Wow! What a day. The warblers were everywhere we went. But the big surprise was this bird. Grasshopper Sparrow at the Amphitheater I really like this picture of the bird in the palmettos. It ended an amazing day.
Here is a list of the birds I saw today and places they were seen. Most of these were shared with the group. Jekyll Island, Glynn, US-GA
Apr 26, 2012 7:30AM - 1:00 PM
Double-crested Cormorant
Anhinga
Brown Pelican Clam Creek
Great Egret Amphitheater
Snowy Egret Amphitheater
Green Heron Amphitheater
Black-crowned Night-Heron Amphitheater
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron Amphitheater
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagle 2 River Bridge
Spotted Sandpiper 4 Clam Creek,
Willet 1 Clam Creek,
Least Sandpiper 3 Clam Creek,
Laughing Gull 25
Ring-billed Gull 4 Clam Creek,
Forster's Tern 5 Clam Creek,
Royal Tern 3 Clam Creek,
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift 2 Historic District
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 2 Campground,
Belted Kingfisher 1 Campground,
Red-bellied Woodpecker 2 Amphitheater
Downy Woodpecker 1 Amphitheater
Pileated Woodpecker 1 Amphitheater
Great Crested Flycatcher Clam Creek, Campground, and Amphitheater
White-eyed Vireo 1 Amphitheater
Blue Jay 2 Campground,
Fish Crow 2 Amphitheater
Tree Swallow 1 Clam Creek,
Carolina Chickadee 7 Clam Creek, Campground,
Tufted Titmouse 1 Campground
Brown-headed Nuthatch 4 Amphitheater adult feeding 3 fledglings
Carolina Wren 2
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher 1 Clam Creek,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 Campground,
Eastern Bluebird 2 Clam Creek,
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird 2 Historic District
Brown Thrasher 2 Campground,
Ovenbird 1 Amphitheater
Northern Waterthrush 1 Campground,
Black-and-white Warbler 3 Clam Creek, & Campground,
Common Yellowthroat 4 Clam Creek, & Campground,
American Redstart 1 heard Amphitheater
Cape May Warbler 2 Clam Creek, & Campground,
Northern Parula 9 Clam Creek, Campground, and Amphitheater
Blackpoll Warbler 1 Clam Creek,
Black-throated Blue Warbler 1 Amphitheater seen by Priscilla
Palm Warbler 3 Clam Creek,
Yellow-throated Warbler 2 Clam Creek, & Campground,
Prairie Warbler 6 Clam Creek, & Campground,
Grasshopper Sparrow 1 Amphitheater, photographed
White-throated Sparrow 2 Amphitheater
Summer Tanager 2 Campground,
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak 1 Campground,
Indigo Bunting 5 Clam Creek, & Campground,
Painted Bunting 4 Historic District & Campground,
Red-winged Blackbird 2 Clam Creek,
Common Grackle 2 Amphitheater
Boat-tailed Grackle 12
Brown-headed Cowbird 3 Campground,
Orchard Oriole 1 Campground,
House Finch 6 Campground,
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

A little conflict on the beach

While out with a group at the south end of Jekyll on Wednesday, we watched these two Wilson's Plover males have a territorial  dispute They would circle each other. 

Then suddenly run at each other and clash.  Wow! a little drama and the beach.  In the end, one bird took off and the other stood triumphant.

Kids birding on Jekyll

The first part of April, I had several groups of young people go birding on Jekyll. Here is Janice and her family at the Amphitheater enjoying the wide variety of birds. India is drawing and Molly is looking on.Wood Storks were the high light but a caterpillar also got studied. What fun!
Then on one of my short rambles Emma joined Sandra & I to go find some birds. As we travel a short distance, Emma looked up the birds for us in the Crossley guide I keep in the van. She is very excited about going to Camp Talon this summer. Camp Talon is a birding camp for young people age 13 to 18. She is going to have a blast. She is also an artist. I told her to draw at every chance she gets.

Wilson's Plover sitting on a nest

Thursday's Bird Ramble group went out to check on the area. It was amazing the number of birds that were out there. One of my volunteers was out doing an Operation Plover Patrol beach surveys. He was down the way a bit so we did not disturb him. We found the first pair of plovers or should I say the male Wilson’s spotted us and began to attract our attention when another male Wilson’s came over. They did do a little sparing and then settled back down. Our attention was divided between the large number of gulls, terns and shorebirds resting beyond Jim the volunteer and looking for the Wilson’s. We did locate one nesting plover sitting on a nest. We then moved down the beach and watched the main flock. We had skimmers, Forster’s Terns, Royal Terns, Laughing, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls plus a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls. Mixed into those birds were Dunlins, and Sanderlings. Two Least Sandpipers landed with 30 feet of us.
When we finally got up to Jim, he was almost finished with his two hour survey period. He pointed out the American Oystercatchers. He also told us there had been two Wilson’s near him during the survey period but had lost them. Two of my groups were looking for the birds and they located them up in the dunes well inside the fencing. The Wilson’s pair was mating. They will be nesting soon. There is even a pair of Eastern Willets flying around looking for a territory. In years past the Willets have failed when they attempted to nest. This year they might succeed. So nesting season on Jekyll is off to a good start.

Coastal Georgia Audubon takes a boat ride

On Saturday, Coastal Georgia Audubon Society went for a boat ride with the Dolphin Tours. It was wonderful. We went down to the south end of Jekyll. This was a wonderful way to see how these birds are gathering. We also saw Molly one of Operation Plover Patrol volunteer on the job. Here are some pictures taken by another Operation Plover Patrol Volunteer, Janice Browning. Walkers unaware of the birds walked right thru the resting bird. Operation Plover Patrol will help folks to appreciate what these birds are doing here.
Cormorants galore They are generally the first to leave when disturbed.

A positive step for Bird Conservation

Jekyll was all about shorebirds today March 22. Ben Carswell and I along with 2 americorps folks met Gene Keferl, Janice Browning of Coastal Georgia Audubon Society (CGAS) volunteers at the south end of Jekyll. We put up Wilson’s Plover signs and roped off an area of the critical Wilson’s Plover habitat. We have seen two pairs of Wilson’s setting up territories in the area. This is a positive first step for bird conservation and Operation Plover Patrol on the island. This looking toward the ocean and the fencing.I am very excited to have The Georgia Sea Turtle Center, Coastal Georgia Audubon, The Jekyll 4-H working with Jekyll’s New Director of Conservation, Ben Carswell.

Azaleas bloom in March

Back in the middle of February, someone asked me when the azaleas bloom. I said around the middle of March. The comment back was "Oh, I thought it was in the middle of April." Well, it is the middle of March. Here the azaleas. They are so pretty.

I have been up to my eye balls in grants and plover patrol so I have been behind in my blog. Here are a couple of pictures that I took this week at the Amphitheater pond. It is coming alive with wildlife. This Anhinga was just hanging out with a pile of turtles. Now I am back to work.