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.

 

Sharing some of my birds

Well, now that we have gotten past what I hope is the bumpiest part of the Recovery road, I would like to share with you some of the birds that visited my yard while I was home caring for Don in the Spring of 2012.  I was able to identify 48 species of birds from my front porch that Spring.  Just shows what you can find or what you have been missing by not taking time to notice the natural beauty around you.  I have a hedge of Bottle Brush Bushes that I have propagated myself from one plant.  If you are not aware of this plant, birds, lots of birds, butterflies, bees and did I mention lots of birds love the sweet nectar of this plant.  Shown below is an up close photo of the plant.

Now I must tell you I also kept all of my bird feeders filled, which included hummingbird nectar, black sun flower seed, corn, peanuts and a regular seed mix.  I also have a Flowering Plum Tree and a citrus tree.  I must admit I was in Bird Nerd Heaven!  Here are just a few of some of my favorites: 


       

Male Cardinal and Female Cardinal

       



 

 

Baltimore and Orchard Orioles

 

The Coveted Painting Bunting,the most colorul bird in North America

  

Carolina Chicakdee and Summer Tanger

 

  

 

Female Ruby Throated Hummingbird and a Male House Finch

 

 

Cape May Warbler

Northern Parula in the Flowering Plum Tree

 

  

Catbird and Tufted Titmouse

Some of the other species I found were:  Indigo Bunting, Yellow Rump Warbler, Mockingbird, Blue Jay, Eastern Bluebird, Red Winged Blackbirds, Cowbirds, Mourning Dove, Eurasian Collared Dove, Rosebreasted Grosbeak, Red Belkied Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker and Evening Grosbeak just to name a few...  Are you starting to understand what a wonderful time I had in my own front yard!  I have always noticed many migrant species in the spring but I had never really taken a whole lot of time to watch my birds.  I've always been in a rush to do a show or go take photographs on the island or elsewhere, when all along I had to go no further than my own home.  The Wonderful little surprises you get when you take the time to notice the Beauty that Surrounds Us

 

Georgia's Jewel After the Storm

Today was a good day. The rain finally stopped and the water and tides are receding. I stopped at the Welcome Center on Jekyll Island this morning to meet with Lydia and get some books and cards concerning the Birding and Nature Festival being held on Oct. 9th-13th. Today was also the start of on-line registration. It can be a bit of a nut house at first but it all worked out and it appears that the festival is going to be a great success! We had something like 219 hits on the web page in about two hours. Many trips are already booked to capacity!! This is great, this is my first year helping with the Festival and I'm learning alot, it's great to see it all come together. and Thanks to the lovely ladies at the Welcome Center for all their help this morning. But, anyway when we finished with all that my friend Lydia Thompson and I took a ride around the island looking for birds and checking out storm damage.
One of our first stops was along the banks opposite St. Simons Island. We lost alot of beach. Check out some of these pictures: The first one shows how high the water rose take note of all the debris in the path. The second shows a pipe access, which I am pretty sure was on solid ground before Tropical Storm Fay. The third picture shows how deep and far back the banks were cut by all the wave action.


We also had time to do some birding and ran into a friend of Lydia's named Ruth. She was down from Atlanta and was birding on Jekyll also. She took us down to St. Andrew's Picnic Area where we saw quite a few warblers such as the Yellow-throated Warbler, Black and white warblers, American Redstarts and a Yellow Warbler. While riding the Island we also saw lots Egrets, Herons, Ibis, Gulls and Terns. Here is a picture of a Little Blue Heron and a Great Blue Heron.

I haven't heard on any reports of how the Loggerhead Sea Turtle nests faired during the storm. This was a record year for nesting turtles on Jekyll Island. I would hate to think they were all lost. Mother Nature can be viscious sometimes. That's why we have to pick up the slack and help preserve and conserve our beautiful coastal area and all its resources. All in all I had a very enjoyable day! Thank you Lydia :)
Until next time be safe, slow down and take notice to all the wonderful things around you.