As a small group of us birders gathered on a balmy, foggy morning last weekend to conduct the annual Christmas Bird Count for the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, we were a little apprehensive over what we would find — or not find.

Our anxiety stemmed from the calamities that beset the vast swamp in 2007. In the spring, roaring wildfires — the most extensive blazes in the swamp since 1955 — raged through the famed wetland, leaving in their wake huge swaths of blackened and charred vegetation. Also, for much of the year, a drought made — and is still making — the Okefenokee much drier than usual.

Curtis Compton/AJC file (ENLARGE)

The Christmas Bird Count tallied 160 sandhill cranes in the Okefenokee; the previous year's total was 40.

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Overall, however, despite the fires and drought — and numerous expanses of fire-killed trees — we found the Okefenokee in good shape, still one of the world's most beautiful and pristine wild places. Lush growths of saw palmettos, shrubs, wildflowers, ferns and other flora are flourishing once again in areas blackened by intense flames only a few months ago. Except for the standing dead trees, one might not realize there was a fire. (The conflagrations swept across more than 115,000 acres of the 438,000-acre Okefenokee deep in southwest Georgia.)

Droughts and wildfires, of course, are part of the natural cycle, and over many millennia, the Okefenokee's flora and fauna have learned to adapt to the occasional changes.

While fire and drought may cause temporary declines in the populations of some species, others greatly benefit. And that probably explains some of the highs and lows we observed among various species.

For instance, the paintroot, a wildflower that produces woolly white blooms in summer and dense seed heads in fall, was one of several plant species that sprang up in profusion in burned-over areas of the Okefenokee. "The paintroot is a very favorite food of sandhill cranes," noted our leader, Sheila Willis, a naturalist from Waycross.

It followed, then, that the abundance of paintroots we saw throughout most of our survey area probably accounted for the goodly number of 160 sandhills that we tallied — "a very good increase" over last year's total of 40, Willis said.

(If you've ever wondered about the southerly destinations of those spectacular flocks of sandhill cranes flying high over metro Atlanta in late fall, then come to the 50-foot-tall observation tower near the Okefenokee refuge's Suwanee Canal Recreation Area. From the tower on almost any day in winter, you're apt to see flocks of sandhills foraging in the prairie wetlands.)

Willis also noted that the high number of dead trees is not necessarily a bad thing. "The dead trees," she said, "surely benefit the many cavity nesters, such as wood ducks and the various woodpecker species."

As such, 44 wood ducks — nearly five times last year's number — were tallied during the daylong survey. Also, our counting team, led by artist Lydia Thompson of St. Simons Island, encountered red-bellied woodpeckers nearly everywhere we looked.

In addition, Willis noted that the Okefenokee had a good acorn crop this fall, which also helps explain why six redheaded woodpeckers — an unusually high number — were encountered during the survey. The woodpecker, a stunningly beautiful bird, depends on acorns for winter food. The bird has been declining throughout most of its range in recent years.

Our count, however, was only a glimpse of life in the huge Okefenokee. Because of the wetland's vast size (much of its 438,000 acres is very remote and nearly impenetrable), the Christmas Bird Count covers only eastern portions of the Okefenokee and adjacent Charlton County.

Altogether, we saw or heard a total of 86 bird species in the count area during our daylong effort.

More results

Some other highlights of the Okefenokee bird count included:

• Two bald eagles. "We've seen a great increase in numbers in recent years," Willis said.

• A golden eagle, soaring with a flock of turkey vultures. "It's another species that's becoming a winter user [of the refuge], like the old days," Willis noted.

• 150 white ibises, a big rise in numbers compared with previous years.

• 105 common snipe, which like to use the swamp's floating mats of peat as feeding grounds.

• Six loggerhead shrikes — a very pleasant surprise — probably because the fires created several openings in the swamp.

Perhaps one day, Willis said, there will be an ivory-billed woodpecker in the count. "I believe it still exists in the Okefenokee," she said.

In the sky

The moon will be a thin crescent low in the west just after dark on the night of Dec. 7, says Fernbank Science Center astronomer David Dundee. But on Dec. 8 the moon will be new and thus not visible for a night or two. Mercury is low in the west just after dark. Venus rises out of the east about two hours before sunrise. Mars is low in the east at sunset. The giant planet Jupiter also shines brightly in the predawn sky, rising out of the east about an hour before sunrise. Saturn rises out of the east just before midnight.