It isn't a jelly fish

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!

Jonathan's project update

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!

The Start of Something

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.

Nature and learning at the festival

On Saturday, we held a Nature Day for people who wanted to learn more about our nature. We started the morning off with a raptor show by Georgia Southern University's Center for Wildlife Education & Lamar Q. Ball Raptor Center. Steve Hein always does such a great show. He gets the crowd involve and active. Perfect start! After that we had some interactive classes like this one on how to draw a bird. It was a popular program.

Here is one of the models for the drawing class. There is nothing like drawing from life. Mallory Pearce is the teacher. He is the adult on the right.

Donna of the Jekyll Island 4-H Center is getting her small group together to go out and learn to use the seine net. Oh yes and to learn what kinds of creatures there are in our waters.

So everyone had fun & we were able to reconnect some folks with our unique Georgia coast.

Sea Net update

Today was a beautiful day. Where was I? I was inside in a windowless room. Wait! It was a good thing for I learned more about the Seabird Ecological Assessment Network SEANET for short. This was the second meeting to organize a volunteer force for the Georgia coast. Go back in my blog to February 3rd to find out about our first meeting. http://coastalgeorgiabirding-lydia.blogspot.com/2009/02/seanet-comes-to-coastal-georgia.html. It was good to see Dr. Julie Ellis again. This time Julie went over forms and guideline for the surveys.

Here is Julie point out what to look for on the beach

Here is Rebecca Bell of Little Cumberland Island and Julie Ellis talking about the surveys.

We also talked about who was surveying which island.

Here are Stacia Hendricks and Gene Keferl look at the Google Earth and where he will survey.

Jekyll has plenty of coverage with the GA Sea Turtle Center and Jekyll Island 4-H doing the surveys. But what about St. Simons Island. It has a beach. I could walk that beach in under an hour. St. Simons’ East Beach area is a very popular beach. Lot of dogs running around, people thrown Frisbees or playing on this beach and it also has a lot of birds, it is very different from Jekyll and truly different from the more remote barrier island. I wondered about what I will find. This fits nicely into my year of exploring and discovering.

During the afternoon, I got to talk to Marie Procopio of the Tybee Island Marine Science Center. Here is Marie looking at one of the forms. Also in the picture Theresa of Little St. Simons Island and Stefania of the GA Sea Turtle Center

Tybee beach is much like St. Simons beach. There is a causeway out to Tybee Island. There are lots of beach going people. I think we can learn from each other. This kind of communication is so important.

I want to thank both Stacia Hendricks and Terry Norton for bringing us all together.
By the way we did get outside on the beach.

And the Barn Swallows fly by

Yes, it is the time of year when we have the most diverse flock of swallows migrating by Jekyll. This migration makes the late summer heat bearable. If you stand in one place, put your hands out & wait one of these swallows will fly by and brush your hands. It does challenge you to select one swallow and figure out what species it is. There are clues. Generally the Purple Martins fly high up. The Cliff Swallows tend to swill around about 10 to 15 feet above the ground. Bank Swallows are close to the ground in groups. Rough-wings Swallows seem to be individual birds.


Yesterday August 28, I joined the new 4-H staff. We talked about birds, especially shorebirds, gulls and terns. It is good to be in a room of eager teachers. While on the beach we talked about beach etiquette. The children of Georgia are going to have wonderful teachers when they come to the Jekyll Island 4-H Center. And the Barn Swallows just keep flying by.


Binoculars were provided by Coastal Georgia Audubon Society.