Adventures of an Aythya Americana

Jekyll Island has two ponds that are great for birdwatching. The Amphitheater Pond used to be a venue where local residents would watch theater troupes perform plays and musicals. The amphitheater was first opened in 1972, but in 2005 state budget cuts resulted in the amphitheater closing for good. Sixteen years of hurricanes, nature, and vandalism/graffiti have taken their toll on this once grand amphitheater.  Roseate Spoonbills at the Ampitheater Pond (March 2021) The Jekyll Island Amphitheater (March 2021) Luckily no hands were lost while photographing birds at the Amphitheater Pond (March 2021)   Some nice white-tailed deer greeted us on our way towards the Amphitheater (March 2021) A White-Tailed Deer showing off its rump (March 2021) Speaking of rumps, this Yellow-Rumped Warbler was a very common site during our time on Jekyll Island (March 2021) This dilapidated amphitheater provides a unique venue for birding. With little human activity, nature has taken over alo...

Back in January, Molly and I were brainstorming where we wanted to go on our last vacation before our baby enters our world in June. Our dreams started big by trying to plan a trip to Hawaii. Strict Covid-19 restrictions in Hawaii (testing was required at the time on each island), concerns of contracting Covid while on the flight or on the islands, and flying during the third trimester quickly eroded any chance of going to Hawaii. We then thought about where we could drive. While I love road trips (I can thank my father and mother for instilling a love of driving around the country), Molly was not as keen to drive a long distance while being pregnant.  With distance as a constraint, Molly put her superb researching skills to the test to find a place we could explore that was not too far away. Since she knew my love of birds, one of her resources was the Audubon website on the best places to go birding in the southeast. Jekyll Island came up on the Audubon link for Georgia and furth...