Sharing our beautiful Jekyll Island

A few weeks ago, Anna Henry contacted me about taking some of the St. Simons Presbyterian church members out on a Bird Ramble. My goal in this life is sharing the outdoors through birds, so I was excited about meeting some of my own church's members who would be interested. The response was overwhelming. There were 11 folks signed up and a waiting list.

Eek! I like small groups of 3 to 6 people. Eleven can be daunting! I asked Cilla to come along as my spotter. We started at the Wharf Parking Lot and drove to Camp Jekyll. I had to ask permission to use this boardwalk. We got to the beach, and it was low tide, and the sun was making it hard to identify the hordes of shorebirds. Perfect for beginners. We worked on those issues. I talked about silhouettes and bill length. What is the difference between gulls and tern? I wanted them to know that learning birds was about layering. Learn one bird, add it to another bird. It takes time.

The Wilsons Plovers were cooperative. After all, they need help. I may have a few new Bird Stewards for this year's nesting season on St. Simons' Gould's Inlet. Score!

We finished the morning at the Amphitheater pond for good views of Rosette Spoonbills.