Birds

Wow! I had no idea. Not until a friend visited the island this past fall did I have any idea that one of my favorite beach spots had a real Audubon Sanctuary! The Audubon Sanctuary has ponds, swamps and beach access to find shore birds. Freaking fantastic!

A Ring-billed Gull

When I arrived at the Sanctuary at 10am, I found the island completely covered with low clouds. It literally felt like I was walking into a jungle in the clouds. Quiet, quiet, quiet...like I was the only one on the whole island. I was a bit disappointed at first, because it was so quiet bird-wise. But as soon as the morning fog lifted, the fun began!

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

My target bird for the day was a Brown-headed Nuthatch (yeah, Smiley!) Nothing like finding your target bird and new lifer 5 minutes into your search! Check! I also added the American Oystercatcher, which I found near Fort Gaines.

A pair of American Oystercatchers. As Baumann has said, "God worked a little bit too much overtime" on this one. Crazy colors! (It even has orange eyes.)