Tag: conservation

Birding for Beginners

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Yank Moore, JIA Director of Conservation

Birding on Jekyll Island: A Beginner’s Guide

Birding is a rewarding and enriching hobby that connects individuals with nature. For beginners, diving into the world of birding can be both exciting and overwhelming. Jekyll Island is a birder’s paradise offering over 300 documented species. From tiny Northern Parulas to majestic American White Pelicans, this barrier island is teeming with avian life. Whether you’re a seasoned birdwatcher or just starting out, Jekyll provides a diverse and accessible environment for observing these fascinating creatures.

Where to Spot Birds

  • Viewing Platform: Located behind Guest Information at the entrance to the gate.
  • St. Andrews Beach Viewing Platform: Located at the end of the Wanderer Memorial Trail, this platform offers stunning views of the beach and its birdlife.
  • Horton Pond Viewing Platform: A great spot for observing waterfowl and other water-loving birds.
  • ME Thompson Memorial Bridge Deck: This elevated walkway provides opportunities to see birds in the surrounding marsh and woodland habitats.
  • Bike Trails: Jekyll Island’s extensive network of bike trails offers many opportunities for birdwatching as you explore the island.

Tips for Beginner Birders

  • Start with the Basics: Familiarize yourself with common bird species in your area by investing in field guides or downloading birding apps. These resources can help you identify birds based on their appearance, habitat, and behaviors.
  • Practice Patience: Birding requires patience and attentiveness. Spend time quietly observing your surroundings, listen for bird calls, and scan the area with your binoculars. Remember, birds may not always be immediately visible, so patience is key.
  • Choose the Right Time and Place: Birds are most active during the early morning and late afternoon. Plan your birding expeditions during these times for the best chance of spotting a variety of species. Visit a variety of habitats, such as forests, wetlands, and coastlines, to encounter different species.
  • Respect Wildlife and Habitat: Observe birds from a distance to avoid disturbing them or their habitats. Stay on designated trails, refrain from making loud noises, and follow local regulations for wildlife observation. Jekyll is a State Park with a goal for visitors and wildlife to coexist without conflict.
  • Embrace the Adventure: Birding is more than just checking off a list of species. It’s about immersing yourself in nature and appreciating its beauty. Approach with a sense of curiosity, enjoy the journey, and discover the wonders of the natural world.

Supporting Bird Conservation on Jekyll

The Jekyll Island Authority’s Conservation team has been dedicated to bird conservation for over a decade through research, monitoring, and habitat restoration. The Jekyll Island Foundation has been a vital partner in supporting these efforts. If you’d like to contribute to bird conservation on Jekyll, click here.

Pumps Make the Water Go Round

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Rachel Overmeyer, GSTC Rehabilitation Program Manager    

When guests walk into the hospital pavilion at the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC), not only will they find sea turtles, but also a massive amount of…water. Water may seem like a strange thing to notice, but water, and more importantly the quality of that water, is essential to the care of the patients. Proper nutrition and medical care go hand in hand with water quality to give patients the best care that they need.

The GSTC places a strong emphasis on water quality to ensure the health and recovery of its sea turtle patients. The water in the tanks is meticulously monitored and maintained, with key parameters like pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ozone, and chlorine levels being crucial for the well-being of the turtles. These parameters are part of the marine nitrogen cycle, and their buildup can be harmful to the animals.

To manage water quality, the GSTC uses a sophisticated system of pumps and filtration loops. Each tank system has four pumps that continuously move water through three different filtration loops, ensuring it is clean and safe before returning to the tank. These pumps are essential for maintaining the water’s cleanliness but are subject to wear and tear, similar to car engines.

Additionally, the GSTC uses a heat exchanger to regulate the water temperature, which is vital for sea turtles as they are ectotherms, or cold-blooded animals, and cannot regulate their own body temperature. This system helps in gradually warming up cold-stunned turtles or maintaining the optimal temperature for other patients.

The recent purchase of new centrifugal pumps, seal kits, and a heat exchanger, funded by the Jekyll Island Foundation, highlights the vital importance of donor contributions.

If you’re interested in supporting the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, click HERE, or learning more about the Jekyll Island Foundation, visit jekyllislandfoundation.org.

Meet Our Board: Nancy Coggins Seymour

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

In 2015, I reached out to my friends Jones Hooks and Woody Woodside with exciting news: Joel and I were on the hunt for a second home on the coast, and Jekyll Island was at the top of our list. My connection with Jones goes way back to our days on Capitol Hill—Jones with Congressman Bo Ginn and me with Senator Herman Talmadge. Fast forward nearly fifty years, and it’s thanks to Jones, his wife Stephanie, and the late Woody Woodside that Joel and I decided to make Jekyll our part-time home. Their friendship has been a treasure over the years. 

In 2017, Joel and I found our dream home at The Cottages at Jekyll Island and began living there part-time. The community at The Cottages welcomed us with open arms, and I’ve made lifelong friends who have shown me a few of the island’s hidden gems: the oldest tree, the grandmother’s tree, the tree you can stand under, the Silo, and the bird sanctuary in the Jekyll Island Campground. 

Once settled, I asked Jones, then the Executive Director of the Jekyll Island Authority, if there were any special projects he was passionate about that hadn’t made it through the budget. He mentioned several, and I was immediately on board: preserving the Chichota Cottage ruins, building a bioswale along Beachview Drive at Tortuga Jacks to prevent flooding, planting wildflowers on the Downing Musgrove Causeway to beautify the drive and promote pollination, and refurbishing the Captain Wylly Pond for beautification and as a haven for turtles and birds.  

Joel retired in 2020 and, sadly, passed away at the end of 2023. I retired in June 2024 and look forward to spending more time on Jekyll. Our favorite memories were our beach walks at sunrise and sunset. My favorite routes are from The Cottages north to Driftwood Beach, north to the Fishing Pier, and west from Driftwood Beach to the bike trail through the marsh to the Fishing Pier, all while enjoying the birds and their songs. 

On June 8, 2024, surrounded by family and friends, we dedicated a bench in Joel’s and my honor. Though Joel was no longer with us, his spirit was present. I chose a beautiful spot under a large oak canopy with hanging Spanish moss near the entrance to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center. The plaque reads: 

Supporting various JIF projects has been a source of pride, but my true passion lies with the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC). Turtle season is my favorite time of year. There’s nothing more thrilling than tracking nesting sea turtles, watching a turtle lay her eggs, observing GSTC staff take nest inventories, and witnessing a ‘Turtle Boil’—when hundreds of hatchlings emerge from their nest and make their way to the ocean.

Meeting the dedicated GSTC staff, including director Michelle Kaylor, veterinarian Dr. Sean Boylan, and the entire hospital and education team, especially the Night and Day Ride with Patrol teams, has been a joy. 

Giving back brings me immense pleasure, whether it’s to my local Elberton community, St. Alban’s Episcopal Church, Elbert Memorial Hospital where I worked for 25 years, or enhancing the beauty of Jekyll. I’m thrilled to support the Jekyll Island Foundation and work with new-found friends like JIF executive director Dion Davis and executive assistant Matt Humphrey. They do an incredible job, and JIF and its Board Members have made a significant impact on Jekyll Island over the years. 

The Foundation and Board are truly dedicated to their mission of conservation, preservation and education on and for Jekyll Island. I am honored to be part of this exceptional group of people from across Georgia and beyond. I encourage you to get involved with the Foundation and support the fantastic work they do. 

The campaign to rescue Jekyll Island’s Muhly Grass Meadows Continues!

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

by Joseph Colbert, JIA Wildlife Biologist & Yank Moore, JIA Director of Conservation 

The Jekyll Island Authority (JIA) Conservation team is very excited to share that by the end of 2024, through a partnership with Birds Georgia (formerly Georgia Audubon), Jekyll Island’s restored Muhly Grass Meadows is expanding! 

Beginning in 2022, Birds Georgia planted 7.4 acres of Muhly Grass Meadows between Tortuga Jacks and the Holiday Inn Resort (see blue section of map). By the end of 2024, additional plugs will be planted adjacent to the Holiday Inn Resort, just east of the bike path (see orange section of map). During the second leg of the restoration project, 4.2 acres turf grass will be replaced with 24,000 muhly grass plugs and other flowering plants, benefitting a wide variety of wildlife species. This will complete the grassland restoration project for this section of the island, allowing the conservation team to focus their attention on natural areas. Funding for the natural areas phase will be provided through the Jekyll Island Foundation’s ongoing Acres and Acres of Muhly Grass campaign.  

Muhly Grass Meadows occur naturally in dunes just beyond the beach and are considered a globally imperiled plant community, declining significantly across their range in the past several decades. This is especially true on Jekyll where there remains less than one acre of naturally occurring Muhly Grass Meadow. These meadows are threatened by increased coastal flooding events and succession or transition into less desirable habitats, making restoration an urgent and timely activity for JIA to address.  

This recent restoration project, implemented through Birds Georgia, has been very successful so far, but this is only the beginning of an expansive, island-wide restoration campaign focused on this habitat type. In the years to come, using the funds from the Acres and Acres of Muhly campaign, the conservation team will continue expanding Muhly Grass Meadows in naturally occurring dunes across the island where they would have been found historically. Forty acres of space on the southern section of Jekyll Island has been identified as a high priority to rescue, restore, and establish Muhly Grass Meadows. With your help and financial support, the Conservation team will turn this dream into a reality!  

We’re very grateful for funding support from donors like you, that will make this restoration campaign a major conservation success story by rescuing this beautiful and productive globally imperiled habitat from going extinct on Jekyll Island.  

Flora and Fauna

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

Joseph Colbert CWB®, Wildlife Biologist & Yank Moore, Director of Conservation

As spring moves into summer, plant growth is in full swing and sun-loving flowers are in bloom. The causeway pollinator plantings are no exception. Careful planning of species selection by Jekyll Island Authority’s (JIA) conservation staff gives an array of color combinations that will continue to change, flourish, and bloom. Throughout the year, these beauties provide a fresh and unique color palette for every season along with different flower shapes, heights, and sizes.

Spring has enjoyed a great production of spiderworts, phlox, primroses, and blanket flowers which provide an appealing medley of rich blue, white, red, and pink flowers. Moving into warmer months, plains coreopsis, black and brown-eyed susans, and a second flush of blanket flowers will yield various shapes and sizes of yellow and orange.   

Visitors and residents have expressed positive feedback and gratitude for the attractive and colorful native plants that grow and bloom along the causeway. Of course, no one is more grateful than the bees, beetles, butterflies, and a variety of other pollinators who gather nectar, pollen, and other critical resources for their survival. These seemingly insignificant ‘bugs’ play a critical role in plant life survival along with helping to provide summer favorites such as berries, summer vegetables, and melons. JIA’s conservation staff is pleased to help nurture such a valuable resource that appeals both to people and the diverse wildlife that call Jekyll Island home.

This project supports JIA’s mission of responsible preservation, maintenance, and care of wildlife diversity. We are grateful to the generous donors of the Jekyll Island Foundation for helping to make this possible.

To give to conservation projects that help restore habitats and contribute to the ecological enhancement of wildlife diversity on Jekyll Island, click HERE.

Meet Our Board: Christie Kinsey

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

It only took one visit to Jekyll Island for Christie to fall in love. It was 1976 when she first crossed the then draw bridge and saw the welcome sign to the little island that would change her life. Her cousins had moved here from New York and prompted the visit. “The beaches, the history, the wildlife, the bike paths, the oaks, the ocean – it all fueled my desire to live here one day.”

Christie longed for the island life. “From biking around to playing tennis in the Morgan Center [formerly an indoor tennis court], I thought this was paradise!” She visited as often as possible, trading in the mountains of West Virginia for the sandy beaches of Georgia whenever she could – each visit refueling her commitment to one day fulfil her dream of calling Jekyll Island home.

In 1990, she gave the island an even bigger piece of her heart, marrying her husband Tim at the historic Faith Chapel. They filled the church with their immediate family members and their cousins’ friends from around the island, saying “I do” in the beautiful light shimmering through the [one-of-a-kind Tiffany Studios] stained-glass windows.  

In 2015, Christie and Tim celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary with a visit to the island in search of the perfect cottage or home to purchase. “We bought our house on North Riverview Drive that week and the excitement began!” Christie still remembers the butterflies she got when they signed the closing paperwork, realizing her dream was becoming a reality. They made the move from West Virginia and began turning the house into their perfect home with some extensive remodeling. By 2020, Georgia had become their permanent resident state.

With the move, Christie knew she wanted to be involved in two things: the Jekyll Island Arts Association and the Jekyll Island Foundation (JIF). Having served on various boards during her career as a Financial Advisor with Northwestern Mutual, she knew the integral role that foundations have in the success of an organization. After getting involved with the Jekyll Island Foundation, she realized the immense impact philanthropy has on their beloved island, helping to fund important island initiatives and projects for the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA).

Since she’s been on the JIF board, Christie and her husband have adopted a cabbage palm tree at Faith Chapel in honor of her cousins, The Bromsteds, who first brought her to Jekyll. They’ve installed a bench in memory of their parents and planted live oaks in memory of her sisters. They’ve also been involved in the Muhly Grass restoration project, as well as the bat boxes and Chimney Swift towers projects. “The Foundation is the vehicle through which donors can help make a positive impact on the present and future of this unique place,” Christie explains.

Everyone has their own preferences when it comes to their perfect paradise, but Christie believes this little island off the coast of Georgia is one of our country’s best kept secrets. While many of her friends have chosen to retire to other beach towns along the coast, she believes the reason Jekyll will always remain the best is that it will always keep its peaceful, as-is charm, knowing it will never be overdeveloped. And working with a board that shares that vision is one of the things she loves most. “The best part about Jekyll Island is its commitment to maintaining a balance between nature and humans. The Foundation’s mission to raise funds to help conserve and preserve the Island as we know it is the primary reason I wanted to be involved as a donor and Board Member.” 

It’s been almost 50 years since Christie made her first memories on Jekyll Island, adding to them along the way with collecting shells, admiring the spectacular sunsets, getting a glimpse of the occasional alligator, or spending dinnertime crabbing in the backwash areas. Over the years, her adoration for this place has only grown. “Every day my love for Jekyll and my passion for its future increases.” She loves the life she and her husband have built here, enjoying everything the island has to offer and vowing to continue giving to it even more, offering her time and resources to be a positive piece of Jekyll Island’s ongoing progress.

Unearthing Loggerhead Nesting Mysteries

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

By Davide Zailo, GSTC Research Program Manager

Studying the management and conservation needs of loggerhead sea turtles on Jekyll Island is the responsibility of the research department of the Jekyll Island Authority’s Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC). Each spring the GSTC is proud to continue their work with these iconic species and continue one of the oldest loggerhead nesting beach projects in the world.

Thanks to generous support from Jekyll Island Foundation donors, utility terrain vehicles (UTVs) allow researchers on nighttime beach patrol to cover a large expanse of beach in order to maximize the chances of encountering as many adult, reproductive, loggerhead turtles on Jekyll.

Recently, the Foundation provided monetary support to assist with the University of Georgia’s (UGA) Loggerhead Genetics Project. This funding will enable researchers to continue collecting skin biopsies and one single egg from loggerheads nesting on Jekyll. The DNA contained in the skin biopsies and eggs provides crucial information that collaborators at UGA will use to identify these animals. In the case of the egg, researchers removing  one egg from each nest will help identify the animal even if it is not directly encountered. The skin biopsy allows GSTC research collaborators to test methods by double-checking that genetic material from a skin biopsy matches that of an egg from the same parent.

This multi-state genetics project led by UGA helps answer critical questions such as: how many nests these animals lay each year and where and how frequently they nest. Currently, the actual number of loggerhead sea turtles that nest along the Atlantic seaboard from Virginia to northern Florida (an area known as the Northern Recovery Unit for loggerhead turtles) is not known. By continuing this work, the GSTC research team are contributing to one of the most robust nesting loggerhead sea turtle datasets worldwide.

These efforts are made possible through funding received from the Jekyll Island Foundation. For more than 14 years, the Foundation has supported GSTC Research efforts through funding equipment and tools necessary to do their job.

Please join us in kicking off the start of Sea Turtle Season by taking part in the annual Turtle Crawl event on April 27,  2024, at the Jekyll Island Beach Village. Participants may choose between a 10K, 5K, 1K Fun Run or even a ‘Virtual” Ghost Crawler. This fundraiser serves as a way for dedicated patrons to support the Center and has raised over $163,000 since its inception.

Can’t come to the event but still wish to support sea turtles? Follow THIS LINK to give directly to the Center.

Thank you again for your continued support.

Meet Our Donors: Joel and Rosemary McElhannon

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

Worth the Drive: Fifteen Years of Family Visits to Jekyll

The drive from home in Athens, Georgia, to Jekyll Island is nearly three hundred miles for the McElhannon family—usually a full five hours in the car. But once Joel and Rosemary and their daughters, Maryn and Cora, reach the shores of Jekyll Island, the road trip becomes just a distant memory. The family hears the soft waves of the Atlantic, smells the distinct salty air, and sees the shimmering sand around them. Time on Jekyll is always worth the effort of the trip.

For the McElhannons, a visit to Jekyll Island means they’re coming back to a place where so many happy life memories and moments unfolded and where so many more are ready to be created. 

It All Started at the Chapel

Though not Jekyll natives, the McElhannons started their life together on this pristine island when Joel proposed to Rosemary in August 2008, right inside the historic Faith Chapel. Since 1904, Jekyll’s Faith Chapel has hosted hundreds of blissful unions, and the McElhannons chose to say their vows in this beautiful little building. The cypress-shingle ceiling, heart pine wood floors, and Tiffany studio stained-glass window created a warm, intimate setting for the ceremony.

After their chapel wedding in February 2009, Joel and Rosemary enjoyed an elegant reception at the historic Crane Cottage down the road, and even made their first donations as a family to the Jekyll Island Foundation and the Georgia Sea Turtle Center in honor of their wedding guests.

History to Enjoy Together Now

Since 2009, the family’s adventures on Jekyll Island have continued, combined with personal investment in this island paradise. Spending time together in this place has always been a priority—Joel and Rosemary are bringing their girls along to celebrate their fifteenth wedding anniversary at Jekyll this year. And they’ve donated regularly to the various initiatives of the Jekyll Island Foundation to help make sure that they and others can continue to enjoy this favorite vacation spot.

“We have always been very involved in supporting historic preservation projects,” Rosemary explained. “And we believe it is important to be stewards of the past—to pass it on to future generations. Jekyll Island has so much history, such a legacy, but few people know about it!”

On a recent trip to Jekyll, Joel and Rosemary asked their girls what they loved most about Jekyll, and they had no trouble answering: bike riding, Driftwood Beach, fried shrimp, and sea turtles. During Spring Break, they’ve all found weather on Jekyll to be perfect for bike riding and exploring the island. And it has become a tradition for them to enjoy the week with their grandparents, Ned and Claire Harbeson, who have owned property on Jekyll for nearly twenty years.

“The Georgia Sea Turtle Center is a huge draw for the girls,” the McElhannons stated. “Every time they’re on the island, they have to stop by to see the patients. There are few places where you can safely get up close with wildlife, so the center is a great way to teach the girls what it takes to care for the wildlife of the island.”

The girls’ ability to enjoy the natural beauty of the island is another benefit of the family’s Jekyll trips. “I can’t tell you how many hours the girls have spent slowly trolling Sharktooth Beach and Driftwood Beach, bent over at the waist, looking for shells, teeth, and other treasures,” Rosemary explains. “Hours can pass, and they are perfectly content. In this age of screens and videos games, that’s a really incredible thing!”

Meanwhile, Rosemary and Joel love to stroll around the Jekyll Island Historic District to see how things have changed over the years. As the Jekyll Island Foundation celebrates and commemorates its twenty-fifth year, the McElhannons are thankful to be a part of the steady work of raising funds for conservation, preservation, and education initiatives through their charitable giving. “The ongoing preservation efforts make us feel good,” Joel says, “because we know we are part of that effort.”

Meet Our Board: Del Ross

Posted on | by Matthew Humphrey

According to the Oxford definition of the word, an expert is an individual who has a comprehensive and authoritative knowledge of or skill in a particular area. Del Ross is an expert.

More specifically, Ross is an expert in hotel profitability optimization. He serves as the CRO (Chief Revenue Officer) of Hotel Effectiveness, a role in which he has notably reduced labor costs for more than 754,000 hotels. His extensive experience in the hotel industry includes every aspect of the business and a number of branches, including management in distribution channels, sales, customer loyalty and lifecycles, digital marketing, operations and e-commerce. 

Ross also holds multiple patents in the field of marketing technology, has served as conference chairman for Eye for Travel and serves on the board of directors of Lucena Research, a machine learning/artificial intelligence company. 

To boot, he is also a musician who enjoys coaching youth sports as well as entrepreneurial mentoring. He and his wife Jamie, of more than 27 years, reside in Sandy Springs where they have four children, ranging in age from 15 to 25. Oh, and a golden retriever named Charlie.

When his children were young, they vacationed on Jekyll. They loved to bike all over the Island, play on the beach, enjoy [Summer Waves] water park, play miniature golf and croquet, and spent nearly the entire time laughing and smiling at each other. It was magical and peaceful and fun – exactly the kind of getaway their busy family needed. Today, they continue to return again and again, always discovering new things to love about this great treasure in our home state of Georgia.

Ross’ combined hotel and hospitality know-how, paired with his long-time love for Jekyll Island, came together to make the role of board member at the Jekyll Island Foundation a perfect fit.

Del joined the board in 2020.  Prior to his appointment, his family had been regular visitors to the Island for many years and have come to love its beauty, attractions, and history.  His father, Danny Ross, served on the [JIF] Board for 9 years and recommended Del to succeed him.  They served together during Danny’s final year on the Board during which time he imparted much of his perspective and passion for the mission of JIF and its potential to expand its impact.

Del’s passion to serve also stems from the belief that Jekyll Island is a national treasure which has been carefully curated and nurtured by the State of Georgia via the Jekyll Island Authority (JIA), the managing entity. “Over the past 15 years, various state leaders have been wonderful supporters of Jekyll Island and the JIA and have helped prevent runaway development and exploitation even as they have encouraged the economic growth of the Island,” says Ross.

During his tenure, the Foundation has grown and has attracted many new donors, members, sponsors, and key board members. They have also built the groundwork for future efforts. For his part, Del would like to be instrumental in attracting significant donors and sponsors for the Foundation’s efforts and in particular, supporting the efforts to expand the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, a rare gem that serves a vital purpose.

“One of the things I love and respect about Jekyll Island [leadership] is the commitment to growth, while maintaining the authenticity and integrity of its history, simplicity, and natural beauty. [Previous JIA Executive Director Jones Hooks] was a remarkable leader who oversaw a dramatic growth in tourism to the island while at the same time avoiding the commercialization,” says Ross.

Going forward, he “… would love for more people to experience the magic of Jekyll and do so in a way that adds to our [Jekyll Island Foundation] mission of preserving and improving the historical and environmental assets which are unique to the Island,” he said.