Tag: birding

Game Changers Article in Golden Isles Magazine

The Game Changers article in the July/August 2018 edition of Golden Isles Magazine features Kingfisher Paddleventures owner Norm Leonard, who shared some of his thoughts about kayaking with Golden Isles Magazine editor Bethany Leggett. We’re very excited to share this news with you and couldn’t be more proud of the ecotours we provide to visitors year-round.

Game Changers article in Golden Isles Magazine about kayaking with Kingfisher owner Norm Leonard

You can find the entire magazine online here. It’s well worth your time because each edition is filled with information about activities, restaurants, shops, beaches, and other attractions throughout the Golden Isles. There’s much more to the magazine than the Game Changers column, and we encourage you to check it out!

Kingfisher Paddleventures offers paddleboarding and kayaking adventures in the Golden Isles as the area’s only ecotourism firm owned and operated by a PhD Conservation Biologist and Ecologist. Every outing is different, and our programming is dynamic as we respond to the wants and needs of our customers, the water conditions, the weather, and even the seasons. We take you on the tour YOU want, to the fullest extent possible. So some tours are “eco-light” while others are a full-on crash course in coastal ecology. Every group is different, and we understand that. We also get that you’re on vacation and might not want something that’s “too heavy” while others really enjoy the opportunity to “geek out” about the birds, plants, and ecosystems they see.

Our idea is that people only save what they love, so helping you fall in love with the area is our top priority. If this means that we drift in a tidal creek while your children swim, play, and laugh, then so be it! We promise you’ll have a blast. And we might even join your children (and you?) in the mud or for a quick swim. But we’re prepared to get serious, too, and we’re ready to lead you in a ranging conversation about coastal ecology the likes of which you won’t find anywhere else!

Record Numbers Of Peregrine Falcons!

peregrine falcons in the Golden Isles - Photo by Pat Leary.
A peregrine falcon in flight. Photo by Pat Leary via The Brunswick News article on 16 October 2017.

Record numbers of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) are being observed in the Golden Isles, according to an article that appeared in The Brunswick News on Monday, 16 October 2017.

The falcons are known for their high-speed dives and taking prey mid-air. The picture shown here, which I copied from the article in The Brunswick News, shows a falcon in flight as caught on camera by Pat Leary. It’s a good depiction of how the birds often appear when viewed through binoculars.

Although the Cornell Lab of Ornithology profile page for peregrine falcons says that the IUCN lists the birds as a species of least concern, they are very rare in Georgia despite having been common in the past. The cause of their decline along the east coast is attributed to the widespread use of DDT, a pesticide that was once used to control mosquitos but has since been outlawed.

Each year during October, peregrine falcons and other birds of prey, collectively referred to as “raptors,” migrate from their northern summertime habitats to winter habitats. You can come on one of our birding tours to try and see these majestic animals for yourself. Give us a call at 912-230-4323 for tour availability. You can read more about peregrine falcons on our sister site, Southeast Ecology, where we are building a repository of natural history information specific to the southeastern United States.