Welcome to World Shorebird Day

If you cannot join us, choose a day between September 6 and September 10 and count shorebirds where you are. These birds are coming from the Arctic and heading to their winter home. They travel long distances. When they land on the beach or a sandbar, they need to feed and rest. We can help these amazing globe-trotting shorebirds by letting them rest.  Education is the key.  World Shorebird Day is an excellent way to start.

What a Surprise!

February 21 was the evening for the third year for Jekyll Island's Green Screen. Ben Carswell created this wonderful event.  Each year, I bring a poster for my Operation Plover Patrol.   This year the Plover Patrol keep me excited through the worst of the nasty chemo.  Even when I was so weak I could barely move, one of my volunteers would send me a report and I could keep going.  Giving the birds a voice was more important than any treatment.  Also, there were lots of friends sending me notes.  These notes helped me.

      Abby Sterling is studying Wilson's Plovers on the Georgia Coast.  She spent the summer near Barrow, Alaska.  This is one place I really would love to visit.  She sent me pictures from Barrow.  It lifted my mood. 

Here is Abbey Sterling with me at the poster.  This year's poster was put together by Katie Higgins.  It was peach so it popped!   It was so much fun to see all the conservation work going on here on the Georgia Coast. There was one poster that showed how much the south end of Jekyll has grown and change.  The work used a shrimp boat that went down in June of 1996.  Fascinating, I wish I could have looked at it a little longer but there was so much to see and people to talk to around the room.  

    Of course, there was the main event the movie.  Angel Azul is a beautifully filmed story of the coral reef and the people who are working to save it.  But before the film began I got a huge surprise.  I was honored with a Certificate of Appreciation. 

I was floored & humbled. I had no idea that they were going to do that.  Abby told me that they wanted to thank me for the bird conservation work I am trying to do.  It is hard work getting people to listen to these creatures who live with us on this planet and I love giving the birds a voice.   Britt Brown donated her photo of 3 Wilson's Plover chicks.  Hatched then color banded in June 2013.  These chicks were resighted as fledglings.  

Marsh Sparrow Banding

Nelson Sparrow on the left   Salt Marsh Sparrow on the right

Breast cancer taught me not to miss life happening around me.  Winter our marshes are loaded with unique sparrows.  We have Seaside Sparrows year around but in the winter the northern race Seaside Sparrow are here.  There are two other sparrows that winter here.  There is the Salt Marsh Sparrow from the northeast.  There are two races of Nelson’s Sparrows.   Breast cancer taught me not to miss life happening around me.  Winter our marshes are loaded with unique sparrows.  We have Seaside Sparrows year around but in the winter the northern race Seaside Sparrow are here.  There are two other sparrows that winter here.  There is the Salt Marsh Sparrow from the northeast.  There are two races of Nelson’s Sparrows

This week the tides are super high.  These sparrows are on the edges of the marshes instead of spreading out across the vast marsh.  We need to know about these sparrows that use out marsh as their winter home.  How does that happen?  

The scientists have to get to know them so they go out to meet them.  To learn more they band the birds.  That is what I went out to watch on Thursday.  I am not able to get in the thick of things because the chemo has weakened my feet and hands.  Now that does not stop me for I can take photos and report this interesting process. 

First they must gather the birds.  They walk out into high marsh with a line.  This high marsh is safe to walk.  (Sidebar: Not all of our marsh is not safe to walk don’t try it by yourself.)  

The birds fly into the special nets.  Everyone is there to get the birds safely into holding bags for trainer master banders.  

The bands they use are from the US Geological Service Banding Lab.  They are light-weight aluminum bands with numbers stamped into the band.  Each number is unique.  These numbers are stored at the banding lab. Here is Tim Keyes preparing to band these birds.  

The two target species are studied carefully.  Then they are photographed with the unique number to study even further. 

It was a fun morning.  I even helped by record the information when they need skilled people to help at the nets.  Life is too short to miss watching these talented scientists at work.  They help us see that the salt marsh is more than a sea of grass.  

Plover Patrol goes to the Jekyll Island Green Screen Event

It was so much fun sharing the Plover Patrol with so many people at the First Green Screen Event on Jekyll Island.  If you have not seen the film "Chasing Ice", do see it.  Beautiful photography. 

Here is Abby Sterling and I in front of her research poster on Wilson's Plovers. 

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.

Bath Time at Jekyll's Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop

For the last few weeks, I have been watching the bird bath at Wild Birds Unlimited Nature Shop where I work. It has been so dry that the birds are just jumping into the bath. It is so much fun watching the frenzy of Bluebirds and Cedar Waxwings.
Here is another view of the birds.

There are other special birds coming as well. There are three Yellow-bellied Sapsucker coming to the bath. Here the female.
I would like to thank Priscilla and Ted Fleshman and CCS for donating a laptop to my bird conservation efforts on Jekyll Island. Thanks guys!

Wilson's Plover signs 2011

I struggled through the smoke from the Okefenokee fires on June 18 to find a pair of Wilson's Plovers attempting to nest. So today, I met John Galvani at the Jekyll 4-H Center to put up six sign. While I was waiting Jimmie Ann and Janice drove up to recycle. I jumped in and asked if they would like to help. They were glad too. It was a nice walk to the beach. With four of us, it was easy to carry the signs and the hammer. We placed each sign down until with got to the end of the area. The first sign didn't want to go in. The rest were a breeze. The Wilson's were out to see us. We found four. I worry that we could cause problem for the nesting pair so I had us put them in as quickly as I could and back off. We had the signs up in an hour. John brought some of the Jim Hoyt's garden fresh bell peppers to share. We joked that we were paid in bell peppers. Really home grow vegetable are wonderful.

In Honor Happy Father's Day

Today I was on the south end of Jekyll. The smoke from the Okefenokee fires were burning my noise. I was looking for Wilson' Plovers. It is my weekly search. Today, I found 5. One pair was nesting! Will they make it? Will the other pair at the point nest? Good questions.

Every year I get deeper and deeper into bird conservation. If you read this blog on a regular bases, you know I am attempting to set up a beach docent program on Jekyll. If we do this will some other beach nesting birds come back to nest on Jekyll. Will this help people appreciate nesting shorebirds? Time will tell.

But how did I get here watching a pair of Wilson's Plovers? Well, that is a question I can answer, my father. He spent 50 years growing trees. He started with the US Forest Service. The service sent him to Mississippi where his job was to persuade cotton farmers to take their tired farm land and put into pine treees. That was his start. At the end he was working to bring back the Red-cockaded Woodpecker. He believed in what he did. He was like a bulldog. It was amazing to see him work. There were good days when people listened and helped. There were bad days when no one listened or cared. He keep his focus right up to the day he died. He believed in what he was doing. I am my father's daughter. I believe we can bring back a small beach nesting bird colony. I believe that we can care. Thanks Dad.

Grandmothers and Granddaughters

One of my focuses is to make more birders. My concern is not for making listers or scientists but just that folks enjoy birds. Whether it is in the backyard or traveling the world or somewhere in between, I want to know that birds are being seen and cared about. Because when people care they are more likely to be part of the solutions to hard conservation problems. Well on Friday, I watched as grandmothers and granddaughters share time together. They chose to go birding. It was a treat to see caring and communication thru birds.

Here is Mary and her granddaughter Hannan

Time out for an award

Whoa! Where did the time go? At the end of April I was putting the finishing touches on my TogetherGreen Fellowship Grant Application. I got it in on time on May 2 and then I have been working every day from well before the sun rises to well after dark. There was a Shorebird Workshop from Atlanta. On Monday there was the All Women’s Birding Bust. By the way we found 140 species most of those in Glynn County. It broke my record for one day of birding in Glynn County. More on that later
But today, I had a meeting to attend. The National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolution honored me with an award for my conservation work.
It reads “The National Society of the Daughters of The American Revolution Conservation Committee Dedicated to the Preservation of the Natural Resources of Our Country, Its Soils, Minerals, Forests, Waters and Wildlife Presents this Certificate to Lydia C. Thompson in Recognition of Outstanding Achievement for Environmental Awareness. Thanks to Julie Spivey and the Frederica Chapter of the DAR for selecting me.