At our next program we will continue to focus on how key organizations are working to protect birds and their habitats. Please join us to learn more about the Open Space Institute and specifically their work in the southeast. We will hear about the history and current status, and future of conservation in South Carolina, and the role the Open Space Institute has played in protecting and opening more than 100,000 acres in South Carolina, Georgia, and North Carolina to the public. The presentation focus will be on existing, expanding, and new places for the public to get outside and see wildlife in the South Carolina lowcountry.
Speaker: Patrick Moore Associate Director Open Space Institute, Southeast Land
Date: May 30, 2024, 7:00 pm Location: Lake House Live Oak Hall
OSI protects land that supports the things we can’t live without – like clean water, climate protection and healthy communities, and safeguard the places that make life worth living, like parks for recreation and plant and animal habitat.
Over the past 40 years, OSI helped save millions of acres through land acquisition, funding and research and advocacy. We’re also increasing access to the great outdoors through the support of grassroots efforts and park enhancement projects.
Specific to the Palmetto State
At OSI, we protect land for people, for wildlife, forever. In South Carolina, our work is no different yet increasingly urgent. Blessed with blackwater cypress swamps, rural sea islands, and the breathtaking Blue Ridge mountains, South Carolina also is home to some of the fastest-growing areas on the Atlantic Coast.
As one of the most effective land protection organizations in South Carolina, OSI is helping to restore the critical longleaf pine ecosystem, and we were instrumental in protecting the last sizeable inholding in the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, an incredibly important area for a number of at-risk and endangered species.
Most recently, OSI made one of the largest conservation investments in South Carolina history with the acquisition of the $16 million Slater tract; helped secure the Hasty Point property to increase equitable access to the Waccamaw Wildlife Refuge; and launched a comprehensive, community-based planning initiative that will shape the vision for the Black River Water Trail and Park Network
The Seabrook Photography Club would like to invite SIB Members to attend a special presentation by Colin Hocking on May 16, 2924 at 6:30 PM. Although the event is focused on wildlife photography, Colin specializes in Bird Photography.
SIPOA Lake House, Live Oak Room. Guest Fee reduced to $5 for SIB Members
About Colin and the Program:
Colin Hocking – “Snap Shot to Pro Shot: Steps to Raise Your Wildlife Photography Game!”
Join professional wildlife photographer and photo tour leader Colin Hocking as he shares the steps, settings, and techniques it takes to capture those “once in a lifetime” moments that we might otherwise miss!
Colin is a Licentiate of the UK Royal Photographic Society, a Coastal Master Naturalist, and a member of the Professional Photographers of America and the Carolinas Nature Photography Association. He has been a freelance photographer for over 20 years and leads successful photo tours all over the Lowcountry. His combination of technical photography skills and his naturalist training allows him to approach nature photography with a hybrid of artistic and scientific perspectives.
Recently, a group of SIB members were discussing some ideas to help improve our birding skills, and the more we talked about it, the longer our list became. So we decided to write a blog and share our tips with our fellow birders. There are so many good ideas that we can split them into two blogs!
These tips are a gold mine of information for the new birder, and excellent reminders (and probably some new “ah-hah!” moments) for those who’ve been birding for a year, or ten years!
The most important features of birding are its fun, it can be done anywhere in the world, and you don’t need to be an expert. If you’re brand new to birding, or you’ve been birding for a couple of years, there are lots of ways to increase your skills and enhance your experience, so let’s get started!
Binoculars
Jen Jerome suggests getting a good pair of binoculars. Bob Mercer recommends buying the highest quality you can afford. A high quality pair can last a lifetime. A cheap pair will wear out, but can be a good starter.
Bob suggests when buying optics, do not get tricked into buying something too powerful or too small. The number on a pair of binoculars indicates the magnification and the width of the large lens in millimeters. Examples include 7×35 or 8×40. There is a sweet spot in size where you divide the magnification by the lens, and you want to be near 5, as in these two examples. Recognize that the higher your magnification (the first number), the more everything, including your body motion, is magnified. Binoculars that are too small will be difficult for finding the birds.
Once you have the pair you want, spend time making sure your binoculars are set for your eyes and remember the setting so you can adjust as needed. Before each outing, make sure your equipment is clean and packed. Bob says he can remember the number of times he showed up and the binoculars were not with him.
Bob also encourages people to practice lifting their binoculars to their eyes in such a way that the desired object is right where you want it. Do this before you start looking for birds—they move!
Jen Jerome also found that taking pictures is a great way to learn. A picture, even a poor quality one, allows you to study the field marks at your leisure. A bird may be in sight only a couple of seconds, giving you a brief window of observation.
Field Guides
Eileen Mercer suggests you “keep studying the bird books, articles and apps.” Purchase at least one good field guide. These can be paper or digital and best to have each type. Most field guides are arranged in taxonomic order. Spend your free time studying your guide(s). Know how to search for things before you get out in the field. Note shape, size, and behavior.
Judy Morr also recommends studying the habitat of the birds you’re hoping to see as that will help you know where to look. Do they forage up high or down low, near the ground? In brush and bushes, or up in trees? Do they feed on the ground? Knowing where to start looking is very helpful.
Bob Mercer suggests you purchase two duplicate books. One to take in the field and one to keep safe at home. Go through the one for the field and make notations as to the key field marks. The original field guides by Roger Tory Peterson used lines to point to the most obvious field mark. New books have far surpassed the Peterson Series in identification tips, but do not include the lines. Create your own. The second book is where you keep your life list and other records. More on that later.
Melanie Jerome recommends that as you study the birds in your books or apps, pay attention to not just color and shape, but look at the beak also, as it tells a lot about a bird.
Two resources to help you predict what you can expect to see on your outing are ebird and Birdseye apps. Judy Morr finds these two resources invaluable in helping her prepare for an outing.
In The Field
Aija Konrad and many other SIB members recommend going on as many guided bird walks as you can. Let those who are more knowledgeable help you. Ask questions, don’t reinvent the wheel! Keep a list and when you return home go back through the list and double check what you saw to refresh your memory as to the characteristics of the various birds.
Joleen Ardaiola encourages people to find at least one other person to bird with. “The other person you bird with doesn’t always have to be an expert (even though you learn a lot that way too), but someone who is interested in taking the time with you to figure out what the bird is. I think you learn better if you’re not immediately told what the identity of the bird is.” This is why SIB has “Learning Together” activities. Even the “experts” are constantly learning new things.
Bob Mercer learned the hard way that when you look for those small birds, as you lift your binoculars up, don’t look for the bird. Look for a pattern in the branches or something distinctive in the vicinity of the bird. Birds fly, and frequently they fly in that brief moment as the binoculars block your view. If you find the pattern and no bird is there, you can stop wasting time looking.
Bob also suggests that people use their ears, not just their eyes. You can hear things that are invisible. Field experience is the best way to learn bird sounds. He recommends the Merlin app. It uses AI to identify sounds. It is FAR from infallible, do not assume Merlin is always right. For example, Northern Mockingbirds skillfully mimic the sounds of other birds. Merlin can tell you what to look for. Once you make a Merlin recording, keep it. Once back home, go through your recordings and listen again for the bird. Click on the bird’s name and it will give you a whole bunch of sounds that bird makes. Pick out the sound you heard in the field. This is a GREAT way to learn bird sounds.
Bob also encourages everyone to start a life list. This is a list of each bird you identified for the first time. Mark down the date and location in both of your books, the one in the field and the one that never goes out in the field. If you get serious, you will want to keep the list in multiple locations as a failsafe. Bob Mercer painfully remembers losing his life list in the book taken into the field. As people grow serious, they can become listers: life list, North American list, world list, state list, year list, etc. Ebird automatically keeps these lists for you. Listing does two things. It provides a great memory recall, but it also creates a challenge to find something new.
These are excellent tips to get you started birding, or to take your birding to the next level and improve your skills. But wait, there’s more! Keep watching for part two, where we share practical tips on making your outings even more enjoyable.
Great Egret – Ardea alba
Length: 39″; Wingspan: 51″; Weight: 30 oz.
Great Egret – Charles Moore
The Great Egret, is also known as the White Egret, Common Egret, Great White Egret or the Large Great Egret. It occurs in tropical and warm temperate regions of the world including Central Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and portions of North, Central and South America.
Standing over three feet tall, the Great Egret is the largest white bird within its range and is distinguished from similar birds by its large size, solid white plumage, yellow bill, and dark grey to black legs and feet.
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Great Egret – Charles Moore
The neck of the Great Egret is extremely flexible and an adult bird can swallow a one-pound fish with ease, an amazing feat considering that on average adult birds may weigh just over two pounds themselves.
Each breeding season they carry out elaborate courting displays and behaviors and they are believed to be monogamous during a breeding season. It is unknown if they mate for life.
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Males establish a territory, select a nesting site, begin to build a nest and initiate mating displays that attract females. Breeding plumage consists of numerous delicate ornamental feathers. The birds display these feathers by holding them up, puffing them out, and spreading them over their backs. At the same time they extend their neck skyward and pump it up and down several times. Great Egrets make dry, croaking sounds, nasal squeals, and other harsh calls. They are particularly vocal during breeding season as they go about establishing territories, courting, forming pairs, and maintaining pair bonds. You just might hear something that sounds like this near their rookeries around the island.
Nests may be 100 or more feet high and frequently are directly above water. They are about three feet across, a foot deep, and lined with Spanish moss or other soft vegetation. Nests are continually repaired during the nesting season.
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Typically two to four light blue-green eggs appear over a several day period and the adults alternately sit on the eggs. Hatching occurs in 23 to 27 days. Chicks are very aggressive and frequently weaker chicks are tossed out of the nest and don’t survive.
Initially, the parents regurgitate food into the nest but once the chicks are of sufficient size the parent bird feeds the chicks by placing its bill completely inside the mouth of each waiting chick.
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Newborn chicks have long thin fuzzy feathers that protrude from their head as if they are affected by static electricity.
Five to six weeks after hatching the chicks attempt their first flights. The average life span of a Great Egret is 15 years but some have been known to live more than twenty years in captivity.
Adult Great Egrets have no predators and only crows, vultures, and raccoons are reported to prey on the eggs and fledglings. However, their beautiful plumage nearly resulted in their demise. Ninety-five percent of the North American Great Egret population was killed for feathers to decorate hats and other clothing items in the 19th century.
Great Egret – Charles Moore
Today, national and international treaties protect the Great Egret and their populations are thriving in North America. Their greatest threat today is the loss of habitat through drainage and the clearing of wetlands. The logo of the National Audubon Society is the Great Egret in full flight. This logo symbolizes the success of past and current conservation efforts protecting these magnificent birds and serves as a constant reminder that without such conservation efforts many to the world’s most beautiful wonders would be lost forever.
If you would like to learn more about this bird visit:
Range map of Great Egret – Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Article submitted by: Charles Moore
Resubmitted 2024 SIB
Photographs provided by: Charles Moore
This blog post is part of a series SIB will publish on a regular basis to feature birds seen in the area, both migratory and permanent residents. When possible we will use photographs taken by our members. Please let us know if you have any special requests of birds you would like to learn more about.
Well, we have finally done it! We have now birded in all 50 states and what a thrill it was to complete our journey in Hawaii in March! Hawaii was our 50th state to birdwatch in and Ed’s 50th state to visit. What a great way to end our quest for at least 50 species in each of 50 states!!!
Hawaiian Goose – Ne-ne
It’s a long way to Hawaii and we broke it up by stopping in Los Angeles for the night. We had a shot at a life bird in a park in Los Angeles and we went for it and got the elusive little Hermit Warbler. Early the next morning we flew to the Big Island of Hawaii. It’s still a 6 hour flight out of LA so it’s a long way to go! It was exciting to fly in and notice all the dark lava on the island, which is very striking. We birded our hotel area and areas close by, and were excited to find the state bird, the Hawaiian Goose or Ne-ne, as it is called. The Hawaiian Islands have many introduced species from Asia, South America, Africa and Europe, along with 34 endemics, birds found only there.
The highlight of our visit to the Big Island was a day trip on a tour to Hakalau NWR. This is a Refuge that you can only go in with a guide, an hour drive on the highway and then another hour of 10 more miles on a terrible dirt road with 11 of us rockin’ and rollin’ in the van. Our targets were 8 endemic birds, only found in Hawaii and we were so excited to find them all! It was absolutely a gorgeous day at Hakalau NWR, but it can be very much affected by weather at 6,400 feet. We walked several miles through the forest with our guide Gary from Hawaii Forest and Trail. He did a splendid job of helping us find all our target birds and was very generous with photographers, allowing them the time to take pictures. Ed was in heaven.
Endemics at Hakalau NWR – Akiapolaau, Apapane, Iiwi, and Hawaii Elepaio
Our rarest find was the endangered Akiapolaau which has such a unique bill that can drill for insects with the lower bill and extracts them with the upper one. We saw several Apapane and numerous Iiwi with their long curved bills. The adorable Hawaii Elepaio reminded us of a little wren. The exciting thing about this NWR is that they have restored so much of the forest with native plants, and it is a stunning success story. The only bad part is there is an avian flu that is killing birds, so they are working very hard to eradicate it and we had to disinfect our hiking boots before we went into the forest.
Volcanoes National ParkBlack Noddy
The next day we went to the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park. It was amazing to see so much lava and the stunning stark landscape. The most exciting part was where the lava flowed into the ocean. The Pacific was a brilliant blue as it beat against the rocky cliffs and we were so fortunate to see life bird Black Noddies. This is a pelagic bird that nests in the cliffs. It was a brilliant sunny day, and it was an incredible experience to watch the birds against the lava cliffs.
From the volcanic Big Island of Hawaii, we flew to the garden island of Kauai, which was quite a contrast. Our highlight there was visiting the lighthouse at Kilauea Point NWR. This is a stunning national wildlife refuge where you need to make a reservation well in advance to go into for 45 minutes segments since parking and space is very limited. We had made back to back reservations so we had a generous amount of time to observe the beautiful lighthouse and most importantly, the amazing pelagic birds that were working the cliffs below us.
Red-tailed TropicbirdWhite-tailed Tropicbird
On one of the cliffs over 300 Red-footed Boobys were nesting and actively carrying nesting material back to their nests. Above us soared Red-tailed Tropicbirds, who had just arrived a few days earlier. They were stunning with their red bills and red streaming tails. Among the mix were two White- tailed Tropic birds. It was very exciting to see Laysan Albatross soaring over our heads almost at eye level . And we were fortunate enough to see the Great Frigatebird, a parasitic feeder who steals from other birds, soar over our heads. Along the path to the lighthouse in burrows in the ground were nesting Wedge-tailed Shearwater. I was in heaven and overload with so many life birds. Ed was thrilled with so many birds soaring at almost eye level by the majestic cliffs!
Red-footed BoobyLaysan Albatross
We continued on to the town of Princeville we saw nesting Laysan Albatross with their chick in a yard in a neighborhood cul-de sac! Albatross mate for life and stay with the chick for three years. They have such intricate behavior with each other, over 25 “dance moves”! It reminded me of Ed and I having some animated discussion… lol.
Waimea Canyon
The following day we drove up to the other end of Kauai and into the spectacular Waimea Canyon and birding hotspots on the west side of the island. It amazes me that we could virtually see the Pacific from everywhere. The islands are home to 3 cardinal species, our Northern Cardinal, but also the Yellow- billed Cardinal and the Red-crested Cardinal.
Red-crested CardinalYellow-billed Cardinal
They also have 3 dove species, our Mourning Dove and the larger Spotted Dove and the tiny Zebra Doves. Tiny Warbling White-eye were numerous, as were brilliant yellow Saffron Finches. On both islands we saw numerous Red Junglefowl, in the airports, parking lots, yards and annoyingly, outside our Airbnb crowing at 5am!
Spotted Dove, Zebra Dove, Saffron Finch, and Warbling White-eye
And soon our trip was over after 9 glorious days. I picked up 45 life birds, 43 in Hawaii and one on the outbound in LA and one on the return trip, the pesky little California Gnatcatcher that has eluded me. I now have 689 US life birds, my goal this year is to get to 700. And with the 50 species in all 50 states, I guess we could go for 100 in each. Oh dear… I see Ed running for a cover!
As we celebrate our mothers today, we celebrate someone who’s nurturing, protecting, caring and loving. Someone who provides many of the things we need to grow, learn, and navigate our way through life.
Orchard Oriole Nest Glossy Ibis on nest
Bird moms do the same. They build strong nests to raise their families, protect the eggs, feed the babies, teach and encourage them as they take flight for the first time.
Great Egret pair on nest
One only needs to walk around Seabrook Island to see bird moms and dads busily building nests, incubating eggs, or carrying food back and forth to the nestlings.
On this Mother’s Day, take a moment to look around and appreciate the care and dedication shown by all these other mothers in the world, too.
Monday May 13th, 2024 8:30 am – 10:30 am Birding on Ocean Winds Golf Course
Location: Meet at Island House (Golf Course Parking Lot next to Spinnaker Beach Houses) for ride along the golf course in golf carts Max: 24 (If all seats in golf carts are used)
Cost: Free for members; $10 donation for guests – Priority will be given to prior waitlisted & members
The Seabrook Island Club closes one course a day each week and allows Seabrook Island Birders to use golf carts to travel the course with our members to bird. Join us for a morning of birding by RIDING in golf carts for at least 9-holes on Ocean Winds golf course. We expect to see a large variety of birds including Egrets, Herons and birds of prey. We will also see and hear some of the smaller birds like Tufted Titmice, Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens and some of the many warbler species. Since it is spring, we can also expect to see Eastern Kingbirds, Great-crested Flycatchers, Orchard Orioles, Summer Tanagers, Mississippi Kites and more! A highlight this month will be the nesting activity at the rookery, as well as the chance to see Osprey nests!
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. Water will be provided.
If you are not yet a 2024 SIB member, you must first become a member for only $15 by following the instructions on our website: https://seabrookislandbirders.org/contact/join-sib/. You may bring the form and your dues to the event. Or you may pay the Guest Fee of $10.
Please complete the information below to register no later than Friday prior to the trip. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on the Sunday, the day prior to the trip. If you need to cancel, please let us know so we can invite people on the waitlist to attend.
On May 7, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) announced it will be implementing a complete temporary closure of Deveaux Bank Seabird Sanctuary to protect the state’s nesting pelican population.
Last week, biologists completed an initial survey of the state’s nesting brown pelican colonies, which are typically restricted to a few small islands and sandbars along the coast. The surveys showed both Bird Key-Stono and Tomkins Island Seabird Sanctuaries as inactive for pelican colonies this year, with most of South Carolina’s pelicans nesting on Deveaux Bank.
Because of Deveaux Bank’s regional importance to many birds of high conservation concern, all of the island, including the intertidal shoals, is temporary closed. Seasonal closures will be evaluated and adjusted to ensure protection of coastal bird habitat. In addition, no dogs are allowed on any part of the property at any time. SCDNR officials have posted signs on the high ground of the island indicating closed areas. The interior, intertidal sandflats are not able to support signage, but these areas also remain closed to all landing and foot traffic, as they serve as critical feeding and roosting areas for a wide variety of birds.
On April 24, SCDNR announced the temporary closure of Deveaux Bank. This announcement stated in part: In addition to its nesting birds, Deveaux Bank also hosts tens of thousands of declining migratory shorebirds, including red knots, piping plovers and whimbrels, in need of rest and food. Quiet beaches that are free of predators and disturbance are essential to their survival during long journeys to and from their nesting grounds. Shorebirds feed in the intertidal sandy and muddy shoals on invertebrates such as marine worms, clams and horseshoe crab eggs
Due to erosion and overwash caused by storms in 2023, much of Deveaux Bank is now underwater from mid-tide to high tide. Because of Deveaux Bank’s regional importance to many birds of high conservation concern, all of the island, including intertidal shoals, is closed during the nesting season except for the southwest tip of the island nearest Edisto Island. In addition, no dogs are allowed on any part of the property at any time.
The May 7 announcement expands the closures beyond those stated in the April 24 announcement.
Seabrook Island Birders supports these announcements from SCDNR. These announcements ask the public to abide by the closures and report any violations to the SCDNR Law Enforcement Hotline at 1-800-922-5431. Failure to comply can result in fines up to $465 and 30 days in jail (code 50-11-860).
If you were not able to join us or would just like to see it again, recordings of this presentation is now available.
Presented by
Rebecca Haynes – Executive DirectorAudubon South Carolina
We missed many of you with our recent program speaker Rebecca Haynes, Executive Director of Audubon South Carolina. It was at the end of a busy week with many members traveling or having commitments to Earth Week activities. Be sure to view the recording of her talk, you are bound to learn something new about Audubon and specifically their activities in SC.
Rebecca has been the Executive Director for 13 months. Her prior experience is in conservation and government regulation. She clarified that Audubon SC is directly linked to the National Audubon network, in contrast to some Audubon affiliates who have independent chapter status. Audubon SC is focused on habitat protection and replenishment. As a large land owner, including both Francis Beidler Forest and Silver Bluff spaces that welcome visitors, they have a forestry team managing their ecosystems extensively and actively. She described programs that involved loblolly pine harvesting, the profits being poured back into the property for replanting in long leaf pine, a native species. These approaches can replenish toward native habitat in a self-funding manor.
She also discussed current coastal development pressure in the McClellanville area and activities within the government working to preserve habitat. There was also discussion around access to Deveaux Bank and loss of habitat around the area.
It was an interesting talk and the questions were excellent. We heard about many issues that impact the birds we care about from a big picture, government policy-based approach. Hope you enjoy the recording and put our next program on your calendar, May 30 7pm. Patrick Moore from the Open Space Institute office in Charleston will be here to inform us about land preservation efforts in the Southeast.
On May 11, Cornell Lab and eBird sponsor Global Big Day. Will you join more than 30,000 others and become a part of Global Big Day? You don’t have to commit to birding for 24 hours—an hour or even 10 minutes of watching birds makes you part of the team. Visit your favorite spot or search out someplace new; enjoy a solo walk or get some friends to join in the Global Big Day fun. As part of this day, Seabrook Island Birders will conduct Learning Together activities at various locations plus offer you an opportunity to request someone to bird with you at your favorite location. The registration form below allows you to select which locations you wish to bird.
The morning will start at 8:00 am with a Learning Together at North Beach. We will be looking for the Red Knots that are our guests in April and May, stopping at Seabrook Island to rest and refuel on their long migration from South America to the Arctic to breed. Large flocks have been seen to date, growing to 5000 or more in past years. Overall, we hope to spot a nice variety of shorebirds as we work our way to the North Beach inlet. We’ll meet in the Property Owners’ beach parking lot at 8:00am. This will get us to the beach at mid tide, which should be a busy foraging time for shorebirds, as the tide goes out. Be sure to bring binoculars, camera, hats, sunscreen, water, and snacks. Wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet. Of course, you can head back at any time.
At 2:00 pm we will walk around Palmetto Lake. This is less than one mile of a flat, paved walk around the lake. Historically in May at this location we see Great Crested Flycatchers, Orchard Orioles and Mississippi Kites in addition to the “normal” Great Egrets, Tufted Titmouse, Carolina Chickadees, etc. If time permits, we’ll continue on to the Equestrian Center to see European Starlings, Eastern Bluebirds and maybe even Cattle Egret.
At 7:30 pm, our evening will conclude with a sunset view of Deveaux Bank from the beach at Boardwalk 9. Deveaux Bank Seabird Sanctuary was established to protect significant roosting and nesting habitats of sea and shorebirds. Located at the mouth of the North Edisto River in Charleston County, Deveaux Bank Seabird Sanctuary encompasses approximately 215 acres and is only accessible by boat. As Deveaux has limited access with restrictions, one of the best ways to see the birds is through a spotting scope from Pelican Beach, accessible via boardwalk 9. Sunset is the best time to see large numbers of birds returning to Deveaux for the night so bring your beach chair, favorite sunset beverage, and join us to watch this nightly event. Birds most likely to be seen include Brown Pelicans, Least Terns, Royal Terns, Black Skimmers, Sandwich terns, Laughing Gulls, Willet, and possibly Whimbrel.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. If you want to stay and watch the sunset, be sure to bring a chair. Limited parking available on Seabrook Island Road, beside Boardwalk 9.
This form can also be used to suggest another location and time you would like to have a friend to join you to bird. SIB will send an email to the Google Group of all these suggested times and places for people to gather.
As always, bring binocular/camera, hat, sunscreen, snacks and water.
Once you are a member, please complete the information below to register no later than Thursday May 9 , 2024. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Friday May 10.
If you have additional questions about the program, please contact us by sending an email to: SeabrookIslandBirders@gmail.com
Photo Credits: North Beach – Gina Sanders Palmetto Lake – Alan Fink Sunset – Jeff Davis
Brown Pelican – Pelecanus occidentalis
Length: 51″; Wingspan: 79″; Weight: 131.2 oz.
Brown Pelican taking off from the ocean – Ed Konrad
Brown Pelicans are a very common site on Seabrook Island all year long. This large bird is commonly found on our island flying over the dunes and beaches in V-formations or single file, flapping and gliding in unison. Sometimes you even see them coasting just inches above the water. While in flight, pelicans hold their heads drawn back on their shoulders. Have you ever seen them feed? It is a fabulous site! They drop from the air sometimes as high as 60 feet and plunge dive head first into the water and scoop and trap their prey in their extended pouch. Then they drain the water out the sides of their bill and now are left with a tasty catch of fish usually either herring, sheepshead, mullet, pigfish, minnows or pinfish. Adult Brown Pelicans consume as much as four pounds of fish per day. Ever wonder why the pelican doesn’t get hurt during these plunges? Well, air sacs beneath the skin on their breasts act like cushions to protect them during impact. They also rotate their body ever so slightly to the left. This helps to avoid injury to their esophagus and trachea which are located on their right side.
The Brown Pelican adult has a gray-brown body with white and pale yellow head and a long bill (11-13 inches) and an expandable throat pouch that can carry nearly 3 gallons of water and/or fish. The back of the neck turns chestnut in breeding season. Males and females look similar in color however males are slightly larger. Pelican bodies are large and heavy, they have short legs and webbed feet. Their wings are long and broad. Juveniles are all brown at first then change gradually to adult plumage.
Brown Pelicans are very gregarious birds. Both males and females live in flocks throughout the year. They are exceptionally buoyant due to internal air sacks beneath their skin and in their bones.
Their nests are large and flat and made of grass, straw and sticks and built in a tree or if on the ground the nest consists of a shallow scrape lined with feathers and a rim of soil. They lay 2-4 white eggs and incubation ranges from 28-30 days and is carried out by both parents. They incubate their eggs by covering them with their webbed feet. Brown pelicans are monogamous (have only one partner) throughout the breeding season and nest in large colonies.
They breed in large numbers on Deveaux Bank, a 215 acre seabird sanctuary, located between Edisto Island and Seabrook Island. This Brown Pelican colony is the largest one in South Carolina and is responsible for 67% of all Brown Pelicans nesting in South Carolina and 25% of the Brown Pelican’s nesting on the Atlantic coast.
The oldest brown pelican on record was 43 years of age.
A group of Pelicans has many collective nouns, including a “brief”, “pod”, “rush”, “pouch”, “scoop” and “squadron” of Pelicans.
The Crab Bank Pelicam, just off Mount Pleasant in Charleston Harbor, brings you live video of nesting pelicans. You will also hear the low grunts typical in a colony.
If you would like to learn more about this bird visit:
Brown Pelican having a bite to eat while the gulls wait for the extra – Ed Konrad
Brown Pelican with Laughing Gull – Ed Konrad
Brown Pelican with his mouth full and a Laughing Gull waiting for dropsies – Ed Konrad
Brown Pelican eating – Ed Konrad
Brown Pelican enjoying the leftovers after the dolphin strand feeding!
Brown Pelican range map
Submitted by Flo Foley and Photographs by Ed Konrad
Resubmitted 2024 by SIB
This blog post is part of a series SIB will publish on a regular basis to feature birds seen in the area, both migratory and permanent residents. When possible we will use photographs taken by our members. Please let us know if you have any special requests of birds you would like to learn more about.
SIB 