Fun at Tybee

We purposefully planned to arrive at Tybee at the hottest part of the day.  The boys were due a break from birding and some time to splash and play in the ocean.  We put our Birding Georgia guide aside and randomly picked a beach access.

 

 

The boys started digging in the sand right away!

They love to dig out a hole about 10 feet from the water's edge.
Then they dig a series of grooves which lead from the water to the hole.
They call this a "waterworks,"
and it is an Olive Plants' beach tradition.  :)

They also dug their feet as deeply into the sand as they could
before the waves returned.
As the water rushed over them,
their feet sank deeper and deeper into the sand.

As the boys relaxed in the water,
I sat on a nearby swing.

We had declared this a "birding-free" time.  We had our binocs and field guides, just in case, but we were going to save our active birding for later in the afternoon when things cooled down a bit.  I even pulled out my phone to check my email and facebook. 

 

 

Hey, don't judge me.  :)  I didn't have my swimsuit and didn't want to get all wet and sandy.  I wanted to enjoy the fresh air and see what was up with my friends at home, whom I was starting to miss. 

 

My SIL had been travelling from her southeast American home to Alberta, Canada and had posted that she had arrived in Edmonton safely.  Just as I was about to leave a comment about us being nearly on opposite "corners" of the continent, Michael yelled for me.

This bird, a Whimbrel, a NEW LIFE LISTER,
had just sauntered up beside the boys at play.

 

 

When I reached the water's edge to identify and photograph the Whimbrel,
I noticed there were several different terns flying back and forth.
I indentified four different types that day, two of which were
new to our life list.

The birds had decided we were not allowed to break!
Michael and I did the hard work of identifying
and allowed the boys to continue to play, though.

A couple hours later, we brushed the sand from our clothes,
hopped back in the car, and followed our guide book's directions
to the north part of Tybee.

THERE WERE BIRDS EVERYWHERE!

There were hundreds of Black Skimmers,
another new bird for our life list.

They are the funniest looking bird while standing on the beach,
but in flight... amazing!

Two Skimmers in Flight

We had to scan the large groupings of hundreds of birds very carefully
because skimmers weren't the only ones present.

I LOVE the skimmers, though.
Aren't they cute?!

The boys were back to actively birding with us,
but they still had fun running along the beach
with hundreds of birds flying around them!

We had to pull ourselves away from this part of the beach, but we had one more stop planned before dinner: a site with historical significance as well as abundant birds.

Until next time....
Dawn

Savannah in South Carolina

This is the fifth stop in our Great Birding Adventure.  You can click the links to read about Jekyll, St. Simon's, Harris Neck, and Skidaway Island.

 

Savannah isn't in South Carolina, but Savannah National Wildlife Refuge is. 

 

We were up before sunrise again on this, our last day of coastal birding, having fallen soundly asleep before 8 p.m. again the night before!  We drove a few minutes, crossed the state line into South Carolina, and entered the refuge just as the sun was peaking over the horizon.

 

 

 

 

 

Although this picture is one of my favorites from the trip,
it does not do justice to the real thing.
The beauty of this sunrise brought to mind a favorite hymn.
Fair is the sunshine, Fairer still the moonlight,
Robed in the blooming garb of spring:
Jesus shines brighter, Jesus shines purer
Than all the angels heav’n can boast.
Fairest Lord Jesus
August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben and Ernst Richter

What do I love most about nature study?
The beauty of the creation causes me to reflect
on the beauty, power, and love of our
Creator.

This is one of our favorite birds because of its unique
coloring and bill.



At first, we thought we had spotted another golden bird:
the Purple Galinule.
However, it is missing the defining white patch at the top of the bill.
Such a slight difference makes it a Common Moorhen.
Not a new bird that we are actively seeking,
but still golden.

Breath-taking!



The refuge consists mainly of a drivable path (5 miles long),
and we spent most of the morning driving v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y
along this path as we birded through the car windows.
We pulled over to the side of the path about 100 times
so we could step out to scan ponds, trees, and fields.

However, there is one designated parking area
within the refuge. There is a stone path
which winds through a beautiful crop of trees.
We saw and photographed many birds in these tree tops.
Our camera autofocused on the twigs in the foreground,
causing the Northern Flicker in the background to blur.
This is one of my faves, even though the bird isn't clear.

 

 



The trees in this area were filled with woodpeckers.
In fact, we saw every species that could be present.

We also saw several species of songbirds,
both along the stone path
and the driving path.

Even the birds we see almost daily at home,
like the Northern Cardinal pictured above,
seemed more beautiful in such gorgeous surroundings!

 

After lunch we headed to Tybee Island.  Its beaches draw oodles of tourists to Savannah during the summer, but in October, only locals and nature enthusiasts walk its sands.  Thus, the birds are out in droves!

 

I'll be back soon to take you to Tybee!

Dawn

 



The Adventures of Bobby White

 

Our next stop on the Great Birding Adventure was Skidaway Island State Park, near Savannah, Georgia.  We had camped here a few years back and really loved the spot.  Our tent was nestled into a clearing surrounded by live oaks and covered by a canopy of Spanish moss.  Our backdoor led to the saltmarshes of the intracoastal waterway.  Each morning we awoke to a symphony of bird songs.... dreamy.

 

This year, our schedule demanded a later arrival (and no camping).  We made it to the causeway around 3 p.m., the hotest part of the day.  It was still breezy and beautiful, though, and a stop near the saltmarshes proved profitable.

 

 

 

As we pulled into a parking area just before the bridge over the waterway,
we spotted this sharp-shinned hawk.
He remained perched in the same spot for more than 30 minutes.
I was able to stand within a few feet from the pole where he perched
and snap dozens of great shots.
He's a life-lister!

Anhniga were abundant, but this guy is memorable.
It was a rather blustery day,
and he remained perched on a wire with his wings
open as to catch the wind.
He kept blowing backwards, spining on the wire as he clung to it.
We thought at some point
he would do a complete 360. :)

I just love this area.  So beautiful!

Once in the state park, bird activity slowed.
However, we took a birding break
and let the boys enjoy the playground.

We also enjoyed a picnic dinner.
Afterward, we headed to the Interpretive Center.
This educational resource center has been closed
each time we have visited Skidaway
because we always visit on the weekend.
However, we have always had good fortune
birding at the feeders located behind the building.
That is where we first saw a painted bunting a few year ago.
We figured it was too late in the season to spot another pb,
but we decided to take a look, because you just never know....

That is when and where we "met" this guy.

We have not been able to make a positive ID yet.
At the time, we thought he might be a juvenile Bobwhite.

He walked round and round our feet, peeping at us.
His "call" sounded just like the "Bob"
part of the Bobwhite's song.

He NEVER left the boys' side.
As you can see in this photo,
he was not scared of us.
He even seemed to enjoy the attention....

 

...and photographs!

Once home, we looked at pictures of Bobwhites,
and they don't seem to match.

However, encountering him was the highlight of the trip.
Wilbur even had dreams about him that night!
I have contacted the naturalist at Skidaway
to ask for help identifying our new friend.

We love Skidaway Island!  Not only is it the place where we first saw a painted bunting, but it is the place we made our first true bird friend.  Wilbur wanted to bring him home as a pet, but we decided he might belong to the Interepretive Center... thus his docile nature.  Plus, we know better than to remove a bird from its natural habitat.  But the pictures and memories will always be special to us.

Next time, we will briefly leave Georgia.  We will travel 2 whole miles into South Carolina to visit Savannah Wildlife Refuge.  GORGEOUS!  Get ready for some seriously beautiful pictures.

Happy birding!
Dawn

Harris Neck

Whoa! Hey, where'd that month go?  I went and told you we were going to our favorite wildlife area and then disappeared from the blogosphere again. 

 

That wasn't very nice of me, but in my defense, we have been soooo busy.  We visited out-of-state family and friends for Thanksgiving and then came home to jump right back into "real life" which included working like crazy to finish out the semester and passing around a 2-week virus. 

 

So now that I'm done with my update excuses pity party, let's get back to the trip. 

 

We were all so exhausted from the activity at Jekyll and St. Simon's the previous day that we were all soundly asleep by 8:30 p.m.  Getting up in time for sunrise was pretty easy.  Hmm, if only I could do that at home!

 

While still under the cover of darkness, we managed to find Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area, which wasn't easy to do- even with a guide book telling exactly when and where to turn! There were several roads listed in the Birding Georgia book that we missed.  But it turned out okay because when we finally turned down the last possible road, there just happened to be a huge viewing platform beside a large wetland area. SCORE!

 

As the sun rose over the water, we heard and saw dozens of birds.  There were several species in the wooded area surrounding the platform, too.  Many were new-to-us, and we were so busy identifying that we completely forgot to take a single picture.  We're really sad about that because we added several birds to our life list there.  We could have added more than we did if we were more exprerienced birders with better equipment! 

 

THERE ARE PICTURES IN THIS POST, HOWEVER, SO HANG IN THERE.  :)

 

 

Once we thought we had identified all we could, we backtracked and turned down the roads we had missed coming in, all of which led to areas which were dried up.  We saw a few sparrows here and there, but not much else.  What we thought was poor navigation on our part turned out to be excellent navigation from the Hand of Providence!

 

 

We left the sparrows to drive to our favorite place, Harris Neck.  I love this place so much because the best birding can be done around 2 large ponds which are not far from the road.  They are always full of interesting birds that we don't see in our part of the state: ibis, herons, storks, moorhen, and a variety of ducks.  The ground and paths are level, too, so the little bit of walking that has to be done is easy on my arthritic feet and hip.  :)

 

 

 

This trail runs between the two large ponds.
To the left were dozens of waterfowl.

 

This is the only place we have ever spotted the White Ibis,
but it was not a new life-lister since we visited HN a few years ago.
We have also seen Glossy Ibis there.
 

The Tri-colored Heron was a new lifelister.
HN was not the first place on this trip where we spotted one,
but it was the first place that provided a picture oportunity.
.

We saw dozens of the Pied-billed Grebe at every coastal location we visited.
We have seen these in our area, too, but not as close-up
as HN allowed us to look.

The Black-crowned Night Heron is also one we have seen in our part of the state;
however, the birds are so easy to spot and photograph at HN.

Boat-tailed Grackle and Anhinga were abundant.
We thought these two perched closely in the same tree
were rather funny. 

These Woodstorks help me understand how
some people believe in ghosts!



GATORS!
They were everywhere!
I used to think these critters would eat anything (or one)
they encountered.
Birding has helped to extinguish my irrational fear
of being eaten by an alligator in the middle of the night
when I go to the restroom.
I don't know....
I must have seen some weird movie as a kid or something.
 



We saw several varieties of dragonflies, too.
I do not know how to identify these guys,
but we saw them in a variety of colors.
So beautiful!!

Well, I'll try not to stay away for a month this time, but.... 

Next time we will visit Skidaway Island State Park, near Savannah, GA.  We met a very interesting bird there. 

Yes, "met."

Until next time,
Dawn

Worst Blog Mom of the Year Award

I have created a new blog award and given it to ME!

I ALWAYS post pictures of my boys on their birthdays.  Alas, November came and went way too fast this year, and I missed posting on my November boy's birthday.  I will accept the award graciously; however, I refuse to allow the year to end without having posted his awesome pictures.  They were taken and edited by our dear shutter-bug friend, Chloe of Chloe Virginia Photography.

Love those blue eyes!

He's a cutie!

He's such a happy kid, too. 
I love how this photo captures his big laugh (and braces).

He's a jokester.  So funny!
His latest riddle:
Q: Where do stormtroopers do their Christmas shopping?
A: At the Darth 'Maul'!
Hahahahahaha!

My handsome 12-year-old!

Look at how he's grown and changed!
Even though he will always be my baby,
he's not a baby anymore.  :(
*I took this picture.  Chloe was about 4 when this was done.  :)

Thank you for the great pictures, Chloe!

Happy late, late, late birthday, Wilbur.  I love you bunches and bunches!

Love,
The Worst Bloggy Mommy