The gray tangles hanging from the limbs of live oaks like clumps of unraveled knitting is Spanish moss. This is not really a moss – which has no flowers – but a member of the same tropical plant family as the pineapple. Not only does Spanish moss add to the visual excitement of the forest as it hangs still and dark in the dim canopy of leaves or moves with the breeze as the rustle of wind enters the wood, it is one of the most ecologically valuable plants in the live oak forest.The plant is a thin, curly stem a foot or so long. At intervals along the stem are pointed leaves an inch to two inches in length. Tiny, furry scales coat the entire plant and give it its grey-green color. In early summer, a small yellow flower grows in the axis of the leaves. Later, this flower produces feathery seeds that drift in the wind to other suitable growing sites. A tangle of stems and leaves can hang 10 or 123 feet below a live oak limb.Spanish moss is commonly thought to be a parasite, living off live oak or other trees where it is found. This is far from the case. Spanish moss is what is called an “air plant,” or an epiphyte, which means it is attached to other plants but not parasitic upon them. In the overlapping bases of its leaves, the Spanish moss collects dust from the air as well as water dripping from limbs above. From these things, it takes its nutrients. The stems and leaves of the plant are as matted and hard to untangle as the backlash of a fishing line. That mesh, which feels like a Brillo pad, holds nutrients that come down in rain and lets them drip slowly into the tree roots. The plant cuts down on the amount of light that reaches the forest floor, which adds to the dark humid atmosphere beneath a live oak forest. This, in turn, reduces the vegetation on the forest floor.At least three species of songbirds: the parula, the yellow-throated warbler and the painted bunting make their nests in the moss. Many other birds build nests from the moss. At least two species of bats use Spanish moss as roosting sites. In addition, it provides a home for many kinds of insets important in the food chain. At times, the moss has been utilized as mulch on garden soil and as a stuffing in upholstery. All in all, Spanish moss is perhaps the second most important plant in the live oak forest after the live oak itself.

The saga of Georgia’s sea turtles plays out every summer on the beaches of Jekyll Island and other Georgia barrier islands. It is a tale of struggle and survival that goes back for millions and millions of years, and it is told daily on Jekyll Island by the caring volunteers who head the Sea Turtle Project. The Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project, a program of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, marks and monitors sea turtle nests and offers nightly interpretive walks from early June through mid-August to introduce visitors to the revered sea turtle.

Led by a trained sea turtle technician, the nighttime turtle walks are held twice a night just after dusk, to patrol the beaches for nesting loggerheads. After a brief orientation, visitors are led to the edge of the ocean where they can learn about sea turtles and the importance of Georgia’s coast as a habitat and nesting ground. If they are fortunate enough and the night skies are lit brightly enough, they may see a part of pre-history come alive as the mother loggerhead emerges from the ocean and lumbers up the beach to prepare her nest and lay her eggs. From a safe distance, participants view the fascinating pageant of life as 80-120 eggs are deposited in the nest. Every year, approximately 100 loggerhead nests are documented on Jekyll Island.

Reservations are required and can be made through the Jekyll Island History Center at 912-635-4036; registration for adults is $10 and $5 for children 12 and under. Tours are offered at 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm.

Typical of tidal patterns along the southeastern coast, Georgia has two high tides and two low tides each day. The range of Georgia’s tides, however, is not typical. While Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, has 2-3 foot tides and Miami, Florida, has 1-2 foot tides, the Georgia Coast has 6-9 foot tides. The reason is that it is the approximate center of the curved coastline known as the Georgia Bight, which extends from Cape Fear, North Carolina, to Cape Canaveral, Florida. The tide as it approaches the Atlantic Coast is a very long wave with duration of 12 hours and 25 minutes, and it is approximately 2-to-3 feet high. The concave shape of the Georgia Bight causes the tidal wave to pile up towards the center of the bight. Therefore, when the tide reaches the Georgia coast, it is higher than in the Carolinas or in Florida. The high tidal range and the extremely gradual slope of the continental shelf allow tidal water to penetrate deeply into the coast. Tidal movement can be detected as much as 40 miles up some Georgia coastal rivers.

Extreme “spring” tides, which produce the highest high tides and the lowest low tides, occur at new and full moons. The smallest “neap” tides, which produce the lowest high tides and the highest low tides, occur at the first and second quarter phases of the moon. The extent of storm-caused beach erosion is directly related to this lunar cycle. A storm occurring at a “spring high” in this region can do as much damage as a hurricane on a coast where there is small tidal range.

Fresh water ponds, called sloughs, are found frequently on Georgia’s barrier islands between dune ridges. On Cumberland, Georgia’s largest barrier island, for example, the most prominent of these sloughs, or ponds, are Lake Whitney, the Sweetwater Lake complex, Johnson’s Pond, Ashley Pond and Willow Pond. Smaller sloughs can be found on the island, depending on the season of the year and the amount of rainfall. In total, Cumberland has about a thousand acres of fresh water sloughs. No barrier island sloughs are exactly alike: they vary in size, depth and the acid content of the water. Some dry up in summer; some contain water all year. Plus, each in its own way is undergoing ecological evolution. At times, for example, sand from the dunes on the east side of Lake Whitney has encroached on the dark, clear waters of the lake. Fire, and the intrusion of salt water or hurricane tides are some of the natural occurrences, which may change the ecological balance of a slough and set the environment back to an earlier stage in its development.

Rain is the only source of water for most sloughs, and seasonal variation in rainfall brings about significant differences in life in and around the fresh water. In spring, large numbers of herons, egrets, and other wading birds form nesting colonies in the sloughs. Wading birds fatten on frogs, snakes and fish. A large number of their nestlings fall in the water, providing food for alligators and cottonmouths. Dense populations of these reptiles may build up in sloughs, which have large colonies of nesting birds. Mammals, like otters, are also promised a good food supply. In the fall, sloughs are important nesting and feeding areas for migrating and wintering waterfowl, which feed on pondweed, bushy pondweeds, bulrushes, banana water lily and other aquatic plants. Acorns and other kinds of fruit from adjacent trees also provide much food for these waterfowl. During dry periods, extra stress is placed on wildlife so that the profusion of plants and animals normally found in these wet areas is absent. Alligators, fresh water turtles and most amphibians, such as frogs, toads and salamanders, are dependent on the sloughs for survival. The small sloughs that are periodically dry are especially important breeding places for amphibians because of the absence of predatory fish.

Regardless of their size or location, however, each barrier island slough plays a major role in maintaining some of the most interesting wildlife on the islands.

The saga of Georgia’s sea turtles plays out every summer on the beaches of Jekyll Island and other Georgia barrier islands. It is a tale of struggle and survival that goes back for millions and millions of years, and it is told daily on Jekyll Island by the caring volunteers who head the Sea Turtle Project. The Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project, a program of the Georgia Sea Turtle Center, marks and monitors sea turtle nests and offers nightly interpretive walks from early June through mid-August to introduce visitors to the revered sea turtle.

Led by a trained sea turtle technician, the nighttime turtle walks are held twice a night just after dusk, to patrol the beaches for nesting loggerheads. After a brief orientation, visitors are led to the edge of the ocean where they can learn about sea turtles and the importance of Georgia’s coast as a habitat and nesting ground. If they are fortunate enough and the night skies are lit brightly enough, they may see a part of pre-history come alive as the mother loggerhead emerges from the ocean and lumbers up the beach to prepare her nest and lay her eggs. From a safe distance, participants view the fascinating pageant of life as 80-120 eggs are deposited in the nest. Every year, approximately 100 loggerhead nests are documented on Jekyll Island.

Reservations are required and can be made through the Jekyll Island History Center at 912-635-4036; registration for adults is $10 and $5 for children 12 and under. Tours are offered at 8:30 pm and 9:30 pm.