Photos: Coastal birds of Georgia

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Photos: Coastal birds of Georgia

070320 LITTLE TYBEE ISLAND, GA.: American Oystercatchers line up at low tide on a oyster rake along the Bull River at Little Tybee Island, Ga., on Tuesday, March 20, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON /ccompton@ajc.com

070527 WASSAW ISLAND: --SKIMMING--A Black Skimmer skims the surface of Beach Pond on the northern end of Wassaw Island at sunrise on Sunday, May 27, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070212 ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA.: A male Boat tail Grackle gets a drink of water from a leaky faucet on the St. Simons Island Pier, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. A large black bird with a very long, keel-shaped tail. The male is iridescent blue-black with yellow or brown eyes. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070522 BLACKBEARD ISLAND: A pair of Royal Terns in adult breeding plumage mate at Northeast Point, Blackbeard Island on Tuesday, May 22, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070425 LITTLE ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA.: Two glossy ibis break into a battle for territory while foraging for aquatic prey in Goose Pond on the southern end of Little St. Simons Island, Ga., on Wednesday, April 25, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070517 St. Catherines Island - Great Egrets nest and tend their chics in the rookery at Wamassee Pond on St. Catherines Island, Thursday, May 17, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070322 CUMBERLAND ISLAND, GA.: An oyster catcher has a feast during low tide at Pelican Banks on Cumberland Island using it's beak to extract a tasty moral from it's shell after digging it out of the sand, Thursday, March 22, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070324 CUMBERLAND ISLAND, GA.: Wild turkeys make thier way across a fog covered field at first light on the southern end of Cumberland Island, Ga., Saturday, March 24, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON \ ccompton@ajc.com

070425 LITTLE ST. SIMONS ISLAND, GA.: A flock of adult white ibis land to feed on Goose Pond at Little St. Simons Island, Ga., Wednesday, April 25, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON \ ccompton@ajc.com

090312 Ossabaw Island - A Great Horned owlet sits on the edge of an abandoned Bald Eagles nest at Ossabaw Island looking inquisitively at a passing helicopter during a Bald Eagle survey Thursday, March 12, 2009. Several sightings have been made of Great Horned Owls moving into abandoned Bald Eagle nests. The Great Horned Owl is the largest owl in North America. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070516 Egg Island Bar - A Brown Pelican nests with it's chics in a colony on Egg Island Bar Wednesday, May 16, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070525 Egg Island Bar - Thousands of Royal Terns cover Egg Island Bar on Friday, May 25, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON /ccompton@jc.com

070527 Wassaw Island - A male Painted Bunting perches on the limb of a tree along the banks of Wassaw Creek on Wassaw Island, Sunday, May 27, 2007. With bright blue, green, and red plumage, the breeding male Painted Bunting is the continent's most gaudily colorful bird. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070517 St. Catherines Island - A Little Blue Heron comes in for a landing at Wamassee Pond on St. Catherines Island, Thursday, May 17, 2007. Common to uncommon along edges of shallow marshy ponds. Usually solitary, but it nests and roosts in mixed colonies. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070517 St. Catherines Island - A Sandhill Crane grazing on North Beach Road at St. Catherines Island, Thursday, May 17, 2007. Sandhill Cranes nest in open tundra or grassy tundra. Winters in marshes or on farmland, where flocks forage for roots, grain, and other food, spending the night in groups in shallow water. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070517 St. Catherines Island: A Great Egret feeds her chics in their nest at the rookery in Wamassee Pond on St. Catherines Island, Thursday, May 17, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070323 Cumberland Island - Sand flys as a pair of wild turkeys battle for turf while grazing along the sand dunes at Sea Camp Beach, Cumberland Island, Friday, March 23, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070323 Cumberland Island - A Turkey Vulture, also known in some North American regions as the Turkey Buzzard, eyes it's prey as it flys over Long Beach on the northern end of Cumberland Island, Friday, March 23, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070322 Cumberland Island - A willet speeds after it's prey along the jetty at Pelican Banks during low tide, Cumberland Island, Ga., Thursday, March 22, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070322 Cumberland Island - A Douney Woodpecker feeds at Burbank Point on the northern end of Cumberland Island, Thursday, March 22, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070323 Cumberland Island - A pair of adult breeding Royal Terns at Long Point face the wind during low tide on the extreme northern end of Cumberland Island, Friday, March 23, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070131 Jekyll Island - A yellow rumped warbler has a wax myrtle berry for breakfeast on Jekyll Point at Jekyll Island, Ga., on Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070221 Jekyll Island - A flock of Black Skimmers comes in for a landing along the south end of the beach at Jekyll Island on Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070212 Jekyll Island - A flock of Black Skimmers face head first into the wind on the southern end of Jekyll Island on Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070516 Jekyll Island - An adult Wood Stork, uncommon and local in shallow muddy ponds, returns to it's nest to tend to it's young at Jekyll Island, Wednesday, May 16, 2007. Wood Storks nest in colonies in trees and forage singly or in small groups. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

052216 LITTLE ST SIMONS: on Sunday, May 22, 2016, on Little St. Simons Island. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

020722 Ossabaw Island - Dozens of Wood Storks, Great Egrets. and Snowy Egrets forage in a pond at Willows Road on Ossabaw Island, Ga., Monday, July 22, 2002. Designated in 1978 as Georgia's first Heritage Preserve under the Heritage Trust Act of 1975. Extensive research, education, and scientific study take place on the island. Public educational opportunities are available. Seasonal deer and ferel hog hunts by permit only. Access is by private or charter boat. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

061013 OSSABAW ISLAND - Immature White Ibis, common in muddy pools and marshes, forage for acquatic prey during high tide at North End Field on Ossabaw Island, Friday, Oct. 13, 2006. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

030523 OSSABAW ISLAND: Red-winged Blackbird chicks chirp for their mother from a nest in the sand dunes at Bradley Slough on Ossabaw Island, Friday, May 30, 2003. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

061013 Ossabaw Island - Immature White Ibis feed in the tide waters of Horse Hammock at Ossabaw Island, Ga., on Friday, Oct. 13, 2006. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

061012 Ossabaw Island - A Juvenille Sanderling, common almost exclusively along sandy beaches where wave action makes invertebrate prey available, makes it way down Middle Beach feeding in the surf at Ossabaw Island on Thursday, Oct. 12, 2006. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

020722 OSSABAW ISLAND - An osprey takes off from a tree top at sunset at Lower Egret Pond on Ossabaw Island on Monday, July 22, 2002. Uncommon around any open water that harbors fish. it perches on conspicuous poles and trees near water. It hovers over open water and dives headfirst to catch fish with feet (unique among raptors). CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

030531 OSSABAW ISLAND - A Black-crowned Night-Heron roosts on a palm tree in Pine Barren Rookery on Ossabaw Island, Saturday, May 31, 2003. Common, but nests and roosts in colonies hidden in trees, foraging mainly at night. A stocky, large-headed heron that rarely extends its neck. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

061115 Sapelo Island - Great Egrets foraging along the marsh of the Julienton River seem to form a musical pattern of notes at Sapelo Island, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070305 Sapelo Island - A Snowy Egret with lacy plumes in adult breeding plumage forages for small fish in shallow water on the southern end of Sapelo Island, Monday, March 5, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070522 Sapelo Island - A adult Great Horned Owl roosts in a tree at sunset along the Sapelo River at High Point, Sapelo Island, Tuesday, May 22, 2007. Great Horned Owls are uncommon but wipespread throughout North America. Nocturnal, they roost during the day in trees, on sheltered cliff ledges, or in secluded spots, foraging at night for medium size animals such as rabbits and skunks. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

061115 Sapelo Island - Double-crested Comerants protect their roosting site in a treetop as a competitor trys to land at dusk along the Julienton River at Sapelo Island, Wednesday, Nov. 15, 2006. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070306 SAPELO ISLAND, GA.: A Willet, common on beaches and in salt marshes along the coast, feeds on a clam at Nanny Goat Beach, Sapelo Island, Tuesday, March 6, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070426 Sea Island - A red bellied woodpecker emerges from it's nest inside a canary island date palm on Sea Island, Ga., Thursday, April 26, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070426 Sea Island - A female redwing looks over south beach at sunrise on Sea Island, Ga., Thursday, April 26, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070212 St. Simons Island - A Boat tail Grackle at the St. Simons Island Pier overlooks the St. Simon's Island Lighthouse, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. The orginal iighthouse, a 75-foot tall early federal octagonal topped by a 10-foot oil-burning lamp built in 1810, was destroyed by retreating Confederate forces in 1862. This replacement was completed in 1872 with a third-order biconvex Fresnel lens. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070212 St. Simons Island - A trio of bonaparte gulls ride the waves along the coast of St. Simons Island, Monday, Feb. 12, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070213 St. Simons Island - A Brown Pelican in adult winter plumage stretches it's neck on a sand bar at Goulds Inlet, St. Simons Island, Ga, Tuesday, Feb. 13, 2007. Unique among the world's seven species of pelicans, it is found along the ocean shores and not on inland lakes. It is the only dark pelican and the only one that plunges from the air into the water to catch its food. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070131 Tybee Island - A Great Blue Heron sports early spring breeding plumage as it works a tidal creek for a meal on the northern end of Tybee Island, Ga., Thursday, Feb. 1, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070202 Tybee Island - A Imature White Ibis comes in for a landing in the coastal marsh as day breaks at the Lazaretto Creek Park Fishing Pier on Tybee Island, Ga., Friday, Feb. 2, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070202 Tybee Island - Sanderlings in winter plumage retreat in unison from an advancing wave as they feed along the surf during low tide on the south end of Tybee Island, Ga., Friday, Feb. 2, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070526 Wassaw Island - A small flock of Red Knots in breeding plumage take flight along the beach at First Fire Trail on Wassaw Island, Saturday, May 26, 2007. The Red Knot is the largest of the "peeps" in North America, and one of the most colorful. It makes one of the longest yearly migrations of any bird, traveling 9,300 miles from its Arctic breeding grounds to Tierra del Fuego in southern South America. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070527 Wassaw Island - A female Painted Bunting (summer residents) sings her song from the limb of a tree along the banks of Wassaw Creek on Wassaw Island, Sunday, May 27, 2007. A large variety of migratory birds use Wassaw as a sanctuary. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070526 Wassaw Island - Pelicans mass on the extreme northern tip of Wassaw Island, considered the most primitive on the Georgia coast, on Saturday, May 26, 2007. Wassaw has never had its forests cleared for timber, cotton, or cattle and is said to be the best representation of what the barrier islands looked like before Europeans arrived. It is part of the National Wildlife Refuge system as one of the natural treasures of the United States. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070423 Little St. Simons Island - A large flock of Sanderlings and Ruddy Turnstones fill the air over the north end beach at Little St. Simons Island on Monday, April 23, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

090312 Little St. Simons Island: A Bald Eagle swoops down from its nesting site to catch a fish along the coastal marsh at Little St. Simons Island, Thursday, March 12, 2009. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070424 Little St. Simons Island - A pair of pileated woodpeckers exchange turns caring for their young in their nest atop a dead pine tree at Mitchell Marsh on Little St. Simons Island, Tuesday, April 24, 2007. Pileateds are uncommon, but widespread, sparsely distributed in mature hardwood forests. Unmistakable crow-size, with long neck, red crest and obvious white-wing patch, it's favorite foods include carpenter ants so it often forages low on dead trees. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

052316 LITTLE ST SIMONS: Two glossy ibis break into battle for territory while foraging for aquatic prey in Goose Pond at sunrise on the southern end of Little St. Simons Island on Monday, May 23, 2016, on Little St. Simons Island. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

052416 LITTLE ST SIMONS: The first rays of sunrise highlight a pair of Black Skimmers dipping their long red and black bills into the water to catch small fish with a distinctive graceful and bouyant flight across Goose Pond on Tuesday, May 24, 2016, at Little St. Simons Island. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

052316 LITTLE ST SIMONS: A pair of Great Egret chics compete for the attention of their mother as she returns to the nest for feeding time at Normâs Pond on Monday, May 23, 2016, on Little St. Simons Island. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

052316 LITTLE ST SIMONS: Wood storks work the water along the edge of Goose Pond on Monday, May 23, 2016, on Little St. Simons Island. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

070425 Little St. Simons Island - A tricolored heron comes in for a landing at Norm's Pond on Little St. Simons Island, Ga., Wednesday, April 25, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070423 Little St. Simons Island: Water flys during bath time as a boat-tailed grackle cleans itself in a pool of water in the marsh at the edge of Myrtle Pond on the north end of Little St. Simons Island, Monday, April 23, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070424 Little St. Simons Island: A red-winged blackbird adult male voices his morning song from the brush covered sand dunes at the edge of Sancho Plaza Beach, Little St. Simons Island, Ga., Tuesday, April 24, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070424 Little St. Simons Island: A solitary American Oystercatcher makes itâs way along a sandbar looking for a meal durig sunrise at Sancho Panza Beach, Little St. Simons Island, Tuesday, April 24, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070424 Little St. Simons Island: A flock of adult breeding royal terns face into a strong wind on a sand bar at Main Beach, Little St. Simons Island, Tuesday, April 24, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

070423 Little St. Simons Island: Extraordinarily long red legs are unmistakable on a Black-necked stilit as it forages for food in the shallow waters of Myrtle Pond, Little St. Simons Island, Monday, April 23, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON / ccompton@ajc.com

052316 LITTLE ST SIMONS: A Marsh hen comes in for a landing on Norms Pondon Monday, May 23, 2016, at Little St. Simons Island. Curtis Compton / ccompton@ajc.com

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070320 LITTLE TYBEE ISLAND, GA.: American Oystercatchers line up at low tide on a oyster rake along the Bull River at Little Tybee Island, Ga., on Tuesday, March 20, 2007. CURTIS COMPTON /ccompton@ajc.com

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