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Speaker: Felicia Sanders
Supervisor Coastal Bird Conservation Project
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Date: February 22, 2024, 7:00 pm
Location: Lake House Live Oak Hall
Cost: Free for SIB Members, $10/person for Guests
(*Join SIB or renew membership for 2024 :
https://seabrookislandbirders.org/join-sib/ )
- 7:00 pm Registration & Refreshments
- 7:30 pm Program
- 8:45 pm Program ends
Program Description:
Recent research on the federally threatened Red Knot estimated over 17,000 knots utilize Seabrook and Kiawah Islands, making this area a critical spring stopover site for this migratory shorebird that has declined over 85% in recent decades. Red Knots undertake astounding migrations every year, some flying nearly 19,000 miles from their wintering grounds, as far south as Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America, to their breeding grounds above the Arctic circle. On Seabrook and Kiawah Islands, knots rest at high tide and at low tide feed on the abundant coquina clams that live at the surf zone. On our beaches they transition into breeding plumage and build muscle and fat reserves that fuel their next flight. In May 2023, biologists deployed satellite transmitters on knots. These tags are glued to the bird’s back and have a solar panel energy source. Join us to learn about SCDNR’s Red Knot tagging project, that allows us to track knots’ local movements and to follow them to their nest sites in the Arctic. These projects and partnerships are making tangible conservation achievements in the protection of knots!
Speaker Bio:
Felicia Sanders has been working 30 years on conservation efforts for a wide diversity of bird species and joined South Carolina Department of Natural Resources in 2001 and leads South Carolina’s Seabird and Shorebird Projects. Her primary tasks are promoting conservation of important sites for nesting and migrating coastal birds, surveying seabirds and shorebirds, and partnering with universities to research their life histories. She is a coauthor on numerous scientific publications and has traveled to the Arctic 5 times to participate in shorebird research projects. Felicia Sanders went to graduate school at Clemson University, majoring in biology. In 2020 she was awarded the Biologist of the Year by the Southeastern Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, whose members include 15 states, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Also, it is not too late to join or learn more about the Seabrook Island Shorebird Steward Program! We invite you to visit the Seabrook Island Birders webpage (www.seabrookislandbirders.org) and visit the Shorebird Stewards tab. Sign up with your spouse or a friend, or meet new friends during the upcoming training sessions. Send an email to SIBStewards@gmail.com to join the group or ask for more information. It is a rewarding experience that you will surely come to cherish.
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