Jekyll Island Bird Banding Station

During the Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival last week, which by the way I feel was a great success. I had the opportunity to visit the Jekyll Island Bird Banding Station. The Station is located at the South end of the island amidst the dunes. The Station has been in operation for thirty years and is run by Chris, Jan, and Charles. All the work they do is volunteer. They place rows a large nets up in the dunes and as the birds get caught in the nets they collect them and determine sex, birth year, body fat, body length, wing length and weight. Then they fit them with the appropriate band with an identification number on it. Then the bird is released. All this is done while putting minimum stress on the birds. These people truly have a love for what they do.
While I was there we saw some really nice birds. I got to release a female Painted Bunting and I heard the heat beat of a Western Palm Warbler. It was amazing.
Below are some pictures of the birds we saw.

Above from left to right: Female Painted Bunting, White Eyed Vireo and Yellow Breasted Chat. Below left to right: Western Palm Warbler and a Yellow Billed Cuckoo.

These are just a few of the birds we saw. We also saw a Male Cardinal, American Redstart, Gray Catbird and a Northern Water Thrush. I found this experience amazing. The information they gather helps identify migration patterns, breeding populations, health of the birds, and rise and or decline in species.

Busy, Busy, Busy...slow down and look around

Wow! The last few weeks have been real busy. I have had little time to do any exploring/birding let alone take many pictures. But I did get out to

Andrew's Causeway which is another of my weekly haunts. I saw many great and snowy egrets, 3 great blue herons, a roseate spoonbill, and a little blue heron. I also saw gray kingbirds, mockingbirds, a young loggerhead shrike and several eastern kingbirds, which are among some of my favorites. I was lucky enough to get several good shots. I wanted to share a few with you. I just think they are so majestic looking. A good looking bird.

I was also able to spare a couple hours and go shooting with my friend Greg from work on Saturday morning. We headed out to Jekyll Island of course. As we were coming over the bridge at the pay station we had a very nice treat a chance to stop and photograph this beautiful young osprey while he was sitting on the bridge fishing. I don't think anyone has told him that there is no fishing allowed from that bridge...haha. Well he certainly didn't seem very camera shy either. This is another of my favorite birds. I watch and keep track of several osprey nests throughout breeding season from Jekyll Island to Kings Bay Navy Base. Also a very majestic bird. The morning was cool and clear but warmed up really quickly. We went to the east side of the island to photograph some of the driftwood and to check out any effects from Hannah. Hannah was very kind to us as compared to Fay. I do love the clear blue skies Coastal Georgia has to offer in the early morning hours. What a great way to start the day.

Also on Sunday I drove up to Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge for a meeting of the Colonial Coast Birding and Nature Festival. I always like to arrive early so I can spend some time at Woody Pond. There were bunches of common Moorhens, egrets and little blue herons. But what caught my eye and was a first for me was sitting in the middle of the road about 50 yards away. I saw a Bobcat and her two kittens at 2 o'clock in the afternoon. What a treat. Unfortunately it was too far away to get a good picture but I was just glad I was able to catch a glimpse of them. Harris Neck is a wonderful place. So many things you can see and lots of nice trails to hike. Don't forget to check out the Birding and Nature Festival in October from the 9Th to the 11Th on Jekyll Island at the Convention Center. Stop by and check out the Rookery. Saturday the 11Th is Nature Day. Fun for the whole family. Check out our website at http://www.coastalgeorgiabirding.org/ for more information.

Til next time, remember to slow down and look around....appreciate the Beauty that Surrounds US.