.

The most numerous species this year were 777 Mourning Doves, 662 Common Grackles, and 613 Northern Mockingbirds – our state bird.

Okaloosa County Results - Spring 2008 (PDF)
Walton County Results - Spring 2008 (PDF)

Please mark your calendar now for the fall migration count on September 20th.

Fall Migration Count Results (2007)
Donald M. Ware, Bird Count Coordinator

Fifty-six birders participated in our 13th Fall North American Migration Count on September 15th, 22 in Okaloosa County and 34 in Walton County. That is a record number of participants. I found leaders for each of our 14 areas except FWB Central, and four of those leaders recruited other parties to assist. The newspaper advertisements were successful in attracting nature lovers to volunteer as spotters or recorders. The three areas that reported the most species were FWB North - 87, DeFuniak Springs - 76, and Point Washington - 73. There were 9150 birds of 157 species counted in the two counties , 129 species in Okaloosa and 116 in Walton County. They included 60 species that do not breed here. We found 17 shorebird species and 19 warbler species. I want to thank all participants and I hope they enjoyed their time in various natural habitats listening to bird song.

Okaloosa County Results (PDF)
Walton County Results (PDF)