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.

Huddling from the cold

While most of Georgia was dealing with snow, we were dealing with rain and cold. On Monday when driving over to Wild Birds Unlimited to work, I stopped at one of my hidden birding spots. Huddled in the marsh grasses were Willets, Greater Yellowlegs and a few herons & egrets.


There was not a lot of business at the shop so I did inventory and watched the feeders. Even when it rains on Jekyll, it is still fun.

It just Beachy

Yesterday, the ramble group spent the morning exploring the south end of Jekyll. We started with a walk out the Glory Boardwalk to the Atlantic Ocean on the south east side. There were tons of Willets, in fact there were tons of Willets at every beach spot. Willets are elegant birds so I was in heaven. As we looked out over the Willets, we pick up other shorebirds. The one bird that stood out was the Marbled Godwit. It was smack in the middle of all those Willets adding just a hint of color.
Looking north there was a huge raft of ducks. Most of them were Lesser Scaup so we went back to the van. We needed to get to South Dunes Picnic Area to see them all a little closer. Once out on the dunes crossover we could get scope looks at the rafts. It wasn't all Lesser Scaup there were Greater Scaup mixed in the flock. Off to one side was a tiny gathering of Black Scoters. It is nice to see so many ducks. Priscilla's favorite birds are American Oystercatchers. The tide was right but the time was late. I thought we would do a quick walk out to Jekyll Point. Jekyll Point is on the south west side of Jekyll. From there you are looking at the Jekyll River and St. Andrews Sound. Dolphins were feeding out in the river. It is always fun to see a dolphin break the surface of the water. We were on a quest but birds keep getting in our way. Dunlin and Sanderling were madly feeding on Surf Clams. They were so busy feeding that they didn't want to move. More Willets with some Red Knots mixed in with them slowed us down. I had to look for bands but none of the knots were banded. Then at the point we saw the oystercatchers.

What a bird!

Needless to say our quick walk was not quick. Why waste a good bird for the sake of a clock? We took our time and enjoyed all the birds at the south end of Jekyll.

Jekyll Island's Westside part of the Christmas Bird Count

January 1, 2011 found me out on the north west side of Jekyll. It was Christmas Bird Count time in Glynn County. I was joined by Rockett, Carol, Priscilla. We had a great time but did not get to some places I wanted to go. Still at the end of the day our little group found 75 species. Pam allowed us to come in and see the Buff-bellied Hummingbird. While we watched that bird, a Woodcock showed up. Here are a couple of photos that Pam took for me. Thanks Pam for sharing. I was told we had 151 species for the entire count area. Wow! It has been years since we got that many species. It was a wonderful way to start the year.

Ending the year with an Amazing Day

It was an amazing day. The people made the day a delight. I met my Bird Ramble group at 8 a.m. Amanda from Canada and Katy from Chicago joined me. There were lots of Sanderlings, Dunlin, a few turnstones and six Red Knots. While we watched, a Merlin flew by and took one of the birds. Whoa, it was quick!. It became very quiet after that incident. We moved on to see White Pelicans at St. Andrews Picnic Area. These birds are a challenge for they move up and down the Jekyll Creek. The Buff-bellied Hummingbird was a life bird for both Amanda & Katy. Thanks Pam for being so nice to see this bird.

When we arrived at the amphitheater, Blue Jays were going crazy. Amanda spotted the reason. A very large Great Horned Owl was eating a immature Little Blue Heron.

It was lunch time so I say goodbye to Amanda, Katy had to leave a little earlier. I had a little extra time so I went to the campground and watched for titmice at the feeders. Chickadees and titmice just brighten the day.

I ended the day meeting Bret and Mary of Green Global Travel. We were off on a late afternoon Golf Cart Nature Tour. A couple of highlights made the short tour special. One the adult Bald Eagle soared over our heads to land in a pine. As the sun set, we watched as hundreds of egrets came into roost. It was a great way to see the old year out.

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.