Amelia Island Bird Club

Heritage River Road Trip 9-17-22

dankossmann — Thu, 22 Sep 2022 15:59:52 +0000

Birders,
It was a mild day without rain at Joe Carlucci Boat Ramp and Heritage River Road Wetlands. We observed over 30 species and at least 10 species of shorebirds. That includes a possible Stilt Sandpiper and Long-billed Dowitcher. Other highlights included many egrets, herons and spoonbills. Thanks to Susan Jordan we have photos.

Our next bird club field trip is October 15, 2022 at the boat ramps of the Nassau River along Old Nassauville Road. Details will be sent about 10 days ahead of that trip. You are also welcome to join me and Duval Audubon for a trip Saturday October 1, 2022 at Reddie Point Preserve. Jeff Graham will lead that trip and I will be assisting him. It should be a good time to observe migrating warblers.
Good Birding,
Bill George

2022-2023 Trip Schedule

dankossmann — Sun, 04 Sep 2022 18:13:37 +0000

The trip schedule for this season will begin in September and continue through April of 2023. The schedule is set through December but dates are tentative for 2023 until Duval Audubon sets its schedule including trips I lead.The following are the dates (Saturdays unless otherwise noted) and places through December:
September 17, 2022- Joe Carlucci Boat Ramp and Heritage River Road Wetlands. Details will be announced within two weeks of this trip.
September 24, 2022- Talbot State Parks Tidewater Celebration at Ribault Club. Our club will have a booth displaying photos of birds between 10 am and 4pm.. Theresa Hartz and I will make presentations in both the morning and afternoon.
October 1, 2022- Reddie Point Preserve- I will be assisting Jeff Graham who is leading a Duval Audubon trip for migrants.
October 15, 2022- Nassau River boat ramps- this has become an annual October trip and this date corresponds to low tide.
November 5, 2022- Huguenot Memorial Park-I will be leading this trip for Duval Audubon and our club is invited.
December 3-Egan’s Greenway at Atlantic Avenue entrance.
December 26th-Monday – Christmas Bird Count at Huguenot and Ft. George Island.
Trips planned for 2023:
January or March- Okefenokee
February- Spoonbill Pond and Big Talbot Boat Ramp-dependent on tides and may be on weekday and Saturday
March- Crooked River State Ramp
April- Ft. Clinch

April- Crane Island- two trips- weekday and Saturday.

Good Birding,
Bill George

Trip Report: Crane Island 4-30-22

dankossmann — Thu, 05 May 2022 13:14:00 +0000

We had a large turnout for our last scheduled trip of the season. Since I am not traveling this May, I may schedule another trip if I see reports of species we have not seen on our regularly scheduled trips. Due to the large turnout I divided the group into a team led by me and another led by Theresa Hartz. At the half way point we combined teams for the balance of the trip. Theresa’s team reported 46 species and my team had close to the same at 48. What is striking is that my group missed 7 species that Theresa’s group had while covering the same ground. Our group had 11 species not on Theresa’s list. The total species observed was 57. Because birds move around, timing is often a matter of chance. Of course, the more time spent in the field the greater chance of seeing more species. During the last week, different birders reported over 70 species at Crane Island and the Bailey Rd. Soccer fields. Here are the highlights from yesterday: Swallow-tailed Kite, Red-headed Woodpecker, Bobolinks, Indigo and Painted Buntings, and Blackpoll Warbler.

Trip Report: Fort Clinch State Park 4-9-22

dankossmann — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 15:08:24 +0000

We enjoyed sunny skies but brisk temperatures and winds Saturday April 9th.Half of the birders were from our bird club joined by those who belong to Duval Audubon. We have been experiencing westerly winds after strong storms last week that have affected migration. Despite that we still observed 6 Warbler species including colorful Prothonotary, Northern Parula and Yellow-throated Warblers. If you belong to Meetup you will see photos taken by others on the trip. Some of the birders were able to see an early Pained Bunting at the bird exhibit when we first assembled. On the beach we had Royal and Sandwich Terns and a lone Black Skimmer. While Worm-eating Warblers were reported before the storm, we did not see this species or any Indigo Buntings. Migration can trickle through over the next 30 days so keep looking. Our next trip is Saturday April 30th at Crane Island and the Bailey Soccer fields. Expect a detailed notice next week.
Good Birding,
Bill George

Trip Report Ralph Simmons State Forest 3-26-22

dankossmann — Tue, 29 Mar 2022 19:02:43 +0000

Our trip to Ralph Simmons State Forest was well attended and the unique habitat produced different bird species. We observed over 30 species with the highlight being the singing Bachman’s Sparrows until 9:30 am. We were able to observe one of them that was teed up. We also had cooperative Brown-headed Nuthatches and a pair of Northern Bobwhite that startled us more than we startled them when they burst in flight next to the trail. We observed 8 species of early migrant warblers with only one of them, the Black&White, not starting with a Y or a P. The Ps were represented by Northern Parula, Pine, Prairie and Palm. The Ys were Yellow-throated, Yellow-rumped and Yellowthroat. Half of the group left early before we encountered a new challenge, flooded trails. Due to the heavy rains, the trail was flooded near the river. We were able to bypass the first flooded obstacle but were soon on an island. The second flooded area required us to wade across. The consolation was that we encountered a mix flock of warblers and vireos including a Blue-headed Vireo.

Our next trip is is with Duval Audubon Saturday April 9th at Ft. Clinch. We will meet at 8 am at the parking area for the beach. Please join even if you can’t sign up on Duval Audubon’s website. We hope to see migrating warblers including the Worm-eating Warbler.

Good Birding,
Bill George

Online Bird Identification Class 3-15-22

dankossmann — Mon, 07 Mar 2022 13:48:10 +0000

Theresa Hartz of our bird club will provide a presentation for beginner and intermediate birders of the basics of bird identification and an introduction to a systemic approach to help identify most of the mystifying birds. The presentation should take one and a half hours and will also include the basics of binoculars for birders. Theresa has taught a class to birders in Atlanta and is now offering this class to our members. I will send out a Zoom invitation to those of you that want to hear this presentation. Please email me if you want to attend Tuesday March 15, 2022 at 6:30 pm.

Good Birding,
Bill George

Trip Report: Spoonbill Pond 2-12-22

dankossmann — Mon, 28 Feb 2022 16:57:17 +0000

We had a large turnout last Saturday for our trip to Spoonbill Pond. Unfortunately, one of our members, was struck by a vehicle walking in the crosswalk while warning lights were flashing. Safety is very important to our group and I urge all of you to be aware of cars as we bird. It is sad that we cannot rely on drivers to stop for us in a crosswalk with blinking warning lights so as we bird let’s make sure vehicles see us or are stopped before we cross a road or even as we walk along a roadway. For safety reasons I have decided to reschedule our next trip from March 19, 2022 to Saturday March 26, 2022 due to a spring turkey hunt scheduled on the 19th at Ralph Simmons State Forest. I will send details for the trip on the 26th by mid-March.
We observed at least 12 species of shorebirds, a bald eagle and interesting ducks such as Buffleheads and Hooded Mergansers, as well as herons, egrets and wood storks.Richard Timm sent me photos but I was unable to copy them to my computer. If you would like to see photos of Bufflehead and Lesser Yellowlegs and other birds observed that day I will forward his email to you upon request.

Trip Report: Okefenokee Swamp 1-29-22

dankossmann — Tue, 01 Feb 2022 13:32:30 +0000

Several of you braved the cold and windy day yesterday at Okefenokee. In combination with Duval Audubon we had at least 15 birders that heard more species than were seen. With high winds many birds flew faster than the wind and were not easily identified. Despite that, we did observe 3 Sandhill Cranes on the far side of the pond visible from the fire tower. The early birders that arrived before 8am were able to spot a Red-cockaded Woodpecker. Some of us had brief glimpses of Blue-headed Vireo, Orange-crowned Warbler and Brown-headed Nuthatches. Most of us were able to observe Robins and Bluebirds. Several birders were using the Merlin App to pick up heard species that we did not see. However, be careful relying on these apps. Near the end of our tour we observed a Pileated Woodpecker and many Robins in an area recently burned. The Merlin app claimed to hear a Pine Grosbeak that I will see when I go to Minnesota this week but is extremely unlikely in our area. Always try to verify any heard species out of range.

Our next trip will be at Spoonbill Pond on Saturday Feb. 12, 2022. We will meet in the parking area for the Big Talbot boat launch at 8am. Depending on tides, we will look for marsh sparrows during high tide and shorebirds on Spoonbill Pond at low tide. Between high and low tides we will search the trees bordering the parking area. Last week I noticed both species of Kinglets, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Orange-crowned Warbler plus the usual suspects. I will send a reminder upon my return for more details concerning this trip.
Good Birding,
Bill George

2021 Christmas Bird Count

dankossmann — Fri, 31 Dec 2021 18:03:12 +0000

Happy New Years to all you birders,

Several of you participated in the annual Audubon Christmas Bird Count that I conduct at Huguenot and Kinsley Plantation on December 26, 2021. We also had help from Adam and Gina Kent of Gainesville and Cody Limber who was visiting his grandfather while on Christmas break from his Yale Ornithology doctorate. We identified 61 species at Huguenot and an additional 13 species at the Kingsley Plantation area that were new for the day. The highlight was the rare Lapland Longspur that had not been reported for 12 days prior to the 26th. The bird actually found us and posed on a rope barrier as we walked on the backside of the dunes. I attached 2 of the photos taken in close range of less than 20 feet. We had large numbers of Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpipers that in the case of the Dunlin totaled 489.

Our next field trip is Saturday January 29th,2022 at Okefenokee. Please save that date on your calendars. I am leading that trip with Pat Murphy of Duval Audubon so sign up on their website if possible. Currently they do not place a limit on the size of the group.

Good birding,

Bill George

Trip Report: Egan’s Greenway 11-20-21

dankossmann — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 18:02:30 +0000

Although the weather was windy and blustery on both Saturday and Sunday for our trips, we were able to see good number of species. On Sunday with Duval Audubon we logged 52 species with notable sightings of Green Heron, Wilson’s Snipe, Ruby-throated Hummingbirds and a sleeping Immature Black-crowned Night Heron.

Our next field trip will be Saturday December 4, 2021. Winter species will be there. There have been recent reports of Franklin’s Gull and Purple Sandpiper. If you are not familiar with Huguenot you can meet me at the Harris Teeter parking lot at 7:30 am or if you prefer to drive to Huguenot we can meet in the parking area outside the entrance to Huguenot at 8am which is straight ahead as opposed to turning into Huguenot. There is a $5 entrance fee but we can consolidate in the parking area to pay $5 per car.