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Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Harris Neck NWR day 2

Howdee all,

Another cold morning in Georgia…harris neck nwr_005 (1)I put on my down coat and went for a morning walkharris neck nwr_015 (1)A mist of cold above the water…harris neck nwr_007 (1)Here we sit…our windows face the lakeharris neck nwr_009 (1)The car was frosty..harris neck nwr_011 (1)harris neck nwr_012 (1)The Eucalyptus tree …reminds me this is a warm weather area..

harris neck nwr_014 (1)Jeff and I left the RV park after it warmed up..and on the way in a side ditch..note the beer bottle in the water….was a beautiful Birdharris neck nwr_031 (1)American Bitternharris neck nwr_035 (1)

On the way to the park we noticed this Clever sign…hee heeharris neck nwr_062

Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

harris neck nwr_063

Harris Neck NWR was established in 1962 by transfer of federal lands formerly managed by the Federal Aviation Administration as a WWII Army airfield. Located in McIntosh County, Georgia, the refuge serves as an important link in the chain of refuges along the Atlantic seaboard, and is the inland base for two neighboring barrier island refuges, Blackbeard Island and Wolf Island refuges, both located southeast of Harris Neck.

Harris Neck's 2,762 acres consists of saltwater marsh, grassland, mixed deciduous woods, and cropland. Because of this great variety in habitat, many different species of birds are attracted to the refuge throughout the year. In the summer, thousands of egrets and herons nest in the swamps, while in the winter, large concentrations of ducks (especially mallards, gadwall and teal) gather in the marshland and freshwater pools.

We scanned the river for birds..harris neck nwr_064

Only a few Egrets...in the grasses Palm Warblersharris neck nwr_071

OH NO!harris neck nwr_072This tree was yelling something…Do you think there is a bird in its mouth?harris neck nwr_073I don’t know why it was yelling…maybe I just startled it…Or MAYBe it was surprised how chilly it was for a January day in Georgia.harris neck nwr_074Second stop…. the birdie Bluebill Pondharris neck nwr_076harris neck nwr_078Lots of Cooties…harris neck nwr_080I loved the green muck in the water…harris neck nwr_089Isn't it beautiful?harris neck nwr_093

harris neck nwr_095We saw at least eight Snipe…harris neck nwr_105More coots..we did see many other ducks here…harris neck nwr_110List at the end of this post..harris neck nwr_111The Coots were the only birds that got close enough…harris neck nwr_115For my point and shoot camera to photographharris neck nwr_117Its times like these I wish I had a big lens DSLRharris neck nwr_118

Instead I will be happy with what I can capture with my point and shoot…harris neck nwr_122Ohh..lookie here..Red-shouldered Hawk..harris neck nwr_128And another coot…harris neck nwr_135Two more Coot..harris neck nwr_140We left the pond and drove a bit further checking out the water areas along the road..harris neck nwr_112We parked the car and took another walking path to a few small ponds..harris neck nwr_151A Possum crosses the road…harris neck nwr_147Small ponds..hard to see the birds..mostly Coot..and too far away for photos…harris neck nwr_153So I take a few shots of cat tail..harris neck nwr_155I really liked the fuzzy seed heads…harris neck nwr_156We walked further….And one of those Walking helmets cross the road.Smileharris neck nwr_163A great day….harris neck nwr_166

Jeff and I are now in Sunny Florida..well not too sunny today..its overcast, breezy and beautifully warm..73 degrees. Tomorrow is the start of the Space Coast Bird and Wildlife festival…We have a 4:30 am start to the day..Early to bed for me tonight!

 

Birds of the Day

American Bittern

Palm Warbler
Tufted Titmouse
Mourning Dove
Common yellowthroat
Yellow rump warbler
Northern cardinal
Great egret
Snowy egret
Turkey vulture
Red bellied woodpecker
Hermit thrush
Ruby crowned kinglet
Gadwall
Green winged teal
Coot
Wilsons snipe
Killdeer
Ring necked duck
Common merganser my bad..meant to put Bufflehead thanks Scott for the heads up
Hooded merganser
Pied billed grebe
Lesser yellowlegs
Eastern Phoebe
Blue wing teal
American pipet
Swamp sparrow
Song sparrow
Red winged blackbird
Carolina chickadee
American goldfinch
Downy woodpecker
White ibis
Red shouldered hawk
Eastern towhee
Pileated woodpecker
Eastern bluebird
Savannah sparrow
Northern harrier
Pine warbler
House wren
Wood stork

Common Moorhen..thanks Hap. I forgot to add

16 comments:

  1. Looks like a beautiful location, Dawn. You guys compiled a pretty nice list while there!

    Hope y'all enjoy the Space Coast festival. :)

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  2. Hi Dawn, great post. It's fun to
    follow you and Jeff around this
    country. Hope you get into some
    better weather soon. I noticed a
    handful of Common Moorhen in the
    water with some Coots near that
    White Ibis in front of the little
    island with the alligator. I did
    not see this on the list of birds
    at the end, so, hopefully you
    have added one! Good birding and
    blogging, I'll be watching.
    Hap in New Hope (MN)

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  3. Gorgeous misty morning images! Sounds like you spent an enjoyable day at Harris Neck NWR. A most scenic place. Each and every photograph is so very lovely! Enjoy the festival. Happy birding!

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  4. Hi Dawn,

    Your blog is amazing!
    Great bittern pics!

    I think Common Merganser is a rather exceptional bird for Georgia if I'm not mistaken. You might double-check that it wasn't Red-breasted.

    Cheers

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  5. Kyle,
    Thanks, we did see some great looking birds, too bady record keeping wasn't better see below, will have to double check my list next time.

    Hap,
    Wow, you are one observant fellow, you are absolutely correct, we did see many Moorhen, just neglected to put them on the list.. Need to double check my list next time I post .. See below.

    Julie,
    Aww thanks so much for your kind comments!

    Scott
    Thanks so much, you are absolutely right about the common merganser., I should have double checked my list before I copied and pasted from the day.. Should have added Bufflehead instead, thanks for bringing that up,. I appreciate it....

    Thanks fellas for your keen observations and help!

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  6. A cold morning, but beautiful scenery Dawn.

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  7. Super post Dawn! I LOVE that American Bittern!! And what a Gorgeous place!! Hardly looks like winter!

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  8. You are so lucky, Dawn. Again I wished I could switch places with you but I have to tend to the home fires (otherwise they go out:-) Lovely images of birds and landscape!

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  9. Welcome to FLORIDA... We did have a bout of horrific weather yesterday down here in Pinellas County. Loved your photos today and WOW I could clearly see the face in that tree... GREAT!!!
    Have fun & Travel Safe
    Donna

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  10. Love the expression on that big old tree!

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  11. Great pictures sicksta! I loved that cool tree!!!! Reminds me of The Wizard Of Oz when the trees came to life..

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  12. Dawn... you live a really cool life! I would love to take a year off and just travel the USA!

    Thanks for sharing your adventures with us.

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  13. Well, aren't you just having tons of fun! Hope you didn't bring any "cooties" home with you! HA! Ballie might like to play with one though, but I think it would mess up the homey! Have fun at the festival!

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  14. A great place for birding, love the Bittern would make my day. Neat shots of the funny face tree.

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  15. Loved the pictures Dawn, and that is a fantastic list of sightings. Long may you enjoy your adventure.

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  16. Roy
    Thanks Roy!

    Kerri
    Thanks ..it was a beautiful area..just a bit cold.


    Hilke Breder
    Thanks Hilke..keep those home fires burning!

    squawmama
    OH i must check out where you are..maybe we are close and can meet..we are going to Lake Worth on Thursday.

    diane-j-m
    Thanks Diane

    Tink
    Yes Sicksta..it does look like those trees!

    Bren
    I hope you get to take a year off and travel sometime..you wont want to stop!

    Kathiesbirds
    Howdee Kathie..no Cooties were brought home..hee hee..
    Ballie would have loved one!

    eileeninmd
    Thanks..the Bittern was a great find..strange place to see it though.

    woodpecker
    Thanks so much. We love to travel and hope to do it for many more years!

    Thanks everyone again for commenting..I have been at the Space coast birding fest the past week and now I need to catch up and read everyones blogs...
    see u soon!

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ok what do you really think?????