Birdwatching Continued

Savannah Georgia

I changed construction companies at Thanksgiving in 2006 and was sent to a project in Savannah, Georgia. New additions to my life list there are Painted Buntings, Yellow-billed Cuckoos, Great-crested Flycatchers, Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Woodpeckers, Northern Flicker Woodpeckers, Ring-necked Ducks, Northern Shoveler Ducks, Marsh Hens, Osprey, and Wood Storks. Other birds of note that can be found in the area, although not new to my list, are American Coots, a duck-like bird, Anhingas, Solitary Vireos, Song Sparrows, White Ibises, Red-headed Woodpeckers, Brown Thrashers. Of course, the normal array of Eastern US birds were also prevalent, like Starlings, House Sparrows, Finches, Mockingbirds, Crows, Great-tailed and Common Grackles, Red-winged Blackbirds, etc.

Brown Thrashers can be spotted in the medium of Oglethorpe Street and Osprey are circling in the air above town. Seagulls are everywhere (reference the article about Seagulls further down on this page.) There are two major Wildlife Preserves covered here, the Savannah NWR which is actually in South Carolina, and the NWR, located about 30 minutes south of Savannah.

The Savannah NWR is reached by heading north on I-95 into South Carolina, then exiting on US Hwy 11, and follow the signs. Egrets and Herons can be seen in the marsh from Hwy 11 before entering the park. When you enter, there is an area with information signs, comfort facilities, and a lot of Southern Magnolia. There are a lot of Mockingbirds at this point. Next is a large lawn area speckled with Water Oaks. The grass is kept short here and a variety of small birds can be spotted, depending on the time of year. A wooded area is next, just before entering the marsh, and that's where I spotted my first (and so far only) Yellow-billed Cuckoo! I used the standard procedure of just stopping and waiting to see if anything would happen. Pure luck.

Once you enter the marsh area, expect to see American Coots and Marsh Hens, Red-winged Blackbirds, and an occasional Great Blue Heron. Just before the path takes a right turn, there is an area to the left where you can pull over. There is a White Mulberry Tree there, and I've seen Cedar Waxwings in the early Spring. I've also seen Royal Terns in this area. After the turn, you enter another wooded area, with an old well head. This used to be a plantation. In this area, in the winter, there are hundreds of Solitary Vireo. I don't know why the call them Solitary! There are thousands of them throughout the Savannah area. It was here also that I spotted my first Yellow-bellied Sapsucker and Northern Flicker.

Later on you pass through another woodsey area, and to the left there is a small pond with dead trees laying about. You can usually see turtles resting on these, but in the early Spring these are replaced by young alligators! There are several Red-bellied Woodpeckers there also.

As you continue toward the park exit, you go through a marshy area filled with lily pads. Here you can expect to see Anhingas drying their wings, Kingbirds in the small trees, and alligators swimming about. Just before exiting the park, there is a lake where I've seen Ring-necked Ducks and Northern Shovelers.

A half an hour South of Savannah down I-95 is another US Hwy 11 exit, and you will see the sign for the NWR. This one is in a marshy area, but the drive is mostly away from the marsh.

I can't list all of the birds of the Eastern United State here, there are just too many of them! But I can direct you to a free site where you can enter your state and get an illustrated list of the birds you can expect to find there. It's http://www.whatbird.com.

In Lake Charles I see pretty much an even distribution of the two species at this time. And we're not quite ready to put the Laughing Gull on the endangered species list yet, there are still plenty of them. But there are some areas where they are seldom seen now. Most of the people in those areas have no idea that their predominant Seagull species has changed!

The transposition seems to be happening more on the East Coast than on the Gulf Coast, but these are my personal observations and not statistical data. I'll try to find some and present it here later.

I arrived in Savannah, Georgia right after Thanksgiving in 2006, and thought that all was lost. I saw hundreds of Herring Gulls, not a Laughing Gull in sight. I was rather alarmed to think that things were that bad for my Laughing friends on the East Coast. But as Spring approached, I began to spot a Laughing Gull here and there. Over the next few weeks, those sightings became more and more frequent, and by Summer, the Herring Gulls were all but gone! It's not a hopeless situation yet, so we'll just keep up with the Gulls, and see how things go over the next few years.

As you can see from the photos, the Laughing Gull is more attractive, but take note that each species has different color patterns, especially on the head, according to age. It takes about three years for them to reach full adult plumage. The Laughing Gull is a full adult, the Herring Gull is a 2-year-old. At full adulthood, his head will be white.

How I Became A Birdwatcher

Hello, I'm Judson Lassiter (my friends call me Jack) and my home is in Lake Charles, Louisiana. I was born and raised in Northeastern North Carolina, as was my wife, Peggy. How we came to Louisiana 30 years ago is the subject of another story. This one begins in 1995, when I decided to hit the road and work nationwide construction. With the kids pretty much raised, we needed more money and I needed opportunity for career advancement. Neither were to be found in Lake Charles. I am something of nomad at heart, and I enjoyed working in different locations, the diverse scenery, and historical places. Naturally, I missed being with my family, but in time I became comfortable with the lifestyle.

Sometimes i worked within a few hours of home, and could be there on the weekends. Other projects were 2 days drive, and I only got to go home every couple of months. On weekends when I wasn't working and couldn't go home I played electronic chess, video poker, and Zelda on Nintendo. One day in late winter of 2005, while playing Nintendo in my motel room, the thought occurred to me that I should get out more. I was staying in Bay City, Texas at the time. It was only 4 hours from Lake Charles, but I was working 6 days, so I didn't go home that weekend. That probably would have been just a passing thought if not for the sequence of events that followed.

I shut down the game console and decided to drive to Lake Jackson for lunch. There are plenty of diners and fast-food restaurants in Bay City, but I wanted to ride a bit. Arriving in Lake Jackson about noon, I didn't feel like sitting in a restaurant as I was enjoying the drive, so I just stopped at a Burger King so I could eat in my truck.

I parked and began eating my Whopper, when I saw several large black birds walking around the grounds, pecking at the ground. I thought, "I'm 51 years old, I've seen these birds for years, and I have no idea what they are called". I didn't have birdwatching as a hobby in mind at that time, I just thought that it would be a good idea to get a bird guide so that I could identify the birds that I see regularly. I visited a bookstore and bought a guide to eastern US birds, and discovered that the ones I saw at Burger King were Great-tailed Grackles. As I thought that I already knew the names of most of the birds that I see regularly, I felt the Bird Guide had served it purpose. But being "bird-aware" now, I soon realized that I was wrong.

Sure, I could recognize Starlings, Sparrows, Mourning Doves, Pigeons, Swallows, Gulls, Ducks, Geese, Vultures, Crows, Red-headed Woodpeckers. But I had no idea how many species of birds there are. Almost immediately, that same day, I saw two Doves that weren't Mourning Doves. I found that they were Ring-necked Turtle Doves, and SE Texas is one of the few places where they can be spotted. I learned that the Sparrows I'm used to seeing are House Sparrows, imported from Europe 150 years ago for insect control, but that there are many species of native American Sparrows, like Song Sparrows and Chipping Sparrows. Now that my eyes were opened, there was a whole new world to discover. Believe me, when you're over fifty, anything that can bring you the feeling and excitement of new discovery is a good thing!

Two weeks later I took the inevitable next step, and went actively searching for birds that I hadn't seen before. And I found them! South of Bay City there is a Golf Course in the country, with a long gravel road leading to it. I don't play golf, but I eased down the road, stopping here and there. At one stop, a caught a glimpse of a small bird landing in a small tree across the road. I viewed it through my new Bushnell 10 power binoculars, then consulted my Field Guide. It was a pretty little white and black bird called the Carolina Chickadee. Later, on a power line, I spotted a small predatory bird called a Loggerhead Shrike. I was excited, and I was hooked.

Since then, I've spotted many birds that I didn't even know existed a few years ago, and often just by being at the right place at the right time. Some of them have come during the natural course of a day, simply because I was now aware of the bird world, and always looking for them. Nothing had changed except my state of awareness!

I also bought a Guide to Trees of the Eastern US for two reasons. One, by learning to identify trees, I could tell what birds to be on the lookout for during certain times of the year, and also, when the birds are still, I could amuse myself with tree identification. I learned much from that hobby also.

The other beneficial aspect of hobbies like these is that you find yourself in quiet, peaceful places, in the marsh or forest, State Parks and National Wildlife Reserves. In our age of cities, noise, and chaos, pressure, stress, and hurry, you can have a wonderful, relaxing day even if you don't see a single bird!