Matt Daw and I decided to do a Big Day route through Georgia on Saturday, 7/23 to attempt and break the standing state month record of 132. As we were both only vaguely familiar with birding much of the state (even though I've "lived" here for six months, I haven't been plugged into the birding scene here and haven't done a whole lot of birding) a lot of our route was makeshift and thrown together over several Sweetwater IPAs the night before. Using Ebird hotspots, recent rare bird reports, and summaries of others' past Big Day routes in the state we constructed a route that started in Oconee National Forest and ended at Altamaha WMA. The best planning? Probably not. Was it effective? More or less. But did we have fun through it all? Heck yes.
We began at 5am along Ward Rd. in the Oconee National Forest in the hopes of getting both chucks, whips, and all three common owls. As Eastern Whip-poor-will is a species that won't really be possible in the coastal plain where we will be ending the day, we had our hopes pinned on Ward Rd. for this species. Within 60 seconds of getting out of the car about a hundred yards down this dirt road we already had all three owls (Great Horned, Barred, and Eastern Screech) sounding off, and multiples of each! A motivational start indeed. Shortly thereafter, and after driving about a mile further down we had numerous Eastern Whip-poor-wills (8 to be exact) calling vociferously along a 3/4 mile stretch as well as a pair of counter-singing Chuck-wills-widows. As a Big Day, in my experience, almost never provides all of the requisite nocturnal species according to plan we were both ecstatic after getting these 5 before dawn.
We posted up at dawn by a freshwater pond/wetland off Ward Rd. that was brimmed by willows, and appropriately has been home to at least one (and at various times, multiple) Willow Flycatcher(s) for the last two and a half months. Sure enough, mixed in with the songs of Indigo Buntings and Blue Grosbeaks at dawn was a familiar "fitz-bew" that gave away the Willow Flycatchers presence. This was a state bird for us both, and a rare summer bird throughout most of Georgia, making it a great addition to the Big Day tally. As we walked a dirt two-track road down towards the pond shortly after dawn, we added several other species to our morning tally such as Northern Rough-winged Swallow and Ruby-throated Hummingbird. A Northern Bobwhite gave it's two-noted whistle from a distant hayfield, another great bird to pick up as this would prove to be our only bobwhite of the day. However, the most unexpected bird of the morning was feeding along the grassy edge of this dirt two-track road- a freaking White-throated Sparrow! An abundant winter resident of the southeast, they are absent during the summer when they are on their breeding grounds in the Canada and the far north. There are only two other accepted July records in Georgia of White-throated Sparrow- one from the northwestern corner of the state, and the other from coastal Georgia. We got great unobstructed views at probably less that 50 feet as it fed on the road shoulder, briefly dissapearing into the adjoining underbrush multiple times before reappearing. That is, until I ran back to my car and got my camera. Then of course, it decided to play coy. I waited as long as I could for it to reappear, but we had a schedule to keep and had to hit the road to our next destination. We left Ward Rd. with 53 species shortly after 7:30.
species and on a Big Day, this is generally not a winning strategy. So on down the road we went.
Our eventual destination was the coast, but we had a couple stops planned for along the way. We stopped in Macon along Bondsview Rd. where we were able to get our Swainson's Warbler for the day after about 15 minutes of listening. A quick stop by the adjacent Bond Swamp NWR added Hooded Warbler and Acadian Flycatcher, but by this time it was already getting well over 90 degrees and the birds were near silent. Onwards towards the coast.
The Longleaf Trail at Bond Swamp NWR
I-16 from Macon to Savannah has got to be one of the most boring drives in the southeast. Other that the small town of Dublin, there is not much to speak of in terms of human habitations, towns, and amenities for the ~150 mile stretch. On top of that, it's flat and pretty monotypic in terms of habitat. Loblolly pine, interspersed with ag fields of varying sizes. One redeeming factor of this road is it has proven time and again to be a good drive on which to spot Mississippi Kites. We saw 10-12 during our time along this road on Saturday. On this Big Day, we knew we would need to stop at a turf farm somewhere along our route to pick up Killdeer, Eastern Meadowlark, and hopefully a few migratory shorebirds like Pectoral Sandpiper as well. Judging by recent Ebird reports, none of the most productive sod farms this year were within an our of our route so we had to improvise- instead opting for Titan Turf Farm just a couple miles off I-16 near Statesboro. There haven't been many recent reports from here so we didn't really know what to expect. About a half mile away, a stunning Swallow-tailed Kite flew right in front of the car, even banking for us briefly- a good omen perhaps? Alas, no. The turf farm was dry and barren. Not a single shorebird was to be seen. We did however pick up another Swallow-tailed Kite flying high over the fields with a group of vultures, as well as two calling Common Ground-Doves.
From here it was about an hour to Tybee Island, where we hoped to pick up a diverse selection of shorebirds as well as waders, gulls, and terns. As an added bonus, a male Shiny Cowbird (ABA Code 3) has been hanging around for weeks at the north end of Tybee and with some luck, we were hoping to see it in our short time there. We knew it would be crowded at North Beach, but we didn't expect to not be able to fins even a single parking spot! What we ended up doing was parking in the police station parking lot (I left a note on my car in case it would have been a problem; it wasn't) and walking south, accessing the beach, and walking the beach north- effectively making a ~1 mile loop. Throngs of people made birds sparse, but we were able to add on about ten new species along this stretch- including Royal, Sandwich, and Least Tern, and Ring-billed and Great Black-backed Gull. At the terminus of our loop, right as we left the beach to head back to the car through a neighborhood, was the freshwater pond by which the Shiny Cowbird has been seen. It has been seen regularly for approximately a month, and tends to hang out with a small group of female Brown-headed Cowbirds. When we walked up, we were greeted by a Green Heron, Spotted Sandpiper, and surprisingly out-of-context Louisiana Waterthrush all feeding along the shore of the pond in various spots. We also quickly spotted a couple female Brown-headed Cowbirds in a small palm across the pond, but no Shiny that we saw. After walking the length of the boarkwalk across the pond, we circled back and now found 7 brown-headeds feeding in the grass right beside the boardwalk. One was a motley-looking young male, but again now Shiny. But wait! As we were about to give up and head on down the road, Matt spotted a bird taking off from the grassy lawn on the other side of the pond. I was able quickly get my bins on it and sure enough, that was it! Diagnostic, but unsatisfactory looks as it flew into the dunes. We saw roughly where it landed however, and hoofed it to the next beach access down to try and get a better look. A few more minutes of looking and we were able to again get only a brief look. But still, success! An ABA bird for both Matt and myself, and a bit overdue for us both. Shorebirds at Tybee Island, and in the roadside marshes coming to and from, were dissapointingly sparse. We were only able to find Willet, Sanderling, Spotted Sandpiper, and a single Whimbrel.
Non-birds seen on this Big Day included the Tybee Island lighthouse.
We wanted to get down to Altamaha WMA a good hour and a half before dusk to allow us the chance to scare up some more of our remaining passerines that we still needed as well as to leisurely watch the dusk flight progress from the top of the main observation platform over the marsh. Within a short while after our arrival, we picked up our long overdue Pine Warbler for the day (how is that even possible to be getting our first one this late in the day??) as well as our first Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Prairie and Yellow-throated Warblers and Orchard Oriole. Dusk atop the platform was eventful and exceedingly pleasant, with substantial numbers of Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks ad Glossy Ibis coming in for a good half hour period. A Common Nighthawk graced us overhead shortly before dusk, and we were now hoping to pick up a vocalizing King Rail and Least Bittern at dusk. Despite the endless abounds of ideal habitat available here, we heard neither. Hey, it's July!
Black-bellied Whistling-Ducks were common at Altamaha and had an affinity for perching atop these nest boxes. Most were quite tame- this photo was taken with nothing but my iPhone.
We ended the day with 113 species, certainly shy of the GA July record of 132. However, our route was very rough and could stand some substantial improvement that would come with knowing a bit more about local birding spots and strategies along the coast (and where to reliably find shorebirds!). We also ended up with a lot of easy misses, which included Prothonotary Warbler, Mottled Duck, Killdeer, Eastern Meadowlark, and others. In July, birds are generally much harder to find that earlier in the spring when they are vocalizing readily and defending territories. Now, particularly with songbirds, they tend to be more quiet, reserved, and skulky. Plus, I don't blame them for wanting to take it easy in 100 degree heat!
I needed to drop Matt off at the ATL airport by 6:30 the next morning, so seeing as we were in the opposite end of the state at 9:30pm when we wrapped up our day's birding we hit the road again. Time allowed for us to catch about 3 hours of much-needed sleep at a rest area off I-16 before having to be on the road again by 4. Just north of Macon on I-75 about 4:30 I noticed my low tire pressure light came on and the car was driving funny. Ugh- a flat tire was not what we were wanting to have to deal with right now. We were instead looking forward to an early breakfast and weren't going to tolerate a measely flat tire getting in our way. On went the donut tire and off we went again.
I always enjoy Big Days, as they invariably take me to new birding spots and challenge my logistical planning abilities, while of course seeing a whole lot of birds. This day was no different! It was a lot of fun to be out again and a great way to help beat the summer birding doldrums.
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