Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area - Birds seen in 2005
Friday: 7:15 AM – 1:30 PM
Leaders: Todd Schneider & Jim Ozier
Saturday: 7:15 AM – 1:30 PM
Leader: Todd Schneider & Bob Sargent
Sunday: 7:15 AM – 1:30 PM
Leader: Todd Schneider & Jim Ozier
Limit: 30 participants per day
Fee: $10
The Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area (WMA) offers one of the best overall birding sites in Georgia, especially in the fall. The habitat consists of a mixed pine/hardwood forest, floodplain forest, freshwater marsh shrubland, weed fields and diked ponds. Specialties include mottled duck, least bittern, glossy ibis, painted bunting, rails, sparrows and ducks. We will be birding all accessible areas, looking for early arriving sparrows and ducks, as well as lingering migrants. Lunch will not be provided, but there are several good restaurants in the area.
Recommended Needs: Boots, long sleeves and pants, insect repellent, sun protection, water, snacks, binoculars.
Trip Rigor: Easy – two miles of easy walking on weedy dikes and paths.
Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge - Birds seen in 2005
Saturday: 6:30 AM – 4:00 PM SOLD OUT
Sunday: 6:30 AM – 4:00 PM SOLD OUT
Leaders: Captains Suzanne Forsyth & Virginia Baisden
Limit: 12 participants per day
Fee: $70
This barrier island’s 5,618 acres include maritime forest, salt marsh, freshwater marsh and beach habitat. In 1975, 3,000 acres of the refuge were set aside as National Wilderness. Participants will be led through some of the island’s different habitat types, including the maritime forest which contains a variety of neo-tropical migrants this time of year and also Blackbeard’s magnificent, unspoiled beach where shorebird species such as American oystercatchers and endangered piping plovers may be seen. Migrant and wintering birds such as the marbled godwit and peregrine falcon are also frequent beach visitors. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, sun protection, lunch, drinks, snacks, rain gear, backpack, binoculars. A cooler with bottled water will be available for participants.
Trip Rigor: Moderate – Easy walking up to approximately 3 miles total. Boat travel can be cold and wet depending on current weather conditions – please dress accordingly.
Colonel’s Island Grand Tour
Saturday: 6:15 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Steve Calver
Limit: 15 participants; 5 vehicles
Fee: $10
After a brief reconnaissance of the historic community of Sunbury in Liberty County, Steve Calver will continue the search for birds on Colonel’s Island. Stops at Youman’s Pond and Yellow Bluff Fish Camp should provide good views of anhingas, yellow crowned and black-crowned night-herons, and wood storks. The live oaks along the bluff often harbor many species of songbirds, especially warblers, during the fall migration. Blackburnian, chestnut-sided, Cape May, magnolia, and blackpoll warblers have been found here. This tour will also include a visit to Lake Pamona located on the privately owned Camp Viking. This freshwater impoundment has attracted an assortment of waterfowl. In October, sightings at the lake might vary from wood storks roosting with white ibis and night-herons to hooded mergansers rafting with ruddy ducks and bufflehead. The pastures, woodlands, and salt marsh adjacent to the lake offer a diversity of habitats which are attractive to a wide variety of birds. Clapper rails might be seen one moment, then meadowlarks or yellowthroats. Lunch will not be provided, but restaurants are available at Midway.
Recommended needs: Closed toe walking shoes, long sleeves and pant, cap, insect repellent, sun protection, water and snacks, binoculars, spotting scope.
Trip rigor: Easy –short walks (a mile or less) interspersed with brief drives to four or five stops.
Glennville Water Treatment Facility
Friday: 6:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Saturday: 6:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Dan Vickers
Limit: 15 participants; 5 vehicles
Fee: $10
The mayor of Glennville personally welcomes you to come and check out one of southeast Georgia’s newest birding hotspots! The Glennville Water Treatment Facility consists of eight ponds ranging from 2 – 6 acres in size and a large grass field that utilizes a spray system. The field is drained by a gravity flow system through the ponds which were planted with water plants such as cattails, pickerel weed, cypress and gum trees. Participants will explore the facility on approximately 2 miles of berms that can be driven and walked on in any weather. With over 115 species of birds reported at this site over the past three years, there should be a good showing of shorebirds, waders, waterfowl, raptors and migrating songbirds. The Glennville Welcome Center will be open to field trip participants for refreshments and restroom use.
Recommended Needs: Sun protection, insect repellent, water/drinks, snacks/lunch, binoculars, spotting scope.
Trip Rigor: Easy – driving and easy walking on sturdy berms
Fort Stewart
Saturday: 5:30 AM – 1:30 PM
Leader: Larry Carlile
Limit: 20 participants; 5 vehicles
Fee: $10
Fort Stewart is a 279,000-acre U.S. Army installation and is home to the 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized). Habitats include fire-maintained longleaf pine-wiregrass flatwoods and sandhills, isolated wetlands, blackwater creeks and rivers, and anthropogenic habitats. The installation supports a large (268 active clusters) and increasing population of the federally listed red-cockaded woodpecker. The trip will include an early morning visit to an active red-cockaded woodpecker cluster, a stop at the Canoochee River, and a visit to Pineview Lake for an eagle watch. Other species we are likely to see include Bachman's sparrow and brown-headed nuthatch. Lunch will not be provided, but there are several good restaurants in the area.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, sun protection, water, snacks, binoculars/scope.
Trip Rigor: Easy – less than a mile of walking. We will drive to most sites.
From The Sea To The Forest
Saturday: 7:00 AM – 3:30 PM
Leader: Robert Smith
Limit: 30 participants
Fee: $70
Join Robert Smith and the Captain and crew of the Just Bluffin’ as we take the path that early European explorers and Native Americans took inland from the islands. The broad-beamed and comfortable Just Bluffin’ will depart Jekyll Island and cross the corner of St. Andrews Sound as we go through the salt marshes near the mouth of the Satilla River and proceed up the river to the freshwater marshes. The gulls, rails, wading birds, waterfowl, and other birds, as well as the bottle-nosed dolphins of this area may be observed. As we approach shrub/scrub communities on the shell banks and forested marsh hammocks, birds associated with terrestrial communities, such as bald eagles (two nesting sites will be passed!), mockingbirds, chats, and warblers begin to appear. Alligators may also bask on the mud banks. The Just Bluffin’ will dock in Woodbine and allow the passengers to walk 6 to 12 blocks roundtrip over the greenway to one of the eateries in Woodbine for an early lunch. After lunch, participants will return to the boat, and shortly after departing Woodbine as we wind our way up the river, we will enter the hardwood bottomlands with islands of mixed pine-hardwood along the shore and pick up birds of the hardwood forest such as yellow-billed cuckoos and prothonotary warblers. We will load up on a climate-controlled bus for the trip back to Jekyll Island. Inclement weather, especially advisories in the sound, may cause the trip to begin or end further up our route. Drinks and a restroom will be available on the covered pontoon boat.
Recommended Needs: insect repellent, snacks, binoculars, money for drinks on boat and lunch in Woodbine.
Trip Rigor: Easy - covered pontoon boat travel; short walk on paved walkways leading through birding territory for lunch.
Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge - Birds seen in 2005
Friday: 6:45 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Steve Calver
Saturday: 6:45 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Chris Depkin
Sunday: 6:45 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Chuck Saleeby
Limit: 15 participants per day; 5 vehicles
Fee: FREE
Harris Neck NWR was a military airfield in WWII, and now has man-made impoundments, natural salt and brackish marshes, old fields, pine forests and maritime oak forests. Expect to observe a wide variety of migratory and resident water and land birds. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, sun protection, water/drinks, snacks/lunch, binoculars. Long pants and closed shoes are recommended due to cacti.
Trip Rigor: Easy – the refuge is flat, and our walks will be restricted to no more than a half-mile, driving from place to place.
Jekyll Island Banding Station - Birds banded during the Festival
Friday: 7:45 AM – Noon SOLD OUT
Saturday: 7:45 AM – Noon SOLD OUT
Leaders: Chris and Jan Pitman
Limit: 15 per day
Fee: $10
Located near Jekyll Island's famous south beach, this bird banding station is situated in the midst of sand dunes and scrub forest. Each October hundreds of migrating birds are captured in mist nets at this site. Captured birds include over 20 species of warblers. Birds are banded, aged, sexed, and measured. Scientists use data from JIBS to help understand migration patterns and population trends. Participants in the trip will have the opportunity to observe the removal of birds from nets, the measuring and banding, and possibly be able to release a bird. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended Needs: Water, snacks, insect repellent, sun protection.
Trip Rigor: Easy – half-mile walk.
Jekyll Island Natural History Walk
Friday: 8:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Saturday: 8:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Sunday: 8:45 AM – 11:00 AM
Leader: Frank Mirasola
Limit: 15 participants per day
Fee: $5
Walking about 1/2-mile through the dune ridges in a live oak maritime forest, participants will learn about Jekyll Island's formation, native flora and ecology. The discussion will include descriptions and displays of various marine creatures, including loggerhead turtles, alligators, whelks, crabs and shrimp. Be ready to spot shorebirds, waders and waterfowl.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, long sleeves and pants, sun protection, comfortable close-toed walking shoes, binoculars.
Trip Rigor: Moderate – some hill climbing required.
Jekyll Island State Park - Birds seen in 2005
Friday: 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Leader: Diana Churchill
Saturday: 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Leader: Eugene Keferl
Sunday: 8:00 AM – 12:30 PM
Leader: Eugene Keferl
Limit: 15 participants per day
Fee: $5
Jekyll Island State Park offers a variety of diverse habitats, including maritime forest, salt marsh, freshwater ponds, and ocean beach. Birds we hope to spot include migrating songbirds, wading birds, gulls and terns, as well as shorebirds. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, sun protection, snacks, water, binoculars, spotting scope.
Trip Rigor: Easy – expect to walk 1-2 miles.
Little St. Simons Island
Friday: 7:45 AM – 4:00 PM SOLD OUT
Leaders: Carol Lambert, Jeff Sewell & Nick Van Lanen
Saturday: 7:45 AM – 4:00 PM SOLD OUT
Leaders: Giff Beaton & Nick Van Lanen
Sunday: 7:45 AM – 4:00 PM SOLD OUT
Leaders: Malcolm Hodges & Nick Van Lanen
Monday: 7:45 AM – 4:00 PM SOLD OUT
Leaders: Earl Horn & Nick Van Lanen
Limit: 11 participants per day
Fee: $75
Little St. Simons Island is an unspoiled birding paradise located off the north end of St. Simons Island. Since access is so limited, it is an excellent place to bird at anytime, but especially during peak migration. We will bird the extensive maritime forest for passerines as well as the beaches and marshes for shorebirds. For more information on the site, visit www.littlestsimonsisland.com. Lunch will be provided.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, sun protection, water, snacks, long-sleeves and pants, rain gear, backpack, binoculars.
Trip Rigor: Easy – two miles of easy walking.
Little Tybee Natural Heritage Preserve - Birds seen in 2005
Friday: 8:15 AM- 5:30 PM SOLD OUT
Saturday: 8:15 AM – 5:30 PM
Sunday: 8:15 AM – 5:30 PM SOLD OUT
Leader: Captain Rene Heidt
Limit: 6 participants per day
Fee: $50
Little Tybee, owned by the state of Georgia, is an uninhabited barrier island lying just to the south of Tybee Island. It is made up of salt marsh interspersed with hardwood hammocks and fronts the Atlantic Ocean with pristine beaches that are nesting sites for Wilson's plovers. The American oystercatcher nests on oyster bars in the area as well, and is a common sight on our trips. We will see a variety of shorebirds with the possibility of the piping plover, Wilson's plover and the marbled godwit. We will depart by boat from a private dock on Chimney Creek and take the short ride through the salt marshes to Little Tybee. Expect to spend some time observing the local population of bottlenose dolphin in the Back River. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended needs: Please wear comfortable footwear with some grip to the sole and the ability to get wet. Dress accordingly for the weather keeping in mind that it is always colder out on the water. Bring binoculars, water, and lunch. A spotting scope will be provided. You may not want to risk bringing your scope out into the salt spray.
Trip Rigor: Easy – some agility required to get on and off the boat at the beach and dock.
Melon Bluff Nature and Heritage Reserve by Kayak
Saturday: 6:30 AM –1:00 PM
Leader: Meredith Devendorf
Limit: 15 participants per day
Fee: $40 (includes kayak rental)
Take a leisurely paddle in one of the last undeveloped pristine tidal basins on the Atlantic seaboard. Surrounded by almost 10,000 acres of family land, you will learn about salt marsh ecology and have the opportunity to spot marsh birds including herons, osprey, wood storks, egrets, and, with luck and persistence, a clapper rail (always vocal but secretive!). There's also the chance of paddling alongside a group of dolphins coming up to feed on the ubiquitous Georgia sweet shrimp nestled in the spartina. Bring a scope for spotting from the high bluff overlooking the marsh. Mixed hardwood and mature pine stands enhance the birding interface along the marshfront, and common finds are several varieties of woodpeckers, warblers, songbirds, and the occasional owl. No paddling experience necessary. All participants must sign liability waiver and certification that they can swim. Lunch will not be provided, but there are restaurants in the area.
Recommended Needs: Boat sandals, a change of clothes (just in case), sunglasses, hat with brim, water-resistant sunscreen, water, snacks/lunch, binoculars, waterproof bag.
Trip Rigor: Moderate – two hours of easy to moderate paddling.
Movable Feast
Saturday: 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Mike Chapman
Limit: 15 participants per day; 5 vehicles
Cost: $10
Moveable Feast will visit a number of birding locations in Brunswick, depending on tide conditions and scouting prior to the festival. These may include the Jekyll Island Causeway Visitor's Center, the heron roost on U.S. 17 south of the causeway, Andrews Island Causeway, Yacht Rd., and the Hofwyl-Broadfield Plantation.
Recommended Needs: Insect repellent, sun protection, sturdy shoes/boots, long pants, water, snacks/lunch, binoculars/scope.
Trip Rigor: Fairly easy – some walking on several trails around a mile or less.
Ossabaw Island State Heritage Preserve - Birds seen in 2005
Friday: 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM
Saturday: 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM SOLD OUT
Leader: Mary Elfner
Limit: 20 participants per day; 5 vehicles
Fee: $75
Ossabaw Island has a fascinating natural and human history to share. Humans have lived on Ossabaw Island for more than 4,000 years, enjoying and putting to use its rich salt marshes, freshwater ponds, ancient maritime forest, wind-swept dunes, and deserted white beaches. Shaped like a wishbone with marsh filling the middle, the island consists of 25,000 acres, of which 11,800 are upland and almost 10 miles are beach, making it roughly twice the size of Bermuda and counting total acreage, the second largest barrier island on the Georgia coast. The island was the first acquisition of the Heritage Trust Act of 1975, which protects the island from overuse and development, but makes public access difficult and rare.
The undisturbed beaches of Ossabaw are the most important areas on the island for migrant, wintering and breeding shorebirds and seabirds. The upland maritime forest on Ossabaw Island comprises a mix of native hardwoods, such as live oak, southern magnolia and loblolly pine. The forest is dominated by live oaks, which are common to Georgia’s barrier islands where salt spray from the ocean reduces competition and allows the oaks with their leathery leaves to dominate. Here we can expect to see many resident and migrating perching birds and raptors. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended Needs: Binoculars, spotting scope, insect repellent, sunscreen and a hat, water/drinks, snacks/lunch, long pants and closed shoes, notebook and/or bird guide.
Trip Rigor: Moderate – boat travel can be cold, wet and/or choppy depending on weather conditions; open-air riding on trailer with benches once on the island and walking in different terrains such as maritime forest and beach. Restroom facilities are limited.
Sapelo Island - Birds seen in 2005
Friday: 7:00 AM – 5:30 PM
Saturday: 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM SOLD OUT
Leader: Malcolm Hodges
Sunday: 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM
Leaders: Carol Lambert, Jeff Sewell
Limit: 17 participants per day
Fee: $45 (Participants need to bring an additional $2 cash for ferry)
State-owned and largely undeveloped, Sapelo Island is the approximate mid-point of Georgia's barrier islands, the probable site of first European settlement (16th century missionaries) in Georgia. A 200-year history of wealthy private ownership of most of the island's 20,000 acres of upland and marshland preceded the establishment of the University of Georgia's Marine Institute (1953), R.J. Reynolds Wildlife Management Area (1969) and the Sapelo Island National Estuarine Research Reserve (1973). About 70 descendants of the Gullah culture established by freed slaves in 1865 still live in the community of Hog Hammock. Sapelo has miles of pristine beaches and dunes, inter-dune meadows and ponds, salt marshes and tidal creeks, grassy fields and mature maritime forest (live oak hammock) as well as pond-pine savanna. A mix of woodland, grassland, marsh, shore and seabirds in these varied habitats can be seen year round. Sapelo is also the only east coast location where Plain Chachalaca can be found. Lunch will not be provided.
Recommended Needs: insect repellent, sun protection, long sleeves and pants, hat, water, snacks and lunch, rain gear, binoculars.
Trip Rigor: Moderate – open-air riding on flatbed pickup with benches; 2 miles of beach walking and up to 1 mile of road/trail walking. Boat travel can be cold and wet depending on current weather conditions – please dress accordingly.
Savannah National Wildlife Refuge - Birds seen in 2005
Saturday Only: 6:30 AM – 2:00 PM
Leader: Dennis Forsythe
Limit: 15 participants
Cost: FREE
Take a trip back in time to the plantation days of the late 1700s at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge where 3,000 acres of former rice fields are now managed for migratory waterfowl. These freshwater impoundments are flooded in the fall in preparation for the arrival of a great variety of species including blue and green-winged teal, ring-necks, shovelers and the occasional flock of snow geese. Year-round residents like great egrets, anhingas, and white and glossy ibis can also be found making use of these rich feeding pools. By October, birds such as northern harriers, American bitterns, and sora rails have usually arrived for the winter. Lunch will not be provided but the nearby city of Savannah offers many restaurant choices.
Recommended Needs: Sun protection, insect repellent, water, snacks, binoculars/scope.
Trip Rigor: Easy – we will drive through the refuge, with short walks at each stop.
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