Happy Earth Day

Time is flying by for me. On Saturday morning, I helped Glynn Art Association with a children’s art project. My station was printmaking. I had the children draw something on a soft plate then we printed it. One child drew a cardinal. A boy drew a great bat picture. It was good to know that there are some children enjoying nature. In the afternoon, I did a bird walk, or as I call it a Bird Amble, for the Mother Nature Day Festival on Jekyll Island. This was the second year the Georgia Sea Turtle Center put this festival together. This year the Jekyll Island Authority helped.

Larissa Harris is the Assistant Director of Marketing for JIA. She is on the left. She helped me get started blogging. Beth Burnsed is the event coordinator for Jekyll Island Authority. She is going to help with the Georgia Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival in October.

The date for the festival is October 8-12, 2009

There were families out all over Jekyll. I took a small group over to the Amphitheater. This is one of those magical places. It is an old outdoor theater. Behind the theater is a freshwater lake. The lake is a favor hangout for all kinds of egrets and herons.

Did I mention that the Wood Storks are nesting there? These birds are fascinating to watch. I enjoy watching as folks discover them for the first time. The wonder on their faces is worth a million bucks.

Podcast

In January, I went to the Space Coast Birding and Wildlife Festival. My goodness, you meet fascinating people at these festivals. While sitting in my booth, I was able to engage all kinds of people in conversation. I met Dawn Fine who is living my dream life and blogging about it. Check out her blog. I do.

Another person that stopped to talk to me was Steve Moore. Steve is gifted with a velvety satin voice, it makes sense that he loves broadcasting. He has a website called Birdwatch Radio. After talking to me for a few minutes he pulled out his microphone and interviewed me on the spot. What fun! I love talking about the Georgia Coast. Take time to listen to Steve's interview with me but don’t stop with mine. There is some great information on Birdwatch Radio.
Thanks Steve.

Taxes are out of the way! Yea. I have been so busy that I really could not do anything but work on the grant and do those taxes. Even then, I always get out for a few hours on Thursday.

Last Thursday, the American Avocets were in full breeding plumage. They are behind the American Oystercatchers.

It was a windy day. The beach was loaded with birds. The Loggerhead Shrikes look like they are going to nest in the trees just south of the Jekyll Island Convention Center.

Blooming

April has been non-stop for me. I am applying for a grant. It took me a while to get the wording just right and fill out the on-line application. I finished it this morning so I can move on to the next task...taxes. I took a little time to clear my head. One of my favorite wildflower is blooming. The common name is Spider Wart.

Here is my favorite patch.

Blog on Migration

My thanks to Patty who posted on Georgia Birders Online about a blog she had found on migration. If you have not seen this, you need to go to http://badbirdz2.wordpress.com/ It is great for following the migrating birds. Today even though it was raining I was out with a good group of birders on Jekyll. It was low tide so all the shorebirds were way out.

So we headed to the Jekyll Island Campground Bird Sanctuary. There was so much action I couldn't get any photographs. It was so much fun just the same. Northern Parulas, Black & White Warblers, Yellow-throated Warblers, a single Black-throated Blue Warbler, lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-throated Sparrows and a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker. There was a pair of Eastern Towhees right out in the open. The female was gathering pine straw as the male sang. At one point the Black & White Warbler landed on the ground right beside us. Whoa! that was fun. Another highlight was a White-eyed Vireo right at eye level with 10 feet of us. This image was taken last year but it is a White-eyed Vireo. Today is overcast and rainy, sorry to say we did not have blue sky.

Here is an image of last year's parula in the bird bath at the Bird Sanctuary. He is back again this year and singing up a storm.

Wilson's Plovers

There were lots of little things that got me hooked on birding. Watching Wilson's Plovers at the south end of Jekyll Island was one. When I first got the bug to bird, I was working in Atlanta. I would make monthly trips to Jekyll and spend my time studying shorebirds. In May and June of that year a plover caught my imagination. Wilson's Plovers have just not let go of me. They are designed for our beaches.
There are three birds in this picture, two Wilson's Plovers and a Ruddy Turnstone. I've have seen school groups settle down near these birds and never see them. They just sit very still and blend. That skill is what helps them success in nesting on our beaches. In the next few months, I will be spending time watching these guys to see how well they do nesting this year. Each year there are fewer Wilson's Plovers nesting on Jekyll. I want to see how I can help them. Stay tuned.

Brown Pelicans

Brown Pelicans fascinate me. Here are some photos I took while on the Lady Jane. This picture show the olive green throat pouch, blue eye and pink skin around the eye. Who would have thought these birds were so colorful?

Sometime they make flying look so easy.