Meetings at Jekyll Island are always much anticipated by GOS members because they give us an excuse to spend a weekend soaking up the ambience of the Atlantic Ocean while birding the beaches, dunes, estuaries, and maritime forest. For many of our inland members, a trip to Jekyll Island provides a great opportunity to brush up on shorebird identification skills. Nearly 150 GOS members spent the weekend of 4-6 October at the coast enjoying the company of good friends, informative presentations by guest speakers, and some great field trip opportunities that resulted in the observation of 174 species, the best count for a fall (or spring) count in many years.

The success of the field trips was due in large part to the very talented group of leaders: Giff Beaton, John Jensen, Paul Sykes, Bob Zaremba, Lydia Thompson, Todd Schneider, Brad Winn, Diana Churchill, Mike Chapman, Gene Keferl, and Jan and Chris Pitman. With their guidance we explored Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), Harris Neck NWR, Altamaha Waterfowl Management Area, Jekyll Island, the Jekyll Island Banding Station, and St. Simons Island. We also rode boats out to sea for memorable visits to Blackbeard Island NWR, the lower Altamaha River basin, and Little St. Simons Island. Notable sightings included American Bittern, “Great White” Heron, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, Mottled Duck, Bald Eagle, Merlin, Peregrine Falcon, King Rail, Purple Gallinule, Sandhill Crane, Piping Plover, American Avocet, Long-billed Curlew, White-rumped Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Red-cockaded Woodpecker, Alder Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Warbling Vireo, White-breasted Nuthatch, Nashville Warbler, Yellow-breasted Chat, Bachman’s Sparrow, Clay-colored Sparrow, and Painted Bunting.

The Friday evening check-in at the Clarion Resort went smoothly thanks to the efforts of Anne Mursch, Barbara Brigham, Gail Russell and several other members. Dr. Mark Welford of Georgia Southern University was the guest speaker that evening. His presentation, “Why Bird in Ecuador: 1,540 Breeding Bird Species and Counting,” led the audience on a fascinating and visually stunning tour of the tropical forests of this small South American country. Mark’s presentation featured an excellent mixture of ornithology, ecology, spectacular pictures, and witty observations. Following the presentation, the leaders for the Saturday and Sunday field trips had people scrambling for their binoculars when they finished describing the places we would visit and the birds we might see.

The Saturday evening activities began with a poster session featuring research by Dr. Jim Ferrari, Dr. Doug Levey, Dr. John Parrish, and Paul Sykes. These scientists shared fascinating results from studies on avian diversity, nesting ecology, and capture techniques, featuring Painted Buntings and American Kestrels. Dick Parks exhibited his beautiful collection of Audubon prints, and sold copies of one of his own paintings depicting the Mourning Dove. As he has so often done, Dick generously donated all proceeds from the sale of his paintings to GOS. The banquet proceeded smoothly thanks to the hard work, attention to detail, and organizational skills of Anne Mursch. Gail Russell began the evening program by asking for a moment of silence to remember and acknowledge the passing of so many selfless, dedicated GOS members during the past year. She went on to thank the many people who were responsible for making the meeting a success, and gave a special thank you to Dick Parks, Milton Hopkins, and other long-term members of GOS who have given so much to bird conservation in Georgia.

Following Gail’s speech, Bob Sargent and Milton Hopkins had the honor of presenting the Earle R. Greene Award to Paul Sykes for his extraordinary dedication to, and accomplishments in, the field of ornithology for over 30 years (see John Swiderski’s article in this newsletter). After the award ceremony, Dr. Doug Levey of the University of Florida presented, “The Importance of Fruit to Birds,” a fine lesson in ecology taught with the aid of data from a study that was enormous in scope. Doug’s presentation flowed like a well-written mystery, encouraging viewers to think ahead and guess the answers to each of the riddles he posed. Gene Keferl’s unique wit and style made the evening’s finale, the countdown, highly entertaining to all. The consensus was that the meeting was a success, and we all look forward to next year’s excuse for gathering by the sea to go birding. 

Submitted by Bob Sargent

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