382 Erichsen, Birds of Liberty County, Get. [j u u i y 



As references in the list will show, most of my field work was done 

 within a five mile radius of the town of Allenhurst, near the geo- 

 graphical center of the county, excursions being made however 

 to all other points of the region at frequent intervals, particularly 

 to the coast, where several interesting finds were made. 



The region under consideration, in area the third largest county 

 in Georgia, is a succession of swamps, rolling uplands, pine barrens, 

 scrub oak woodland and abandoned rice plantations, which latter 

 are particularly attractive to many species of marsh loving birds, 

 such as various species of the Rallidoe, Blackbirds, Grackles, as 

 well as many of the smaller swamp loving species. There is an 

 absence of large heavily timbered areas in the county, due to the 

 extensive operations of the large lumber plant located at Allen- 

 hurst, although many smaller patches of fairly heavily timbered 

 land still remain, particularly near the coast. 



Short leaf pine, ash, hickory, cypress, red and black gum, tupelo 

 and various species of oak form the major portion of the forests, 

 while large areas of more or less thickly matted and tangled under- 

 growth are scattered all over the county, forming agreeable retreats 

 for birds. Other forest trees found in more or less abundance 

 include yellow poplar, sassafras, wild cherry, bay, laurel, red maple, 

 red cedar, holly and palmetto, the latter three being particularly 

 numerous on St. Catherine's Island. Spanish bayonet thickets 

 are almost a feature in the landscape in the vicinity of the coast 

 and on the islands. 



Altamaha River is the largest in Liberty County, and separates 

 it from Wayne County on the southwest. The swamps on both 

 sides of this river are almost impenetrable, worthy rivals of the 

 famous Okefinokee Swamp in southeast Georgia, and harbor 

 rookeries of the Louisiana, Little Blue and Green Herons, and are the 

 breeding place of several other species. Lack of time prevented 

 me from doing much work here. The Canoochee to the north, a 

 medium sized river, forms a part of the boundary line between 

 Liberty and Bryan Counties, while the North and South Newport 

 Rivers, in the southeastern section of the county, complete the list 

 of principal streams. Beard's Creek, a small branch emptying into 

 the Altamaha, Hows through the extreme eastern part of the county. 

 Taking into consideration St. Catherine's Sound, which extends 



