Student achievements and the Audubon bird count: Good news in Ocala/Marion County

Area students excel in higher education

University graduates

Kreychel Ordiway, Ocala, Master’s degree, Nursing Leadership and Management, Western Governors University

Lisa Russo, Ocala, Master of Fine Arts, Academy of Art University

President’s List

Tiffani McLain, Summerfield, Southern New Hampshire University

Kirsten Mennenga, Summerfield, Southern New Hampshire University

Jimi Rucker, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Anthony Tropeano, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Isaac Mercer, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Gregory Aylward, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Crisandra Richardson, Summerfield, Southern New Hampshire University

Alexeus Rodgers, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Jessica Chambers, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Shelbie Lakatos, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Samantha Keel, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Veronica Lyon, Silver Springs, Southern New Hampshire University

Zahara Mohamed, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Kaylee Mandrell, Oxford, Southern New Hampshire University

Titus Fambrough, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Blake Crowe, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Daniel Vanpelt, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Dean’s List

Abigail Owens, Ocala, Carson-Newman University

Zachary Williams, Ocala, Carson-Newman University

Skylar Perez, Ocala, Coastal Carolina University

Joshua Finn, Ocala, Valdosta State University

Shelley Lee, Dunnellon, Southern New Hampshire University

Belinda Wilson, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Rachel Elliott, Oxford, Southern New Hampshire University

Jennifer Pate, Dunnellon, Southern New Hampshire University

Deborah Bryant, Summerfield, Southern New Hampshire University

Faith Murphy, Ocala, Southern New Hampshire University

Easton William Wheatley, Ocala, Southern Arkansas University

Marion Audubon Society participates in annual bird count

The Marion Audubon Society participated in the Nation Audubon Society’s 122nd annual Christmas Bird Count on Jan. 3, with 12 teams (37 birders) covering southwest Marion County.

The team counted 102 bird species and a total of 5,621 birds, according to a report from society secretary Barbara Schwartz.

The data will be sent to National Audubon Society and eventually used to "track migration and population of our country’s birds," the report says.

"This is the value of citizen science!" the report says. "Ornithologists (scientists who study birds) cannot be everywhere. We are indeed the boots on the ground!"

Send items to calendar@starbanner.com

This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Students excel and Audubon completes annual bird count