May 8, 2023

Global Big Day – Learning Together at various locations
Location:
8:00 am – 10:00 am Palmetto Lake / Equestrian Center
10:30 am – 12:00 pm Jenkins Point
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm North Beach
4:30 pm – 6:00 pm Bobcat Trail / Six Ladies Trail
Max: 12 for each location
Cost: None for members; $10 donation for guests

On May 13, 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 around Palmetto Lake. This is less than one mile of 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 10:30 am we will traverse (on bike or car) down Jenkins Point to hopefully see more Egrets, Herons and Anhingas. Low tide is 9:39 am so hopefully we’ll have some shorebirds in the mud flats. Since this activity can be primarily by car, it is a good opportunity for people with mobility issues.

At 2:00 pm we will visit North Beach which was recently showcased at the Sea Islands Shorebird Festival. 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. Flocks of 1000 knots have been seen to date, growing to 5000 or more as in past years. Wilson’s Plovers are being seen in the critical habitat getting ready to mate and nest. 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 2:00pm. This will get us to the beach near high tide which brings the Red Knots and other shorebirds closer to the shore. Be sure to bring binoculars, camera, hats, sunscreen, water, and snacks. Due to the timing around high tide, wear shoes you don’t mind getting wet. Of course, you can head back at any time.

At 4:30 pm we will conclude our day with a walk along Bob Cat Trail with an extension to Six Ladies Trail. Along this trail we should see our local favorite Painted Bunting who likes to hang out at the end of Bob Cat Trail. Great Crested Flycatchers, Eastern Towhee and Gulls and Egrets should also be seen. I’m still hoping to see some migratory warblers.

This form can also be used to suggest another location and time you would like to have a friend (old or new) to join you to bird. SIB will send and 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.

If you are not yet a 2023 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 $10 donation to SIB.

Once you are a member, please register no later than Thursday May 11 , 2023. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Friday May 12.

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

Brown Thrasher along the West Ashley Greenway – Bob Mercer

Brown Thrasher –Toxostoma rufum

L 11.5” WS 13” WT 2.4 oz

In the family of Mimidae, they are related to other frequent visitors to Seabrook, the Northern Mockingbird and Gray Catbird. Brown Thrashers are fairly large, slender songbirds with long proportions—the legs are long and sturdy, and the bill is long and slightly downcurved. The tail is long, too, and often cocked upward in the manner of wrens. They are a year-round resident of the southeast. Brown thrashers are accomplished songsters. They are thought to have more than 1,100 different song types, with clearly paired rhythm, each usually repeated two times between each set. Imitations include Chuck-will’s-widows, wood Thrushes, and Northern Flickers.

Generally the Brown Thrashers are secretive, and hard to spot in their favorite spots under dense vegetation, but they can make a lot of noise as they “thrash” through the leaf litter as they forage for small insects, amphibians, berries, seeds and other food items.

It can be tricky to glimpse a Brown Thrasher in a tangled mass of shrubbery, and once you do you may wonder how such a boldly patterned, gangly bird could stay so hidden. Brown Thrashers wear a somewhat severe expression thanks to their heavy, slightly downcurved bill and staring yellow eyes, and they are the only thrasher species east of Texas.

Mating Habits

Brown thrashers are monogamous birds and form pairs, but mate-switching does occur, at times during the same season. Their breeding season varies by region. In the southeastern United States, the breeding months begin in February and March. Around this time of the year, the males are usually at their most active, singing loudly to attract potential mates, and are found on top of perches. I have noticed quite a few in the trees this February since I became aware of this behavior to attract a mate, having always though that they were mostly spotted on the ground in shrubby areas. The courting ritual involves the exchanging of probable nesting material. The nest is built twiggy, lined with grass, leaves, and other forms of dead vegetation. The nests are typically built in a dense shrub or low in a tree, usually up to 6.9 ft high, but maybe located as high as 20 ft. Brown thrashers also on occasion build their nests on the ground. The female lays 3 to 5 eggs, that usually appear with a blueish or greenish tint along with reddish-brown spots. Between 11 to 14 days, the eggs hatch. They are protective of their territory and will attack perceived predators and drive them out of the area. Both males and females help incubate the eggs and feed the young. Nestlings sometimes leave the nest fully feathered within nine days of hatching—earlier than either of their smaller relatives, the Northern Mockingbird and Gray Catbird. Shrubby habitats are popular hideouts for nest predators, which may explain why the thrashers fledge so quickly for birds of their size.

Make sure to watch for these beautiful remarkable, but somewhat overlooked birds during this time of year.

They particularly seem to enjoy taking a bath, and I have even seen a group of probably every Thrasher within ear shot( I counted 10 of these amazing birds) help rid my yard of a 4’ long rat snake. Surrounding it and making a Chak Chak sound while fanning their wings to herd it away from the area. They were successful!

Some fun facts:

The Brown Thrasher is the State bird of Georgia
Brown Thrashers are the largest common host of parasitic Brown-headed Cowbirds. The thrashers do put up some resistance, often rejecting cowbird eggs that are laid in their nests. It is considered a short-distance migrant, but two individuals have been recorded in Europe: one in England and another in Germany.
The oldest Brown Thrasher on record was at least 10 years, 11 months old. It was found in Florida in 1978 where it was banded in 1967.

Submitted by: Jennifer Jerome

References

Brown Thrasher on Wikipedia - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_thrasher

Cavitt, John F. and Carola A. Haas. (2014). Brown Thrasher (Toxostoma rufum), version 2.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA.

Sibley, D. A. (2014). The Sibley Guide to Birds, second edition. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY, USA.