GGOS Fall Meeting
Jekyll Island, GA
10-13 October 2025
Keynote Speaker: Amar Ayyash
Friday Night Speaker: Sam Jones, Georgia Institute of Technology
Approximately 70 attendees participated in our Fall Meeting activities, which included interesting and entertaining presentations on Friday and Saturday, the banquet and field trips. Unfortunately, several trips were canceled because of adverse boating conditions (St. Catherine’s Island, Altamaha Sound) and the government shutdown (Cumberland Island, Ft. Stewart). Despite these cancelations, for the weekend, participants found 191 species (see list below). Birdcast reported a record migration on the night of October 8, and we definitely benefitted from this with large numbers of migrants, especially warblers (30 species), reported on our field trips. Field trip locations included Altamaha WMA, Altama Plantation WMA, Andrews Island Causeway and Disposal Site, Cannon’s Point, Glennville Wastewater Treatment Plant, Harris Neck NWR, Jekyll Island (banding station, hot spots), and Sapelo Island. As always, thanks to our field trip leaders (Larry Carlile, Malcolm Hodges, Gene Keferl, Ed Maioriello, Patrick Maurice, Pete Moore, J.P. Moss, Evan Pittman, Ewan Pritchard, Bob Sattelmeyer, and Steve Wagner).
Our Friday speaker, Sam Jones, discussed his work with tropical bird communities. His research examines the causes and consequences of elevational range changes. Much of his work focused on lowland bird species and the effects of climate change.
Amar Ayyash, author of The Gull Guide: North America, provided our Saturday Keynote address. Gulls are one of the most adaptable and successful groups of birds and he presented examples of how gulls have managed to take advantage of and benefit from human activities. He also provided a variety of tips for gull identification. Despite the difficulties that many have with gulls, he assured us that even with the multiple plumages that give some of us problems, we can master gull identification.
Bird List (191 species):
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck
Canada Goose
Wood Duck
Blue-winged Teal
Northern Shoveler
Mottled Duck
Green-winged Teal
Ruddy Duck
Rock Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Common Ground Dove
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Eastern Whip-poor-will
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
King Rail
Clapper Rail
Sora
Common Gallinule
American Avocet
American Oystercatcher
Black-bellied Plover
American Golden-Plover
Killdeer
Semipalmated Plover
Piping Plover
Wilson's Plover
Snowy Plover
Whimbrel
Marbled Godwit
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher
Wilson's Snipe
Spotted Sandpiper
Solitary Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
Willet
Greater Yellowlegs
Ruddy Turnstone
Red Knot
Sanderling
Dunlin
White-rumped Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
American Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Black Skimmer
Caspian Tern
Black Tern
Forster's Tern
Sandwich Tern
Royal Tern
Pied-billed Grebe
Eared Grebe
Wood Stork
Northern Gannet
Anhinga
Double-crested Cormorant
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Roseate Spoonbill
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Reddish Egret
Snowy Egret
Green Heron
Western Cattle Egret
Great Egret
Great Blue Heron
American White Pelican
Brown Pelican
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Cooper's Hawk
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Barn Owl
Eastern Screech-Owl
Great Horned Owl
Barred Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Hairy Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine Falcon
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Eastern Phoebe
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Philadelphia Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Tree Swallow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Barn Swallow
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Brown-headed Nuthatch
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Northern House Wren
Marsh Wren
Carolina Wren
European Starling
Gray Catbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Mockingbird
Eastern Bluebird
Veery
Gray-cheeked Thrush
Swainson's Thrush
Wood Thrush
House Finch
American Goldfinch
Clay-colored Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Seaside Sparrow
Nelson's Sparrow
Saltmarsh Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Bobolink
Eastern Meadowlark
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle
Ovenbird
Worm-eating Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
Golden-winged Warbler
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Swainson's Warbler
Tennessee Warbler
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Connecticut Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
American Redstart
Cape May Warbler
Northern Parula
Magnolia Warbler
Bay-breasted Warbler
Blackburnian Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Chestnut-sided Warbler
Blackpoll Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Palm Warbler
Pine Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Yellow-throated Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Black-throated Green Warbler
Summer Tanager
Scarlet Tanager
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting