September 2018

Join us Saturday for October Big Day

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Date: Saturday October 6, 2018, various times between 7:00 am – 6:00 pm
Activity: October Big Day on Seabrook Island
Location: Various locations around Seabrook Island
Max: 10
Cost: No cost to members, $5 to non-members

Join us in participating in eBird’s first ever October Big Day. The event will involve walks at various locations throughout the day. The schedule below allows for individuals to sign up for a portion of the day if the whole day is not of interest. We request you register for all sections you will be attending so we know if we should wait for you at any individual location.

– North Beach – (High Tide 6:20 am; Sunrise 7:16 am) – 7:00 AM – 10:00 AM
The group will walk the 2 miles to Captain Sam’s Inlet. Those unable to walk the entire distance may turn around at any time. The group will work together to identify those hard to distinguish plovers and sandpipers. Red Knots may even be sited. The walk is scheduled around the high tide when the birds will be consolidated on a narrower beach. Meet at the Owners Beach Access Parking Lot at Boardwalk .

– Camp St. Christopher (10:00 AM – 12:00 PM)
At this site we plan an active walk in search of migrating warblers and others through the various habitats on the property. Expect to walk at least 2 miles on wooded paths. Meet in the bus parking area.

– Equestrian Center / Maintenance Area – 1:30 – 3:00 PM
Starlings and Cowbirds plus numerous other birds can be expected. A large number of birds will likely be seen near the parking area but then a walk along the horse trail to the maintenance and garden area may be added to see a different variety of birds.

– Palmetto Lake – 3:00 – 4:30 PM
Join us to explore the birds around the Lake House and the walks of Palmetto Lake. This is less than one mile of flat, paved walk around the lake. Meet at the Lake House parking lot.

– Jenkin’s Point – 4:30 – 6:00 PM (Sunset 7:00 pm)
We will be exploring the birds seen along Jenkins Point lagoons and streets, including ducks, wading birds and shorebirds. Since this event will be primarily by car, it is appropriate for members with mobility issues. Meet at Jenkins Point Ct, the street after the first pond on the left.

For all events, bring sun block, bug spray, a hat, water, snacks and binoculars.

Learn more about October Big Day: https://ebird.org/news/october-big-day-6-october-2018

Please register no later than Wednesday October 4, 2018. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.

If you have additional questions about the program, please contact us by sending an email to: SeabrookIslandBirders@gmail.com

If you are not yet a 2018 SIB member, you must first become a member by following the instructions on our website: https://seabrookislandbirders.org/contact/join-sib/ or we request a $5 donation to SIB.

Help Save Crab Bank Seabird Sanctuary

During our SIB Evening program on Thursday, September 27th, our guest speaker Patrick Jodice spoke about the importance of the Brown Pelican and the protection of their habitat. As you may already know, this is the first year Crab Bank has not been filled with the calls of chicks since shorebirds began using this tiny island as a nesting ground.

This dwindling Seabird Sanctuary Island and Important Bird Area near Shem Creek washes over twice a day at high tide this year. The SC Audubon and other organizations are working together to raise $1.4 million toward the restoration of Crab Bank, with the Army Corps of Engineers will invest the rest of the estimated $4 million needed to complete the project. Normally a project like this would cost at least twice that.

You can be a part of the movement to Save Crab Bank. Share it on your social media, go see what’s left of Crab Bank for yourself, participate this weekend in the “Paddle & Flotilla” (see below) and donate.

THIS SUNDAY • 9 A.M.

ALL HANDS ON DECK

″$1.5 million is beyond me, but it’s not beyond us. In December, there’s going to be a cash call, and if we don’t have the money they’re going to dredge right by. That’s an issue. What happens to Crab Bank will be a litmus test for how we want to be and how we want to act as a community.”

-Chris Crolley, Coastal Expeditions

RENT YOUR KAYAK

Five local outfitters are donating their services to make this day happen. Choose one and get signed up!

Charleston Outdoor Adventures

Nature Adventures

Sea Kayak Carolina

Coastal Expeditions (full)

Charleston Kayak Company (full)

BRING YOUR OWN

Put in at a private dock, at the Shem Creek Landing or at Nature Adventures (Shrimp Boat Lane). Be to the Bank by 9 a.m.

If you use the Nature Adventures Landing, you’ll get parking and use of facilities for $15 launch fee (to be donated to Crab Bank)

NOT A PADDLER?

Get your family together, grab a coffee and walk out to the end of the Shem Creek Boardwalk! You’ll be able to cheer us on as we migrate down the creek and assemble at Crab Bank.

Make a donation to Save Crab Bank

FIND OUT MORE

Want to Chat?

Call/Text (843)884-7684

info@coastalexpeditions.com

Coastal Expeditions is proud to be the Outdoor Adventures Partner for the South Carolina Aquarium. Become a member for access to special outings with Coastal Expeditions!

Join us Friday to Bird “Beyond our Backyard” at Bears Bluff Fish Hatchery

Screen Shot 2018-08-30 at 4.03.38 PM Located on Wadmalaw Island, the Bears Bluff NFH has a self-guided tour our group will take around the perimeter of the 31 acre facility. We will not only see examples of the South Carolina lowcountry’s natural habitat but also see work being accomplished by staff at BBNFH. SIB Leaders will take our participants across a previously impounded estuarine area which is naturally reverting back into coastal marshland as well as a freshwater pond where birds, turtles and alligators are often visible. Two boardwalks offer a unique perspective and will allow guests “to get in the marsh without getting dirty”. The self-guided tour offers visitors the opportunity to learn about the estuarine ecosystem while experiencing some of this area’s most breathtaking scenery. Opportunities abound for bird watchers and wildlife enthusiasts, so bring your binoculars and pack a lunch!

Join SIB Executive Committee Members Nancy Brown & Judy Morr for this walk in search of seabirds, wading birds, passerines and birds of prey. Be sure to bring binoculars, camera, hats, sunscreen bug repellant, snacks and water. Pack a lunch and stay longer to enjoy what the Bears Bluff NFH has to offer!

Date: Friday, September 28, 2018 7:00 am – 12:00 pm
Activity: Beyond our Backyard – Bears Bluff Fish Hatchery
Location: Meet at SIRE parking lot and car pool (approximately a 45 minute drive)
Max: 20
Cost: None for members; $5 donation for guests

Learn more about Bears Bluff NFH: https://www.fws.gov/bearsbluff/index.html

Please register no later than Wednesday September 26, 2018. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.

If you have additional questions about the program, please contact us by sending an email to: SeabrookIslandBirders@gmail.com

Forecasts Can Now Tell You When Birds Are Headed Your Way

As reported in the Cornell Lab of Ornithology newsletter. Sign up on their website.

With fall migration heating up, it’s time to take advantage of BirdCast. Using a combination of weather forecasting and long-term data sets, our BirdCast team can predict which nights migrants will be on the move—which spells good birding for the morning after. Check out our primer on using BirdCast, or go straight to the current 3-day forecast.

Join us Saturday for Backyard Birding!

Backyard Birding Photographers 011418 — Backyard Birding Photographers.

Date: Saturday September 22 8am-10am
Activity: Backyard Birding on Kiawah
Location: 85 Wax Myrtle Ct. Take the main road to the second gate. Turn right at the second gate. My street is on the left, just past where there are double lines across the road (which designates the bike path).
Max: 12Cost: free for SIB Members, $5 fee for guests.

This is the home of Beverly Gholson, a SIB member and Kiawah Island resident. We will start out inside (2nd floor) to get a good view of her bird feeders. Bev also lives near the observation deck on Kiawah, where we can take a little walk and observe many shorebirds. Bev gets a large variety of birds near her home. Fall Migration will be in full swing.

Once you are a member, please REGISTER no later than Thursday September 20 , 2018. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.

If you have additional questions about the program, please contact us by sending an email to: SeabrookIslandBirders@gmail.com

If you are not yet a 2018 SIB member, you must first become a member by following the instructions on our website or we request a $5 donation to SIB.

2018 Eastern Bluebird Trails Summary

Nestling Bluebirds

The Seabrook Island Bluebird Society was started on Seabrook Island to help the Eastern Bluebird (see our “Bird of the Week” blog from 2016 to learn more about the Eastern Bluebird). The 2018 nesting season has come to an end.

If you didn’t know, the Eastern Bluebird is a small member of the thrush family that inhabit fields and clearings. Although pesticides and competition from house sparrows in the early and mid-20th century negatively impacted bluebirds, they have recovered well in recent years and are stable or increasing both as breeding birds and wintering birds. Much of this recovery is thanks to concerned citizens who put up bluebird boxes in their fields for these birds to nest in.

Seventy-three bluebird boxes were installed and are located along Crooked Oaks and Ocean Winds golf courses, the Lake House and Sunset Pier. Melanie Jerome took over the leadership of the Bluebird Society in 2018 from Dean Morr. The main focus is to monitor nesting of bluebirds and any other bird species using the boxes. This is done from March through August by a group of 13 hard working volunteers. They check the boxes once a week, keeping track of activity of all birds documenting by box the number of eggs laid, hatched and fledged. Once fledged, the boxes are cleaned of all nesting material so they available for another brood of birds.

The 2018 statistics for our Seabrook Island Eastern Bluebirds are:

99 nests built
389 eggs laid
246 eggs hatched
226 fledged

This is a 58% fledge success. We also have had 21 nests from Carolina Chickadees, with 74 eggs laid, and 55 fledged. We had a predation problem from snakes and raccoons this year and the 2019 goal is to obtain baffle guards on some of the poles to prevent the predation issue.

To compare to results from previous years, see the chart below:

Trail Name			Bluebird				Carolina Chickadee
2018 RESULTS	# Boxes	No Activity	Nest Attempts	Eggs	Hatched	Fledged	Nest Attempts	Eggs	Hatched	Fledged
2018 Totals	73	6	99	389	246	226	21	74	55	55
2017 Totals	73	5	89	318	183	175	26	98	82	82
2016 Totals	73	3	99	386	360	359	28	126	106	106
2015 Totals	73	7	76	318	259	259	39	136	104	102
2014 Totals	67	10	63	252	219	203	28	113	85	83

I would like to thank all of our volunteers for their help, we couldn’t do it without you. If you are interested in helping with the bluebirds, please contact Melanie at seabrookbluebirds@gmail.com.

Article submitted by: Melanie Jerome
Photos provided by: Nancy Brown

SIB Member of the Month: Tori Langen

Tori Langen

Tori Langen and her son Sam

For those of you who know her, you might not be aware that Tori Langen is a birder. She’s better known as an avid and accomplished golfer and a darned good bridge player. But she also enjoys birding!

Tori says that it was probably her father who got her interested in our feathered friends. He used to call in cardinals with his whistle and Tori loved it. She was about 10 years old at the time. In fact, as it turned out, she has had several close friends through her life who were birders. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were avid birders and her husband, Bob, also was interested, mostly in backyard birds.

Continue reading “SIB Member of the Month: Tori Langen”

Birding & Biking the West Ashley Greenway

SIB Birders biking Greenway – Melanie Jerome

On Saturday September 8th, shortly before the onslaught of news of Hurricane Florence, five SIB members met to bike the 7-mile West Ashley Greenway from Johns Island to the Windermere Plaza. Two additional members where unable to catch up with us, but also spent a beautiful morning biking and birding.

The larger group documented 38 bird species along the way. One of the most exciting sightings for the group were a pair of female Summer Tanagers who chased each other near the “tree of shoes.” Our final new species of the day was a flyover pair of Roseate Spoonbills was spectacular!

The two additional SIB members who biked and birded the Greenway saw 36 species, but interestingly they saw at least six species not seen by the first group: three types of warblers, two types of vireos and a Loggerhead Shrike.

Below is the full list from the larger group. Let us know if this type of trip is of interest to you and we will try to plan another later in the fall.

Canada Goose 24
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 85
Mourning Dove 15
Ruby-throated Hummingbird 1
Clapper Rail 3
Killdeer 10
Spotted Sandpiper 2
Laughing Gull 25
Wood Stork 10
Anhinga 1
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 12
Snowy Egret 3
Little Blue Heron 4
Tricolored Heron 3
Roseate Spoonbill 2
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 1
Osprey 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Belted Kingfisher 6
Downy Woodpecker 2
Merlin 1
Great Crested Flycatcher 1
Blue Jay 14
American Crow 4
Fish Crow 1
swallow sp. 5
Carolina Chickadee 7 It
Tufted Titmouse 6
Carolina Wren 5
Eastern Bluebird 12
Gray Catbird 3
Northern Mockingbird 7
House Finch 3
Boat-tailed Grackle 5
Summer Tanager 2
Northern Cardinal 3
House Sparrow 2

SIB Evening Program: “A Pelican Briefing”

PowerPoint Presentation

We interrupt the regularly scheduled emails about Hurricane Florence to invite you to SIB’s next evening program, “A Pelican Briefing”, presented by Dr. Patrick Jodice, on Thursday, September 27, 2018! We hope by then, life after Florence will have returned to normal and you will enjoy this exciting discussion about our Brown Pelicans and several other seabirds and shorebirds.

Learn more and register for the event now!

Join us Monday to Bird on Ocean Winds Golf Course

Stopped along the 17th hole of Crooked Oaks to observe Eastern Bluebirds at a nesting box.

Date: Monday September 17, 2018 8:30 am – 11:00 am
Activity: Learning Together at Ocean Winds Golf Course
Location: Meet at Island House (Golf Course Parking Lot next to Spinnaker Beach Houses) for “walk” along Ocean Winds Golf Course in golf carts.
Max: 16
Cost: None for members; $5 donation for guest

Ocean Winds will be closed to golfers, so 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 Double-crested Cormorants, Egrets, Herons, Osprey and other birds of prey. We should also see and hear some of the smaller birds like Tufted Titmice, Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals and some of the many warbler species. Maybe some of our winter residents may also have arrived.

As always, be sure to bring your binoculars, hats and sunscreen. Water will be provided.

Please register no later than Saturday September 15, 2018. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.

If you have additional questions about the program, please contact us by sending an email to: SeabrookIslandBirders@gmail.com