It turned out to be a wild tortoise chase -- a Gopher Tortoise chase, to be exact -- in the Georgia hinterland.

On our trip to Savannah and Augusta last week, my wife and I decided to see if we might find a threatened species at one of The Nature Conservancy's preserves in the region.

An Internet search turned up the Charles Harrold Preserve in Metter ("Everything's better in Metter.") It was the first ecological preserve in Georgia.

Prominently displayed on the 73-acre preserve's website was one of the aforementioned tortoises, and the preserve was not too far out of the way.

Turns out that the tortoises were tough to find, but we did see some "good" birds -- including the Red-headed above, who put on a little show.

Also had a life bird, a Red-cockaded Woodpecker that proved next to impossible to photograph.

Also some cactus, beautiful woodlands and rare plants that were exclosed so they would not be eaten, I figure.

Worth the slight detour.

More on the preserve here.