Many of us enjoy watching our feathered friends at our backyard feeders. If we don’t maintain our feeders appropriately, it can lead to deadly illness in birds. Read more in an article originally published by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Moisture in feeders can cause deadly disease.
Thank-you to Charley Moore for forwarding this educational article.
On January 4, 2021, Seabrook Island Birders participated in our most productive annual Christmas Bird Count ever! A record number 114 species, and we suspect a record number of individual birds with nearly 6,500. We had 10 teams of birders hitting Seabrook Island “hotspots” of Jenkins Point, Palmetto Lake, North Beach, Creek Watch, Camp St Christopher, SIPOA/Club horse pasture and maintenance area, Crooked Oaks and Ocean Winds golf courses, and Bohicket Marina. In addition our team consisted of seven feeder watch homes sighting 65 species and 279 individual birds. We walked 26 miles, drove 3.3 miles and rode in golf carts 9.8 miles for 77 people hours of effort! Amazing!
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a census of birds in the Western Hemisphere, done annually done Dec 14 to Jan 5 by volunteer birdwatchers, and administered by the National Audubon Society. The first count began Christmas Day 1900, when Frank Chapman, ornithologist at the American Museum of Natural History in NY, proposed it as an alternative to hunting birds on Christmas. Audubon and other organizations use data collected to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action. Our Seabrook Island CBC is part of the larger Sea Islands CBC done on Seabrook, Kiawah, Johns and Wadmalaw Islands.
In addition to our CBC being an important contribution to Aubudon and understanding and protecting our birds species…we all had a great time! Here’s some memorable moments from some of the Seabrook Island Birders.
From Judy Morr, “It was a fun day, with the highlight being the sightings of so many Purple Finches on Seabrook. I had seen them before at Caw Caw but never on Seabrook. It was fun making sure we had the correct identification versus House Finch. Another “frustration “ was trying to find the nuthatch when there were so many robins chattering away.”
Nancy Brown was with Judy for the day, and really liked “Hearing and seeing the Red Breasted Nuthatch on Old Wharf Rd. – which is pretty reliable to hear.” It’s also a stunning bird to see if you’re fortunate to spot it! Nancy also commented on the non-stop texting between the teams to see if certain species were found, and asking “I just saw this bird but can’t identify for sure, can anyone help???!!!”
Patricia Schaefer was “most excited to see both the male and female Baltimore Orioles today because they have only recently started coming again to our feeder after having noticed them being seen in nearby cities. We were glad they showed up for the count!”
Lesley Gore also was thrilled with the Baltimore Orioles – “The day of the CBC, I eagerly waited to see which species would show up to my bird feeder. At first it was the usual visitors – Carolina Chickadees, Chipping Sparrows, Carolina Wrens, Tufted Titmouse and Cardinals. Then, a new visitor – with brilliant orange and yellow plumage underside and black and white wings! Yes, a Baltimore Oriole. My first ever time of attracting one to my feeder. So excited to see one! After a few sips of sugar water, a bite of orange she flew away with a beak full of strawberry preserves! My new visitor did not come again that day. There’s always tomorrow!”
Bob Mercer too was amazed at the Robins before heading to Camp St Christopher and the marina. “The morning started with an almost non-stop river of American Robins all headed up the Stono River. The numbers were astronomical and undoubtedly the total count for the day is an underestimate. Wandering around, occasionally lost, in Camp St. Christopher, I kept running across new species. Some of the treasured finds included the Seaside and Saltmarsh Sparrows, 12 Wood Ducks, and 7 species of warbler. My day ended at the marina watching Marbled Godwits fly up Bohicket Creek.
Aija and Ed Konrad walked 21000 steps on North Beach, and were “out on the beach by dawn on a beautiful morning, greeted by and startled on the boardwalk by a very large buck! Our best moment was seeing over 17 “salty” sparrows on the old inlet. We’ve never quite figured out where they hide on a high tide, and found them in a dry grassy area to the left of the marsh. A thrill to see so many, but it’s a “now you see ‘em, now you don’t bird”, up and back down into the marsh grass in a flash!”
Ed is always entertained looking for interesting photo subjects, and “capturing a Bufflehead and the Red-breasted Mergansers take flight was a fun challenge. We enjoy searching for our Piping Plover winter guests. Today there was a wonderful trio huddled in the sand, and the Great Lakes banded/endangered “Red Yellow” was still with us and staying safe on North Beach!”
Thanks to everyone that participated! You can see what a fun and productive time we all had! Article by Ed and Aija Konrad
Monday January 18,2021 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; $5 donation for guests – Priority will be given to prior waitlisted & members
We expect to see a large variety of birds including Double-crested Cormorants, Egrets, Herons, Bald Eagles 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 even some of our fall migrants!
To keep everyone safe, we will ask people to social distance and wear a face mask. When you register, if you are not joined by a family member, please let us know if you are open to riding with a non-family participant or if you prefer to be in a cart alone.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars, hats and sunscreen. Water will be provided.
If you are not yet a 2021 SIB member, you must first become a member for only $10 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 $5.
Please complete the information to register no later than January 15, 2021. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Saturday, January 16,2021. If you need to cancel, please let us know so we can invite people on the waitlist to attend.
SIB will do a repeat of our “Virtual Movie Matinee” of December, Earthflight: Flying High-Behind the Scenes on January12,2021 4:00-5:30 pm.
Once you register, we will send you a link the day prior to each event to allow you to access our Zoom live video. We will open each event with introductions and a little social time, watch the show together (generally an hour), and finish with a short discussion to get your feedback and answer questions.
Sign up here and then plan to get comfy in your favorite chair with snacks and beverages of your choice to enjoy our gathering!
Earthflight is a British nature documentary that shows a flight from the view of the wings of birds across six continents, showing some of the world’s greatest natural spectacles from a bird’s-eye view. The BBC series was created by John Downer and narrated by David Tennant with six episodes. We will show two each month for the remainder of 2020.
Watch the trailer here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZSkitrLE34
Earthflight – Episode 6 Flying High
A behind-the-scenes look at how EARTHFLIGHT was made, including the extraordinary relationships between people and birds. Microlights, paragliders, drones, and camera-carrying birds and much more helped along the way.
Each year starting on December 14th and continuing through January 5th, people across the country are participating in the annual Christmas Bird Count (CBC). Each count takes place on a specific day in an established 15-mile wide diameter circle, and is organized by a count compiler. Seabrook Island is part of the Sea Island SC count organized by Aaron Given, Wildlife Biologist at Kiawah Island. Seabrook Island Birders (SIB) will again support this year’s 121st annual CBC on the designated day of Monday January 4, 2021.
This past year, on January 3, 2020, 19 SIB members contributed to the 2019 -2020 CBC. A total of 98 different bird species accounting for more than 3,000 birds were sighted by our volunteers during more than 80 equivalent hours in backyards, on the beach, at the marsh and beyond.
This year we are looking for all available “backyard birders” to assist with the count. All birds observed within a 24hr period on that day can be counted. If interested, sign up here, and we will send you detailed instructions on how to record your observations throughout the day to reduce the chance of double-counting the same individuals. Please read the instructions carefully and if you have any questions, please let us know.
This winter is an irruption year for northern finches. That means that certain species that normally are not found in the south are here this winter in search of food. The normal food crops that they would have fed on up north did not produce well so the birds are forced to find food elsewhere. Some example of these species include Purple Finches, Pine Siskins, and Red-breasted Nuthatches. Evening Grosbeaks have been seen as far south as NC and northern GA. Purple Finches and House Finches are be hard to identify as they look very similar. Here is a couple of resources that I found that might be helpful in determining if you have House Finches, Purple Finches, or both. If you are having trouble, try to get a photo.
https://www.thespruce.com/house-finch-or-purple-finch-387318
https://www.sdakotabirds.com/diffids/house_purple.htm
Other more uncommon species that are notable and can be found at backyard feeders include hummingbirds, Baltimore Orioles, and Painted Buntings. Don’t assume all hummingbirds are Ruby-throated Hummingbirds. During the winter, it is not uncommon for western species such as Rufous Hummingbirds, Black-chinned Hummingbird, or others to make their way to the east coast. If you have a “different” looking hummingbirds please try to get a photo of it so that it can get identified.
Please enjoy the photos taken by several SIB members during the day a couple years ago. If you are interested to participate in the 121st Christmas Bird Count on Seabrook Island on Monday January 4, 2021, register today!
Photographs Submitted by: Charles Moore, Patricia Schaefer
SIB 