June 19, 2008 Ramble

It was going to be a good day. I had 5 keenly interested people eager to get out birding. Margaret, Elizabeth, Patty, and Marilyn are all teachers. It sounded like they were a learning spree. They had been to Sapelo Island and explored barrier island ecology. Today they were learning about birds. Katy is a birder from Chicago who I met back around Christmas. The first bird that flew right at the group was the Gray Kingbird. As we gathered around introducing ourselves a pair of Bluebirds flew up to the power line. The male was the closest to us. What a great start. We had 5 Rosette Spoonbills with a Great Blue Heron and a Snowy Egret. At the south end Wilson’s Plovers were checking us out. There was one female and one male. Least Terns were feeding juveniles s on the beach.

While we stood there watching the plovers a Gull-billed Tern fly by us. Mixed in the regular cast of characters, Royal Terns and Laughing Gull was a Sandwich Tern. I had been looking for Sandwich Terns for my Glynn County year list so there he was! A brief stop at Tidelands to look at the feeders a female Painted Bunting was feeding away. We finished up with Anhingas, night-herons, and baby Wood Storks. There is nothing like good company and good birds.

Painted Bunting

One of our common birds on Jekyll is the multicolored Painted Bunting. They have a soft jumbled song. Hearing the sweet song and then seeing the beautiful male sitting there really helps takes the "hot" out of a summer day.

A little sketch

While looking for the Wilson's Plovers north of the Glory Boardwalk on Jekyll Island, I saw a Snowy Egret in the surf. So I sketched it.

Babies on the beach

Today I was out very early looking for nesting Wilson's Plovers. There were three family groups with two chicks each. These were just west of the 4-H boardwalk on Jekyll Island. Later I met the Master Naturist class, everyone got to see and watch these plovers. The parents were very busy herding the chicks and chasing off anything that looked dangerous. There was one even chasing a Willet. It was a very busy morning.

I have been told of two more pairs so I will go out in the next couple of days. I want to thank Coastal Georgia Audubon for funding this project of data gathering.

Babies on board

Well there are two more Gray Kingbirds on Jekyll Island. These tropical flycatchers are common in the Caribbean and well into Florida but they are only found in a few places along the Georgia coast. For the last twenty years Jekyll has had a least one pair nesting near the convention center. On Tuesday May 20th, it looked like the proud pair were feeding two newly fledged kingbirds. Congratulations to the new parents.

Sometimes we have to give back

Scenes from outside the Wildlife Habitat

Scenes inside Wildlife Habitat

On Saturday a group of Coastal Georgia Audubon folks were at Golden Isles Elementary working on the Wildlife Habitat. This was a project started by our Audubon group back in the early 1990’s. At that time the new elementary school had a problem; they were right in the middle of a low land area. The land had been cleared of every tree. Right next to the school was a huge muddy area. A few of our far sighted Audubon leaders offered to help. Chris Daughtry was the project leader along with Mike Chapman who knew about native plants. Today, what once was a mess is now wonderful wetlands area. Chris went on to design and install several other outdoor classrooms around the area. He has won a couple of national award for these classrooms.

Saturday we were thinning the trees in the little area so the children can walk around on the paths. We used a chipper to

create mulch from the trees we cut down. The mulch was put on the trails. It smelled so good in there with all the pine, cedar trees and wax myrtle chopped up. Do not worry there were plenty of trees around.

Auduboner gathered around the chipper ready to work
There was a Little Blue Heron in the bog when we arrived. As we drug wood over to the rented chipper, Red-winged Blackbirds chipped around us. There was a Green Heron that want us to leave and Pine Warbler sang their lazy summer song.

It is wonderful to watch birds but it is just as important to give back. These wildlife habitats gives habitat back to the birds. The added benefit is that teacher to teach children about birds and nature right in their own school yard.

Another view inside the Wildlife Habitat job well done

Shorebirds

Shorebirds are passing through the area. Here is a group feasting on a cache of horseshoe crab eggs. Willets, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings, and ten Red Knots were all glued to the spot. What a sight!