Photographing Birds in the Golden Isles

April 2013

Golden Isles, Golden Images
Destinations for Photographers
by Barbara Marie Kraus

Mating Egrets

            One thing any visitor to the area will quickly realize is that we have birds - lots of birds.  The rivers, marshes and ocean provide habitat for more than 300 species.  Some species live here year round while others are just passing through as they migrate.  Commonly seen birds that make the Golden Isles their permanent home include wood storks, egrets and herons, pelicans, osprey, terns, rails, gulls, sparrows, painted buntings and a variety of other song birds.  The key to interesting bird photos is getting close.  Any image where the subject fills the frame is going to have more impact and since birds are skittish, a telephoto or zoom lens is a must. 

Red Shouldered Hawk

        


Largely undeveloped, Jekyll Island offers some of the best locations for capturing photos of area birds. The number and type of birds found at these locations will vary with the tides and the time of day so get ready to visit each spot multiple times:
·         The observation platform at the St. Andrews Picnic area on the south end looks out over a tidal creek and marsh area where wading birds, like herons, egrets and wood storks are often found feeding. 
·         Walking along St. Andrews beach to the east will bring you to the southern tip of the island where seabirds of all types, including flocks of pelicans, can be seen resting at the water’s edge at low tide.  Other birds commonly seen dashing in and out of the edge of the surf at high tide are plovers, sandpipers, clappers and oystercatchers. Gannets and cormorants can often be spotted skimming above the waves or diving for fish not too far from shore.
·         Adjacent to the historic district, the pond behind the old amphitheater serves as a small rookery and is a perfect place to shoot images of nesting storks and egrets with chicks in the late spring.
·         The Visitors Center along the Jekyll Island causeway has a 25 foot tall observation tower that looks out over the Marshes of Glynn. It’s hard to make the drive across the marsh without seeing the dark shapes of osprey and hawks crisscrossing the roadway.
·         The west side of Highway 17 just south of the Sidney Lanier Bridge is a favorite feeding spot at high tide in the summer, for the colorful Roseate Spoonbill.

Brown Pelican

Wood stork

 


       Almost any dock, pond or marsh area can be a potential spot to take a good bird photo so carry your camera with you as you visit different areas. You may be lucky enough to capture that award winning photo right here in the Golden Isles of Georgia.