Coastal Georgia Birding

Bath Time at Jekyll's Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop

2012-01-20T14:59:00.011-05:00

For the last few weeks, I have been watching the bird bath at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop where I work. It has been so dry that the birds are just jumping into the bath. It is so much fun watching the frenzy of Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings.
Here is another view of the birds.

There are other special birds coming as well. There are three Yellow-bellied Sapsucker coming to the bath. Here the female.
I would like to thank Priscilla and Ted Fleshman and CCS for donating a laptop to my bird conservation efforts on Jekyll Island. Thanks guys!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-01T17:51:00.004-05:00

Happy New Year, May 2012 bring good times for all our special places and the special people who work to keep them special.

Happy Holiday for the Georgia Coast

2011-12-22T13:51:00.008-05:00

It is Christmas in the Golden Isles. This year the weather is mild and the colors are wonderful. Here are some blue berries of the Red Cedar Tree. Birds love these berries. I have seen Eastern Bluebird, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and Pine Warblers all eating them. Native plants add beauty to our life and help native animals.
After a little rain our Hickory Trees turned gold for the day. I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Golden Isles of Georgia coast.

Birder's Eye View, A book review

2011-12-22T13:41:00.006-05:00

Just in time for the Holidays, my friend, Diana Churchill has come out with a wonderful book. Diana has been writing a birding column “Birder’s Eye View” for the Savannah newspaper for years. She has taken some of her best columns and put them into a book. It is titled Birder’s Eye View, Savannah & The Low Country.
But wait it isn’t just a collection of stories about birds. She has put a lot of thought into why birds are here along the Georgia coast. Diana has included a section on habitats. She also includes a resource section for those who want to visit the area and needs some tips. The habitat descriptions and resource guide makes this book an invaluable reference guides for the visitors who wants to explore our coast.
The book is divided into seasons and then by months. Each month has a few charming vignettes of the birds you might find in those months. She adds a section on the backyard for those who want to attract birds to yard. You can meet Diana and see her book at Wild Birds Unlimited in Savannah. I am excited to see this delightful book on the shelves at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop at Jekyll Island just in time for the holidays. Check it out!

Peregrine raid

2011-12-13T08:04:00.007-05:00

Last Thursday, It was chilly. Ok for me, it was cold. However, nothing was stopping my hardy Rambler group from exploring. The tide seemed just right so we were off for a hike to Jekyll Point. We notice the birds were spooky. Red Knots were flying about here and there. It was interesting to watch. I finally spotted an American Oystercatcher, and then Rob spotted five more, then another one. It was great. We got to see a Black Skimmer and compared the two different species. Then the birds all flew. A large Peregrine Falcon came into view. It flew over the birds a few times. Then it landed up the beach. Now that was something to see.

The Peregrine raid made me forget I was cold.

Sorry for the poor picture but this bird was way up the beach.

Bird Sanctuary caretakers

2011-12-03T08:25:00.009-05:00

Yesterday, I went to the Jekyll Island Campground Bird Sanctuary. Elliott and Wilda Corbett, the campground host, were working. They work hard to make the sanctuary look so good. They keep the feeders clean. They make sure the water is flowing. They do so many little task so we all can enjoy this sanctuary. Thanks guys for making this place a great place to watch a wide variety of birds as well as a place to come and reflect.

When I walked up they had exciting news. Someone donated $1000 to the sanctuary. Thanks to that wonderful person as well.

Ducks, ducks and more ducks

2011-12-02T15:22:00.005-05:00

There are all kinds of ducks right off Jekyll Island. Most of them are Lesser Scaup. However scan carefully several birders have found Long-tailed Duck tucked into the flocks. There are also all three Scoter. It is so much fun going down and trying to sort them out. The largest flock is off South Dunes Picnic Area.

Happy Thanksgiving from the gang

2011-11-23T12:58:00.007-05:00

November 10 the tide was high at the south end of Jekyll. There were lots of surf clams and other tasty morsels for the birds. Willets, Red Knots, and Sanderlings all gathered up. Some American Oystercatchers flew in for a while. They all joined in the feast. Plus they took a little time to rest together. Happy Thanksgiving from my gang to yours.

Fall colors

2011-11-19T12:29:00.006-05:00

As a child, spring was my favorite season. It was bright colors, pinks, whites and yellows. However, today as a look around I find fall is now my favorite. Look at this red of the Virginia Creeper. Then the golds for the grape vines.
wonderful colors...golds, greens and reds together. Happy Fall

Art show this weekend November 12-13

2011-11-09T12:07:00.005-05:00

Just wanted you know that this weekend I will be part of the Georgia Coastal Artist Show. It is at the Glynn Art Building in the village near the light house on St. Simons Island, Georgia.

Come see what I have been working lately.

I have been spending most of my art time sketching lately. So I will have a couple of those to show.
Also I have decided to show three of my small paintings on canvas. It isn't my medium but we must stretch.

Of course, I am a printmaker and I will have a selection of my newest monotypes.

Please drop by and say hello. Let's talk birds and art!

Butterflies & Baccharis

2011-11-02T10:42:00.011-04:00

Every season is special on Jekyll. Fall brings us birds, butterflies and dragonflies. The Tree Swallows continue to move through. Now the Baccharis commonly know as ground cell is starting to bloom.

Here is a Gulf Fritillary butterfly on ground cell.You can see this plant all along the causeway. The Monarch butterflies love the frilly flowers.

There is always something happening in nature on Jekyll.

They're Tree Swallows

2011-11-02T10:32:00.005-04:00

Every year in October and November the Tree Swallows migrate through Glynn County. This year is no exception. It is utterly fascinating to watch these birds. Yes, they are all Tree Swallows.

Plover nesting season ends

2011-10-28T16:07:00.007-04:00

The nesting season for the Wilson's Plovers ended in August. There was one successful nest that fledged one chick.
Friday morning, I noticed the tide was very high. It got up so high that it took out the remote location sign "S4". I worried that some of the Wilson's Plover nesting signs were gone. It was long overdue to take out the signs. So after my ramble was over I went out. I found all of the sign and got most of them. There are two more sign I am hoping to recruit some help to take out.

Now next year, let's help the Wilson's Plovers by getting Operation Plover Patrol up and running.

What is Operation Plover Patrol? It is a volunteer based interpretive program. It is a long-range twofold strategy to help these nesting & resting birds. Both strategies are educationally based:

First step is to create an entertaining PowerPoint program for civic organizations and schools in Glynn and McIntosh Counties. This program will highlight the birds and the problems they face. It will present simple solutions we can do to help these birds. This program is a way to recruit volunteers for the second part

The second part is an on-site volunteer group at the South end of Jekyll. The area is known as Jekyll Point. These volunteers would act as interpreters during critical times for the birds at the south end of Jekyll. By having friendly knowledgeable interpreters in the area where the birds are nesting will give these birds a break. Want to help? There are lots of ways. Just ask.

James Holland's Amazing Trees

2011-10-24T08:38:00.013-04:00

Sunday, I joined a group to go explore the flood plains of the Altamaha River. James Holland was our leader. Being the Altamaha RiverKeeper for many years, he learned this river and all its secrets. The thing about people like James is they love what they do. Even after they retire, they still work for their special place. Here is James standing beside cypress knees. James told us he was 6 feet 2 inches tall. So five of us follow along with him as he talked about this swamp. It was a wonderland of large trees so tall that you felt like hobbits walking around them.

Look at this one.These tree are so big you can get inside. Here is the gang inside. Well everyone but me...I am not fond of close spaces. I just peeked inside to see this tree was like a chimney. Yes, this tree is very much alive. Isn't it amazing?

We are in a drought. It has been very dry so we were able to walk around without getting our feet wet. Normally there would be water all around these trees.
Look at this roots system. It really gives us a view of how these trees survive in a flood plain. Here is our whole gang next to a cypress knee both Mike and Gene are over 6 feet tall. The Cypress tree to the left of us is a champion tree that measures 44 feet and 5 inches. Thanks to James for sharing his world and for some of these great pictures.

Birds go to Turtleween

2011-10-22T18:30:00.006-04:00

What a great day at Georgia's Sea Turtle Center's Turtleween. They gave me a table for my Operation Plover Patrol. Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop on Jekyll helped me by letting Jay B. Watcher come over and help me talk about birds on Jekyll Island. Jay did a lot of high fives. There was one very serious discussion with a budding scientist who promises to help.Right next door, kids were discovering alligators and snakes. A Wonderful way to help everyone to appreciate these misunderstood animals.

I even got a chance to ride on the hay ride. It was a blast.

A little rain and the Big Sit

2011-10-13T15:46:00.008-04:00

Sunday was a wonderful day at the Wildlife Viewing Tower at the Welcome Center. This is the view first thing in the morning The weather was questionable at best; however that often creates great birding opportunities. Diana Churchill came over in the morning and helped me spot. We had 9 Peregrine Falcons. One came so close that I felt I could have reach out and touch it.

In the afternoon, several groups of folks came by to take a look from the tower. This is a Georgia Ornithological Society group who stop by to help spot for a while.

Sheila Willis was an excellent guide and as always kept wonderful notes.. There were several Coastal Georgia Audubon members who brought scopes and binocular to share. Charlie and Tracey Muise were wonderful. They carefully scanned the mud for one more species. There were several Jekyll Islanders that came by to support my effort including Mac DeVaughn, Executive Director of the Jekyll Island Foundation. He has been very supportive of my Operation Plover Patrol project. His board has set a fund to get this project running. If you interested in this project, please comment and I will send you the details.

Here is my poster explaining the Operation Plover Patrol project. I had at the Georgia Ornothological Society meeting the night before the Big Sit.

Now to the birds, I ended up with 45 species. The Whimbrel made several appearances. Clapper Rail antics were shows in themselves. The complete list of birds is below. It is always fair weather when good fellows get together.

Jekyll Island, Glynn, US-GA Oct 9, 2011 6:50 AM - 5:50 PM Protocol: StationaryComments: This was a BIG SIT for Jekyll Island at the Wildlife Viewing tower on the causeway. This area is a hammock (small marsh island) It overlooks a wide mud flat. 45 species

Wood Stork 10, Double-crested Cormorant 110, Great Blue Heron 3, Great Egret 30, Snowy Egret 12, Little Blue Heron 1, Tricolored Heron 4, Roseate Spoonbill 24, Turkey Vulture 10, Osprey 1, Northern Harrier 6, American Kestrel, Merlin 5, Peregrine Falcon 9, Clapper Rail 24, Black-bellied Plover 8, Semipalmated Plover 50, Greater Yellowlegs 2, Willet 49, Lesser Yellowlegs 1, Whimbrel 1, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper 75, Least Sandpiper 7, Short-billed Dowitcher 40, Laughing Gull 40, Herring Gull 3, Great Black-backed Gull 1, Forster's Tern 1, Royal Tern 8, Mourning Dove 2, Great Horned Owl 1, Chimney Swift 2, Belted Kingfisher 1, Red-bellied Woodpecker 1, Tree Swallow 4, Marsh Wren 1, Northern Mockingbird 1, European Starling 1, Common Yellowthroat 3, Palm Warbler 1, Seaside Sparrow 1, Indigo Bunting 1, Red-winged Blackbird 33, Boat-tailed Grackle 50

Big Sit Sunday

2011-10-07T16:28:00.006-04:00

I have been planning this for a while. On Sunday October 9, I will be at the Wildlife Viewing Tower at the Jekyll Island Visitor Information Center on Jekyll Island Causeway. Now from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 Ms. Klahn and her Salt Marsh Solders will be joining me. These are Middle Schoolers. Let's hope the rain holds off. We will celebrate the life of 2 Whimbrel, Machi and Goshen who were shot on September 12. There has been two whimbrels using this mud flat area since early August.

Good Birding to us all!

Wood Storks at St. Andrews Picnic area

2011-09-25T09:34:00.008-04:00

Last Thursday, I was out with Judy. We start the Ramble at the St. Andrews Picnic Area. She was learning about her camera so we spent some time working on composition. As an artist, I am always thinking about composition so it was a blast. Walking south toward Jekyll Point, there were lots of opportunities to work on composition. The sky and the birds were very helpful. There were some Wood Storks on the beach. They were great models. The Wood Storks are here because there is some easy food. Here are a group seining for shrimp. The birds just wait for the net is brought up and enjoy the fish that are throw back into the water.

Machi, A Whimbrel's Story

2011-09-15T11:45:00.005-04:00

Since August 2009 when a small solar power tracking device was put on Machi, a Whimbrel, the Scientists at the Center for Conservation Biology have been following her life. For 756 days they followed her learning about the life and travels of Whimbrels. She summered in the Hudson Bay area and then wintered in Brazil. She made 7 nonstop flights of more than 2,000 miles. One of those flights was in September 2010. It was a staggering 113 hour flight that covered 2673 miles without stopping. She flew right over the Caribbean to land in Suriname. This year she spent the summer about the same place in the Hudson Bay Area. She then started her southward flight. She ran into Hurricane Irene in the Eastern Shore of Virginia. She made it through that storm floating on marsh wrack. She then had to fly through Topical Storm Maria. She didn’t have the reserves to make her long jump to South America. She had to land in Guadalupe in a “shooting field.” This is where Machi was killed. She was not shot for food. She was shot for one person enjoyment. Her life ended on a man- made mud field constructed especially for people to go out and shoot every bird that lands. (This is an unbanded Whimbrel that is visiting Jekyll right now. Sorry I do not have a picture of Machi. )

I first heard of these shooting fields just a few weeks ago. I was talking to Abby from Little St. Simons Island. She had just gotten back from an International Shorebird Working Group Conference. Being an avid shorebird person who works for the conservation of these amazing bird, it is hard to believe that people would enjoy just gunning them down. Abby told me of the in creditable numbers of legs of shorebirds that are brought in to counted and logged. Among the species identified are endangered shorebirds like Red Knots.
She went on to say that there are groups trying to buy up these shooting field and closing them down. There is hope.

Just not for Machi. We did learn a lot about what Whimbrels are doing and the amazing life they lead through Machi so she will not be forgotten.

Post Script there are islands in the Caribbean, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Barbados, which do not honor The Migratory Bird Treaty Act. This act was passed, in part, to protect dwindling numbers of birds that migrate across country borders. Shorebird hunting within these areas continues to be unregulated to the present time.

I just learned that another Whimbrel, Goshen, was shot in Guadeloupe. Read the full story from the source

She was tracked 399 days and spent some time this past spring in the St. Simons Area of our Georgia coast.

Follow the two other Whimbrels Hope and Chinquapin at: http://ccb-wm.org/programs/migration/Whimbrel/whimbrel.htm
This tracking project is a collaborative effort between The Center for Conservation Biology, The Nature Conservancy, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program, and Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences.

Thanks folks, keep up the great work that you do.

week of Sept 4 thru the 10

2011-09-13T08:34:00.009-04:00

I almost let the week go by with posting last weeks list. It looks like migration is ramping up. For me it is the shorebird migration that I love to see here are a group of Sanderlings resting on the south end beach

but I did enjoy some very nice warblers. There was a good gathering of Wood Storks
I had to share this picture of George Smith and Tricia on the beach. It was so much fun to sharing the amazing beach with them.
It is always fun to learn about Jekyll.

Here is the list

WEEK OF SEPTEMBER 6-11, 2011
Species 70
Weather for the week: Cool and party cloudy skies, perfect weather

GISCO MARINA ROAD
8 Roseate Spoonbill
DOWNING MUSGROVE CAUSEWAY
7 Wood Stork
3 Double-crested Cormorant
5 Great Egret
2 Snowy Egret
2 Turkey Vulture
30 Laughing Gull
1 Royal Tern
6 Mourning Dove
Welcome Center Wildlife Viewing Tower
40 Black-bellied Plover
35 Semipalmated Plover
8 Willets
2 Whimbrel
20 Semi-western type peeps
1 Short-billed Dowitcher
JEKYLL ISLAND CAMPGROUND SANCTUARY
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
2 Downy Woodpecker
1 White-eyed Vireo
4 Blue Jay
8 Barn Swallow
6 Carolina Chickadee
2 Carolina Wren
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
2 Northern Mockingbird
1 Brown Thrasher
1 Black-and-white Warbler
1 Northern Parula
2 Eastern Towhee
1 Summer Tanager
10 Northern Cardinal
6 Boat-tailed Grackle
8 House Finch
CORNER OF ST. ANDREWS AND MACY LANE OUT TO BEACH
10 Black Vulture
10 Turkey Vulture
2 White-eyed Vireo
1 Red-eyed Vireo
3 Barn Swallow
3 Northern Mockingbird
1 Black & white Warbler
3 Black-throated Blue Warblers (males)
1 Common Yellowthroat (female)
5 Northern Cardinal
3 Bobolink
1 Empidonax flycatcher
I did not good enough look to get to species. The bird was more brownish on the back, big headed with a large white eye ring. The wing bars were also bold and the white extended into the edges of the tertials. The upper bill was dark and the lower bill was mostly yellow-orange. The throat was whitish.
JEKYLL POINT
1 Wood Stork
1 Osprey
15 Willet
20 Ruddy Turnstone
19 Red Knot
180 Sanderling
200 Laughing Gull
3 Ring-billed Gull
1 Caspian Tern
50 Royal Terns
2 Forster's Terns
250 Black Skimmer
SOCCER FIELD
9 Killdeer
AMPHITHEATER POND AREA
3 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
HISTORIC DISTRICT (WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED)
1 Common Yellowthroat
2 Painted Bunting
4 House Finch
JEKYLL CREEK BRIDGE AREA
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
1 Blue-winged Teal
GOLF COURSES (INDIAN MOUND)
1 Pied-billed Grebe
3 Anhinga
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Black-crowned Night-Heron
3 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Solitary Sandpiper
4 Eurasian Collared-Dove
7 Mourning Dove
1 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
1 Belted Kingfisher
2 Red-bellied Woodpecker
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 Pileated Woodpecker
2 Great Crested Flycatcher
1 White-eyed Vireo
5 Blue Jay
15 Barn Swallow
10 Carolina Chickadee
12 Brown-headed Nuthatch
2 Carolina Wren
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
8 Eastern Bluebird
6 Northern Mockingbird
9 European Starling
3 Northern Waterthrush
2 Yellow Warbler
6 Pine Warbler
2 Prairie Warbler
10 Northern Cardinal

Coast to Coast for Audubon

2011-09-07T16:05:00.005-04:00

You know the proverb: " A journey of a 1000 mile begins with one step." Today the big adventure begins for Brad Storey. It is a 3000-mile walk to connect with birds and Audubon Groups across the country. He is starting right here on Jekyll. You can follow his travels through his blog.

Being the Birding Ambassador for the Georgia Coast, I had to show him the Bird Sanctuary in the Campground. The Northern Parula showed off and a Black and White Warbler was working the trees. One Ruby-throated Hummingbirds buzzed by. Naturally, I gave him directions to the Amphitheater Pond. My wish is to start him off with a good list of birds and habitats.
Have fun out there Brad. See a couple of good birds for me, a grounded bird gypsy.

2011-09-04T17:29:00.005-04:00

It was a good week on Jekyll. The nest of Anhinga are growing up. The warblers are still around on the Pine Lakes Golf Course and the beach was loaded with gulls terns and shorebirds. There were Red Knots but there were no bands on them.

WEEK OF AUGUST 29-SEPTEMBER 4, 2011
Weather for the week: The week started hot humid and still on Wednesday there was a few showers Thursday still hot but very nice breeze Friday morning was like a fall morning temp 74 degrees.
ISLAND WIDE
It is butterfly time on the island. There lots of Gulf Fritillary on the beach GISCO MARINA ROAD
15 Wood Stork
30 Great Egret
40 Snowy Egret
DOWNING MUSGROVE CAUSEWAY & VISITOR CENTER
10 Wood Stork
5 Black-bellied Plover
2 Wilson's Plover (juveniles)
25 Semipalmated Plover
1 Spotted Sandpiper
6 Willets
1 Whimbrel
30 Semi-western Sandpiper
10 Short-billed Dowitcher
10 Laughing Gull
15 Bobolink
JEKYLL POINT AREA
2 Snowy Egret
1 Black Vulture
5 Turkey Vulture
16 Ruddy Turnstone
16 Red Knot
240 Sanderling
3 Willet
251 Laughing Gull
4 Ring-billed Gull
2 Common Tern
77 Royal Tern
6 Sandwich Tern
450 Black Skimmer
2 Mourning Dove
9 Eastern Kingbird
60 Barn Swallow
10 Tree Swallow
SOCCER FIELD
7 Killdeer
AMPHITHEATER POND AREA
1 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Anhinga
1 Great Blue Heron
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Green Heron
2 Black-crowned Night-Heron
22 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
6 Black Vulture
2 Turkey Vulture
2 Mourning Dove
2 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpecker
2 Pileated Woodpecker
3 White-eyed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
5 Blue Jay
4 Barn Swallow
5 Carolina Chickadee
6 Brown-headed Nuthatch
2 Carolina Wren
1 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
3 Pine Warbler
2 Prairie Warbler
2 American Redstart
1 Worm-eating Warbler
1 Summer Tanager
5 Northern Cardinal
HISTORIC DISTRICT (WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED)
1 Osprey
1 Pileated Woodpecker
4 House Finch
3 Northern Cardinal
3 Carolina Chickadee
2 Painted Bunting (immature)
3 American Redstart
1 Yellow-throated Warbler
GOLF COURSES (PINE LAKES)
5 Anhinga
1 Great Blue Heron
5 Great Egret
2 Snowy Egret
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Black-crowned Night-Heron
4 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
3 Black Vulture
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Bald Eagle
1 Spotted Sandpiper
4 Mourning Dove
1 Great Horned Owl
2 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpecker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
1 White-eyed Vireo
2 Red-eyed Vireo
6 Blue Jay
4 Fish Crow
3 Barn Swallow
2 Carolina Chickadee
8 Brown-headed Nuthatch
2 Carolina Wren
2 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
2 Eastern Bluebird
2 Northern Mockingbird
1 Black-and-white Warbler
3 American Redstart
3 Pine Warbler
2 Yellow-throated Warbler
5 Prairie Warbler
1 Eastern Towhee
CLAM CREEK AREA
4 Brown Pelican
1 Great Blue Heron
2 Great Egret
2 Snowy Egret
2 Tricolored Heron
50 Laughing Gull
100 Royal Tern
1 Black Tern
2 Mourning Dove
1 Downy Woodpecker
2 White-eyed Vireo
3 Carolina Chickadee
1 Carolina Wren
1 Brown Thrasher
3 Yellow Warbler
1 Prairie Warbler
1 Northern Waterthrush
1 Eastern Towhee
1 Summer Tanager
3 Boat-tailed Grackle (tailless)
JEKYLL ISLAND CAMPGROUND SANCTUARY
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
4 Carolina Wren
2 Tufted Titmouse
1 Carolina Wren
1 Brown Thrasher
1 Worm-eating Warbler
1 Eastern Towhee
10 Northern Cardinal
1 Painted Bunting

Missing Boat-tailed Grackles help bring back bird list

2011-08-28T11:00:00.006-04:00

About a week and half ago, I saw a post on our Georgia Birders Online (GABO) that got me reviewing my old lists for birds of Jekyll. I mention to some birder friends for Atlanta, that I missed Boat-tailed Grackles along the Jekyll Causeway and the historic District. There are always Boat-tailed Grackles in fact they can be a nuisance some time. They are still interesting birds as far as their social behavior. They can be anyway around our Golden Isles. They nest in the wax myrtles on the causeway and in a couple of fresh water sloughs on the island. So at the end of June when for no obvious reason, they disappeared from the causeway, I was curious where they went. They had to go somewhere but where?
I asked people who lived in the area that birded regularly. When I asked some visiting birding friends from Atlanta to look around, they got curious as well. They made a comment and that comment went on GABO. So I replied about the missing grackles.
Well, this got a response from a South Carolina birders. He said that these were anecdotal observations. He went on to expound on the fact that Boat-tailed Grackle do not nest on our coast. They leave to go inland. Hum? I pondered his comment. I have notes on nesting Boat-tailed Grackles on Jekyll. So I went back to my weekly lists. I have a note book for every year from 2001 to 2008. These were great birding notes with weather. I include notes on places I went on Jekyll. In 2005 I added picture of birds and birders.
I had my information right at my fingertips. It was inspiring so this week I did my list using the establish format. This format was developed for me by Marjorie Clark. I want to thank her for encouraging me and for helping to establish this thorough data.
Here is this week’s list and a few pictures.

WEEK OF AUGUST 22-27, 2011

Weather for the week:

Hurricane Irene is gathering strength and head north. On Friday August 26, 2011 the storms passes well east of Jekyll. Temperature averaged in the 90's f. There were widely scattered showers especially on Friday.
(Marjorie added this notice for the important bird area for educational reasons. )
THE SOUTH END BEACH OF JEKYLL ISLAND IS CALLED JEKYLL POINT
THIS BEACH AREA IS A MAJOR RESTING AREA FOR A WIDE VARIETY OF BIRDS. THEY SPEND THEIR TIME HERE RESTING AS THEY PREPARE FOR THEIR NEXT FEEDING TIME
MANY OF THESE BIRDS MIGRATE FOR MILES AND MILES.
EVERY TIME THESE RESTING BIRDS ARE DISTURBED, OR SENT FLYING BY PEOPLE COMING TO CLOSE TO THEM, THEY LOSE VITAL ENERGY THAT IS NECESSARY IF THEY ARE TO FIND FOOD.
IF THEY DON'T HAVE THE ENERGY TO FIND FOOD, THEY DIE!!!
PLEASE BE AWARE OF THE NEEDS OF THESE BIRDS.
NO PETS ARE ALLOWED ON THIS BEACH.
PUSH BIKES AND/OR WALK SLOWLY AROUND THESE BIRDS.
YOU WILL BE REWARDED FOR YOUR EFFORTS BY KNOWING THAT YOU MAKING A VERY IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTION TOWARD THE WELFARE OF THESE BEAUTIFUL CREATURES!!!
DO YOUR PART TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE LIFE CYCLE OF THESE IMPORTANT BIRDS!!!!
HAPPY BIRDING AND THANK YOU

GISCO MARINA ROAD
10 Great Egret
2 Wood Stork
DOWNING MUSGROVE CAUSEWAY
1 Osprey
VISITOR CENTER VIEWING TOWER
4 Double-crested Cormorant
1 Great Egret
1 Snowy Egret
1 Tricolored Heron
2 Roseate Spoonbill
1 Turkey Vulture
2 Clapper Rail
10 Black-bellied Plover
30 Semipalmated Plover
1 Willet
1 Whimbrel
60 Semi-Western Sandpiper***
3 Short-billed Dowitcher
10 Laughing Gull
3 Gull-billed Tern*#
1 Forster's Tern
2 Northern Mockingbird
5 Red-winged Blackbird
This is Eugene P. Keferl’s list Saturday 27
Comments: This was part of the Coastal Georgia Audubon Society field trip. The first visit on this date was at high tide and the second visit was when the tide was going out and exposing some mud banks. 12 species
Early morning
6 BLUE-WINGED TEAL (Pretty early)
3 Wood Stork
1 Great Blue Heron
6 Great Egret
1 Little Blue Heron
1 Tricolored Heron
40 ROSEATE SPOONBILL
2 Clapper Rail
7 Laughing Gull
5 BLACK TERN
2 Mourning Dove
3 Barn Swallow
2 Marsh Wren
1 Northern Mockingbird
142 Red-winged Blackbird They came in to get freshwater in groups of 20-25. Easy to keep track of.
Boat-tailed Grackle 6

Double-crested Cormorant 1
Late morning
1 Great Egret
2 Snowy Egret
1 Tricolored Heron
2 Clapper Rail
1 Black-bellied Plover
100 Semipalmated Plover
2 Willet
1 WHIMBREL
200 Western Sandpiper There is a mud flat that is close enough to the tower to identify the species and the ones nearest the tower were Western Sandpipers.
6 Laughing Gull
4 Boat-tailed Grackle
JEKYLL ISLAND CAMPGROUND SANCTUARY
2 Ruby-throated Hummingbird
4 Carolina Chickadee
1 Carolina Wren
1 Brown Thrasher
1 Eastern Towhee (male with yellow eyes)
14 Northern Cardinal
2 Painted Bunting
4 House Finch
4-H AREA
AUG 27, 2011 8:02 AM - 10:17 PM
3 HOODED MERGANSER These birds are early
SOCCER FIELD
1 Killdeer
CENTRAL BEACH AREA
20 Sanderling
8 Ring-billed Gull

CORNER OF ST. ANDREWS AND MACY LANE OUT TO BEACH
3 Eastern Kingbirds
1 White-eyed Vireo
3 Blue Jay
25 Barn Swallow
2 Carolina Wren
2 Northern Mockingbird
1 Common Grackle
JEKYLL POINT
5 Brown Pelican
1 Black Vulture
1 Osprey
1 Willet
15 Ruddy Turnstone
77 Red Knots (4 flagged green**)
50 Sanderling
1 Least Sandpiper
30 Laughing Gull
1 Ring-billed Gull
10 Least Tern
2 Common Tern
40 Royal Tern
6 Sandwich Tern
75 Black Skimmer
Added to the list Saturday 27 by Gene Keferl
21 White Ibis
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Semipalmated Plover
1 PIPING PLOVER
2 Killdeer
2 Willet
20 Ruddy Turnstone
6 Red Knot
1 Least Sandpiper
200 Laughing Gull
2 Ring-billed Gull
1 Gull-billed Tern
1 Caspian Tern
1 BLACK TERN
2 Common Tern
100 Royal Tern
3 Sandwich Tern
100 Black Skimmer
35 Barn Swallow
2 Northern Cardinal
HISTORIC DISTRICT (WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED)
3 Painted Bunting (green birds)
Carolina Chickadee
7 White Ibis

GOLF COURSES (PINE LAKES COURSE)
Aug 24 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
10 Wood Stork
5 Anhinga
1 Great Blue Heron
3 Great Egret
3 Little Blue Heron
12 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
14 Roseate Spoonbill
1 Turkey Vulture
1 Bald Eagle
1 Red-tailed Hawk
2 Eurasian Collared-Dove
6 Mourning Dove
3 Red-bellied Woodpecker
2 Downy Woodpecker
1 Pileated Woodpecker
2 Eastern Kingbird
1 Red-eyed Vireo
8 Blue Jay
6 Fish Crow
2 Barn Swallow
4 Carolina Chickadee
8 Brown-headed Nuthatch
5 Carolina Wren
4 Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
6 Eastern Bluebird
8 Northern Mockingbird
1 Worm-eating Warbler
1 Tennessee Warbler
1 Northern Waterthrush
2 Black-and-white Warbler
6 American Redstart
1 Black-throated Blue Warbler
2 Pine Warbler
2 Yellow-throated Warbler
10 Prairie Warbler
1 Summer Tanager
10 Northern Cardinal
NOT VISITED
BOAT RAMP/ROAD TO JEKYLL CREEK
TIDELANDS NATURE CENTER AREA
AMPHITHEATER POND AREA
JEKYLL CREEK BRIDGE AREA

NOTES:
**Red Knots 4 flagged green
Codes were X5C, VP6, E4K, 2YJ
*# Gull-billed Tern There was one adult feeding 2 fledglings
*** Semi-Western Sandpiper too far away to identify so I just lump the two species

Exploring nearby back roads

2011-08-15T17:03:00.015-04:00

On Saturday, my friend Sheila came by and we went exploring. Our goal was to find kites. There is a traditional area for around Glenville Ga. This is a small community just outside of Fort Stewart.
This year the kites are gathering at Skeen's Farm. The family is used to birders stopping by to see the kites. For they just waved as they drove back and forth to their chores. This day there were 5 Mississippi Kites and 4 Swallow-tailed Kites. When the kites started feeding over the field, it was all I had hope it would be. The two kite species have very different feeding styles. The Swallow-tailed Kites would gracefully soar down and pick June bugs out of the air. The smaller Mississippi Kites tended to swoop and grab. Those Mississippi Kites would fly so high they were just dots. Then they would go into a stoop similar to Peregrines Falcons. They would pull up with a June bug. Both species ate their food while flying. My little camera just was not up to the task of capturing these graceful birds. I watched a while and then sketch awhile. Mostly what I was sketching was gestures. But I when I got home I did a full sized sketch.

We watched and "ooed and awed" for about two hours. It was noon. Lunch in Glenville's Rusty Pig barbecue was in order. This was a busy place and I could see why. The food was good and very reasonably price.

We took our time on the way back. On Georgia highway 57 there is a tiny town of Ludowici. In the late 1890's it was famous for it red clay tiles which was used in roofing.

Further down the road we turned on Georgia highway 251toward the Cox, a crossroads, near the Altamaha River. We got curious and went looking for Fort Barrington Park. The fort is no longer there but it is a pretty view of a lake just off the Altamaha. I always learn about native plants when I go exploring with Sheila. Here is an oak that is called a runner oak. Fascinating it just grows about six inches.
Our last discovery was an active Gopher Tortoise colony. I have seen them on state parks but this one was wild and right on the side of the road. Here is Sheila pointing at an active Gopher Tortoise borrow.Thanks Sheila for helping me to explore some back roads near the coast.

Summertime reading

2011-08-07T20:22:00.005-04:00

I don't know about where you are, but here in the Golden Isles, it is hot. It is important to get your birding and nature watching done early in the morning.

Now what to do? You have seen some good birds and it is time to settle into a good chair and read. I have just finished a fascinating book by Jessica Speart.

Wow! Fasten your seat belts. It is a fast ride. Winged Obsession takes you into the complex world of a Fish & Wildlife Agent, Ed Newcomer. This page turner reads like a mystery but it is a true story. Learn about butterfly collecting and pigeon clubs and the dedicated agents that protect our wildlife. Sounds tame doesn't it? Well it isn't.

This is a perfect way to stay out of the heat.

Good News for the plovers and bad news for a deer

2011-07-28T10:21:00.007-04:00

It was an exciting Wednesday July 27. First, I heard from the Georgia Sea Turtle Center’s Turtle Patrol that at least one of the Wilson’s Plover chicks made it through the rains and high tides. It must have been hiding in the dunes. That the way these birds survive. So now the chick watch begins.

I had a nice family last night for the Golf Cart Nature Tour. It was fairly quiet. There were Brown-headed Nuthatches all around us. An Eastern Kingbird was hawking for insects. There were lots of insects to find. They were finding us. However the insect couldn’t bug us too much at the tee at Pine Lake number 7.
There is a pond. In that pond there were Roseate Spoonbills, Wood Storks, Anhingas but something else caught our attention.
There was something moving in the water. It looked like a brown ball. It was bouncing around. Then the alligator head popped up. It was pushing the brown ball around. The gator then proceeded to turn in the water. There was lots of splashing and the water around the brown ball turned dark. Oh my goodness, the brown ball was a deer. If that was not enough across the pond a large alligator began swimming for the brown ball and smaller alligator. This gator just ran into the ball and splashing followed by the big gator holding the brown ball. Wow! That is second time I have seen gators fighting over food this year.
Sorry there are no pictures of the food fight. I will leave you with a more peaceful picture of another pond on Pine Lakes number 7.

Beach survey July 23 2011

2011-07-24T16:39:00.009-04:00

The smell hit me before I even saw the beach. When I got to the beach, I saw what the troubling smell was. It was millions of dwarf surf clam. Last Friday and Saturday we had lots of rain. There was five and half inches at my house. These clams are indicator in changes in their environment. Was a rush of fresh water what killed them off? I will see if Donna, Georgia or Richard can help answer the question. Stay tuned. Can you see where I stepped into the shells.
This is a view down the beach there were dwarf surf clams as far as I could see.

My mission on Saturday was twofold. One was to check on the Wilson’s Plovers nesting and the second one was to check for live and death birds on this portion of Jekyll’s beach. It was low tide and I found no dead birds. It was hard enough to find live ones near enough to identify. At low tide the birds are way out sitting on exposed sandbars. Mostly Laughing Gulls and one lone Ring-billed Gull were loafing at the edge of the surf. Oops, there were three Western Willets. With all the rain and a high tide there was a good bit of wash over in the dunes. I could not find any sign of the Wilson’s Plovers so I don’t know their fate. Are they in the dunes? There was no sign of the nest. I will keep looking.
There were also a lot of whelks exposed. I watch a group gathering some up. I didn’t go down to be nosey. But I did wonder if someone had whelk stew?
I also encountered Barn Swallows, one Northern Rough-winged Swallow and one male hummingbird. The hummingbird was flying straight and fast. It did not look right or left. It was making a beeline south right out over the sound. Migration has begun.

Working in my studio

2011-07-22T10:35:00.004-04:00

I worked in my studio yesterday. Take a look at the proceess at my artworkfor birds blog. It is just a start of some interesting monotypes. On my walk to gather the plants, I saw two Great Crested Flycatcher playing chase through the trees. Beautiful to see nature at play.

Week in review July 13 & 14

2011-07-19T08:19:00.010-04:00

Last week, I was joined on my rambles by James and Rachel. They are retired teachers. I enjoy teachers. They have a nature curiosity that is contagious.
Wednesday, we explored Pine Lakes Golf course and found the Roseate Spoonbills.
On Thursday we saw the Wilson's Plover still nesting. Any day now, there may be chicks running around in the dunes. Keep your fingers crossed.
We also found fledgling Least Tern chicks being escorted by their parents. They are so young. Here is one that is still huddling down to hide.
On the walk back, there was a Wilson's Plover feeding in the surf.
Here is a parting shots from James Williamson. He just got a new camera. He took all the large pictures in this blog. He does a great job, don't you think? Thanks James for letting me use these photos in the blog.

Wilson's Plover still sitting on the nest

2011-07-11T18:41:00.008-04:00

On Friday, I went looking for the Wilson’s Plover.
I found them. The juvenile is around. This the kid still running here and there. It is very hard to keep up with this bird.
This is the area where the Wilson's Plover are nesting.

The pair is nesting. This time I found the male sitting on the net.
There were other interesting beach life.
Here is a hermit crab at the edge of surf.
Here is a turtle crawl. I watch the Turtle Patrol go up and start laying the protection for the nest.

Nothing Exotic

2011-07-09T15:12:00.010-04:00

Harris Neck birding July 7, 2011
We were laughing. We were in the middle of Wood Storks, herons, egrets and White Ibis nesting. These birds were everywhere. The Wood Storks were thick circling over our head. A Painting Bunting singing from the top of the cedar. There were Wood Ducks and a very early Blue-winged Teal. Birds were everywhere and we were laughing because there was nothing exotic. You see, Priscilla wanted to see a Blue Grosbeak. In this mayhem, there were no grosbeaks to be found.

We continued to drive around the wildlife drive. It just kept getting hotter. We stopped in the shade and looked. At one point, there was a pond almost out of sight. White Ibis were feeding in large groups. It was an awesome sight. We drove just a little way when a flash of blue flew across the road. We stopped and there he was in his blueness. The Blue Grosbeak plus he had his family with him. As we watch the grosbeak, ibis were flying low over our heads. They were so close. There was just a soft whoosh and you could feel fanned by their passing. All in all it was a good day even if there wasn't anything exotic.

It isn't a jelly fish

2011-07-01T09:51:00.005-04:00

When we were looking at the jelly on the beach, I wondered what exactly what it was. I asked

Donna at the Jekyll 4-H Center. Here is what she has to say about this creature.
"Not a real jelly- it is a comb jelly- a different phyla- the Cntenophores- most do not contain stinging cells. Most are hermaphrodites and eat plankton or each other. The green line is the comb row- they glow at night!!! Very cool"
Indeed very cool, there is always something else to learn. Don't you love it!

Colorful Summer Birding Day

2011-06-30T17:23:00.012-04:00

Today, Jean and her niece Charlie joined me on a bird ramble. After a rain storm, the weather was OK. Of course, it is always pleasant on the beach. Jean and Charlie are so much fun. We enjoyed just watching the skimmers. There was a pair of Black Skimmers that appear to be chasing each other. They flew around and over the gulls, terns and skimmers. They would twist and fly high and then fly low around and around. As quickly as the chase began, it ended. One of the skimmers landed in front of the flock, and the other midway in the flock. There was a lot of energy put out on that jaunt. The next thing we see is a skimmer flat on its belly.

Now skimmers do this all the time, so it would be no big deal if we hadn’t just witness the chase.
Of course, I looked for Wilson’s Plovers. The female was in her area. However, she was standing up and moving around. Is the nest still there? Time will answer that question. I am staying away.
We encountered a few Jelly fish including this one. It is pretty, but I’m not touching it. Look, don’t touch is a good rule when it comes to Jekyll fish.
After the beach, we went looking for forest birds. We found a beautiful Summer Tanager still singing a partial song. What a red! Sorry I just looked at the bird and forgot to take pictures.

Our last stop was the Amphitheater. The Wood Storks families are doing well. The two Pileated Woodpeckers were life birds for Charlie. There were plenty of Yellow-crowned Night-Herons. The surprises were Roseate Spoonbill and adult Little Blue Heron. It was a colorful summer birding day. What fun! Thanks Jean and Charlie.

She is still sitting tight Thursday

2011-06-25T20:17:00.003-04:00

On Thursday, I was out to check on the Wilson's Plovers. It was hot and Martha Wigg and her daughter Sara were along. The Wigg's are second and third generations of bird watching nature loving Jekyll people. Tom who was a friend of my father and I back in the 1980's was the first generation. Tom loved nature and love to take pictures of the birds and wildlife on the island. Sara was following along in his footsteps. Anyway, they went along with me to check on the plovers. We found her quietly sitting on the nest. Don't worry we were well away from her. I took this picture thru my scope.

Family Group Begins Birding Together

2011-06-25T20:01:00.007-04:00

Here is a picture of a family group plus one who went out with me on Wednesday morning. It was a grandmother, mother and her two kids. They had never been birding (bird watching.) The trouper was Ann who was happy to have company. We watched hummingbirds at the Bird Sanctuary in the Jekyll Campground and Wood Stork babies at the Amphitheater. The two kids wrote, "This was so cool!" The mother was great with the two. I could tell they were going to keep this as a family group activity. Way to go!

Wilson's Plover signs 2011

2011-06-20T19:55:00.008-04:00

I struggled through the smoke from the Okefenokee fires on June 18 to find a pair of Wilson's Plovers attempting to nest. So today, I met John Galvani at the Jekyll 4-H Center to put up six sign. While I was waiting Jimmie Ann and Janice drove up to recycle. I jumped in and asked if they would like to help. They were glad too. It was a nice walk to the beach. With four of us, it was easy to carry the signs and the hammer. We placed each sign down until with got to the end of the area. The first sign didn't want to go in. The rest were a breeze. The Wilson's were out to see us. We found four. I worry that we could cause problem for the nesting pair so I had us put them in as quickly as I could and back off. We had the signs up in an hour. John brought some of the Jim Hoyt's garden fresh bell peppers to share. We joked that we were paid in bell peppers. Really home grow vegetable are wonderful.

In Honor Happy Father's Day

2011-06-18T19:08:00.005-04:00

Today I was on the south end of Jekyll. The smoke from the Okefenokee fires were burning my noise. I was looking for Wilson' Plovers. It is my weekly search. Today, I found 5. One pair was nesting! Will they make it? Will the other pair at the point nest? Good questions.

Every year I get deeper and deeper into bird conservation. If you read this blog on a regular bases, you know I am attempting to set up a beach docent program on Jekyll. If we do this will some other beach nesting birds come back to nest on Jekyll. Will this help people appreciate nesting shorebirds? Time will tell.

But how did I get here watching a pair of Wilson's Plovers? Well, that is a question I can answer, my father. He spent 50 years growing trees. He started with the US Forest Service. The service sent him to Mississippi where his job was to persuade cotton farmers to take their tired farm land and put into pine treees. That was his start. At the end he was working to bring back the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. He believed in what he did. He was like a bulldog. It was amazing to see him work. There were good days when people listened and helped. There were bad days when no one listened or cared. He keep his focus right up to the day he died. He believed in what he was doing. I am my father's daughter. I believe we can bring back a small beach nesting bird colony. I believe that we can care. Thanks Dad.

A new simple blog

2011-06-16T18:46:00.003-04:00

I have been working on a blog for my art. Today I launch it. Take a look at Artworks for Birds. Enjoy my art. Here is a sample
Royal Terns Courtings

June 10 2011 With the Wilson's

2011-06-12T16:42:00.008-04:00

Friday morning, I went out to check on the Wilson's Plovers. Tide was low going lower. It was interesting for there were a few horseshoe crabs laying eggs and a couple of them were upside down on the beach. I picked those up and put them back at the water line. "Is it right to do that?" I wonder? But when I looked back the crabs were gone, so maybe it is alright. It was early enough that no one had disturbed the resting birds. See.
I did find one lone male Wilson's Plover right at the point near the wreck. It was a long walk east on the beach. There was a new turtle nest. It is always interesting to see the trail of the turtles. Just as I was about to turn around, I heard the Wilson's Plovers out ahead of me. There were three adult plovers. The chick was very near the water’s edge. Photographing this chick is a challenge. One minute it is here, then it runs over there, then it is over here or somewhere in between.

It is good to know the chick is still doing ok.

I will be happy when it can fly...soon.

On the way back around the beach, up in the dry sand were a some Semipalmated Plovers. Counting them, there were 12. That is a pretty good group for this time of year.
I will leave you with this picture of the handsome Ruddy Turnstone.

International Beach

2011-06-06T15:04:00.007-04:00

Last Saturday, I was on the beach early. To my surprise, there were still a good number of Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, a few Semipalmated Sandpipers and Red Knots. One of the Red Knots was banded and flagged with an orange flag. This bird had flown from Argentina. It was very thin but otherwise looked all right. Jekyll's beach is an international rest stop!

In the meantime, Wilson’s Plovers are still on the beach. I only found one chick this time. There were 2 other male plovers and one female…..Stay tuned.

Shorebirds getting ready to leave

2011-06-03T16:01:00.006-04:00

Last Saturday, I went out to check on the Wilson's Plovers. What I found was a lot of shorebirds in a feeding freezy. Here are a couple of pictures. There were a couple of Red Knots, Willets, Sanderlings and Ruddy TurnstonesThe Dunlins are far from their dull winter plumage.There was one surprise. A Lesser Black-backed Gull was on the beach.

Wilson's Plover chicks on Jekyll

2011-05-31T08:32:00.004-04:00

Isn't the Wilson's Plover chick cute? There are two down at Jekyll Point.
Thanks to Marvin Smith for sharing his pictures with me.

Wood Stork Chicks are growing up

2011-05-26T16:04:00.006-04:00

My, how fast they grow up! Here are the Wood Stork chicks on May 20, 2011 at the Amphitheater pond on Jekyll Island

Yesterday, they were up and looking for food

Handsome birds

2011-05-22T06:42:00.006-04:00

Aren't these Black-bellied Plovers handsome. I saw them because I pulled off the road to let a car pass. It is Diamond-back Terrapin time on the Jekyll Causeway. These terrapins are looking for a place to lay their eggs so they are crossing the road. I drive slowly to watch for them. I was rewarded with these birds. The plovers will be leaving us soon. But don't worry they will be back in late July or early August.

Babies on the beach

2011-05-19T20:09:00.010-04:00

This morning I was out at Jekyll Point to see how the Wilson's Plovers were doing. At the moment it looks like only one pair has chicks. There were three lone males standing along the beach. Two of these birds were singing their "Kitter, Kit, Kit" song. Here is one of the males.
This is a one of the chicks in the dunes. I tried to get better photos but this little guy was racing around.Here is an arrow to show the chick as it runs away.

Grandmothers and Granddaughters

2011-05-15T08:28:00.003-04:00

One of my focuses is to make more birders. My concern is not for making listers or scientists but just that folks enjoy birds. Whether it is in the backyard or traveling the world or somewhere in between, I want to know that birds are being seen and cared about. Because when people care they are more likely to be part of the solutions to hard conservation problems. Well on Friday, I watched as grandmothers and granddaughters share time together. They chose to go birding. It was a treat to see caring and communication thru birds.

Here is Mary and her granddaughter Hannan

Time out for an award

2011-05-13T14:16:00.005-04:00

Whoa! Where did the time go? At the end of April I was putting the finishing touches on my TogetherGreen Fellowship Grant Application. I got it in on time on May 2 and then I have been working every day from well before the sun rises to well after dark. There was a Shorebird Workshop from Atlanta. On Monday there was the All Women’s Birding Bust. By the way we found 140 species most of those in Glynn County. It broke my record for one day of birding in Glynn County. More on that later
But today, I had a meeting to attend. The National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolution honored me with an award for my conservation work.
It reads “The National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolution Conservation Committee Dedicated to the Preservation of the Natural Resources of Our Country, Its Soils, Minerals, Forests, Waters and Wildlife Presents this Certificate to Lydia C. Thompson in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Awareness. Thanks to Julie Spivey and the Frederica Chapter of the DAR for selecting me.

Week of April 12 through 17 2011

2011-04-18T10:18:00.006-04:00

Wow! taxes and grants how much time they take up but they are both important so last week I was up to my eyeballs in both. Even though I was swamped, I always have a little time for birds. Living and working in the Golden Isles birding is easy as you going from island to island. Tuesday I stopped by the pond under the Sidney Lanier Bridge and Avocets were marching back and forth eating.

Thursday, there were White Pelicans at the south end of Jekyll and flying over head. Friday, there were Wood Storks setting up nests in the tops of the pine trees near the Golf course driving range. The spoonbill are still just waving sticks around. There are no signs of them nesting.

Sunday, I finished the week with a trip to the Altamaha's Butler Island areas. Ibis, Black-bellied Whistling Duck were wonderful. I started with avocets and finished with one Black-necked Stilt. Wonder what this week will bring?

Young people on Jekyll

2011-04-09T10:33:00.008-04:00

Friday Afternoon, I had the honor of going along with Troy, age eleven, to the Amphitheater. He was visiting his Grandmother and had a school assignment on birds. The Amphitheater was the perfect place for a young person to have the first introduction to birds. So we were there. He had to come up with a question and find the answer. First we looked at the nesting Wood Storks, then the Roseate Spoonbills and mixing it up a little we looked at the cormorant. He learned to use the scope. He learned to use the field guide and he came up with three questions. His mom was taking pictures. I showed her how to use her camera with the scope. She got some good pictures so we were all learning. On the way out we ran into Angus, he asked what we had seen. Angus is a member of The Wood Thrushes youth birding team, and is getting ready for next week’s Youth Birding Competition. It was a great experience watching two young people birding on Jekyll. Good luck guys!

2011-04-07T18:34:00.005-04:00

Sorry everyone I will try to do better about posting my birding notes. I am still working on the grant to study the Wilson’s Plovers at the south end of Jekyll Island. It is a very important grant and I am being very careful.

Male Wilson's Plover on the south end of Jekyll today. He was singing!

But I must work to pay the bills. Today I was out on a Ramble, my birding tours on Jekyll. Well, it started off with a bang. We turned into the soccer field to check of any rare birds and we found one. It was a bird that has eluded me here in Georgia. I have seen it in a lot of state but not here.

We turn in & there it was. It was walking across the grass. Heavy bodied long neck little head big eyes. The bill was sharp and pointed. It was an Upland Sandpiper right here on Jekyll. It was nervous. I did my best to get a photo. It is a poor photo but it shows the bird. Yea! A Georgia bird and a Jekyll bird what a great start to the day.

Amphitheater pond surprise

2011-03-26T15:00:00.008-04:00

On Friday, I was out with a nice couple from New York City, Sam and Mary Miller. I took them over to the Amphitheater. If you want to see a mix of birds both little and big on Jekyll, the Amphitheater pond is a good bet. Here is a view of the pond.I try to go to this area at least once or twice a week for there are always a few surprises around. It was true of Friday. We were enjoying to spoonbills, storks, and herons when I looked up to see a huge flock of big birds fly over my head. They were all Anhingas. I could not believe it. I grab my camera but the flock had become dots in the distance. Then I saw they were coming back. My little camera just could not capture the whole flock but I tried. At one point some landed in the top of a pine and we tried to count them. We counted several times and came up with 65 as the count. But when I got home and downloaded the pictures, this picture blown up showed 89 Anhingas! It was an amazing sight!

A new sign for the Campground Bird Sanctuary

2011-03-22T19:03:00.007-04:00

Well as I works away on a grant to help the shorebirds at the south end of Jekyll, my postings have fallen off. Wish me luck on the beach docent programs, it is a program that is long over due.

A few weeks back Elliot came into Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop on Jekyll. He wanted me to know that the winter visitor wanted a sign of the birds that come to the sanctuary. Of course I said I would help even when I had no time. Looking around I thought of my friend Carole Lyons. She enjoys making posters. I called and within three days she had the poster. It is a wonderful poster. Thanks Carole!

Here is the poster behind plexiglass. Sorry about the reflections but it does shows birders birding.

Will They nest this year?

2011-03-13T14:57:00.003-04:00

The Roseate Spoonbills are back at the Amphitheater Pond. They appear to be adults. Will they nest here this year?

working on new monotypes

2011-02-28T10:52:00.009-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I did some bird surveys of a small pocket marsh. When I was walking out I was captivated by the dry plants. This is the area where I found the plants.The last day I gather some and Sunday I finally got out to my studio. It was a productive time. Now these are just the start of my monotypes but I thought I would share with you. I am using a water based etching ink from Daniel Smith. The paper has to me soaked or it will crease as it goes through the press. The challenge is to get a image of the dry plants that I envisioned in the field. It took some experimenting but the results was worth it.

These are just three of the images. I still have more work but I just had to share.

The area has beautiful Sedge Wrens that spend the winter in this area. On the surveys one or two would just pop up. What a thrill to see these little birds.

February12 sunrise

2011-02-16T16:06:00.005-05:00

The first few days of last week were so gray. The week ended with a glorious sunrise. See

Bonapart's Gull

2011-02-16T15:33:00.006-05:00

Last week I was doing my pocket marsh surveys at the north end of Jekyll Island. Every day I crossed the wooden bridge over the mouth of Clam Creek. It was too dark and cold to stop on my way out. However when I was finished with the survey, I would stop. There was a Bonopart's Gull doing what Bonapart's Gulls do.

Weekend for Wildlife

2011-02-05T11:37:00.009-05:00

In Georgia our state wildlife agency is called Department of Natural Resource (DNR) Department. The Nongame Conservation Program is a part of the DNR but they are not funded by the state of Georgia. They must raise their own money. They do this by a special vehicle tags and by a Weekend for Wildlife event. This event is the weekend. They have their hardworking biologists, scientists and researcher taking the folks out to show them what they are doing for the birds, turtles, whales and other creatures.

Last night at the evening get-together I saw this display. One Nongame programs is banding shorebirds.

On May 22, 2o1o, Brad Winn and Tim Keyes banded Chinquapin, a Whimbrel . They also put a tracking device on him. Following this bird has been fun. Chinquapin has summered in Canada and now wintering in South America. You can follow this bird at Whimbrel Tracking at SeaTurtle.org

I can not say it any better than this:Our Nongame folks do a great job. I hope they raise the money they need to continue these important programs. Here the monotype I donated to the cause.

January 31 sunset

2011-02-02T12:54:00.002-05:00

Every time I cross the Jekyll Island bridge going home, I just want to stop at the top and look out over the beautiful marsh. January 31, it was so beautiful I did stop. Here is the sunset reason why.

Picture of the day

2011-01-28T16:18:00.003-05:00

Here is a photo taken by Bill Flatau. It is the Common Eider that was seen last year off of Sea Island. Thanks Bill for sharing.

Day two; Water bird count & sparrow hunt

2011-01-25T13:27:00.009-05:00

Day two intense birding continues:
The Sunday evening I got home just in time. My friend Paul Lehman was coming into town. He was on a ticking mission. What is a ticking mission? Well, Bird Ticking is a game birders play. The idea is to get at least 50% of the birds possible in each of fifty state and the Canadian Provinces. It means you get to know the birds well and see the habitat. Paul goal here was the Common Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Buff-bellied Hummingbird, and Harris's Sparrow.
Paul & I met many years ago when I lived on the road. He was traveling too so we often ran into each other. Over the years, I have camped at his home. Now, I was returning the favor.

Monday Morning, we were at the Harris's Sparrow field at first light. The Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area just south of Darien, GA is managed for wildlife. There are lots of grassy field with great seed crops for wildlife. The sparrows are plentiful. Do you want to really get to know your sparrows? Well this is the place. There are Savannah Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Field Sparrows. Early we both got a glimpse of the Harris Sparrow but it quickly disappeared into the thick brush. Paul got several more glimpses. While we look he talked about where this sparrow might be found in the field. Knowing where to look is half the game. At one point, I flushed a Barn Owl. It was a beautiful owl.

I had the Winter Waterbird Survey. We had to leave. This year, the count was combined with the Piping Plover count. U.S. Fish & Wildlife joins forces with Canada and Caribbean countries to count Piping Plovers. There were birders on the beaches from South Carolina, Georgia and Florida all at the same time counting birds at the same time. This is a great snapshot of the number of shorebirds, sea ducks and sea birds there.

So at 10 a.m. We met Chris Cappola and drove over to Sea Island, a private island. Bill Flatau had a beach vehicle. Paul went looking for the large raft of scaup (ducks.) We head south to survey. We did find one Piping Plover and a lot of shorebirds. Paul called to tell us he had the ducks including the rare ones. We were counting so it took us a little time to get to 27th Street. We were not too late. The raft of ducks were over 3000 strong.

I have a counter so I took on the task of counting the entire raft. Bill and Chris started looking for the Common Eider and Long-tailed Duck. They were found and we all got looks. Still that many ducks was a stunning sight.

Still we could not linger. We were on the count so we headed up at the northern end of Sea Island. There were more shorebirds. Yes, I was in my element. By the time we finished it was a little after 2 p.m. Lunch and a quick look at Gould's Inlet and we were headed back to the sparrow fields.

Gene Keferl joined us and we looked and we looked. We looked at a lot of sparrows but none of them were the Harris's Sparrow. Paul did find a Lincoln Sparrow. After the frustration of the Harris's Sparrow the Lincoln Sparrow was a good end to the day. At the end of two day of intense counting I saw 94 species of birds. Not bad, I also saw pine lands, wetlands, weedy fields, beach and ocean and a lot of wonderful birds.

Intense birding Day 1

2011-01-25T11:02:00.009-05:00

The past two days I have been intensely birding. My goal was to count birds. Sorry, there was not a lot of time to take pictures.

Birds are important to all us because they are indicator species. They tell us how our planet is doing. No birds around, we are in big trouble. But how do we know when to push the panic button? These bird surveys give us a base line to see if we are doing OK.

On Sunday, I was helping with a winter bird count on the Federal Law Enforcement Center. We had a great day for counting. It was a cold but the birds were active. Here are a few highlights. A Sharp-shinned Hawk started our count. It flew out of the trees in front of us. Sharp-shinned Hawks are small agile birds of prey. They hunt small forest birds. Hawks are equalizer. We counted several species of warblers, the jewels of the bird world. They eat bugs that bug us. We kept going until well after 3 p.m. We finished the count day with an immature Red-shoulder Hawk.

After that count, I raced home. I was invited to a party with some of the birders gathering for the next day's count. But before I could get out the door I got a bird alert phone call. Two Western Grebes were seen off Sea Island. Birders had them in the scopes. OK, I can chase that sighting. Chasing a bird is natural adrenaline rush. You get there and there are other birders there. When new birder come in questions are fired off. "Do you have the bird?" "Where is it?"

Yes I asked the questions. Yes, the two birds were out there. They were way out there on the ocean. Bob Sargent was kind enough to let me look through his scope. I saw the birds but all I saw was a very white cheek, a very black above the white cheek as the birds bobbed in and out of sight. I did see a very long white neck and a very black back. Better view desired, please. But not this evening. The light was fading.

The birders all got to Bill's place to share a little chit-chat. It was a perfect cap to a beautiful day. Thanks Bill for thinking of me. Stay tuned to part 2.

Jonathan's project update

2011-01-21T10:38:00.004-05:00

Remember Jonathan’s project, well here is a good beginning. It is out of the way down a path. It will be a good outdoor classroom for the Jekyll Island 4-h center. This center has sessions for schools from all over the states. The kids learn about the Georgia coast first hand. They are in the mud. They are on the beach. They see fresh water and salt water. They will learn at this outdoor classroom while birds fly in and out of the feeders. Maybe it will spark some of these kids get out side in their own hometown. Maybe they will recognize a bird and spark a life time connection to the out-of-doors. Way to go Jonathan and the Jekyll Island 4-h center!

Hidden Lake on St. Simons Island

2011-01-18T21:53:00.005-05:00

Silver Lake is right smack in the middle of St. Simons Island. It is down a quiet lane off Frederica Road, one of the busiest road on the island. But just turn down Silver Lake Drive and you will find a beautiful little lake and lots of Hooded Mergansers. It is an elegant duck.

The Start of Something

2011-01-13T18:47:00.006-05:00

Jekyll is an island. 65 % of the island is natural (undeveloped) by state law.

We need to educate folks about the special features of this island. Jonathan Gray is one of the staff of the Jekyll Island 4-H center. The 4-H staff not only believes that this island is special, they are teaching kids about the nature of a barrier island. When I see a 4-H class out, I want to join in the class. They look like they are having a great time learning

Now what Jonathan & I have in common is we see birds as great ambassadors to environmental education. So when he called me at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop on Jekyll Island and told me what he had proposed, I was excited. Wait let's back up, a lot of people want us to give them set ups and feeders. When we go back we find that the feeders are neglected, falling down. So I asked Jonathan for his plan. Here it is, an outdoor class room to teach a variety of subjects. He told me that birds are not high on most school list of courses when they come to the island. But what if you are learning about forest succession & behind the teacher is a see-through tarp with a feeder behind it? Birds coming and going while the teacher talks about healthy environment encourages a diversity of species. Perfect!
Here is Jonathan with the plan for the outdoor class room. Our store mascot, Jay B Watcher, is giving us the thumbs up on this plan. More will follow as the plan become a reality.

Huddling from the cold

2011-01-12T09:41:00.005-05:00

While most of Georgia was dealing with snow, we were dealing with rain and cold. On Monday when driving over to Wild Birds Unlimited to work, I stopped at one of my hidden birding spots. Huddled in the marsh grasses were Willets, Greater Yellowlegs and a few herons & egrets.

There was not a lot of business at the shop so I did inventory and watched the feeders. Even when it rains on Jekyll, it is still fun.

It just Beachy

2011-01-07T10:32:00.013-05:00

Yesterday, the ramble group spent the morning exploring the south end of Jekyll. We started with a walk out the Glory Boardwalk to the Atlantic Ocean on the south east side. There were tons of Willets, in fact there were tons of Willets at every beach spot. Willets are elegant birds so I was in heaven. As we looked out over the Willets, we pick up other shorebirds. The one bird that stood out was the Marbled Godwit. It was smack in the middle of all those Willets adding just a hint of color.
Looking north there was a huge raft of ducks. Most of them were Lesser Scaup so we went back to the van. We needed to get to South Dunes Picnic Area to see them all a little closer. Once out on the dunes crossover we could get scope looks at the rafts. It wasn't all Lesser Scaup there were Greater Scaup mixed in the flock. Off to one side was a tiny gathering of Black Scoters. It is nice to see so many ducks. Priscilla's favorite birds are American Oystercatchers. The tide was right but the time was late. I thought we would do a quick walk out to Jekyll Point. Jekyll Point is on the south west side of Jekyll. From there you are looking at the Jekyll River and St. Andrews Sound. Dolphins were feeding out in the river. It is always fun to see a dolphin break the surface of the water. We were on a quest but birds keep getting in our way. Dunlin and Sanderling were madly feeding on Surf Clams. They were so busy feeding that they didn't want to move. More Willets with some Red Knots mixed in with them slowed us down. I had to look for bands but none of the knots were banded. Then at the point we saw the oystercatchers.

What a bird!

Needless to say our quick walk was not quick. Why waste a good bird for the sake of a clock? We took our time and enjoyed all the birds at the south end of Jekyll.

Jekyll Island's Westside part of the Christmas Bird Count

2011-01-04T13:15:00.006-05:00

January 1, 2011 found me out on the north west side of Jekyll. It was Christmas Bird Count time in Glynn County. I was joined by Rockett, Carol, Priscilla. We had a great time but did not get to some places I wanted to go. Still at the end of the day our little group found 75 species. Pam allowed us to come in and see the Buff-bellied Hummingbird. While we watched that bird, a Woodcock showed up. Here are a couple of photos that Pam took for me. Thanks Pam for sharing. I was told we had 151 species for the entire count area. Wow! It has been years since we got that many species. It was a wonderful way to start the year.

Ending the year with an Amazing Day

2011-01-02T15:31:00.006-05:00

It was an amazing day. The people made the day a delight. I met my Bird Ramble group at 8 a.m. Amanda from Canada and Katy from Chicago joined me. There were lots of Sanderlings, Dunlin, a few turnstones and six Red Knots. While we watched, a Merlin flew by and took one of the birds. Whoa, it was quick!. It became very quiet after that incident. We moved on to see White Pelicans at St. Andrews Picnic Area. These birds are a challenge for they move up and down the Jekyll Creek. The Buff-bellied Hummingbird was a life bird for both Amanda & Katy. Thanks Pam for being so nice to see this bird.

When we arrived at the amphitheater, Blue Jays were going crazy. Amanda spotted the reason. A very large Great Horned Owl was eating a immature Little Blue Heron.

It was lunch time so I say goodbye to Amanda, Katy had to leave a little earlier. I had a little extra time so I went to the campground and watched for titmice at the feeders. Chickadees and titmice just brighten the day.

I ended the day meeting Bret and Mary of Green Global Travel. We were off on a late afternoon Golf Cart Nature Tour. A couple of highlights made the short tour special. One the adult Bald Eagle soared over our heads to land in a pine. As the sun set, we watched as hundreds of egrets came into roost. It was a great way to see the old year out.

Okefenokee Christmas Bird Count 2010

2010-12-28T15:26:00.009-05:00

It was cold! December 27, 2010 was the Okefenokee Christmas Bird Count. We were all huddled at the Burger King in Folkston, GA getting our marching orders for the day. "It is dry in the swamp." Sheila Willis informed us.

This is a pond called the "Gator Pond" on the Wildlife Drive. Normally, it has water up the tall grasses. Yes, it was very dry, drier than I have ever seen it.

This is Sea Grove Lake in 2008When our team got to the top of the tower at Sea Grove lake, I was stunned. In years past, there was some water out in the prairies but not today. Sea Grove Lake was shallow. This is the way the lake looks today.There were shorebirds wading around. Yellowlegs and Killdeers, Blue-winged teal all were pattering around churning up food. No Anhingas, there was no water for them. We were treated to 17 Sandhill Cranes. What beautiful creatures. It did warm up in afternoon. One memorable moment happened as we watched a Wilson's Snipe feeding. Alan got out of the car to see the snipe, when a Red-shouldered Hawk took a drive at the bird. Alan was so close that he felt the wings as it flew past. Whoa! that was exciting.

We ended our day with a pretty good species count. Our team got Red-Cockaded Woodpecker, Sandhill Cranes as well as 47 other bird species.

Christmas Eve Birding Jekyll

2010-12-25T09:48:00.009-05:00

It is a Christmas tradition to go birding. My father started this when it was just us. My mother had passed away when I was young. Then brother had married and went to spend the holidays with her family. That left us, so we were off to find birds. At first, I looked forward to life birds. Now it is all about just the thrill and beauty of the adventures.
With that in mind, I went to my favorite place, Jekyll Point. The walk out to the point is calming. The shrub-scrub transitions into beach meadows and then into sandy dunes held in place by hardy plants like panic grass, sea oats and beach croton. Every year the walk gets a little longer as the point grows.

It was high tide. There were all kind of gulls, terns and shorebirds. 200 Western Willets. They are just stunning birds, standing there along the edge of the surf. These birds are understated elegance.
It was a challenge to count them for in the middle of that flock were a couple of Marbled Godwits. Whoa, it is a splash of cinnamon in the gray.
Then the shorebirds all gathered together. Merry Christmas.

Christmas Sapsucker

2010-12-23T15:23:00.006-05:00

Today, I was putting a few finishing touches on Trina Marie, a pet portrait. When I get to a certain point in any artwork I like to photograph it. It gives me a perspective then I can see where I need to do.

While outside, I heard a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. It is a wonderful call. The bird was in my Bradford pear tree. The leave were reds, yellows and greens. This bird just worked away on the tree as I watched. When I brought my camera over to click a picture it took off and landed in a live oak tree. What a neat bird!

Several years back I spent a whole day just drawing a sapsucker in the same tree. Merry Christmas.

Breaking news! Buff-bellied Hummingbird on Jekyll

2010-12-17T11:21:00.004-05:00

Exciting news, I just got these photos of a Buff-bellied Hummingbird on Jekyll.Pam Russell has had this bird since October.
Nice photos, Pam, thanks for sharing.

Rare birds will warm you up

2010-12-17T09:46:00.012-05:00

OK, I am a southern. I have lived in the southeast United States for most of my life. It can get cold but not often. If it does get cold you hunker down, it will warms up in a couple of days. Well this week, it got cold-real cold. There was no hunkering down, there was work to be done so I layered up and out I went.

You know when you spot a good bird the cold seems to go away? I discovered that this week. Jonathan Gray called me. He had just seen a Western Kingbird at the Jekyll 4-H Center. I happened to be on the island so I ran down. The bird had flown over the trees and was gone by the time I got there. While Jonathan and I looked for the bird, he told me about a Canvasback on the Amphitheater pond. It is a beautiful duck, see.

Then it was off to work at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop so no more birding for that day. But the next morning I was out at the south end of Jekyll looking for the Snowy Plover. I realized I was out there at low tide. This is not a great time to be out at Jekyll Point. There are exposed sandbars way out in the sound. All the birds are out there, just dots in the distants. Anyhow, I was there and there was a small shrimp boat with lots of gulls and pelicans following it. I was watching the shrimp boat, when a huge white bird flew into my view. It had the body size of a Great Egret but it was not an egret. The wings were too short and the head was all wrong. It was a gull, a Glaucous Gull. I attempted to get photos but it was moving too fast. Here is the best shots I could get.

While I was watching the gull, four other birds caught my attention. White Pelicans were flying over Raccoon Key. It might be cold but it was OK. Rare birds can warm you up fast.

When I left Jekyll Point, I drove around the 4-H Center to try to see the Western Kingbird. I thought I was skunked but I wanted to photograph Jekyll Island's large bonsai forest. These trees are being saved while the new convention center is being built. They will go back to the sight when construction is complete. They are across the street from the 4-H Center.

See don't they look like over grown bonsai trees.

I was rewarded for stopping for the Western Kingbird was on the line across the street.

It been a good birding week on Jekyll.

Mystery bug solved

2010-12-13T16:50:00.006-05:00

Back in October I began seeing this insect. It was not alone. Well I finally asked Richard at the Jekyll Island 4-h Center. He knew right off the bat. These insects are twostriped walking sticks. They are in the young palm trees. See them......

Fascinating!

Another name is Musk Mare for they defend themselves by spraying a strong smelling mist. The mist is very painfully if it gets in your eyes so do not get to close. Mystery solved

Mother Nature Network comes to Jekyll

2010-12-09T18:51:00.013-05:00

Pine Lakes Golf Course is a beautiful course with Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks as well as Pine Warbler, Brown-headed Nuthatches and Eastern Bluebirds. The lake at 11 & 12 is often loaded with egrets, spoonbills, ibis and Anhinga.

Yesterday, Jekyll Island Authority asked me to escort Matt Hickman of Mother Nature Network around Jekyll. I met him for lunch at McCormick's Grill. Before he arrived, I sat in on a meeting with John Neidhardt, the Golf Course Superintendent & Judy Winiecki. They have been working together along with Christa Frangiamore on certifying Pine Lake Golf Course as an International Audubon Certified. It is a long process but it sounds like they about have it completed.

This is Judy, she thought she was out of the picture. She is working hard with John on the certification so she needs a nod.

Matt arrived and we were off on a Pine Lake Golf Cart Nature Tour. It was a quiet time of day but we still saw a few birds and animals.

Here is Matt listening to John tell him about one of my favorite spots on Pine Lakes. It is a natural wetland with cypress and maple trees. I enjoyed hearing John's prospective.

Matt and I had a little time so we went up for a quick look at Driftwood Beach. Sanderlings were running on the beach but the trees were the focus. They are a photographer's dream.

Our last stop was one I was looking forward too. Captain Phillip invited us to go along on an eco-tour with 20 excited 5th graders from the Jekyll Island 4-h Center. School groups from all over Georgia come to this center to learn about our coast. There is nothing better than to see bright young faces all lite up with smiles and excited about learning. Honestly, they did not know they were learning. On the way, we went under the Jekyll bridge, Captain Philip introduced us to the committee of Brown Pelicans and Double Crested Cormorants. The pelicans are in their winter best. Through the bridge and right next to the marina a dolphin thrilled the group. It was kind of late for dolphins so it was a real find.

The reason for the tour was to pull a net and let the kids (of all ages) see what is in the water of the Jekyll River. The kids were given their jobs. While we waited we saw a Wood Stork feeding. What a sight! I was watching shorebirds as well. Then it was time to pull up the net. Two lines were formed on either side of the rope. When they pulled on the rope one side would yell "heave" then the other side would yell ho. The kids could not wait to do their job. The excitement grew. They laughed, pulled and yelled. The haul of stuff was great. There were 2 kinds of crabs and lots of small fish. Everyone got to look and touch and learn. At the end I am sure that there were a few budding biologists in that group. What a great way to learn! The nets and Jekyll River

Artworks for birds & shade grown coffee

2010-12-05T12:40:00.011-05:00

I watch birds no matter where I am. Drawing is a way I record these birds. I am an artist/printmaker. I think of feeding birds as a way of paying the birds a model fee. When I get an idea or see am image with a warbler or flycatcher, how can I pay them a model fee? I have become an advocate for bird conservation.
I call my business Artworks by Lydia. Some people might find the name odd to people if they only go on my bird tour. The bird tour component of Artworks is a part of my bird conservation effort. My goal is to connect people to the birds and where they live. Habitat is key. If folks understand the connections then they are going to care.

However, not everyone wants to go out to look at birds. I have one etching I call Crowning Point. A Great Crested Flycatcher is peeking out at the top of the magnolia tree. This a very common summer bird here but most folks do not know the bird because it lives high in the trees and fly catches. This etching gives me a chance to talk about these birds.

My art guild is Georgia Coastal Artist. We have three art shows a year. We started planning for the December show back in the summer. I volunteered to bring the coffee. I was planning the birding festival and had just talked to Bo Mann at Wake Up Coffee Company. This is a local business selling shade grown/ fair trade coffees. Perfect! I could support a local company that was promoting the same things I support. The base is broadened to people who might not know they are supporting bird conservation.

Bo was great. He brewed up some tasty Costa Rican coffee and all the recyclable fixing. Then I set it up at the A.W. Jones Heritage Center the location of our art show. There was some one at the coffee table all day talking about the coffee.

Here is fellow artist, Joyce Shelander, sitting at our coffee table.

We passed out fliers that explained the importance of shade grown/fair trade. Every little bits helps. By the way, here is some of my new artworks which I showed at December 4th art show.

Snowy Plover at the Jekyll Point

2010-12-02T19:13:00.007-05:00

It was a cold day but not as cold as I thought it would be. Looking at the tide coming across the causeway, it looked great for a tour of the south end of Jekyll. I picked up Linda at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center and headed south. First we passed what was once the convention center. It is almost gone. They are moving right a long.

At the south end we went out from the corner of St. Andrews and Macy Lane. We got out to the beach and one of the first birds to run past us was a small pale plover. At first, I called it a Piping Plover. Piping Plovers are always a wonderful bird but then I looked closer. Something was not right about the bird. Oh, the bird was healthy. It was super active. Piping Plover move stop, look then pick. This bird looked like it was in fast forward. It had a thin black bill and the legs with gray...Snowy Plover.

I tried to digiscope the bird but it would not stay in the scope. I did get some great shots of sand. I won't share those with you.

Finally it came close enough I could just point my camera and shot. They are not great pictures but they do show the bird.

It was a good day to bird on Jekyll Island.

Roseate Spoonbills on Jekyll

2010-11-24T09:24:00.005-05:00

Well our young spoonbills are back at the amphitheater pond on Jekyll. There were 5 last Thursday. Ok, they were across the lake. The lake was pretty that day. Here is my attempt to digiscope them. I could not get all five in the scope. On Friday there were three flying over the causeway. There is nothing like a little pink to make my day.

Swallows on the beach

2010-11-19T08:38:00.010-05:00

I guess you could say that swallows fascinate me. I can not wait for August to see when the barn swallows start streaming through. Hot does not bother me when I have 400 barn and bank swallows swirling around me. Then there are tree swallows in November.
On Thursday November 18 I did not have to worry about the heat. The day was perfect. Blue skies, perfect temperature, great tide level and good company. Now add swallows and it is hard to beat it.

Priscilla and I were walking on St. Andrews Beach at the south end of Jekyll Island. The tree swallows were all around us. First they were in the dunes all those dots are swallows then on the beach swirling and twirling. Wow!

Going To watch birds

2010-11-13T15:33:00.008-05:00

Making new birders is a goal of mine so when Nell called me for a Bird Ramble with her granddaughter I went for it. It was a short Ramble. Lilith was right with me the whole time. On the beach, there were quite a few small horsecrabs. She had a blast finding them. It is important to make the connection between other creatures and the birds. We talked about the differences in the birds on the beach. Here is Lilith helping to finish some of the drawings. Toward the end of the Ramble she was looking for birds on her own. She had a great time.

Sunsets early

2010-11-11T18:08:00.003-05:00

With the time change the sun is setting as I go home. Here are a couple of images I shot last night. Amazing sky

Starting a new project

2010-11-08T14:43:00.005-05:00

Wednesday, I began a project with the Glynn County Mosquito Control. It is a study of a small pocket marsh. I will perform quarterly bird surveys. The area is east of the Clam Creek bike path. The bike path now acts like a dike. The small covert does not allow the tidewater to flow naturally. They are going to put bridge and see how it will help. The idea is to monitor the changes in this small marsh. I look forward to watching the changes.
Here a view of the pocket marsh near the bike path.This a view in the middle of the area. The area is home to several Sedge Wrens.

Hordes of Tree Swallows

2010-11-05T13:31:00.005-04:00

Thursday was warm and wet. Friday was chilly and breezy. It is quite a change. On the way on to Jekyll, I had to stop.

Tree Swallow were amazing. Look! This was on Friday. On Sunday they were still swarming but not in the hordes on Friday.

Shorebirds to hawks

2010-11-05T12:58:00.006-04:00

It was a warm, wet day. I wasn't sure the ramble was going to go. It looked like it was going to pour any minute. However, the tides were suitable for lots of shorebirds. I just had to go. It was worth it. Shorebirds, gulls, terns, and skimmers were up and down the south end from the 4-h center to Jekyll Point.

We were the only ones who noticed this gathering. This Bald Eagle came in for a “look see.” Just about the same time, a Merlin flew in from the northwest. The Merlin did not stick around when the eagle landed. It flew off north. About the same time, a male Northern Harrier seemed to drop in and fly low over the dunes. We watched as it flew southwest over the beach over the water and out of sight. Hawks and shorebirds a great way to spend a morning. By the way, it didn't rain either.

Stormy Evening in the Golden Isles

2010-10-29T09:04:00.007-04:00

Last night, we had rain. October was a dry month here. Rain is very welcomed. Plus rain clouds fascinates me. Here is the approaching storm. It was so beautiful especially from the top of the Jekyll Creek Bridge. I drive over this bridge all the time. I often want to stop. Last night was the evening I did. I park the van and walked to the top. Wow! look at this image. No wonder they named this the Golden Isles.

Digiscoping attempt

2010-10-27T18:52:00.005-04:00

My old camera gave up working back in April. I brought a cheap digital camera. It does not take the pictures I see but no camera has ever done that for me, that is why I am an artist. Any way I have been playing around with digiscoping. It not great but I do love shorebirds.
Here are some red knots at the south end. Here is a ruddy turnstone with a red knot at the southend of Jekyll.

Monarch time

2010-10-25T22:58:00.003-04:00

Today I took a little walk and found the groundsel blooming. With blooming of the groundsel, the monarchs will be coming. Beautiful!

Butterflies at the Georgia Coast Birding & Nature Festival

2010-10-15T09:04:00.007-04:00

The Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival had quite a few great nature walks. My thanks to Christa Frangiamore Hayes of Coastal WildScapes for leading the Friday walks on Latham Hammock. This is a place we drive by on the way to Jekyll Island. What a special place especially for butterflies. Here are a couple of pictures taken by Christa of the Tawny Emperor they found there.

Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival posts on Zeiss blog

2010-10-11T14:12:00.004-04:00

Wow! The last few weeks have been a blur but the birding festival was worth. If you missed it this year, mark your calendar for next year. The festival is alway the second week in October.
While I gather my wits about me, here is a couple of post on Stephen Ingraham's blog. Enjoy!

The Golden Isles Blog on the festival

2010-09-26T13:21:00.002-04:00

The planning is finished. The Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival is just around the corner. Here a link to Brunswick and Golden Isles Travel News Blog. Take a look.

Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival Headquarters

2010-09-24T19:39:00.009-04:00

Some breaking news on the Georgia Coast Birding & Nature Festival . We are going to be headquarter at Villa Ospo! It is the perfect setting for the family friendly birding and nature festival. There is lots of parking and green grass. Plus there are a few butterfly areas and great views of Jekyll Creek. For more information on the festival take a look at the website: Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival.

Beauty berries and butterflies

2010-09-15T18:52:00.005-04:00

There is a native plant that is so pretty this time of year. Its common name is American Beauty Berry. See isn't it beautiful and the birds love it. Pretty soon we will have lots of Gray Catbirds and thrushes making a feast of these juicy purple berries.

While we are looking around the Gulf Fritillaries are on the move. It is going to be an exciting season. Don't forget to take a look at the Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival. We have a little something for every nature lover. Join us October 7-10, 2010

Movie Chatter

2010-09-11T16:37:00.002-04:00

Well we are a week closer to the Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival October 7-10, 2010. I am working to get everything in place. Take a look and sign up. It promises to be great fun.

In the meantime, my friend Paul Baicich who puts out a monthly newsletter called The Birding Community E-Bulletin reports about a new movie in the making. If you have not read the book, The Big Year, grab a copy it is a fun read. I cannot wait for the movie like Paul I hope they show birders in a good light.

Here is what Paul wrote:
“BIG YEAR” MOVIE CHATTER

Birders have been abuzz recently about an upcoming movie, expected early next year, loosely based on Mark Obmascik's 2004 book, THE BIG YEAR. The book was about the quest by three birders - Sandy Komito, Al Levantin, and Greg Miller – to see as many birds as possible in North America in 1998.

The movie, a 20th Century Fox production, will be a fictionalized spin-off on the book. The three main characters have been renamed in the film, many of the facts and locations moved around, and it will be set in the present-day rather than the late 1990s.

Here are a few details:
- Three months of shooting began May 3. Release expected sometimec in 2011, perhaps as early as April.
- Shooting locations: Vancouver BC, Osoyoos, BC (doubles for Texas and Arizona); Tofino, BC; NYC; Arizona; the Yukon (for Attu).
- Executive Producer: Ben Stiller
- Director: David Frankel
- Casting (in part): Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Brian Dennehy, Dianne Wiest, and
Anjelica Huston.

The movie's director, David Frankel, says, "To me, this is a fascinating story about three men who are at a crucial point in their lives, caught up in an obsession. The bird watching really reveals their character."

Let’s hope the picture of birders steers away from the unpleasant image presented by Miss Jane Hathaway in TV’s famous "Beverly Hillbillies."

You can find some sample birder interest in the film here:
http://birdersforum.com/index.php/topic,896.0.html

Hanging out on the beach with the birds

2010-09-06T18:12:00.003-04:00

On Saturday I walked out to the southend of Jekyll. It was so nice to see all the birds hanging out.

The path needs work

2010-09-04T19:19:00.007-04:00

If you wonder what this entry is about I want the bird banders, Chris, Jan and Charles, to see the path out to the banding area as it is today. We need to organize a workday this month to fix it. If you want to help let me know otherwise stay tuned for more interesting entries.

The start of the path looking out to the beach. Sagging board in need of supports more supports missing

The wax myrtle fallen over the path.

Here is a pretty picture of Marsh Fleabane as a parting image. There is a meadow of it just beyond this path.

The pond on Pine Lake Golf Course

2010-09-04T09:28:00.005-04:00

Since April, I have been working nonstop pulling together the Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival, October 7-10, 2010. This work kept me inside this summer except for the Wednesday evening tour on the Jekyll Island Golf courses, called the Golf Cart Nature Tour. In August, it seemed I was on Pine Lakes Golf Course. It has a pond between holes numbers 11 and 12 that is just great! There are always herons, egrets, Wood Storks, Roseate Spoonbills, White Ibis and Anhingas resting around it. There were flocks of Pine Warblers generally near by on the ground. Yes, there was no looking up. They were on the ground. Pretty cool. Here is a view of the pond.

I mentioned that my little point and shoot camera does best when I shoot thru the scope. Here is a picture of a young White Ibis. It is not great but it works for me.

New camera and silver linings

2010-09-03T09:49:00.004-04:00

Well, I broke down and bought a point and shot camera. It isn't great but it will do. It surprised me for my best shots of birds are taken through my scope so it looks like I am going to have to look into digiscoping. In the meantime, enjoy the silver linings of these clouds I shot the other day as I left Jekyll.

2010-08-04T09:44:00.005-04:00

It is August. It is time for hot, hazy, lazy days. The Wood Storks are just hanging out.

A day on Little St. Simons Island

2010-07-27T08:40:00.002-04:00

Last Thursday I had the privilege of spending the day on Little St. Simons Island. Scot Coleman and Abby Sterling were doing a survey of Black-necked Stilts and I joined them. It was fascinating to watch the family units of stilts. Chicks were close to each other with parents nearby and watchful. We counted over 60 stilts. Then we went to the north beach area called Sancho Panza. Now this was at noon low tide and HOT, the shorebirds were way off. We did see a few. In the afternoon because I had never seen the north end of the island, I joined Abby for some history. The area is a shell midden. While standing listening to Abby tell us about middens I heard a Tufted Titmouse. Now I love Tufted Titmice so I quietly called to the bird who flew right over our head. What a day! Thanks guys for having me over.

Location: Little St. Simons Island
Observation date: 7/22/10
Notes: The morning was a Black-neck Stilt survey. Also not able to record was at least one Long-billed Curlew and one Marbled Godwit at north end of Little St. Simons Island.
Number of species: 43

Mottled Duck 10
Brown Pelican 10
Anhinga 1
Least Bittern 1
Great Egret 3
Snowy Egret 15
Tricolored Heron 6
Reddish Egret 1
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
White Ibis 10
Glossy Ibis 15
Roseate Spoonbill 27
Wood Stork 6
Black Vulture x
Turkey Vulture x
Osprey 2
Common Moorhen 7
Black-necked Stilt 64
Willet 10
Marbled Godwit
Long-billed Curlew
Least Sandpiper 10
Laughing Gull 25
Gull-billed Tern 2
Royal Tern 7
Black Skimmer 3
Mourning Dove 5
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker 4
Great Crested Flycatcher 2
White-eyed Vireo 4
Fish Crow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 1
Purple Martin 4
Barn Swallow 20
Carolina Chickadee 2
Tufted Titmouse 1
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1
Seaside Sparrow 2
Painted Bunting 6
Red-winged Blackbird 10
Common Grackle 4
Boat-tailed Grackle 2
House Finch 4

This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)

Stopped birders on the causeway

2010-07-17T16:03:00.002-04:00

Today when I was driving over the Jekyll Island Causeway to go to work at Wild Birds, I saw a group of birders. They were pulled off the road looking at a flock of White Ibis. This flock has been there in that same spot for a week. It was heart warming to see the group of maybe six people some huddled around the scope others looking through binoculars. Since coming off the road all those many years ago I miss seeing clusters of birders. For the last decade I have been trying to encourage birders to come see this little corner of the world. If you are birding in the Golden Isles please stop by and say hello. If I am not there just leave me a note tell me what birds you are seeing. Good birding.