February 5, 2024

White Pelicans at Bear Island – Bob Mercer

Saturday, Feb. 10 5:30 am– 4:00 pm
Trip to Bear Island & Donnelly WMA
Location: Meet at SI Real Estate Office to Car Pool at 5:30 am
(Meet at Mary’s Pond at 7:00am)

Max: 10
Cost: free to members, $10 per guest

If you have never been to Bear Island Wildlife Management Area (WMA) or to Donnelly WMA, you won’t want to miss this opportunity – it’s well worth the 60-mile one-way trip! Part of the ACE Basin, this area is perfect habitat for birds with ponds, rivers, salt marsh, freshwater marsh, mudflats mixed pine-hardwood forest and farmland. Most of the birding is done by car with stops to get out and take short walks for viewing. Bear Island closes for hunting from November 1 – February 9 each year, so this is an early chance to visit for spring. We hope the winter waterfowl will still be present including the Tundra Swan. Each person should bring their own lunch, snacks and beverages, as there are no restaurants (nor restrooms) in the area. Also be sure to bring sun block, bug spray, a hat, binoculars, camera and a scope if you have one.

If you are not yet a 2024 SIB member, you must first become a member by following the instructions on our website: https://seabrookislandbirders.org/contact/join-sib/.

Once you are a member, please register no later than February 8, 2024. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.

Formerly known as the Marsh Hawk, the Northern Harriers are slender, medium-sized raptors with long, fairly broad wings and a long, rounded tail. They have a flat, owl-like face and a small, sharply hooked bill. Harriers often fly with their wings held in a dihedral, or V-shape above the horizontal. They are a little bit bigger than a crow. All Northern Harriers have a white rump patch that is obvious in flight.

Northern Harriers fly low over the ground when hunting, weaving back and forth over fields and marshes as they watch and listen for small animals. They eat on the ground, and they perch on low posts or trees. On the breeding grounds, males perform elaborate flying barrel rolls to court females. Many Northern Harriers have been seen over the marsh at the SI crab dock.

MEASUREMENTS

Both Sexes
- Length: 18.1-19.7 in (46-50 cm)
- Weight: 10.6-26.5 oz (300-750 g)
- Wingspan: 40.2-46.5 in (102-118 cm)

This is the call of a male northern harrier.

Male Northern Harriers can have as many as five mates at once, though most have only one or two. The male provides most of the food for his mates and their offspring, while the females incubate the eggs and brood the chicks.

Harriers are leapfrog migrants, with individuals from northern breeding populations wintering farther south than individuals from southern breeding populations. They usually migrate alone and during daytime, hunting as they go.

Harriers are of low conservation concern. Habitat loss has contributed to reduced harrier populations as people have drained wetlands, developed land for large-scale agriculture, and allowed old farmland to become reforested.

For information about the Northern Harrier visit

Resource: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Northern_Harrier/overview

Article submitted by: Melanie Jerome
Photographs provided by: Bob Mercer and Audubon Library

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.