Nothing Exotic

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.

Update on Dragonflies

On Saturday, I went to help with a butterflies count up at Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge. Being with Mike Chapman is a great way to learn. He is a fountain of information. I met the group and lucked out because both Fitz Clark and Lois Stacey knew their dragonflies. I found out I was right about the Eastern Pondhawk. Lois told me that they were the Cattle Egrets of the dragonfly world. They like to follow us because we are stirring up bugs for them to eat. Is that not cool? I had lots of these around all day. I actually photographed this female which looks very different from the male. They are big dragonflies so they are easy to spot as well.
Now to the other dragonfly I labeled Wandering Glider. I had Lois and Giff Beaton tell me that it is not a glider but a skimmer. They get it down to either a Gold-winged Skimmer or a Needham’s Skimmer. My photo is not good enough to firmly nail it down. So it is not a Wandering Glider but a Golden-winged Skimmer type. Any way you look at it, these dragonflies inspire the imagination. Gold-winged and gliders and skimmers, what wonderful names and they are fun to watch.
While at Harris Neck, we found a few more. Here is a Amanda's Pennant. Please give Fitz Clarke the credit for this image. Isn't it beautiful.Here is a Duckweed Firetail.
By the way Harris Neck NWR is a hotspot for birding as well. Here is a picture from the dike at Woody Pond. You never know what you might find. You can drive around on the wildlife drive or you can hike or bike around it. This is our group hiking back to our cars.

June 5th Harris Neck

June 5th, 2007. Today we had our monthly festival meeting at Harris Neck. Attending the meeting was Beth, Regi, Harriet, Gene, Pat and Dot, and, of course, me. As far as I was concerned, this meeting could be long or I could keep it short and sweet. So when Gene announced that he had to leave at noon, I knew "short" was it! We worked on details for the Colonial Coast Birding Challenge: basically, the “Challenge” is a Big Day held before the festival. We decided to have people choose a day from October 5 through October 12 to find as many birds as they could on any or all the Colonial Coast Birding Trail sites in a twenty four hour period. The real change this year was a monetary prize for the winner! It took a while but we finally came up with a plan, and the meeting was over! Gene took off, after which the rest of us stood around tying up loose ends. A birding festival takes a great deal of planning: we give ourselves eighteen months to get the plans laid out for this three day festival.

All the chatter ended abruptly with the announcement that someone had found two Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks! Cars were loaded, and we zipped up to the dike at Woody Pond, only to find a pair of non-birders looking for alligators. They had no clue that they had flushed a rare bird! Oh, well.... There was still a lot to look at: Wood Storks with chicks, Anhinga chicks, egrets, herons, night-herons, and ibis were spread across the pond. The air was filled with the calls of the moorhens; those calls sound like the beginning of the song “Wipe Out” to me...

Scanning with my scope I spotted a small group of nesting White Ibis. I did an etching a while back of White Ibis nesting at Harris Neck, but I felt it was a bit heavy on the greens and reds. Well, today I saw that etching come to life: there they were, tucked into those trees that were a little too green and a little too red!

Thanks to Bob Churi for allowing me to use his photo of whistling-ducks.

With Georgia coastal birdlife on my mind--good birding!
Lydia

May 8th Painted Buntings

May 8, 2007,
There is a chill in the air as I head out to Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge. It reminds me more of Maine spring morning than of coastal Georgia. I am going to a meeting with the Georgia Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival steering committee. Every month we meet and hammer out all the details of this wonderful festival. There is a huge amount of work that goes into a festival this size. The coast is lucky to have this dedicated group of hard workers meeting and spending hours on end working on this festival. Today we are trying to find those loose ends.
So I am in my van driving across the wide expanse of salt marsh. It never ceases to amaze me with it stunning beauty. An osprey rises up along side of the van. It has a fish and is heading back to it’s nest where if mate is waiting. We both have our jobs and go in different direction.
Harris Neck is a magical spot on the coast. Parking I grab my Leica binoculars and walk to the side of the Welcome Center. The caged feeder is filled and there are Painted Buntings all around it. The males so colorful and the females a delightful green. While standing there an Eastern Pewee calls and then there is a solid blue bird at the feeder. A Blue Grosbeak is there. I turn to go in and glance at the hummingbird feeder and there is a little Ruby-throated Hummingbird. Never a dull moment at Harris Neck. That goes for the meeting as well. We are still going strong after two and half hours. But we have our marching orders and are happy to know that we are helping to build this wonderful festival. Just so you know the dates are October 12-14, 2007.
That evening I am invited to dinner with old and dear friend on Jekyll. Sitting in their den before dinner I am enterained by their feeder. It has Painted Buntings feeding away on the millet. In the bushes there is an Ovenbird just strolling around. It was a nice day with the birds.
With Georgia’s birdlife on my mind- good birding
Lydia