Indian Mound Golf Cart Nature Tour

Last night was the second Golf Cart Nature Tour of the season. Paula and Garry came along to explore Indian Mound golf course. This is an amazing place. Thanks for sharing your photos, Garry.

The tour started before we left the club house. There were ibis and three Wood Storks feeding on something by the pond. As we watched the Wood Storks, an Osprey flew by carrying a fish back to the nest across the street on a cell phone tower.


The birds on this course were very active therefore we got to have good looks at the tiny creatures. Time flew by as we watched, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, White-eyed Vireo, Northern Parulas, Brown-headed Nuthatches and one stunning look at a Yellow-throated Warbler. Look at this picture…WOW!

We were having such a good time with these little birds I had to rush to get in the Rookery at Hole #4. Still it was wild all the noise and commotion with a large alligator lurking. At one point a juvenile Snowy Egret got too deep in the lake. It was hard to watch it struggle but it made it out without becoming dinner. Drama is a common occurrence in a rookery. Look at these Anhingas.

On the way back to the club house, I scoped the new martin house on Pine Lakes Golf course hole # 17. This house was donated by the Jekyll Island Ladies Golf League. Don Bailey found the best location and Jekyll Island Golf Course Staff put it up. Good job guys for there was at least one pair using it!

Time just went too fast. When I tallied up the birds we saw and heard, we had forty species of birds plus other wildlife like this fawn. It reminds me to tell you that at the Georgia Coast Birding and Nature Festival October 7-10 we are going to be doing the Golf Course Nature Tours. Mark your calendar and join us for a great time.

Little Simons Island Blog

I was surfing the web for bat information for our Georgia Coast Birding & Nature Festival, October 7-10, 2010.

Yes, I want everyone to know that the Jekyll Island Authority has taken on the birding and nature festival for the Georgia coast. This year’s festival is going to have a wide range of appeal. Yes, birds are a big part of the festival. Hey, I am a birder after all. We are adding trips for beginners birders. These trips will have great tips on how to improve birding skills. Also we are planning family activities with field trips. There will be sessions on birds, turtles, marsh and beach. Of course, there is going to be an evening field trip to learn about bats and owls.
So there I was surfing the net for bats and found this blog:
www.naturelssi.com Little St. Simons Island Naturalists are working on some wonderful conservation projects. It is going on my blog log. Check it out.

Friday, I made a quick trip down to Jekyll Point to check on the Wilson’s Plovers. The female plover was just passed the path out to the beach. She was standing at the edge of a clump of beach grass. I looked around her & hidden behind her were two chicks. They were running around catching insects. She gave one little “wheet” and they ran for cover under a sea rocket plant. The adult male was there and to insure their safety. Sea rocket is one of the common beach plants. It has broad succulent leaves, which are perfect little hiding place for the flightless chicks. Those leaves make great umbrellas to shield the chicks from the hot sun. As soon as the all clear whistle was called the chicks once again started racing around. Man those babies can run.

Wilson's Plover update

For the last couple of weeks I have been looking for nesting Wilson's Plovers on Jekyll Island. All I have been able to find so far is one Wilson's Plover nest. Yesterday, the female was sitting tight. Once she got up to chase off a ghost crab then she settled back. Here is a drawing I did.




I moved down the beach to look for any others but no luck. I will not say that there are no others. There may be a pair or two tucked up out of sight. Time will tell so I will keep watch.

I reported to Tim Keyes a Georgia Department of Nature Resources research scientist. He wrote back that it has been hard on the Wilson's on Egg Island Bar & Wolf Island. But the ones on south end of Cumberland Island are doing well so far. I am waiting and watching. Here one more drawing I did yesterday.

The Gray Kingbird

They are back. Well at least one is back. There are birds I watch for everyday during a season. The Gray Kingbird at the shopping center on Jekyll is one such bird. This year April came and I started looking for the Gray Kingbird….no bird. May 15th came but no bird. I was sad, so sad. These kingbirds are just a delight to watch. They swoop down catch a bug then back up the wire. Good news, yesterday one Gray Kingbirds was on the wire singing it cheerful song. It was just late very late. Does anyone else notice that a lot of our bird species are late this year?

My camera quite working in mid April so I am depending on folks to share their photos. This last weekend, I had the pleasure of being part of an Atlanta Audubon's Shorebird Workshop weekend. It was awesome! Dunlins, dowitchers, willets and oystercatchers, oh my, all gorging themselves on horseshoe crab eggs. Red Knots were found at several locations. On Sunday we had a huge flock at the south end of Jekyll. There were several birds that were banded. Here is a photo taken by Pat Leary. The horseshoe crabs are in the foreground with the knots and sanderlings fanatically feasting.

Well, I could not find the nest of the spoonbills. It did look promising. Oh well I will keep watching.
Now the Wilson's Plovers at the south end of Jekyll are nesting. Any day now we are going to have little plover chicks racing around the dunes. Here are two of the Wilson's Plovers together taken back in April.