COASTAL GEORGIA BIRDING

Here in the Coastal areas, mud flats, sandbars, tidal pools and oyster beds are exposed at low tide. Fiddler crabs riot on the flats, as flocks of wading birds- herons, wood storks, and ibises work the shallow waters for a meal. Brown pelicans dive offshore. It’s a picture that typifies the water’s edge.

In the trees along the water, where maritime hammock meets the marsh, great blue herons and snowy egrets nest. Bald eagles soar. Wood storks rest, while osprey and belted kingfishers eat their catch. Nearly 300 species of birds are year-round residents or pass through the region during the spring and fall migrations, making Coastal Georgia a birder’s paradise.

Although shore birds can be seen at any time, their location and behavior is determined to a great extent by the tide. The best time for viewing shorebirds is high tide, when the birds retreat to the upper reaches of the marshes, sandbars, and beaches, as well as just after high tide, when the water is receding and the birds are actively feeding.