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Youth Birding Art Contest Winners Announced

Drawing by Kaichen Guo

Four budding bird artists have been selected as T-shirt Art Contest winners in Georgia’s 14th annual Youth Birding Competition. A barn owl drawing by Kaichen Guo, an 11th-grader at Lambert High School in Suwanee, led the contest’s recordbreaking group of 272 entries. As grand-prize winner, the 18-year-old will receive a $100 Michaels gift card and have his artwork featured on T-shirts at the Youth Birding Competition in late April. Art contest coordinator Linda May praised participants and stressed that the focus “isn’t just about art.” “It’s about teaching kids to observe and connect with nature,” said May, environmental outreach coordinator for DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section. “Birds are a great focus since they’re beautiful, fun to watch and easy to find.” To encourage youth in wildlife conservation, awareness and appreciation of animals and their habitats is essential. The contest helps form that foundation through art. Kaichen Guo’s art entry also led the art contest’s High School division. Other division winners included: – Primary (pre-K through second grade): purple finch by Olivia Wang, 8, from The Westminster Schools in Atlanta. – Elementary (third-fifth grade): cedar waxwing by Danhui (Hannah) Wang, 10, from Sharon Elementary in Suwanee. – Middle School (sixth-eighth grade): bald eagle by Alston Li, 12, from Riverwatch Middle School in Suwanee. Contest submissions represented 57 public, private and home schools statewide. Entries were judged by a four-person panel including a DNR biologist, two artists and a graphic designer. Judges do not see a participant’s name, school or hometown. All entries will be displayed and division winners honored during the awards banquet April 27 at Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center. The winner of a new award for the best artwork by a birding team participant waill also be revealed at the banquet.

The birding competition and T-shirt Art Contest are sponsored by DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section, The Environmental Resources Network Inc. (TERN), – friends group of the Wildlife Conservation Section – and others, including the Georgia Ornithological Society and the Atlanta and Albany Audubon societies. To see the other T-shirt Art Contest winning entries, visit: https://bit.ly/2FTrF1V. For more on the Youth Birding Competition, visit: www.georgiawildlife.com/YBC

Fledgling Leaves the Nest

In mid-March, Wilmington Island resident Bear Moore noticed a large bird in a tree in his back yard. After observing the bird in the evenings for two days, he felt certain it was a juvenile bald eagle, and that the bird was injured, possibly entangled. Concerned for its ability to feed itself, Allen contacted a friend who put him in touch with another friend, wildlife biologist Tim Keyes, with the Georgia DNR. Also contacted was Shannon Marino, a drone operator with Zulu Marine who has specialized training in working with drones around protected or endangered species.

After verifying that the drone would stay at least 100 yards from the bird, Marino sent it up and shot footage just before losing the day’s light.

When the images as well as the location of the bird were passed on to Keyes, he determined that yes, it was an eagle, and in fact was one of two 12-week-old fledglings from a known nest nearby. The eaglet’s awkward movements and difficulty in flying were likely due to it leaving the nest too soon.

However, over that weekend, Moore was able to observe the parents bringing food to the younger bird and it making short flights as it tested out its new skills.

Over the following two weeks, both fledglings frequented the area as their flying and hunting skills began to improve.

If you should witness wildlife in distress, do not attempt to make contact in any way. Not only could it be dangerous to both you and the animal, but it could also be a crime. Instead contact 800-SAVE-ME.

Now is the season when one of the most fascinating animals on our coast comes ashore to spawn or lay eggs — and SCDNR biologists want your help finding them!

We're tracking the locations of spawning horseshoe crabs on South Carolina beaches to learn more about the habitats where they lay eggs. Your sightings will help us better understand and protect these unusual creatures, which play a critical role in human health and the coastal food chain.

If you've seen spawning horseshoe crabs recently, please take a few minutes to complete our online reporting form at bit.ly/sc_horseshoe_crabs.

The form should take approximately five minutes to complete. The information submitted will only be used to contact you in the event our biologists have follow-up questions. If you have any concerns or questions, please contact Kristin Hamilton at crms@dnr.sc.gov.

Photo provided by SCDNR

We’re working for you! • Protects, defends and restores the watershed by monitoring pollution and polluters. • Talks with legislators about bills that could better protect the watershed. • The 14,000 miles of the Altamaha watershed includes Ocmulgee, Oconee, Ohopee and the Golden Isles.

We can’t do it without you, become a member now! www.altamahariverkeeper.org

Shrimp & Grits Festival Named Best in the South

The Jekyll Island Authority’s Shrimp & Grits Festival won the Best Festival Award, along with three other awards, at the Southeast Festivals & Events Association’s (SFEA) Kaleidoscope Awards, in February. The awards celebrate events throughout the Southeast for their outstanding contributions to the industry and are part of SFEA’s annual convention, held this year in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

“We are honored to be selected for the Best Festival Award from among more than 200 festivals in five states,” said Nancy Kring-Rowan, director of events at the JIA. “Our team’s dedication and imagination make the Shrimp and Grits Festival a memorable event for our guests every year. It’s gratifying to see their hard work recognized in this way.”

The Shrimp & Grits Festival also won gold awards for Best Festival or Event Website and Best Promotional Poster Award and a bronze award for Best Print Ad. The judges looked for originality, creativity, media impact, volunteer programs and the overall impact to the community, according to Lisa McCray, executive director for SFEA.

The 2019 Shrimp & Grits Festival is scheduled for Sept. 20-22. A coastal favorite, it combines the classic southern dish with family-friendly entertainment, artists market, live music, kids’ zone, food, a craft brew fest and more.

Fishable Swimmable Drinkable Water!

Boater Safety Course

Presented by the Georgia DNR and Chatham County Marine Patrol This is a Georgia approved class, required for anyone born after January 1, 1998 to operate any vessel on Georgia waters. The course is instructed by CCMP and GA DNR Resource Rangers. It covers all required equipment and Georgia boating laws. All students must pass an exam and provide their social security number to receive the ID card.

3rd Saturday every month Must register at www.gooutdoorsgeorgia.com