Bird #327 — Royal Tern

Posted on July 20, 1990 by Roger

sterna (tern) maxima (greatest)

Friday, July 20, 1990 — 7:00 am

Tybee Island, Georgia — north end, near Fort Screvens — Atlantic Ocean

A wake-up call roused me at 6:00 a.m. I followed the directions in A Birder’s Guide to Georgia. It told me to park near the old police station and walk over the dunes to the beach. I drove around the area, but couldn’t find a place to park. I drove to the Tybee Museum and parked in front of a meter. I didn’t have any change, but nobody was around so I decided to risk it. I walked over the boardwalk that crossed the dunes and started up the beach.

Exciting things began happening immediately. Two Fish Crows were perched on a sign, calling. Five or six Willets were feeding at the ocean’s edge. They flushed as I approached and headed up the beach. Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, and Semipalmated Plovers were walking the beach. One of the plovers was missing a leg, but it hopped around without apparent difficulty. About 50 Royal Terns were crouching in the sand, oblivious to the people walking about.

Yes, there were people walking about. The book told me that terns congregate in this area, and it was right. It also mentioned that a recent condo development was a detriment to birding. It was right again. People were popping out of the condo and strolling all over the beach.

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Bird #326 — Laughing Gull

Posted on July 19, 1990 by Roger

larus (ravenous seabird) atricilla (from ater, black, and cilla, tail)

Thursday, July 19, 1990 — 5:05 pm

Tybee Island, Georgia — Tybee Lighthouse — Atlantic Ocean

We toured Fort Pulaski in the afternoon, then headed back to Tybee Island, where our hotel was. We stopped at the Tybee Lighthouse and climbed to the top. It was a very hot, humid day. It was better up top. We stood on the deck overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and the Spanish-American War battery below us. A breeze was blowing up there that made things bearable.

I spotted three Laughing Gulls as they flew by. They came from the direction of the Savannah River and headed down the beach. They were below us, and I looked down on them as they flew past.

The next morning I got excellent looks at a large number of them standing in a mixed flock with other gulls and terns just up the beach from the lighthouse.

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Tybee Lighthouse — Tybee Island, Georgia

Posted on July 19, 1990 by Roger

Our admission into the Tybee Museum gained us access to the Tybee Lighthouse across the street.

The lighthouse was much more interesting than the museum, but it almost killed us. I recommend that you visit, but do it in the winter. There are 171 steps, and by the time I reached the top, I was bushed. The view was fantastic and a breeze made things bearable. We stayed up top for about 15 minutes, then climbed back down 171 steps.

The house photo below is of the Second Assistant Keeper’s dwelling. It is one of the oldest houses on Tybee Island and was used as a barracks for Federal soldiers during the Civil War.

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Fort Screven — Tybee Island, Georgia

Posted on July 19, 1990 by Roger

The Tybee Museum is located in the Garland Battery, which was part of Fort Screven, a coastal artillery defense site. It was built in 1897 for the Spanish-American War and continued in operation until 1945.

There wasn’t a great deal to the museum, but it did have a pop machine, which was very nice considering the heat and humidity. We had the fort pretty much to ourselves, and my daughter enjoyed running down the passageways. This photo was taken on the observation deck on top of the museum.

Here’s the museum from the platform atop the Tybee Lighthouse.

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Battery Hambright — Cockspur Island, Georgia

Posted on July 19, 1990 by Roger

After touring the Civil War fort at Fort Pulaski National Monument, we wandered down a trail to the north pier. On the way we passed by Battery Hambright, a small fortification built to protect the Savannah River during the Spanish-American War. At the end of the pier, we sat on a shady bench and enjoyed a nice breeze off the ocean.

The next morning I went birding on the beach. A thunderstorm rumbled through. As I was waiting for it to stop, I drove back to Fort Pulaski. When it slowed to a drizzle, I walked back toward the river looking for birds. It started raining hard again, so I took shelter in one of the rooms under the bunker. It was an odd experience, being alone in the old cement fort in a thunderstorm with nobody else around. The rain seemed to be letting up, so I left. It began raining yet again, so I gave up and went back to the motel.

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