Blue Heron On the Georgia Coast

Gmail - Red White & Blues on the Bluff this Friday night! - bhijanc@gmail.com

2009-07-02T17:52:00.000-07:00

Gmail - Red White & Blues on the Bluff this Friday night! - bhijanc@gmail.com

Visit to North Georgia Continued...Mia

2009-02-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star and The Alphabet song were part of Mia's repertoire during her visit with us at the Great YaYa's and Great Popop's house. A 1940's era rotary telephone was the biggest attraction though. What great fun to play with. As was Great Popop's physical therapy stretch band tied to the door. All this and the Super Bowl and munchie pretzels! It was great to see Mia's parents, my son Kris and daughter-in-law, Tasha as well.

Ella's Family

2009-02-04T06:44:00.000-08:00

Ella's big brother Owen is full of bright smiles and lively conversation. Mom and Dad are looking pretty lively to considering the interuption in sleep patterns newborns will cause.

Introducing Ella Grace

2009-02-04T04:06:00.000-08:00

With bright eyed alertness Ella introduced herself with wide yawns, a few hiccups and then slow long stretching of tiny limbs and a strong grasping of my finger with her perfect tiny hand. What a delight to hold and cuddle a new grandchild! It was nice to visit with my son, Josh and daughter-in-law, Tracy too. The proud parents did their best not to hover as I held Ella but I could tell they wanted to. Surly they remember that I had four children of my own, eight grandchildren (and counting) and then there were the twenty-seven years I spent assisting in the delivery and care of thousands? of newborns as a labor and delivery nurse. Hovering is normal....rational loving parents just can't help it. Then again, once a baby is in my arms I tend not to want to give them back at least not until I've inspected every little feature or they cry in need of something I can't provide.

Three year old Owen (Ella's big brother) was not so hovering but did manage to screw a pacifier into her mouth despite obvious disinterest on Ella's part. He was just trying to help.

Helpful or not Owen was entertaining with his talkative self. Owen and Bill a.k.a. Popop and I a.k.a. YaYa, discussed many subjects ranging from the particulars of my necklace (when did I become an old lady who wears large red necklaces?) to the likable taste of black olives. All in all it was a lovely visit just much to short.

Sunrise, Woodpeckers and Bluebirds

2009-01-10T08:41:00.000-08:00

Woke to a foggy mist hovering over a full tide this morning.... and kicking myself for not being out to catch it earlier! Grabbed my camera anyway and headed out on this cool crisp winter morn. The Old Dead Oak's branches were full of snowy egrets and wood storks who took flight as soon as I touched the back door. Not even a squeak from that hinge yet, they were gone! So here are some woodpeckers, a downy and a few redbellied and one blue bird. I could hear the pilliated woodpecker but despite my ramblings in the spartina along the marsh he was not showing himself to me today. Did rustle a couple dear out of their beds...we startled each other. They bounded off towards the lagoon and I slipped in the mud. Obviously I'm not the only who snuggled in a warm bed a bit to long this morning. No pictures of the dear....not quick enough with the lens.

Wednesday InnSider: Sunrise and Comfort at the Blue Heron Inn (Recipes: Southern Spicy Gingerbread Cake & So Light Buttermilk Pancakes) – Inn Cuisine#more-1931

2009-01-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

Wednesday InnSider: Sunrise and Comfort at the Blue Heron Inn (Recipes: Southern Spicy Gingerbread Cake & So Light Buttermilk Pancakes) – Inn Cuisine#more-1931

2008-12-30T17:15:00.000-08:00

This picture is from last spring near Woody Pond at Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge. Just came across the following article and thought you would enjoy it.

www.harrisneck.fws.gov

On Sun, 12/28/08, neill herring <neillherring@earthlink.net> wrote:
WILD GEORGIA:
Rare find made at Harris Neck Christmas count
By Charles Seabrook
For the Journal-Constitution
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Two days before the official start of winter last weekend, the temperature at daybreak was in the low 70s at the Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge on Georgia’s coast. Biting gnats and mosquitoes buzzed about us.
We were at the refuge in McIntosh County, about 35 miles south of Savannah, to conduct an Audubon Society Christmas Bird Count. Because of the pesky bugs and the unseasonably balmy weather, we were a little apprehensive over what the day would bring.
But the weather and insects proved to be only minor irritants. The several teams of birders that fanned out in a 15-mile-wide circle across the refuge and surrounding areas tallied 139 species during the daylong count.
I especially wanted to join the Harris Neck survey because, out of Georgia’s 25 or so annual Christmas Bird Counts, it consistently ranks near the top for the highest number of species seen or heard. (By comparison, the Atlanta area count, centered in Cobb County, tallied about 86 species last weekend.)
The high total for the Harris Neck count is not surprising given the variety of habitats in the survey area —- vast salt marshes, freshwater ponds, mixed deciduous woods, wax myrtle thickets, pine woodlands, grasslands and other habitats.
The count circle also includes a lot of water —- the Medway, South Newport and Barbour rivers and numerous connecting tidal creeks. It was along the Barbour River where one of the birding teams made the most significant sighting of last weekend’s count —- a harlequin duck, only the fifth time the species has been seen in Georgia. The duck is a native of far northern climes and rarely ventures this far south.
But perhaps the most interesting “habitats” in the count area are on the 2,824-acre refuge itself —- old concrete runways built during World War II, when Harris Neck was a military air base helping to defend the coast against German submarines. The air base became a wildlife refuge in 1962. Now, small trees, shrubs, grasses, prickly pear cactus and other plants poke up through cracks in the pavement. Sooner or later they probably will cover the abandoned runways.
The refuge, however, is best known for a 50-acre freshwater body, Woody Pond, in its midst. In early April, Woody Pond becomes a noisy, crowded place as tens of thousands of egrets, herons and endangered wood storks vie for nesting space in huge rookeries around the pond. Big alligators patrol in the water, ready to snatch any hapless bird that ventures near them.
The rookeries and lurking gators form one of Georgia’s most spectacular natural scenes in spring and summer. More information: www.fws.gov/harrisneck/.
Field notes
Excerpts from notes of the Harris Neck count: “Our team also consists of John Parrish of Statesboro and Jeff Click of Greenville, S.C.; we’re covering the central part of the refuge… . John, a retired ornithologist at Georgia Southern University, is co-author of the book ‘Birds of Georgia’ and is an expert on American kestrels… . We spy a flock of 13 blue jays in a leafless tree; first blue jay flock I’ve seen in a while… . Several wood storks make a graceful flight over an old field, their silhouettes beautifully etched against a cloudless blue sky… . A red-tailed hawk soars on thermals; the bright morning sun causes its wings literally to glow in the sky; I’m not a particularly religious person, but I utter ‘thank you’ for such a beautiful sight… . Yellow-rumped warblers, aka ‘butterbutts,’ seem to be everywhere… .
“Pied-billed grebe swims low in water on backside of Woody Pond… . A tricolored heron lands in a shrub along a drainage canal; John notes the bird used to be called Louisiana heron, the name he likes best… . A belted kingfisher, uttering its distinctive rattling call, flies rapidly over the canal… . Lots of great egrets along canal. …
“See several perched Eastern phoebes doing their characteristic tail pumping… . Hear lots of Carolina wrens, hermit thrushes, kinglets, crows and various sparrow species… . A beautiful sight is four Savannah sparrows perched in a yaupon holly bush in middle of a field… . Another pretty sight is a bluebird flock sitting high atop a tall, bare tree in field of golden brown broomsedge… . Eastern meadowlark perches atop a live oak sapling… . Then, nearby, a magnificent Northern harrier suddenly rises up above the tree line, an awe-inspiring sight… .
“Stop by Woody Pond and watch a small flock of bufflehead ducks land on water, and, then, almost in unison, dive into the water… . Watch a large gator try to sneak up on a wood duck, but the duck is aware of him… .”
In the sky
The moon, a thin crescent low in the west at the start of the week, will be first quarter by Saturday, says David Dundee, astronomer with the Tellus Northwest Georgia Science Museum.
Mercury is low in the west just after sunset. Venus shines in the west just after sunset and sets about three hours later. Jupiter sets in the west just after dark.
Saturn rises out of the east before midnight.
seabrk@comcast.net

Blue Heron B&B 2008

2008-12-05T09:14:00.000-08:00

We have been busy this year at the inn. I gave up my full time nursing position to become a full-time innkeeper. It really takes the two of us to manage the bed and breakfast. Our busy season began about mid February. March and April were busier than ever with spring breakers.....teachers and professors looking for a quiet place to relax. We were thrilled to have so many birders, kayakers and nature lovers.
We have caught snowbirds coming south and going north off I 95 both this spring and fall. Thank you Palm Beach Post: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/travel/content/travel/epaper/2008/03/30/a1h_bb_road_trip_0330_webbed.html
and thanks to an article in the Philly Inquirer travel section.
We have seen an increase in UK and European travelers as well. We were lucky enough to be mentioned in an article by Brian Schofield of the (London) Sunday Times: http://coastalgeorgiatourism.blogspot.com/2008_08_01_archive.html

Thanks to the above articles we have met many wonderful people traveling to our quiet little area of the coast. Hopefully everyone has kept a little of the Georgia coast with them as they continued on their journey.

Some of this Year's Visitors

2008-12-05T09:07:00.000-08:00

2008-12-05T08:51:00.000-08:00

'Tis the Season to Catch Up

2008-12-05T07:27:00.000-08:00

Welcome to my blog! Hopefully my posts will keep you informed of what is going on with us and things here on the Georgia coast. I'm looking forward to your posts. Please send me your thoughts, ideas and news.

Bill and I are enjoying good health and a growing family. Preston is our newest grandchild born Nov. 11th. At the moment he is totally a mommy's baby but does tolerate the rest of us.

Jackson (big brother) is thrilled with him even if he is.."to wittle to play race cars."

We are awaiting the arrival of another

grandchild in February.