Month: October 2016

Common Yellowthroat – Geothlypis trichas
Length:  4.3–5.1”; Wingspan: 5.9 – 7.9″; Weight: 0.3–0.4 oz

The Common Yellowthroat is one of the most easy-to-spot warblers during spring and summer in Seabrook Island, and in much of North America. These songbirds dwell in open habitats such as marshes, wetland edges and brushy fields. The male’s “witchety-witchety-witchety” song is distinctive and easy to recognize. The male is also known for his black ‘bandit’ mask that contrasts to his showy bright, lemon-yellow throat and breast. The female Common Yellowthroat is, like her male counterpart, small and compact, and her coloring is mostly dull olive-gray overall. This bird has a very short neck and a small bill.

Common Yellowthroats spend much of their time flying low to the ground in dense thickets and fields, searching for insects and spiders. They favor small grasshoppers, dragonflies, mayflies, beetles, grubs, caterpillars, and other small bugs and also eat a few seeds. While they gather food mostly on foliage and through ground foraging, they occasionally make short flights to catch insects in mid-air.

Male Yellowthroats court females by flicking their wings and tail, following females closely and performing flight displays. In pairs, these birds prefer to nest low (less than 3’ up) on piles of briars, weeds, grasses or shrubs, or among cattails and bulrushes in the marsh setting. The nest is typically a bulky open cup shape, built by the female, and sometimes includes a partial roof of weeds, grass stems, dead leaves and bark that is attached to the rim of the nest. Common Yellowthroats usually produce 2 broods per year, and typically lay 3-6 eggs at a time. The eggs are creamy white with brown and black spots and are incubated by the female only for a period of 12 days. The male feeds the female on the nest during incubation and the young, once hatched, are fed by both parents. The young leave the nest after about 8-10 days.

The Common Yellowthroat winters throughout Central America, northwestern South America, extreme southern US and most of the Caribbean islands.

Certain subspecies of Common Yellowthroats are at risk of decline, largely from wetland degradation and conversion to agricultural and urban landscapes. Because they are insectivores and often live in wetlands, Common Yellowthroats are also susceptible to poor water quality and to pesticides and other pollutants. Cowbirds will occasionally ‘brood parasitize’ the Yellowthroat nest (lay their eggs in the host nest, forcing the parents to abandon the nest). Given these threats and risks, Yellowthroat populations seem to be holding steady rangewide across the United States.

Yellowthroats are naturally inquisitive birds and a little backyard investigation can often bring them out into the open for observation. Listen for their husky, low chuck coming from undergrowth. When you hear one calling, look low in the bushes and trees for a quick, small bird with olive wings and a yellow breast. Try making a ‘pishing’ sound. This often will draw the curious Yellowthroat out into the open to see who is making the sound, and you will be able to spot this small, pretty songbird!

If you would like to learn more about this bird visit:

• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birders: Common Yellowthroat

Common Yellowthroat – Ed Konrad

Common Yellowthroat – Ed Konrad

Common Yellowthroat – Ed Konrad

Common Yellowthroat – Ed Konrad

Common Yellowthroat Range Map

Article submitted by: Lyn Magee
Photographs provided by: Ed Konrad

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.

As you may know, every Sunday we publish a weekly “Bird of the Week” blog.  Today we’d like to test your knowledge by asking if you can guess what bird you can hear on Seabrook Island that sounds like this.

Leave us a comment if you want to make a guess – and watch for the full article on Sunday morning!

Birds have been dealing with hurricanes for millions of years and have developed a remarkable ability to survive. Whether it is a type of ESP (extra sensory perception) or not, birds process acute sensory perceptions and sensitivities to changes in air pressure, vibrations and low frequency sound waves that alert them to weather changes such as a coming hurricane. Sensing a storm, birds either hunker down and ride it out, or flee. In some instances, they move in the wrong direction getting trapped inside a hurricane’s eyewall. Here they are forced to move with the storm until it losses strength or they become exhausted and land to ride out the remainder of the storm.

A couple weeks prior to Hurricane Matthew I watched in amazement a Ruby-throated Hummingbird alternately sitting on a small tree branch and flying back and forth to its feeder in 20 to 25 MPH wind. Hummingbirds, as with other song and woodland birds have specially adapted toes that automatically tighten around their perch. This enables them to hold on to branches when they sleep and in high wind. Birds also have the ability to fluff their feathers adding additional protection from the rain and cold. Woodpeckers and other cavity nesting birds may ride out storms in their cavities. However, in the high winds and driving rain of a hurricane such adaptations and behavior may help but can’t explain how they survive. Two days after Hurricane Matthew visited Seabrook Island. the same or perhaps another Rudy-throated Hummingbird was waiting on the same branch watching me put the feeder back up. Had he hunkered down somewhere close-by or flown out of harm’s way?

One of the most written about instances concerning a birds encounter with a hurricane is the story of Machi, a Whimbrel. Fitted with a satellite tracking tag in 2009, Machi had been followed for two years while making seven 2,000 mile trips between her breeding grounds near Hudson Bay to her wintering grounds in the Caribbean Sea. She had traveled a total of over 27,000 miles. Prior to being shot by a Guadeloupe hunter in 2011, Machi on her last trip was tracked traveling hundreds of miles out of her normal migration route as she skirted Tropical Storm Irene.

A tagged gannet approaching the southern shore of New Jersey as Hurricane Sandy made landfall there, made a sharp U-turn and headed back north toward Long Island and out to sea along the continental shelf where it waited out the storm. However not all birds go around a storm. In 2011 another tagged whimbrel, nicknamed Hope, was tracked flying through Tropical Storm Gert off the coast of Nova Scotia, entering at 7 MPH and emerging at nearly 90 MPH.

Shore and ocean-faring birds have been detected in recent years by polarization radar that were trapped in the center of a hurricane. Trying to fly away from the higher winds of such storms these birds enter the back edge and work their way to the calmer center. Here they become trapped, being forced to fly long distance without food or rest. Becoming exhausted, these birds are often forced to take refuge from the storm landing, particularly as the storm passes over a large lake or other water body, and ride-out the rest of the storm.

Called “hurricane birds”, these birds may be transported great distances. Coastal shore birds may be transported hundreds of miles inland and Caribbean Island species may flee to coastal areas of the United States. Birders frequently take advantage of this phenomena and search for new bird sighting following a hurricane. Many first area records occur at such times however unfortunately many of these translocated birds do not survive.

The most important impact of a hurricane on birds may be its impact on the environment. Flooding by a saltwater surge and/or freshwater flooding from accompanying rain may have dramatic short and long term impacts on vegetation. Beach erosion may destroy critical feeding and nesting areas of shore birds. Forest vegetation may be flattened and stripped of leaves making it uninhabitable to many birds. Fruits and berries, nuts, acorns, and other food sources may be lost. Many cavity dwelling birds such as woodpeckers and owls may lose nesting trees as they frequently snap off at the cavities.

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo resulted in the loss of nearly 60% of the remaining population of the endanger Red-cockaded woodpecker as a result of an estimated 90% of the trees with nesting cavities within the Francis Marion National Forest being flattened. The same storm resulted in the loss of 40% of all the known American eagle nests in South Carolina.

Hurricanes do kill birds and change the ecosystem, however, one animal’s loss is another’s gain and healthy populations do survive. Tree top dwelling birds may lose much of their habitat but those requiring lower, shrubby level vegetation such as the whip-poor-will will flourish. Fallen trees, branches and stripped leaves result in increased light and photosynthesis on the forest floor. As the fallen vegetation rots it fertilizes and simulates new growth creating important food sources. Fallen vegetation also creates millions of new nooks and crannies that will become home for many bird species and numerous other forest creatures.

Submitted by:  Charles Moore

Turkey Vulture vs. Black Vulture  –  Cathartes aura and Coragyps atratus
Turkey Vulture – Length: 26″;   Wingspan:  67″;  Weight:  4.0 lb
Black Vulture – Length:   25″;   Wingspan:  59″;  Weight:  4.4 lb

No, those are NOT buzzards; they are vultures. We have no buzzards in North America but we do have two types of vultures: the Turkey Vulture and the Black Vulture, commonly referred to as TVs and Blacks. Both are very big, very dark, and very ugly (to some) when seen on the ground. They have no feathers on their heads and dangerous looking beaks. These features are important to their life style. As you probably know from seeing them around road kill, they are carrion eaters. Their sharp beaks enable them to rip apart a carcass and the featherless heads allow them to forage deeply inside a dead animal yet avoid getting residue on their heads – not pretty but most practical.

Close up, the most obvious difference between these two vultures is the color of their heads. The Turkey Vulture has a bright red head while the Black’s is dark gray. On the wing, the TV seems to be soaring unsteadily, tipping from side to side with its wings in a V-shape. It uses very few wing beats as it glides along and the “fingers” at the ends of its wings are distinctive. From beneath, the TV’s wings in flight appear to be two-toned with black on the top edge and gray on the bottom.

In contrast, the Black is stubbier in shape with a shorter tail and thicker wings. It tends to flap its wings more and has less of a V shape when gliding than the TV. A definite identifier for the Black are the white “windows” at the ends of its wings. Watch for them as the bird flies overhead.

It is more likely that a birder will see a vulture in the sky than on the ground. They ride the thermals to reach heights which allow them to see great distances. Both are very strong fliers, often flying near one another, using their keen eyesight to spot carrion. The TV also has exceptional sense of smell which gives it an advantage in locating carcasses. The Black makes up for its disadvantage by watching the Turkey Vulture and following it when it descends.

There seem to be more Blacks than Turkey Vultures. In fact, the reverse is true in the U.S. but the very social nature of the Blacks means we see them in groups while the TV flies and may even eat alone.   One on one, the Black will lose out against the bigger TV. However, if both are at a carcass, a flock of Blacks can take over from the singular TV.

Neither the TV nor the Black actually builds a nest. They use hollowed trees or stumps, thickets, caves and even abandoned buildings to have their young. Once found, a pair may reuse the sight for several years.

If you would like to learn more about these birds visit:

• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birders: Turkey Vulture
• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birders: Black Vulture

Black Vulture

Black Vultures

Black Vulture Flying (notice the silver tips on the wings)

Black Vulture Range Map

Turkey Vulture

Turkey Vulture Flying

Turkey Vulture – C. Moore

Turkey Vulture – C. Moore

Turkey Vulture Range Map

Article submitted by:  Marcia Hider
Photographs provided by: Charley Moore & Misc

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.

As you may know, every Sunday we publish a weekly “Bird of the Week” blog.  Today we’d like to test your knowledge by asking the following questions:

A group of these birds feeding is a WAKE
A group in flight is a KETTLE
A group resting in trees is a COMMITTEE, VOLT or VENUE.

What are they??

Leave us a comment if you want to make a guess – and watch for the full article on Sunday morning!

We began our “Bird of the Week” series in March and we hope you have been able to learn a few things about our feathered friends.  This week we hope you enjoyed a little quiz to test your knowledge.  Below is a list of passerines which we have already profiled – oops – along with one we haven’t profiled yet!  (A passerine is a type of bird most notable by the arrangement of their toes, three pointing forward and one back, which facilitates perching. They are sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds.)

How’d you do on the photos?  And the songs/calls?  Check out the answers below and read our previously published blogs on nine of the species.

We thought you might need a break from all the clean-up work left by Hurricane Matthew so grab a piece of paper and pen and test your knowledge!

We began our “Bird of the Week” series in March and we hope you have been able to learn a few things about our feathered friends.  This week we hope you will enjoy a little quiz to test your knowledge.  Below is a list of passerines which we have already profiled (and one we haven’t profiled – oops!).  (A passerine is a type of bird most notable by the arrangement of their toes, three pointing forward and one back, which facilitates perching. They are sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds.)

Can you match the name of each bird to their photo? Don’t forget that some of the photos may be of the female bird which may look different than the male bird of the same species.

For extra credit match the song to each bird as well!  We will publish the answers on Sunday.  Good luck!!!

Extra Credit – Match to the song/call

S1
S2
S3
S4
S5
S6
S7
S8
S9
S10

American Redstart  –  Setophaga ruticilla
Length:  5.25″;  Wingspan:  7.75″;  Weight:  0.29 oz.

While the American Redstart is a wood-warbler and part of the Parulidae Family, it is the only warbler species in the Setophage Genus.  David Sibley, in his Field Guide to Birds index, does not list it among the warblers, but alone under Redstart.  They do migrate, in treed habitats, along the SC coast line.  My only sightings have been in New York and Massachusetts.  This is a very colorful, mid-size warbler with what The Cornell Lab of Ornithology calls “a fairly long, expressive tail.”

An adult male could be described as a Halloween bird.  It has a black head and back with splashes of orange on the wing tops, along the sides under the wings, and, in a unique pattern, on the tail.  The colors are similar to the Baltimore Oriole, but in a very different pattern of orange on a bird that is 3.5 inches longer than the redstart and weighs 1.2 ounces.  An adult female American Redstart has a gray head and the color splashes are more yellow.   The larger Blackburnian Warbler also displays orange, but only on the throat.

Typically, warbler behavior is to always be on the move.  This makes it difficult to differentiate among those of similar coloration.  The flashier redstart is incredibly active as it darts about, colorful tail fanned. to flush insects from their hiding places.  The insects are then chased in short flights and plucked from the air.  Their winter habitat (Central America, Cuba, and the northern countries of South America) is tropical and at lower to middle elevations of woodlands.  In migration, they tend to stay within protected treed areas as opposed to the open coastal plain.  The breeding habitat, which extends from inland South Carolina to Canada, would normally be somewhat open wooded areas of primarily deciduous trees.

The Seabrook Island chart of bird species shows the American Redstart as an occasional visitor.  Our live oaks would seem to fit their habitat preference.  Local experience indicates there’s a better chance of observing them from late August through October (fall migration).  One was recently seen in the Equestrian area, one on hole 10 of Ocean Winds Golf Course and several were seen by the groups birding with David Gardner at St. Christopher.

If you would like to learn more about this bird visit:

• The Cornell Lab of Ornithology – All About Birders: American Redstart

American Redstart (male) – Ed Konrad

American Redstart (male) – Ed Konrad

American Redstart (female) – Ed Konrad

American Redstart (female) – Ed Konrad

American Redstart Range Map – Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Article submitted by:  George Haskins
Photographs provided by:  Ed Konrad

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.

As you may know, every Sunday we publish a weekly “Bird of the Week” blog.  Today we’d like to test your knowledge with this hint:

True to its Halloween-themed color scheme, this bird seen on Seabrook Island especially during Fall Migration, seems to startle its prey out of the foliage by flashing its strikingly patterned tail and wing feathers.

Leave us a comment if you want to make a guess – and watch for the full article on Sunday morning!