We don't only bird. The night before Keegan and I had to return to Tallahassee, we joined Heather and a few of my college friends for a show at The Tabernacle in Atlanta. It was one of those shows where the opener, Circles Around The Sun, was way better than the opener, Greensky Bluegrass. But I digress.
The reason that I mention the show is to set the scene for our energy levels the following day. We were dead tired and only a delicious, hearty breakfast from our favorite restaurant in Athens, The Grit, could revive us. While eating, Heather and I scanned eBird to figure out where to set our course. A large block of land north of Macon appeared ideal and, so, we ventured to Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge.
One of the things I enjoy so much about a big year is that, when Heather and I are together, we are always looking for birds. You never know when a new one may present itself. In this case, driving down Highway 83 south of Madison, some birds in a roadside field caught my eye. I stopped, with Heather following, and we got out to take a look. Nine Killdeer flew away from us, letting our their distinctive cry. A pair of hovering birds to the right looked interesting. We quickly drew up our binoculars and spotted two American Kestrels. Both of these species were new for us!
Our next stop, which surprised us with how quickly it came, was our destination: Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge. I'd heard of it, but had never been. From the beginning, we could see that it would be a cool place.
Undulating, pine-covered hills stretched in every direction and the entire habitat had been strategically singed by fire. The forest was open and its grassy understory was golden in the sun. We first stopped by Allison Lake to try to see a rarity that had been reported there. The wind stung us in the 40 degree cold, and Keegan said something to the effect of, "How important is this bird?"
We reached the lake edge, scanned the entire lake, and found our target sitting in a group at the back of the lake. Trumpeter swans! These weren't new for us, but seeing these majestic swans in central Georgia was not something we could pass up.
We next hopped into Heather's Suburu and took off down the Little Rock Wildlife Drive. This six-mile loop road passes through forest, meadows, and swampy lowlands. Several people had reported birds we needed from it so we had high hopes. We scanned fallen logs in the forest for the elusive winter wren, even busting out the scope a couple times. On one of these occasions, a flock of Cedar Waxwings flew overhead, our first of the year! Purple Finch and Winter Wren both proved to be elusive. We drove, walked, and scanned silenting but...nothing.
The good news is that the drive was really beautiful. It was a new discovery for all of us and Heather and I now have a new place between our towns to check out. And our day wasn't finished! This website is called Birds and Brews, and we had only covered the bird part.
We drove to Macon, a town renowned for its music history, and paid our respects to a few musicians Keegan and I really, really love. We visited the graves of Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, and Berry Oakley in Rosehill Cemetery. All three played in The Allman Brothers Band, one of the most talented and influential bands to come out of this country. Duane and Berry were both killed in motorcycle accidents early in the band's development. Gregg died less than two years ago. We paid our respects to these man, then ventured downtown.
The Ocmulgee Brewpub called our name. This open, spacious brewery sits right in downtown Macon and is famous for a homebrew that got the whole thing started: the Swampy Scotsman. This Scottish ale sounded good to me and so I gave it a shot. It was absolutely delicious...honestly, one of the best locally-brewed beers I've had so far on our big year adventure! Heather tasted the 24/session IPA. No longer afraid of catching her mono (yes, she had mono this entire trip!), I tasted her beer. It was also delicious! This was a good find.
Unfortunately, it was time for us to go our separate ways. We said goodbye and then Keegan and I made the three hour drive back to Tallahassee. It was so good to see him, so good to see Heather, so good to see my college buddies, and so good to see some new birds!
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