Look who's hanging out at the golf course here on Jekyll. Can you identify this bird drying out its wings here- and tell us why?
Thanks to Susan Smith for sharing this video of an American avocet feeding during one of our marsh kayak tours earlier this week.
Thanks to Tory Wilcox, a frequent visitor to Jekyll Island who stopped by Tidelands today and shared her photo compilation of the Osprey nesting on Tidelands Pond this spring/summer. (March thru July). Title of Tory's piece that she set to music: "Oz and Ozelia: A Jekyll Island Love Story". Thanks again for sharing!
Stop by Tidelands and visit our live exhibit gallery, featuring species native to our Georgia coast including the sea star and channeled whelk shown here!
April 30th- Homeschool Field Trip Friday- 10:30am-12:00pm. $10 Seining Program. Come pull a seine net along the water’s-edge and try to catch fish, shrimp, crabs, and other organisms found in the ocean. Please wear shoes and clothing that can get wet. (We will pull the net in ankle-deep water). Please call Tidelands to reserve, 912- 635-5032. Limited space available.
Pelicans on Tidelands Pond
What a day for birding on Tidelands Pond! During these winter months we often see birds that aren't typically on our pond for the rest of the year. For example, while many gull and tern species are on Jekyll year-round, they don't usually rest on Tidelands pond. During the winter, however, we see them more often. A few of these winter visitors were with us on January 4th and we managed to get a video! Some of the birds in this video are using Jekyll as a stopping point for their migration. Can you tell which birds are just visiting? What are some of the differences between them and our typical resident, also seen in the video?
So, our earlier post showed Wednesday's tide coming in. Here is the tide going out. The end of this video shows where the whirlpool had been. Many of our classes, walks and kayak tours discuss/experience first hand the ebb and flow of Jekyll's tides. Come join us!
Our area was under a coastal flood advisory earlier this week. Tuesday Brunswick police reported a high tide of 9.7 feet. Here at Tidelands we experienced the high water, rising to cover the road that leads around our pond to the boat launch. Wednesday tides were lower (forecast at Jekyll to be 9.4 feet) which created some interesting water works as it neared the morning’s high. Here’s a whirlpool created as the pond filled.
The 4-H Tidelands Nature Center is very excited to share the news that Saxon was successfully released into the ocean on Wednesday October 14th by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources (GADNR). Saxon, our four year old Loggerhead Sea Turtle (Caretta caretta), was born on September 7th, 2011 on Sapelo Island. Found by GADNR, Saxon was a “straggler” hatchling, meaning the turtle did not have the fitness to exit the nest and make it safely to the water. Saxon first spent time at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) here on Jekyll Island before being brought over the Tidelands Nature Center to serve as an educational animal ambassador. During its time with Georgia 4-H, Saxon also spent time at the Jekyll Island 4-H Center helping educate thousands of students from our environmental education and summer camp programs about sea turtles. Saxon was released with metal flipper identification tags 23 nautical miles east of Little Cumberland at artificial reef HLHA. This reef is made up of various structures including NYCTA subway cars, M-60 Tanks, and various sunken vessels including the Liberty Ship Nettleton. The GADNR Offshore Artificial Reef Project was established to develop long-term fisheries habitat to increase the availability of quality recreational fishing sites in the Atlantic Ocean near Georgia and provides excellent habitat and food resources for other marine life like sea turtles. Tidelands would like to thank Mark Dodd with GADNR and Terry Norton with the GSTC along with their staffs for their help with completing Saxon’s journey to sea! Be sure to check out all the pictures and video of Saxon’s release!
Many people are fearful of snakes. But did you know that snakes save more human lives than they kill? This rat snake found on Jekyll Island is a great example because it primarily eats rodents that could carry diseases like the plague.
Our juvenile common snapping turtle Chomp likes to cheer everyone up after a long hard week.
Do you hear odd noises at night on Jekyll Island? You might be hearing this little critter outside your window, especially if it rained recently. This particular individual was spotted in the back yard of the Hampton Inn & Suites- Jekyll Island, GA.
gopher tortoise on amelia island
Gopher tortoises like to live in sandy soil areas, it is not uncommon to find them wandering the beach looking for food. Video credits go to an enthusiastic tourist that saw this animal on the beach. Video was given permission to use on Facebook.
Come see our new loggerhead sea turtle named Jadie. Jadie was born sometime around July 30th this year and was given to us by the Applied Wildlife Conservation Lab at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. In addition to Saxon, who is having fun at the Jekyll Island 4-H Center, we will raise Jadie up until it gets big and strong. Both turtles will be sent it off to the ocean with tags we can use to identify them later in life.
