Author: Ogeechee Riverkeeper

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Birding Basics

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper May 2, 2026

Do you often see or hear birds but don’t know how to identify them? Birding is a safe outdoor activity, and you can use our custom birding bingo to get started! And be sure to join in for the World Migratory Bird Day celebration. 

More than just pretty animals, birds are an important part of the ecological system, including the Ogeechee River basin. Various species inhabit different layers of the food web — from birds that eat seeds and insects to the most expert hunting predators. They keep populations in check.

They also help spread seeds and pollen which is vital for plant growth. Maintaining a healthy environment for birds to thrive is crucial to the balance of ecosystems locally and globally.

Red-shouldered hawk. Photo by Chris S. Wood, Macauley Library

What is “birding”? 

Birding is the act of birdwatching for recreational, research, or citizen science reporting purposes. Also known as ‘birdwatching,’ it’s the observation of birds in their natural habitats as a hobby or an amateur activity.

Wood Storks. Photo by Mary Ellen Urbanski. Harris Neck National Wildlife Refuge

I see birds all the time, but I don’t know what I’m looking at. 

Learn what to look or listen for when birding starting with color, shape, flight pattern, body size, bill or beak shape, calls and more. 

Check out these sites for bird guides. 

Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Birdwatcher’s Digest
Rare birds in the ORK watershed

Northern parula on red twig. Photo by Dan Fein.

I’m enjoying this. How can I get better?

Consider purchasing a pair of binoculars (aka “bins”) and searching out local birding trails or sites. You might also join a local chapter of the Audubon Society, an organization dedicated to protecting birds and sharing resources for enthusiasts.

Audubon Society
Ogeechee Audubon Society
Coastal Georgia Audubon Society
Georgia Audubon Society
Birding trails in Georgia

Always follow the American Birding Association Code of Birding Ethics

American Goldfinch. Photo by Adam Jackson, Macauley Library.

I want to share some of the amazing things I’ve seen. Is there a way to do that?

Engage in citizen science. Download the eBird app or the Merlin app for free. It’s a digital way to keep track of the birds you see or hear while birding. This type of citizen science reporting — the collection of scientific data by amateur scientists — benefits the people participating as well as researchers.

Adult male Barn Owl. Photo by Shlomo Neuman, Audubon Photography Awards

ORK Birding Activity

  • Plan a birding trip in your backyard or neighborhood park, near a waterway or in a city greenspace.
  • Download eBird or Merlin Bird ID and record what you see/hear. If you aren’t sure how to ID a certain bird, you can search through the Cornell Lab of Ornithology website by characteristics. 
  • Share your checklists with friends and other birders! You can also share your findings and photos through email at info@ogeecheeriverkeeper.org.

This activity is compatible with Project Wild “Bird Song Survey” activity which is geared towards middle and high school students in science and environmental education. Birding in general can be a fun family/friends outing for all ages, abilities, and environments. 

Activity is open to all ages and meets the needs or can be combined with other activities for the following Georgia Standards of Excellence in science, ecology, environmental science, and zoology.

  • S3L2. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the effects of pollution (air, land, and water) and humans on the environment.
  • S4L1. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about the roles of organisms and the flow of energy within an ecosystem.
  • SEC3. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to construct explanations of community interactions.
  • SB6. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information to assess the theory of evolution.
  • SEC5. Obtain, evaluate, and communicate information on the impact of natural and anthropogenic activities on ecological systems.

    First published May 2022. Updated May 2026.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Karen Ferguson

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 24, 2026

Karen recently joined and chose volunteer with ORK after participating in our Georgia Master Naturalist program. Her focus is helping us with educational and outreach opportunities.

Like a river traces to its source, my passion for the outdoors started as a kid in Scouts in Virginia. After time in the U.S. Air Force and classroom, I merged my interests into environmental education.

When our most recent move brought us to Georgia, I was looking for a place to put down new roots. I took ORK’s outstanding 2025 Georgia Master Naturalist course and knew I’d found a new home.

At a waterfall in Iceland

I volunteer whenever I have an opportunity to share my knowledge and experiences at events and through programs. My hope is to start a spark in someone else, so they see the benefits of being outdoors, and become passionate about protecting our rivers and the habitats around them.

I’ve gotten just as much from my volunteering, connecting with people with different interests that opened new paths and friendships. You never know what experiences will come from volunteering. Through a previous volunteer position, I had the opportunity to release a rehabilitated eagle after riding with it in my lap for 1.5 hours. This week, I’m leading an ORK program for students on macroinvertebrates at the same location I studied them with the Master Naturalist course.

Volunteering is like the ever-changing Ogeechee river: you think you know where you’ll end up, but the real adventure is along the way.

-Written by Karen Ferguson

You can help Ogeechee Riverkeeper in a number of ways, regardless of your expertise. Learn how you can volunteer with ORK.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Dr. Loren Mathews

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 21, 2026

Dr. Loren Mathews conducts regular water sampling as part of the statewide Adopt-A-Stream program. Her water quality testing helps ORK track potential issues and her training adds more AAS volunteers to our ranks.

“Mother, Mother Ocean, I have heard your call” are the lyrics I remember hearing play in the background on family sailing trips around South Florida and the Keys growing up.  On one particular trip, my fascination with marine life inspired me to take a cushion sea star off the sandy bottom and stow it in the anchor well so that I could dry it out and later take it home as a souvenir. It didn’t take long before a mysterious pungent smell coming out of the boat revealed my secret treasure and future career goals of becoming a marine biologist to my parents.

Loren with a sea star

When it came time for me to graduate from high school, I could think of no better place to answer my call than the University of Miami. The next time I came across a cushion sea star, I was on a research vessel with a tape measurer in hand and a notebook nearby to record my data.

Fast forward over two decades, and I now have the chance to cultivate that same passion for exploration and observation in my own two boys, the hundreds of Georgia Southern college students I teach every semester, and the people I get to work with through the Ogeechee Riverkeeper and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream programs.

Loren taking samples

The creeks in Statesboro and our watershed may not be salty and turquoise blue, but they keep my toes in the sand and the sound of water flowing in my ears. My hope is that everyone, no matter where they live and work, finds a way to connect to the natural world around them and is inspired to get involved with one of the many opportunities there are to care for it.

-Written by Dr. Loren Mathews

You can help Ogeechee Riverkeeper in a number of ways, regardless of your expertise. Learn how you can volunteer with ORK.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Kathleen and Solomon

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper April 20, 2026

Kathleen has been an Adopt-A-Landing volunteer for more than five years. She and her grandson Solomon pick up litter at the Morgan’s Bridge landing at the Chatham/Bryan County line.

The view from the Morgan’s Bridge landing

I decided to be an Ogeechee Riverkeeper volunteer because I like exploring wild places. Seeing the river and its beautiful surroundings, through every season, is the best part of going to Morgan Bridge.

During cleanups, I’ve seen families gather on the beach and swim, folks fishing from shore, and trucks and boat trailers coming to the boat ramp to put in and spend time on the river. There have been canoes, kayaks, and jet skis, too.

Solomon with trash bag and picker

In talking with visitors, I’ve learned the history of the bridge. Several people who bring their grandchildren here tell me of coming to the Ogeechee River at a young age, back when Morgan’s Bridge was a steel bridge upriver, before they built the current bridge. The keystone over the current bridge shows it was built in 1975.

In recent years, my 6-year old grandson, Solomon, has joined me at the Ogeechee River. He loves working hard, picking up litter and keeping it out of the river where it can harm fish and other creatures that live in the river basin. Allowing young kids an opportunity to create a bond with nature at a cherished place inspires them to find ways to protect the water and land.

Solomon enjoys the sunshine and playing at the water’s edge, seeing what’s floating on the water. It’s a place to be curious and explore the outdoors. There’s a tire swing someone hung from underneath the bridge this year – a great way to relax after our cleanup.

I treasure time at Morgan Bridge each month with my grandson and come away feeling grateful for making good memories, the chance to connect with nature, and being good stewards of the Ogeechee River.

– Written by Kathleen K.

You can help Ogeechee Riverkeeper in a number of ways, regardless of your expertise. Learn how you can volunteer with ORK.

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Meet Michelle

by Ogeechee Riverkeeper March 2, 2026

As a child, Michelle Lowery thought she would be a doctor when she grew up. And in a way, she is–she cares for the health of waterways. As the environmental scientist for Ogeechee Riverkeeper, she goes into the field to take samples and bring them back to the lab for testing. She also checks on continuous sampling probes to make sure everything is working properly. 

She runs tests on the samples and then she logs it. “At least 70% of my job is data management, data analysis, and the use of geographic information systems,” Lowery says. “As an environmental scientist, I require a great deal of computer science skills because much of my job involves remote monitoring and research.”

From there, the data is interpreted by the whole team at ORK, and passed along to agencies or municipalities, if needed. Lowery notes the step of sharing data is “crucial to understanding the balance in managing, allocating, and implementing plans for river and wetland resources, as well as conservation and restoration efforts.”

Lowery feels at home in the outdoors. Her vacations are often nature-based, and include hiking, whitewater rafting, kayaking, ziplining, waterfall repelling, parasailing, snorkeling, fishing, and more. She finds it awe-inspiring, whether she is deep in a rainforest in Mexico or atop the rim of the Grand Canyon. “The sheer expansive beauty of such a vast labyrinth of rock formations really humbles you,” she recalls.

Her affinity for natural sciences and being outdoors led her to leading field research in Mexico. She managed one of three camps that were surveying bats, birds, herpetofauna, habitat, mammals, and butterflies in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Campeche. Researchers came from all over the world to study the species found there. “My favorite part of the whole experience was off-trail trekking through the jungle, tracking the habits of a spider monkey population from the moment they woke up until we lost them.  I did that quite a few times,” she recalls. She also discovered she loved habitat surveying, which led to her wetland delineation certification.

Bringing her expertise to an environmental advocacy organization in particular has been eye-opening. She notes there isn’t always a law or rule that can address something happening with our water. “I was surprised by the amount of environmental and social justice carried out by communities and individuals to maintain and preserve their right to clean water,” Lowery says. “Through this experience, I have learned how much there is a need for such community devotion.”