Sunshine Festival: Getting Ready for the Show

I apologize for not writing sooner, but it has been a very busy time for me.  My husband had a few medical appointments, which I am happy to say all went well an we will be moving on with trying to get his airway repaired and him talking again...God Help Me!  Just kidding.

It has also been busy at my real job at Kings Bay and I am trying to get ready for the Sunshine Festival on St. Simons Island for the 3rd, 4th and 5th of July.  I will be set up in Postell Park in the Pier Village on all three days from 10am to 5pm selling my photos.  I have lots of new inventory, I have been real busy taking pictures, processing them, matting, wrapping, bagging and tagging.  My pictures are available in 4" x 6" all the way up o gallery wraps measuring 35" x 27".

He is a small sampling of my work:


My Booth - I am on the front row along Beachview Drive.

The Gullible Pelican

Hazel's Cafe on St. Simons Island

Gould's Inlet

Painted Bunting - Most colorful bird in North America

Our beautiful Sidney Lanier Bridge at Sunset

The Gambler off the coast of Jekyll Island 

So, if you are in the neighborhood this weekend, please stop by and say Hello!  I love meeting new people, talking birds, wildlife, nature and photography.  Actually, I probably just like talking...Ha  Hope to see you there!  I will quickly get back to our nature walks next week!!

Railroad Scenery

I'd like to take the time to share some Georgia Railroad Scenery.  As we all know the railroad played a huge part in our history as a Nation.  The railroad still plays a very vital part in our country and I appreciate that....but what I appreciate more is the photo opportunities it provides me!  So let's start our scenic tour in Lumber City.  I came across this beautiful rusty bridge totally by accident.  I was selling my photos at the Blueberry Festival in Alma, which consisted of two very hot, long and slow days.  When a gentlemen stopped by to look at my photos and told me about this bridge a short piece up the road.  I can't thank him enough at least something  good came out of the Blueberry Festival.  Don't get me wrong, it is a nice little hometown country festival.  Just not one for selling art.  Any way, this bridge is an old rotating bridge, with the operator's shack on top and it spans the Ocmulgee River along Highway 341.  On this particular day the River was very low, it seemed you could wade right across.  But, as you can see by the water lines, the river get quite high.  I hope to catch a pic in the future when the water its higher.

   

Our next stop is along the coast in Savannah Georgia, The Roundhouse.  It is a great place for history and railroad buffs!  It houses many old engines and railcars, along with the remains of the machine shop (which I found interesting), the cistern and you can even go on a short, very short, train ride.  Pictured below is one of the engines.

As we keep moving along, we are gong to go back down Highway 341 to Historic Doctortown located in Jesup.  This bridge is now on private property owned by the paper mill.  Once a year, usually in December, they have a re-enactment of the Battle of Doctortown and the area is open to the public.  Although they work hard at keeping you clear of the bridge.  I tried photographing it from land and it just didn't work to suit me.  So I had hubby drag out the boat and we rode down the Altamaha River.  So, you may ask, what was the Battle of Doctortown?  In December 1864, during the civil war and General Sherman's March to the Sea, the Union tried to destroy the railroad and the bridge; but the Confederates were successful with the help of two large cannons and railcars filled with soldiers, in turning the Union troops back and keeping the rails open for supplies.  At least for a while anyway...This is the only bridge General Sherman did not successfully take!  This bridge was also in the news recently, when a film crew was trying to shoot a scene from the bridge (illegally) and met up with a train, which unfortunately took the life of Sarah Jones and injured many others.  This is a counterweight bridge, which would fill with water to raise up and let the boat traffic through.

All aboard, next stop is Everett City, also located along the beautiful Altamaha River.  This was a swing bridge which is no longer in use, but still serves as a scenic backdrop to the Altamaha River Park!  A bit of history...the Orange Blossom Special use to run these rails and you can see one of the original cars at the Roundhouse Museum in Savannah.

No railroad trip would be complete without a stop in Folkston where people gather at the "Funnel" to watch the Trains pass through.  It has a cute little railroad station museum, complete with a porch and rocking chairs.  They also have a platform with benches and a railroad speaker to announce the arrival of the trains.  The trains run roughly every 15 minutes right through the center of town. 

 





I hope you have enjoyed our mini railroad tour.  Just a side note, Jesup also has a Great viewing platform and lots of railroad history.  So for today I will leave you with some of my unique railroad images!  

"Spike"

"Wheel"

"Life on the Rails"

Enjoy your Weekend

 

 

All this in just a few hours!

I look forward to the weekend not just for time off from work, but for the ME time I get in the early mornings.  On the weekend, when I don't have to work or have an Art Show, I look forward to the early morning hours between 5:00am to may be 10:00ish.  Glory Beach in search of the nesting Wilson's Plovers my friend Lydia has been working with and hoped for maybe a chance to see a Loggerhead heading back to the water after laying her eggs.  Unfortunately, I didn't get to see the Loggerhead, but I did see the evidence of previous turtles and thanks to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, these nests have been documented and marked so people do not unwittingly disturb the nest.

 As I walked down the beach in the early morning light, I felt the peace and solitude I look forward to all week.  Just the morning breeze, the birds starting to chirp, the sound of waves rolling in, watching the pelicans flying low along the water and the glow of the sun as it slowly rises.  You have no idea how much this helps recharging my batteries for the week ahead.





It is hard to believe but I am the only one on the beach this morning, all of this; all to myself!  I walk down a little further and I see a small little bird, he is walking toward me then toward the water, from the water back up the beach a bit, but he is watching me.  This is the Wilson's Plover area I was looking for:  I believe this is the male trying to distract from taking notice to his chick.

Now spotting the chick or "Junior" as I call him, is a bit more challenging.  It is like to spot a cotton ball with legs along the high tide line.

After sharing this photo with my friend Lydia Thompson she informed that this is the youngest of the Plover chicks on Jekyll Island, he hatched out on May 26th.  After watching this amazing little bird for a while I headed back to the boardwalk.  It is important to remember that this is an endangered species and we should do all we can not to disturb them or stress them out.  We can make them more vulnerable to predators by getting to close or causing the chick and parent to run and hide.  This little baby is only 18 days old.  If he uses all his energy running from people, he won't be able to run from the natural predators that would find him a tasty snack.  To learn more about these amazing little birds you can contact the Plover Patrol on Jekyll Island or check out Lydia's Blog Coastal Georgia Birding, which you can find on the left hand side of my page.

 

As I headed back I came across this little Ghost Crab doing some house keeping...I tried to convince him to go to my house that there was plenty of house work waiting to be done there.

As I was walking back to my truck down the boardwalk I spotted a cute little bunny and a black tailed Doe.  Neither one seemed to care that I was there...guess they were in their Happy Place also.

 

  After leaving the island, I headed to Darien to check on Momma Osprey and her chick at Butler Island.  What I though was only one chick was a nice surprise when I spotted the second one.



On the way home I stopped by Homer Wilson Way in Brunswick, not far from the downtown area across from the marina.  This is a great place to bird.  I did see the usual suspects: willets, gulls, a great blue heron, snowy egrets, a clapper rail, grackles and red wing blackbirds.  But there was something new this weekend....I saw my first Diamond Back Terrapin!  She was in the middle of road, so as I always do with all turtles and tortoises, I stopped to help her across to high land to lay her eggs,.  I could not believe how beautiful she was.  The Diamond Back Terrapin has the sweetest face I have ever seen on a turtle.  Her eyes are so bright and clear and they just look like they are smiling.

 

All this...and it is only Saturday!  Hope you all enjoy your weekends as much as I do!  I never fail to find something different or new and exciting.







Back to the birds...Eastern Bluebird

My yard has been host to nesting bluebirds for the past 7 years or so.  I admit, I do bribe them, they love, I mean love, live meal worms.  So I set my Dad to work to build me a feeder; and in no time we had bluebirds. 

Not a good photo, but this is a bluebird meal worm feeder.

I can tell you this, if you are lucky enough to have the bluebirds in your yard, beware...they are demanding little birds.  I would literally pull up in the driveway after work and one of them would be sitting by the Sheppard's hook looking at me like....Worms please, we have mouths to feed!  They can be so bold as to come up on the porch and tap on the window or even the glass on the front door.

Daddy waiting for me to provide dinner, all I can say is he's lucky I didn't have to cook those worms!  (I tell people I'm allergic to kitchen appliances)





 

I'll tell you what, anyone who says "who says poor little timid bluebird, other birds are pushing them out of their homes, they are helpless against predators; needs to come see my fierce little blue birds.  It has been my experience that the Mockingbirds usually rule the yard, but not at my house!  Daddy bluebird is a vigilant guard against any one wanting to disturb his family.  I have seen them chase the Mockingbirds, Blue Jays and this poor little squirrel who was eating off the ground, minding his own business...All of a sudden that Bluebird took off after him and three trees and two ditches later, after being dive bombed in the back of the head, this little guy hid for cover in an abandon bird house.  I knew he had to come out sooner or later.

  

This is the male bluebird standing guard at his home.  This birdhouse and trellis was built by my Dad and I had a Cherokee Rose growing on it

 Now the little bluebirds and I had a bit of an agreement, I give you fresh, live mealworms and you pose for my pictures...a little Quid Quo Pro...I like to think of it as a modeling fee....

And I am assuming they were good with that deal, I never got dive bombed, they allowed me to take lots of pictures.  They even allowed me to get a peek of junior while he was still in the nest!

  

I fact as you can see by the photo above, the male bluebird and the photo below the female bluebird, I think they were just as curious about me or at the least found me amusing...They watched me as much as I watched them!

I know many people who go to great lengths to attract this precious birds with their cheerful song into their yards; my advice a little meal worm feeder, live meal worms (which are available at the pet store and live for a long time as long as they are refrigerated) and a $9.99 cedar bluebird house from Wal-mart.  They love that little house and the front opens up for easy cleaning! 

Happiness is watching the Sunrise

I'm going to take a little break from the birds for today.  I apologize for not posting anything this weekend, but I had to work some overtime at my real job.  We work 12 hour shifts which means I start at 4 am and finish at 430 pm; not to mention my 35 mile drive to and from.  Anybody who knows me, knows I love the weekends and heading out early to catch the sunrise and watch the world wake up.  I love to explore our beautiful Georgia Coast and capture all its natural beauty with my camera.  So getting up earlier is really not a problem for me.  I'm up at 4 am everyday.  My regular workday starts at 7 am, So I can usually find a few minutes every morning to drive down by the river, or stop by one of the lakes at work and sit, relax, listen to the birds start chirping and watch the sunrise.  It is my favorite part of the day.


Titled "Inner Peace"    On Jekyll Island, one of my most favorite places.

What I would like to do today is share some of my favorite sunrises that I have captured.  The one thing that bothered me most about working this weekend was not being able to stop and watch the sunrise.  It can take me from a not so nice mood to Happy in just a few moments.
  So for all those people who say I'm crazy for heading out so early on my days off, that I should sleep in and get some rest; I want to show you what amazing scenery you are missing out on while you use your time off to sleep.  Life is too short to miss out on this time of the morning and all the wonderful sights.  I feel my life is made better by each and everyone of these sunrises.


Titled "Marsh Sunrise"  At Etowah Park on Kings Bay Naval Base


The "Marsh Sunrise", just think what I would have missed out on if I had gone to that Sexual Harassment training,  I personally think my choice was much better and if any of you have ever been to this training; you would agree with me!  Beside I know how to harass the pople I work with, you can ask any one of them.

Titled "Daybreak at the pier"  St. Simons Island

Any if you that have ever spent much time down by the pier on St. Simons Island you know that during the day, after day break, you can't possibly take a picture of the pier without having all kinds of peeps in your photos.  What did you want to remember about the Island; the beautiful pier or all the people? My point exactly!!

Titled "Radiance" at Homer Wilson Way in Brunswick

And last but not least I leave you with this inspirational moment I caught at Homer Wilson Way in downtown Brunswick.  Need I say anymore??  Get up and treat yourself to a quiet moment and watch the world wake up!

Snowy Egrets: The other white bird

The other day I wrote about the Great Egret well, the Snowy Egret is the other white bird you often see in the marshes and along the ditches with the Great Egret.  I have had many people inquire if these were "baby" Great Egrets.  The Snowy Egret stands about 24" tall with an all white body and long slender neck, much like the Great Egret, but, the Snowy Egret has a Black bill, long slender mostly black legs with amazingly bright yellow feet!  During breeding season, they too get thee long lacy feathers to use to entice their mate and they eye patch which is usually yellow turns red.



 Here are some Snowy Egrets hanging out on the bank of Clam Creek on Jekyll Island.  This is probably their idea of getting together for lunch with friends, hoping whomever catches the minnows or tadpoles will share their good fortune.

This sassy little Snowy shown above was in a quiet little pond in a residential neighborhood.  She still has a lot of the breeding plumage along the crown, chest and tail.  But, I think she may be embarrassed about her yellow feet. 

The net two photos shown below were taken at the Alligator Farm in St. Augustine.  As I mentioned before if you want to be able to get up close a personal with some of the wading birds this is the place to go.  The first one is a Snowy displaying its fancy plumes in hopes of finding a mate. 

 

In the photo above is a Snowy tending to its nest and carefully turning the eggs.  I was able to get almost within hands reach to lovely bird.  Yet she paid me no mind, she obviously has her priorities straight; Family First!

Great Egrets

In keeping with the bird theme, today I would like to talk about the Great Egret.   Whenever I see a Great Egret; I think Simple Elegance.  The Great Egret stands about 39" tall, is all white with a yellow bill and long slender black legs and feet.  They look sort of prehistoric in light with their long neck tucked in.   During breeding season they get a greenish blue patch in the corner of their eye.  I always tease and say they are wearing their eye shadow.  This bird is so familiar to almost everyone along the Georgia Coast, we see them all time along the marshes, roadside ditches, ponds and even on the beach.  But, have you ever stopped to watch this Egret hunt its prey; they gracefully high step along the muddiest river bank and never seem to get dirty.  Then in a instant they seem to freeze so they cannot be detected by their intended meal.  The pictures below show an Egret in the marsh and one perched in a cedar tree near Ski Rixen Pond on Jekyll Island,  In picture on the right you can see the long plume feathers the Egrets use to display and entice to their potential suitors during mating season.

   

These long feathered plumes almost caused the demise of the Great Egret and many other wading birds in the late 1800's due to hunting the birds for their plumes to decorate fancy hats and boas.  The formation of the Audubon Society surely helped restore these magnificent creatures back to a healthy population.  The picture below is two Egrets displaying and building their nest at Etowah Park which is located o Kings Bay Naval Base.  The Navy Base had originally intended these nesting platforms to be used by the endangered Wood Stork, but the Egrets, Anhingas and Herons moved in quite quickly.  These nesting boxes sit in the middle of a small marshy pond which has developed into a lovely little rookery.  If you take notice around the eyes, you can see the blue/green eye shadow I was speaking of.

These little chicks with bills that seem way too big for their bodies were photographed at the St. Augustine Alligator Farm..  Which I may add should be on your list of places to visit if you would like to see many wild birds up close and personal.  The Alligator Farm also serves as a natural rookery for many amazing wading birds such as the Great Egret, Wood Stork, Snowy Egrets, Tri-color Herons, Cattle Egrets and the always pretty in pink Roseate Spoonbills.

 

 Then last but not least, I leave you with one of my favorite images of the graceful Great Egret taking flight along the creek bank.  This photo was taken along Homer Wilson Way which is an Important Bird Area (IBA) located just west of Mary Ross Waterfront Park in Brunswick.