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

The Golden Bird and St. Simon's

Our next stop after Jekyll was a causeway in the Brunswick, GA area.  It was not the prettiest spot, and we had to bird watch from a gravel road that was a good distance from the water. For those reasons, all of my pictures from this spot are grey and fuzzy, so I won't share many. 

 

However, I have to share one because...

 

Here is our golden bird!
The American Avocet!
The boys have been wanting
 to spot one of these
since 2009.
Hooray!
(my apologies for the pic quality)

 

Then we made our way to St. Simon's Island.  It was a very blustery day!  In fact, the boys wondered if a hurricane was coming.  No hurricanes, fortunately, but the winds were so strong that we had difficulty keeping our binoculars and the camera steady.

Despite the weather, there were many birds to see!

 

 

Such a beautiful place!

 

 

More egrets :)

 

 

We took a little time to visit Bloody Marsh,
(homeschoolers are always up for a history lesson)
where the Scotish Highlanders defeated the Spanish,
forcing them from the Georgia colony.

 

We also birded the causeway to St. Simon's
where we spotted many birds.
This was a new one for our lifelist:
Ruddy Turnstone.

 

 



Next time we'll travel a little farther up the coast to one of my favorite places in the state of Georgia: Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge.

Happy birding!
Dawn

Favorite Pictures from Jekyll

 

Last month, we visited the Georgia coast.  Which part you ask?  Well, all of it!

We started south and birded the best spots (as listed in Giff Beaton's Birding Georgia) between Jekyll Island and Savannah.  We returned home with lots of sand in our shoes, major sunburns, hundreds of amazing memories, a feeling of refreshment, and well over 600 pictures.

I do not think anyone will stick around for a 600 picture slide show, so I won't share all of them.  I had planned just to share my favorites in one post until I started the process of loading all those photos.

Ahem, I have quite a few favorites! ;)

I decided it would be best to break this into a few posts by locations we visited.  It will be like a mini-version of our vacation.  We will start the tour at Jekyll Island, one of the most beautiful places on the planet!

Enjoy!  I sure did.  :)

Walking to the beach as the sun was rising

 

 

The boys and I search for birds.

Great Blue Heron

Snowy Egrets

We visited the Jekyll Island Banding Station. 
One of the volunteers had met us 2 or 3 years ealier when she was birding on our side of the state. 
She recognized us and took us on a net run.  Here, she has just released a Grey Catbird from the nets
and is taking it to be banded and released.

A new life-lister for us: Sanderlings!

 

 

Great Egret

 

We're not just about the birds!
We saw lots of wildlife, including several types of dragonflies.

 

The bridge leading on to Jekyll is gorgeous!

 

Getting Creative

 

Return soon for pictures from a causeway in the Brunswick area, where we added a much-sought-after bird to our list.  We will also visit St. Simons Island.

 

Happy birding!

Dawn

 

 

Orville turns 13 today.

 

 

 

Recently, we had our school pictures taken

by Chloe

of Chloe Virginia Photgraphy.

 

She did a fabulous job capturing each of my boys' personalities...

...and interests.

I think these pictures show just how mature...

...charming...

 

.... handsome ;)...



 ... and original my super smart, super funny teenager is becoming.



Happy 13th Birthday, Orville!

We love you just as you are.

Continue to grow in grace

and serve the Lord in all you do.

 

Love,

Mom and Dad

 

 

p.s. I will post the pictures of Wilbur next month

when he turns 12!