Jekyll Island--Saint Andrews Picnic Area

Tips for Birding

Turn right out of Tidelands, and continue until you come to a large antenna tower on your right, and turn here into the St. Andrew’s Picnic Area. Interesting breeding birds like Great-crested Flycatcher, Northern Parula, and Yellow-throated Warblers will mix with migrants in season, and you can get a view of the intra-coastal waterway which may have divers or (rarely) Northern Gannets in winter. A pair of Great-horned Owls may be heard calling near the antenna at dusk but do not play audio here; the entire island is great for nocturnal Chuck-will’s-widows in spring and on very rare occasions Whip-poor-wills winter in the woods.  -KB

About this Location

St. Andrews Picnic Area is located at the end of South Beachview Drive on Jekyll Island. Overlooking Jekyll Sound on the river side of the island and the farthest point on Jekyll Island’s beach from Clam Creek Picnic Area, this park provides beach access and is a short walk from Jekyll Point (the southernmost point on the island). This section of beach is very popular for birding and shelling and provides frequent dolphin sightings as they feed along the currents at Jekyll Point.

This park offers picnic areas, grills, a walking path, a wildlife viewing platform, restrooms, and public beach access. In addition to being a park, St. Andrews Picnic Area is also a historic site and home to The Wanderer Memorial. This memorial is dedicated to the roughly 400 enslaved Africans who were illegally imported upon the Wanderer to the United States in one of the most sensational and controversial moments in Jekyll Island history.

About Jekyll Island

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From the early Native Americans to guests from around the world, the story of our island has been captivating the imaginations of explorers for generations.

In 1733, General James Oglethorpe named Jekyll Island in honor of Sir Joseph Jekyll, his friend and financier from England. In the late 1800s, Jekyll Island became an exclusive hunting club for families with names like Rockefeller, Morgan, Vanderbilt, Pulitzer, and Baker. The once private retreat is now part of The Jekyll Island Club National Historic Landmark District, one of the largest preservation projects in the southeast.

In 1947, the Governor and the Georgia state legislature established Jekyll Island as a State Park. Today, the island is a special sanctuary for each of us – and the Jekyll Island Authority is proud to share our island’s history.

Content from Official Website and Jekyll Island website