On Monday afternoon my family and several other members of our church went to Kartchner Caverns State Park in Benson, Arizona. In the heat of the afternoon desert, most of the critters were out of sight. But the tour of the cave was incredible. "The park is located west of the north-flowing San Pedro River. Long hidden from view, the caverns were discovered in 1974 by local cavers, assisted by a state biologist who helped in its preservation."

It's time again for our annual visit to Tucson, Arizona for our Fellowship's International Bible Conference. Our first morning, I arose at 4:45 AM (without an alarm clock) and made my way to Sweetwater Wetlands Park for a couple of hours of nature photography before Sunday morning church service.  

I made a second trip in the heat of the day on Wednesday afternoon. Most of the birds were keeping staying in the shadows, making some real quality shots dificult. Still, quite a refreshing experience to be in a totally different world than the southeast. Sweetwater truly is an oasis in the desert.

Tuesday evening, June 11, 2019 - just taking in some relaxing bird watching in my backyard. I'll take a rest whenever I can get it! 

Pickney Island National Wildlife Refuge... what a wonderful place! Every time I vacation on Hilton Head Island, I have to make at least one visit to the refuge. Our second morning, while the ladies went to the outlet mall, I spent six hours hiking the refuge. The first bird I spotted was the main bird I had hoped to see - a Painted Bunting. 

Pickney Island, located on the bridge between Hilton Head Island and the mainland,  is 3.8 miles long and 1.75 miles across its greatest width. It consists of several habitats including salt marsh, tidal creeks, forestland, brushland, fallow fields and freshwater ponds. 

While birding the beaches of Hilton Head Island, my eyes were constantly trained toward the sky. However, I really needed to be looking down! The beach was covered with Cannonball Jellyfish throughout our week long visit to the Island. Never before had I seen so many jellyfish, and so large, washed up on the beach on prior visits. 

In addition to the jellies, there are other reasons to look down as you walk. The beaches of Hilton Head Island are used by Loggerhead Sea Turtles for nesting as well. You'd hate to step on a cute little hatchling! 

Hilton Head Island has long been one of our favorite family vacation locations. While most of my family enjoys time on the beach and in the ocean, I always make time for early morning walks on the beach with my camera. One sight that always amazes me are the squadrons Brown Pelicans that pass back and forth through the air along the shoreline. The Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) is a common sight along the southeastern coastlines. They pass swiftly with the wind, just off shore, sometimes only a few feet above the water. Their return flights are more laborious, being against the wind, and typically stay several hundred feet inland, cruising just above the rows of Hilton Head Island hotels. 
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Individual pelicans will often break off from the cruising squadrons for a time of fishing. A pelican will slow its flight and pick a spot for a dive. Once committed, it is a full frontal dive into the ocean from over 50 feet in the air! The plunge often appears quite ungraceful with a forceful impact upon the surface that I wonder how they are not injured in the process. Nevertheless, the bird always surfaces and floats comfortably upon the waves without any sign of injury or distress until it lifts off again to repeat the process.  The Cornell Lab of Ornithology states, “During a dive, the Brown Pelican tucks its head and rotates its body to the left. This maneuver is probably to cushion the trachea and esophagus—which are found on the right side of the neck—from the impact.” I guess that is how it is done! 

Saturday, June 1, 2019 - Going down for a dive! I spent my last morning trying to capture the Pelicans diving into the ocean. 

It was a wild Walton morning! I made my morning drive so I could do a bit of early morning birding. The fun started before I even made it to work with an owl perched over Jacks Creek. Then on my walk before starting the work day, I spotted the two beaver on the upper retention pond. And before heading into the office, I heard two Cuckoos cuckooing in the trees and managed to draw one out for a photo with a bit of playback. 

A quick drive to Braswell Church Road during lunch break to add a life bird and photos of a few I have listed without photographs. I'm not the best yet at these shorebirds, so I hope I got them right! 

A short Global Big Day birding stop at Three Oaks Recreation Area in Crystal Lake, Illinois. 

​I took a short trip to Illinois to help my father, but still fit in some wildlife viewing and birding. I made two stops at the Exner Nature Preserve in McHenry County, not far from my brother’s house. It was a great morning of birding the first day. 

I flew to Illinois for a few days to help my father with some upkeep to his house. Luckily, his neighbor loves to sip coffee on her back patio and watch the birds. She had 5 feeders in the backyard. After seeing me with my binoculars and camera the first day, she was sure to keep all the feeders full during my visit! 

Tuesday, 7:00 AM - I headed into Walton County an hour earlier this morning. Am I that dedicated to my job? Actually, I am. But is wasn’t for work that I came in early. The sun is up earlier now and I could get in an hour of birding and wildlife photography before clocking in. And it was a productive morning! I believe I hit my Walton all-time birding high: 43 taxa! 
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Not only did I get a rather high bird count, but spotted a few other critters as well. A Beaver was swimming the upper pond and a Northern Watersnake was cutting across the main retention pond. In the secluded wetlands area south of the jail I spotted a Green Heron skulking in the shadows; my first spotting for this spring season. While pursuing the heron, a Louisiana Waterthrush sang repeatedly overhead. What a great morning! 

“A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”… especially when teaching high school students about ecology and conservation. Two groups of Ms. Carly Chandler’s AP Environmental students from Cedar Shoals High School in Athens, Georgia participated in a bird banding field trip in April, 2019.
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Bird banding is the attachment of uniquely numbered metal bands to the leg of a wild bird to help scientists study the migratory movements, population dynamics and life histories of birds. The excited group of students not only saw first-hand how the birds were caught and removed from mist nets in the Whitehall Experimental Forest, but also participated in the band recording process. 

During the trip, the students met with Dr. Richard Chandler, Associate Professor of Wildlife Ecology and Management from the University of Georgia’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources. Dr. Chandler demonstrated safe handling techniques and offered several students the opportunity to hold and release a few of the captured and banded birds.

In addition some common Georgia birds like the Brown Thrasher and Carolina Wren, the groups caught two brightly colored warblers, a Kentucky Warbler and a Hooded Warbler, that recently arrived during the spring migration. Dr. Chandler explained how habitat destruction, either here in their North American breeding grounds, or in their southern over-wintering territories could greatly affect the overall health and numbers of migratory bird populations. ​

“The field trip was an amazing experience”, said Cedar Shoals student Amanda Wise. “It was a very insightful trip that taught us about the biodiversity of birds and how big of a world we are in. It is definitely not every day that you can catch, hold and band a bird!”