02/06/2026

 

Samuel Clifford

 

Data: 000004

 

Date: 2/6/2026

 

Location: Grandbay Wildlife Management Area (Valdosta, GA)

 

Weather: Sunny/no clouds

 

Temperature: 57°–62°F

 

Time: 1pm–3pm

 

Immediately upon arrival 3 Turkey Vultures were spotted. One was close enough to observe its red head and shiny‑silvery feathers on the underside of its wings. It was certainly riding the wind as it didn’t flap its wings once and quite often flew backwards.

 

A female Downy Woodpecker was seen pecking at a tree and gradually moving up it for around 3 minutes. A Northern Flicker was also heard nearby.

 

A White Ibis was spotted in a tree. It was consistently looking around, moving its head up and down. Interestingly, another Ibis was standing in the water below it. Furthermore, three Ibis also flew over while I was observing this one. The trees swayed back and forth but the Ibis was able to grip and keep its balance on the limb.

 

Two large groups of White Ibis could be seen at the end of the boardwalk from the tower. In the closest group I counted about 21 total. The other group seems to have the same. Both groups all of a sudden took off and their numbers easily reached over 50. I can hear Red‑shouldered Hawks coming from their direction and I wonder if that spooked them. Another group of Ibis were seen in the opposite direction of the tower numbering around 6. Other large groups were seen farther in the distance. The Ibis are back in the part of the marsh I saw them in before the drop in temperature. Perhaps there is a causation.

 

A Great Egret was spotted in the marsh along the same line of water the Great Egret the other day was seen, just farther down. It was once again stalking through the marsh. Faint Sandhill Cranes could be heard in the distance but surprisingly they weren’t seen.

 

As I was leaving the tower a flock of Sandhill Cranes did fly over numbering over 40. Concerning the location of the Ibis discussed in the last two data sets, it should be noted that the location of them prior to the temperature drop was near the tower in the open marsh. During the lower temperature drop they were near/closer to the entrance of the boardwalk among the dense trees.

 

Observed:

Turkey Vulture: 3+

Downy Woodpecker: 1

White Ibis: 60+

Sandhill Cranes: 40+

Great Egret: 1+