Audubon’s Silver Bluff Sanctuary covers bottomland hardwood forest, longleaf pine savanna, grassland, and riparian habitats.
During our first visit in early September, we circled the wood stork foraging ponds and hiked Tanager Trail and Nuthatch Trail.
On our second visit in mid-April, we hiked the Quail Trail and explored the foraging ponds again.
Quail Trail
Quail Trail is a moderate 3.0-mile loop trail. Its first quarter mile wanders through a pine forest.
Then we strolled through a large field perfect for grassland birds. My favorite field finds were large magenta thistles and mock strawberries.
Quail Trail’s key feature is the scenic bluff 30 feet above the Savanah River. This bluff gives the sanctuary its name – early explorers found mica but assumed its metallic shine meant it was silver.
The overlook is the perfect spot to see a sharp curve in the river. It was incredibly stunning!
Right next to the bluff is an area holding the remains of the Robert E. Lee, a paddlewheel steamship. After acting as an excursion boat, the ship later became a ferryboat carrying passengers between Brunswick and Jekyll Island. Then in the 1950s, the Robert E. Lee ran aground near this spot.
On our hike we found so many spring birds including American crows, blue jays, blue-gray gnatcatchers, brown thrashers, Carolina chickadees, Carolina wrens, chipping sparrows, eastern kingbirds, eastern towhees, great crested flycatchers, northern cardinals, northern house wrens, northern parulas, northern rough-winged swallows, prairie warblers, prothonotary warblers, red-bellied woodpeckers, red-eyed vireos, ruby-crowned kinglets, summer tanagers, tufted titmice, and white-eyed vireos.
After the bluff, we continued along the Savanah River surrounded by bottomland hardwoods before looping back on the path toward the visitor center.
Kathwood Ponds (Wood Stork Foraging Ponds)
Kathwood Ponds has three constructed ponds separated by banks. Walking paths make the shape of a figure eight around the ponds.
During our first visit, most of the wildlife in and around the ponds was wading birds. While we still found a couple birds, American alligators were the prize sighting of our second visit. We saw at least 6 of them! With the higher water levels, the alligators were easy to spot. The largest was sunning on a metal grate in the far pond. The smallest was a young alligator along the shore.
In the ponds we saw an anhinga, a great blue heron, and a little blue heron. A small pied-billed grebe bobbed in and out of the water looking for food. It was fun watching it disappear and trying to anticipate where it would pop up above the surface again.
Around us American crows, blue-gray gnatcatchers, Carolina wrens, mourning doves, northern cardinals, summer tanagers, tufted titmice, and white-eyed vireos sang.
I highly recommend Silve Bluff Sanctuary. It offers easy ways to enjoy nature – with short, medium, and longer hikes – all in different habitats. I will be returning in other seasons to check out available wildlife.