Okefenokee Christmas Bird Count 2010

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

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

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

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

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

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

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