What a day! We drove a couple of hours south to St. Simon's Island in pursuit of the rare Red-footed Booby. Hurricane Juaquin was responsible for this Caribbean bird being diverted north to the Georgia coast.
When we arrived, we weren't quite sure where to start until we saw 11 scopes, 11 binoculars and 11 determined birders. If you saw the movie The Big Year, you can imagine the scene. We found the spot!
All eyes were on this shrimping boat. The Booby had been seen on it a couple of days earlier.
No such luck today! We, humans with optics, created lots of curiosity for the other people on the pier. After answering lots of questions as to what we were doing, we gave up on seeing the rare visitor and headed back north for the next desired bird on my list - the Roseate Spoonbill.
 | |||
| Banana Spider |
Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge is a fantastic place for birding. When we arrived it started pouring! When you have one day and you are a crazy birder, weather doesn't stop you especially when you live 2,000 miles away from this neat place.
Plan A was to find the Roseate Spoonbill, Plan B was to look at all the other birds. We succeeded with Plan B.
 |
| Pied-billed Grebe with fish |
Finally, the rain clouds passed enabling me to start scanning the trees and pond without getting soaked. My birding buddy persistently kept calling my name wanting me to stop what I was doing and look at something else.
I stopped to see what was so exciting. A green mucky covered alligator was hidden in the grass a few feet from where he was previously standing. Nothing quite like almost stepping on a gator to wake you up!
 |
| Common Gallinule |
Amazing that any bird would be IN the water with these guys swimming about.
 |
| Wood Duck |
 | |
| Little Blue Heron |
We didn't see the Roseate Spoonbill but we saw a beautiful Wood Duck in the distance and a Little Blue Heron up close. Fantastic sightings!
We made our way back to Tybee Island without seeing the Red-footed Booby or the Roseate Spoonbill but it didn't matter. We spent the day outdoors! So I thought our day ended with this beautiful sunset. Wrong! Surprises do happen. While I was writing this blog, we heard booming sounds outside. Dashing down the street, we saw a beautiful display of fireworks. When it ended, a passerby proclaimed, "The pirates have landed." It's pirate weekend. Tomorrow, I'll look for some pirates. It should be easier than the Red-footed Booby!
