IN THIS ISSUE
- Wayward seal
- Wildlife and you
- Cold-hardy kinglets
- White red-tailed hawk
 Gray seal illustration (NOAA)
Ever seen such a sight ... or seal? Probably not in Georgia.
A gray seal spotted earlier this month in the creek between Sapelo Island and Blackbeard Island National Wildlife Refuge was a rare sight on the state’s coast.
A South Carolina charter boat captain videoed the seal. It was also seen by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service staff who manage the refuge.
Gray seals are North Atlantic animals normally found from the mid-Atlantic to the Baltic Sea. But the sighting of any seal in Georgia is odd. According to DNR records, a harbor seal turned up near Fort McAllister State Park in April 1997 and a live seal – the species wasn’t determined – on Cumberland Island in February 2021. A young gray seal was seen in South Carolina in March 2019 and made it to Florida.
Why does the occasional seal swim so far from home? Good question, according to DNR senior wildlife biologist Mark Dodd.
“It’s hard to say. Some gray seals migrate south in the winter to look for food, but it’s also common for young animals to exhibit exploratory behavior.”
Dodd and other biologists emphasized that seals, like all other marine mammals, are federally protected. It is illegal to harm or harass them. Though interesting to see, give them their space.
The seal seen off Blackbeard has a cut on its back. However, the animal appeared to be swimming and diving normally, Dodd said. DNR will monitor it as can but no intervention is planned.
 Gray seals are commonly called horseheads because of their large, curved noses (NOAA)
GRAY SEALS AT A GLANCE
- Found in coastal waters throughout the North Atlantic
- Lifespan: 25-35 years (oldest recorded in the wild: 46)
- Size: 550-880 pounds and 7.5-10 feet
- Considered true seals (they have short flippers and no external ear flaps)
- Sometimes called horseheads
- Can dive up to 1,000 feet and hold their breath for an hour
- Face threats including entanglement in commercial fishing gear, harassment, chemical contaminants, oil spills and interactions with vessels and vehicles
Sources: NOAA, Smithsonian National Zoo, National Marine Sanctuary Foundation
 Bridled darter, one of the Species of Greatest Conservation Need in the 2025 Wildlife Action Plan (Guy Eroh)
If you value Georgia’s wildlife and wild places, we need to know what you think about a newly updated strategy aimed at making sure our state stays wild.
From today through March 21, you can review and comment on a draft of the State Wildlife Action Plan. Created 20 years ago and revised every 10 years since, this document required by Congress shapes and guides work across Georgia to keep native animal and plant species from becoming more rare and costly to conserve.
That wild lineup varies from gopher tortoises and bald eagles to tangerine darters and fringed campion wildflowers.
The revised 2025 plan will be critical to restoring, managing and protecting Georgia’s wildlife, said Dr. Brett Albanese, plan coordinator and an assistant chief with DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section. Updates include:
- Identifying more than 1,000 “species of greatest conservation need” and their habitats.
- Exploring the most effective ways to conserve these creatures and plants.
- Providing an online map to help streamline work on public land and encourage voluntary efforts on private lands.
Albanese explained that while over 100 organizations helped create the draft, more feedback is needed.
“This is Georgia’s plan, not DNR’s. Experts and other partners helped develop a robust plan to address the threats to wildlife across the state. Now we need the full conservation community – and especially everyday citizens who enjoy and appreciate the outdoors – to help us refine and implement it.”
REVIEW AND COMMENT
 Outplanting rescued pitcherplants at Alapaha WMA (Lisa Kruse/DNR)
WILDLIFE ACTION PLAN PRIMER
- Statewide strategy to conserve populations of native wildlife and habitats they need before these animals, plants and places become rarer and more costly to conserve or restore.
- Required by Congress to receive State Wildlife Grants, the main federal funding source for states to conserve wildlife not legally fished for or hunted.
- Updated every 10 years, a DNR-led process involving over 100 partners and stakeholders, from conservation groups and agencies to private landowners and universities.
- Georgia’s 2025 revision identifies more than 1,000 species of greatest conservation need and features an online tool to track conservation projects and a digital hub to search plan data.
 Golden-crowned kinglet (Josiah Lavender)
By TERRY W. JOHNSON
When I stepped outside one morning last December, a blast of a 22-degree air greeted me. I immediately zipped up my coat, then began to look and listen: I was checking on my backyard bird neighbors.
Within less than a minute I heard the cheerful call of a Carolina wren. It was interrupted with the Oh, Canada, Canada, Canada song of a white-throated sparrow. I pulled out my phone and turned on the Merlin bird identification app.
Within a few minutes, the app had detected three more bird species. The highlight was the teez, teez, teez of a golden-crowned kinglet.
I wasn’t surprised. These small, feathery sprites aren’t fazed at all by frigid weather. In fact, golden-crowned kinglets can survive temperatures as low as 40 below.
The question is, how? …
Read Terry’s column for insights into these cold-hardy kinglets.
Terry W. Johnson is a retired DNR program manager and executive director of TERN, friends group of the Wildlife Conservation Section. Check out past columns and his blog. Permission is required to reprint a column.
 Rattler roundups highlight native wildlife, like this pine snake (DNR)
It's time to shake, rattle and roll. Whigham’s Rattlesnake Roundup, set for March 1 in that southwest Georgia city, and the Claxton Rattlesnake and Wildlife Festival March 8-9 in Hagan will sport attractions such as car shows, music, food and – front and center – plenty of rattlesnakes and wildlife programs.
Georgia’s first case of Chronic Wasting Disease – a hunter-harvested deer in Lanier County – triggered a DNR response plan that includes establishing a management area and starting sampling to gauge the geographic extent and prevalence of the neurological disease fatal to deer, elk and moose. DNR Commissioner Walter Rabon assured that deer hunting will “continue to thrive” in the state. “Working together with our hunters and all Georgians, we will manage CWD and maintain healthy deer herds.”
 Reporting on a year of conserving Georgia's wildlife
Before 2024 fades further, take time to explore the wildlife successes and challenges that filled the fiscal year for DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section and partners. This annual report, which can be leafed through or downloaded online (there’s even a summary version), covers it all, from the return of red-cockaded woodpeckers to Sprewell Bluff Wildlife Management Area and a new record for prescribed burning to being this close to reaching DNR’s long-standing goal of permanently protecting 65 viable gopher tortoise populations.
There are many ways to support this work, but the most simple option when filing your state income taxes is to donate to the Georgia Wildlife Conservation Fund checkoff – via line 10 on Form 500EZ or line 31 of Form 500. Any amount helps and all donations are appreciated.
 Leucistic red-tailed hawk in northeast Georgia (Joe Berry)
Leucistic red-tailed hawks are rare birds, but northeast Georgia’s Joe Berry photographed one this winter that has been seen repeatedly in his area. For a quick take on leucistic and albino birds, see the February 2023 Parting Shot. (Berry’s stunning common nighthawk image was that October’s Parting Shot.)
As for rare plants, DNR found a few this winter. Botanists verified an iNaturalist record of critically imperiled Fraser’s sedge (Carex fraseriana) in Rabun County – underscoring the value of citizen scientists using the app – and joined with staff at Jack Hill State Park in Reidsville to possibly relocate the state’s only known population of big-leaf witch-hazel: A cluster of plants that survived damage caused by Hurricane Helene and appear to be Hamamelis vernalis will be checked again when they flower to confirm the identification.
 Quick hits:
 Forestry for Wildlife Partners with Gov. Brian and First Lady Marty Kemp and DNR leaders (Gov.'s Office)
Names in the news: Gov. Brian and First Lady Marty Kemp joined DNR leaders in recognizing corporate forest landowners Georgia Power, Weyerhaeuser, PotlatchDeltic and Forest Investment Associates as DNR’s Forestry for Wildlife partners for 2025. The Forestry for Wildlife Partnership is a 30-year-old program promoting wildlife conservation and sustainable forestry as part of forest management. Ecologist and conservationist Dr. Leslie Edwards of Atlanta died Dec. 27 at the age of 70. Edwards was lead author of “The Natural Communities of Georgia,” taught at Kennesaw State and Georgia State universities – retiring from the latter – and served on the boards of nature organizations including Georgia Botanical Society, Georgia Native Plant Society and Birds Georgia (formerly Georgia Audubon), while also leading workshops and field trips and giving presentations.
More names in the news: The Georgia Plant Conservation Alliance recently honored Henning von Schmeling with this year’s Tom Patrick Award, which recognizes outstanding achievement in plant conservation. Henning (center, with awards committee members), who is retiring from Chattahoochee Nature Center in Roswell, is a respected naturalist and longtime leader in conserving plants, even earning the distinction as one of Georgia's “bog fathers” for his efforts involving mountain bogs. Lyndsay Goeckeritz’s proposal to study and collect data on a creek in Watkinsville earned her school a $1,000 grant as DNR’s 2024-25 Conservation Teacher of the Year, an award sponsored by The Environmental Resources Network, or TERN, friends group of DNR’s Wildlife Conservation Section. Goeckeritz teaches fourth grade at Oconee County’s Colham Ferry Elementary School. |
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WHAT YOU MISSED ...
In the previous Georgia Wild:
- Georgia's tree fox
- Winter monarch watch
- Right whales, calves arrive
- Bus-sized but hard to see? You bet
 "Humpback whale briefly swallows kayaker," The Associated Press
"Materials of Opportunity: CRD and Marta" and artificial reefs, DNR
(audio) "Why are monarch butterflies hanging out in the southern U.S.?" NPR
(photo story) "Right whales' future uncertain, but research continues," The Current
(+audio) "Scientists aim to track, save endangered whales off Ga. coast," WABE-FM (90.1, Atlanta). Other right whale coverage: "Pair of whales make baffling journey along Gulf Coast" (USA Today); "Mom, calf make rare winter visit to NYC waters" (New York Post); "Rules withdrawn to save whales from collisions" (Associated Press); "Newly named right whales of 2024" (New England Aquarium).
"Report highlights Georgia wildlife conservation efforts," The Current
"Gov. Kemp, DNR announce 2025 Forestry for Wildlife Partners," Grice Connect
"Rare seal sighting in Georgia," WTOC-TV (ch. 11, Savannah)
"DNR confirms state's first case of Chronic Wasting Disease in deer," WAGA-TV (ch. 5, Atlanta) and others
"Invasive snails carrying rat lungworm in Ga.," WXIA-TV (ch. 11, Atlanta) and others
"Eastern hellbender could be named endangered species," The (Macon) Telegraph
"DNR approves 2025 round of land conservation grants," Capitol Beat
"Wildfires ravaging southern California: What is Georgia’s risk?" The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
(+audio) "These dogs are fighting plant poachers," SFGate.com (San Francisco)
"Okefenokee NWR expansion gains final approval," Capitol Beat
"Nearly 20,000 live animals seized, 365 suspects arrested in largest wildlife, forestry operation," Interpol
"Wildlife crossing will save people, and last wild red wolves?" The Associated Press
 Right whale mom Cashew (No. 3292) belly up with her calf off the Florida coast (CMARI/NOAA permit 26919)
The ninth North Atlantic right whale calf of winter 2024-2025 was seen off Nassau Sound, Fla., Feb. 5. With slightly more than a month left in the calving season, it has been -- at best -- a so-so winter for the endangered whales. Even if one or two more calves are documented, “It’s definitely not enough to recover the population,” DNR senior wildlife biologist Jessica Thompson said. At the current rate of right whale deaths and injuries from entanglement in commercial fishing gear and vessel strikes, NOAA estimates recovery would take at least 50 calves a year – which isn’t possible given that only about 70 breeding females are left. However, population models suggest that right whale numbers could stabilize if entanglements and vessel strikes are curtailed. Follow the calving season and learn how you can help.
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