Date: Sat, 12 Apr 2003 15:28:53 -0400
Reply-To: Swillis <swillis@WAYXCABLE.COM>
Sender: Georgia Birders Online <GABO-L@LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
From: Swillis <swillis@WAYXCABLE.COM>
Subject: South Georgia Birding
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Hey folks,
Here's the latest from lower part of the state.
On April 5, I went to the Pinewoods Bird Festival in Thomasville, Thomas
Co. which was promoted as our state's first festival devoted exclusively
to birds. It was at Pebble Hill Plantation & featured many wonderful
exhibits with handouts, fantastic lectures on birds, butterflies, etc.,
live raptor show, and a driving tour of a Red-cockaded Woodpecker
colony. I got to see many great G.O.S. birders there when we weren't
running back & forth out of the intermittant rain showers and helped
some at the table.
I am sure that others there recorded more species than myself for the
day that I didn't hear about, but here's the bit that I learned others
got, or that I was able to list without "truely" birding:
Great Egret: 1
Turkey Vulture: 1
Osprey: 1
Red-shouldered Hawk: 1 carrying food
Mourning Dove: 2
Chimney Swift: 2
Ruby-throated Hummingbird: 2 by others
Hairy Woodpecker: 1 by others
Great Crested Flycatcher: 1
Eastern Kingbird: 1
Loggerhead Shrike: 1
Yellow-throated Vireo: 2 with additional 1 earlier by others
Blue Jay: 1
American Crow: 1
Crow sp: 1
Carolina Chickadee: 1
Tufted Titmouse: 5
White-breasted Nuthatch: 3 total; 1 plus 2 others feeding young (didn't
hear the young but told there were 3); in a Red-cockaded Woodpecker
cavity
Carolina Wren: 1
Ruby-crowned Kinglet: 1
Eastern Bluebird: 1 (plus 2 by others)
Northern Mockingbird: 1
Cedar Waxwings: 5 plus
Pine Warbler: 3
Summer Tanager: 1 by others
Eastern Towhee: 3
Bachman's Sparrow: 2
Chipping Sparrow: 1
Northern Cardinal: 1
Next, I conducted a few more elderhostels at the Eastern Entrance to the
Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near Folkston (Charlton Co.) and
things are picking up a bit. The areas toured both days were the 2-hour
boat tour loop out the Suwannee Canal into Chesser Prairie (includes
Tater Lake Run); the boat basin area; the Swamp Island Drive; Chesser
Prairie Boardwalk & Owl's
Roost Tower. Here are the HIGHLIGHTS only:
April 8 (an overcast day with rain in the afternoon):
Great Blue Heron: 2 total with 1 standing in the nest (not a pair) near
Cooter Lake Junction
Green Heron: 1 with vivid orange legs
Black Vulture: 1
Turkey Vultures: 2 seen mating on a snag in Chesser Prairie near the
Cooter Lake Junction. This caused quite a stir among the elders.
Red-shouldered Hawk: 2
Merlin: 1 perched then flying (Chesser Pr.--Tater Rake Run)
Sandhill Crane: 1 calling
Barred Owl: 1 "single-hoots" calling (Chesser Pr.--Tater Rake Run)
Red-bellied Woodpecker: 1
Eastern Kingbird: 1
Great Crested Flycatcher: 4
Barn Swallow: 2
Gray Catbird: 1
Prothonotary Warbler: 15 (all Suwannee Canal & Chesser Pr.)
Northern Parula: 1
Hooded Warbler: 4
Common Yellowthroat: 3
Black-and-white Warbler: 1
Yellow-throated Warbler: 3
Pine Warbler: 1
Red-winged Blackbird: 1
Other wildlife: a very young Red Rat Snake sticking its head out of a
crack in the boardwalk & "freezing" as everyone got good looks; the
dragonflies (multiple types of all colors) were catching a ride on the
bow of the boat & flying low--a sure sign it's going to rain & it did;
Eastern Fox Squirrel: 1 on the refuge entrance road
April 10 (a VERY COLD & WINDY day!! What month is this? heavy clouds
with intermittant rain); 2-hr boat loop within Chesser Prairie section
done in reverse order from 4/8 & later in morning:
Double-crested Cormorant: 1
Great Egret: 2
Great Blue Heron: 1 in nest near Cooter Lake Juntion, 1 flys to it
Turkey Vulture: 2
Osprey: 1
Belted Kingfisher: 1
Great Crested Flycatcher: 4
Crow sp.: 1
Tree Swallows: 400 flying very low in constant motion over Chesser Pr.
on Tater Lake Run
Barn Swallow: 2 in with Tree Swallows
Carolina Wren: 3
Northern Parula: 4
Yellow-throated Warbler: 2
Prothonotary Warbler: 7
Common Yellowthroat: 5
Northern Cardinal: 3
Take Care.
Sheila Willis
Waycross, Ware Co.
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