Category: Knowledge

Friday, March 17, 2023

Village of Seabrook

3:30 pm-5pm

Join SIB members at the Village of Seabrook Pool on March 17th, 2023. Thanks to SIB member Judy Stevens, we have gained permission to backyard bird near the pool area of Village of Seabrook. This is located on Palmetto Lake at the Lakehouse. There is a picnic table and swing to sit on, but please bring a chair. We will not be allowed in the actual pool area. We will see many egrets, herons and songbirds. The afternoon brings in many birds that are getting ready to roost for the night. Meet at the gate entrance, which is loacted from the path around Palmetto Lake, close to the Lakehouse pool side. 

Bring  binoculars and bug spray.   Limit 12-15 people.

This event is free for SIB members or 10$ for non-members.  If you would like to become a 2023 SIB member, you can follow the instructions on our website: https://seabrookislandbirders.org/contact/join-sib/.

Once you are a member, please complete the information below to register no later than March 15.  All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Wednesday, September 7th.  

REGISTER

March Movie – Register Here

Season of the Osprey
Tuesday, March 14, 2023 at 4:00 pm 
Location:  Oyster Catcher Community Center and Zoom 

“An osprey soars over a small saltmarsh at the delta of the Connecticut River. From somewhere along the east coast of South America, he has just flown 4,000 miles to the place that is imprinted on his memory since birth, the saltmarsh where he will rejoin his mate.Foxes, deer, and scores of migrating shorebirds bring summer’s hustle and bustle back to the saltmarsh as the reunited pair mates and broods their eggs. Other osprey parents see their eggs snatched by predators that prowl the night. But this osprey pair is battle-tested. Over the course of one summer, they fend off enemies, catch hundreds of fish, and raise their tiny chicks into the next generation of these consummate sea hawks.This blue-chip Nature special explores the life of this incredible raptor with a depth and intimacy never before attempted. Shot in and around Great Island Marsh, where the Connecticut River meets the Long Island Sound, filmmaker Jacob Steinberg achieved unlimited access to an osprey nest and offers a rich look at this unique species known for its life-long partnerships, dynamic social interactions and masterful hunting prowess.“Osprey are beloved birds, and yet they lacked a definitive wildlife film,” said Steinberg. “The moment I began observing the family that would become the film’s iconic subjects, I knew theirs was a story that would resonate with Nature viewers.””

Watch the trailer

Movie Matinees

Seabrook Island Birders (SIB) hosts Movie Matinees each month on the second Tuesday at 4pm. The events are now often being held both in-person and virtually.

Please register for each event to let us know how you want to attend.  After you register, you will receive an automatic confirmation with a link for Zoom, which will be resent the day of the event.  If you requested to attend in person, you will receive a email reminder the day prior the event.  Please let us know if you need to cancel.  Water and snacks will be provided at in-person events.  Feel free to bring your own beverage.

With the increasing popularity of birding and bird photography, combined with warm weather and spending more time outdoors, it’s a good time to remind everyone of the dos and don’ts of birding and bird photography. Think of it as birding etiquette. Audubon has several articles to this effect, here are a few pointers taken directly from their website.

The first essential element in bird photography and videography is a sincere respect for the birds and their environment. In any conflict of interest, the well-being of the birds and their habitats must come before the ambitions of the birder, photographer or videographer.

Avoid causing unnecessary disturbance or stress to birds.

• Use a telephoto lens and maintain enough distance to allow your subject to behave naturally. Blinds offer a great way to watch and photograph or record video footage of birds without disturbing them.
• Never advance on birds with the intention of making them fly, whether they are lone birds or flocks of birds. This disrupts natural processes such as resting, foraging, or hunting, and causes them to expend energy unnecessarily.
• If your approach causes a bird to flush (fly or run away) or change its behavior, you’re too close. Some birds may “freeze” in place rather than fly away, or may hunch into a protective, aggressive, or pre-flight stance. Watch for changes in posture indicating that a bird is stressed, and if you see these, back away. If focused on you, birds may miss a predator.
• Do not use drones to photograph or record video footage of birds, especially at their nests. Although drones can be useful for researchers and biologists documenting bird populations (such as at island nesting colonies), drones in general can be very disruptive to birds. They are also illegal in national parks and some state parks.
• Concern for birds’ habitat is also essential. Be aware and respectful of your surroundings. Avoid trampling sensitive vegetation or disturbing other wildlife.

Nesting birds are particularly vulnerable and need extra consideration.

• Keep a respectful distance from the nest. If you’re using a macro lens or including the nest as a focal point in an image/footage with a wide-angle lens, even if you’re operating the camera remotely, you’re probably too close. Telephoto lenses of at least 500mm are recommended.

Beach-nesting birds (shorebirds and seabirds) require special care.

• Respect and give space to the boundaries of roped-off nesting areas.        
• Maintain a minimum distance of 25 yards from beach-nesting birds, especially solitary flightless chicks but also adults brooding, feeding, or incubating chicks.  Parents frightened from their nests leave eggs and chicks vulnerable to swift predation from gulls and other animals, as well as deadly temperature extremes. 
• Situate yourself so that you are not in a direct line from the nest area to the water, which can inhibit the family and/or chicks from heading down to the waterline to feed. It is vital that chicks feed as much as possible to gain enough weight to survive their upcoming migration. If the young are feeding at the shoreline, take special care to keep your distance so they don’t hurry back to the nest area/dunes.

Show respect for private and public property, and consideration for other people.

• Enter private land only with permission. On public property such as parks and refuges, be aware of local regulations, hours, and closed areas.
• Be respectful of birds located on private land but viewable from a public vantage point, and also respect the privacy of these private landowners. If they are uncomfortable with your presence, leave.
• In group situations, be considerate of other photographers, videographers, and birders watching the same bird. Remember that your desire to photograph or record video footage of the bird doesn’t outweigh the rights of others to observe it. Large groups of people are potentially more disturbing to birds, so it may be necessary to keep a greater distance.

Showing a sincere respect for birds and the places they need to thrive must come before getting that perfect photo or footage. Birding, and bird photography, should be an enjoyable and stress-free pass-time for us and the birds. For more information about this and similar topics, go to: https://www.audubon.org/get-outside/audubons-guide-ethical-bird-photography

Source: http://www.audubon.org

Submitted by Gina Sanders

Great Horned Owl – Bubo virginianus
Length: 18.1-24.8″.; Wingspan: 39.8-57.1″ ; Weight: 32.1-88.2 oz.

“Who’s awake? Me too! Who’s awake? Me too!”

My “Birding by Ear” audio training suggests these phonetic phrases to help identify the Great Horned Owl. One night, while sitting on our back deck at Seabrook, my husband and I heard this very sound coming from an area nearby. We jumped up and ran out to the yard, looking all around. There in the moonlight, on top of the house, sat a Great Horned Owl. What an incredible sight! We stood there for a full minute and watched him through our binoculars while he watched the surrounding dunes and kept an eye on us at the same time. Suddenly he flew down to the dunes, we heard a brief yelp, then he flew up into the trees, carrying his prey. It was an incredible moment to witness.

Found throughout North America and much of South America, this large owl is an aggressive and powerful hunter. Prey includes hawks, ospreys, falcons and other owls. They also eat rabbits, snakes, rodents, frogs, and even skunks. Its large eyes have many rods for night vision and pupils that open widely in the dark. While its eyes don’t move, this owl can swivel its head more than 180 degrees and look in any direction. Great Horned owls have acute hearing, assisted by facial disc feathers that direct sound waves to its ears. Short, wide wings allow maneuverability through the forest and exceptionally soft feathers allow for silent flight. They clench their prey with talons so strong it takes 28 pounds of force to open them, a grip so deadly it can easily sever the spine of large prey.

It’s one of the most common owls in North America, found in deserts, wetlands, forests, grasslands, backyards, cities and almost any other semi-open habitat between the Arctic and the tropics. A very broad range! They’re nocturnal and can be seen at dusk sitting on fence posts or tree limbs at the edge of open areas, always watching. If you hear an agitated group of American Crows they may be mobbing a Great Horned owl. They gather from near and far to harass an owl for hours. And for good reason – it’s their most dangerous predator.

Female Great Horned Owls are larger than males. In courtship, males perform flight displays and also feed the female. They typically use old nests of other large birds such as hawks, eagles, crows, herons and ospreys. Nests are usually 20-60′ above ground and they add little or no nest material to the existing nest. In fact, currently on Seabrook Island, a Great Horned Owl is actively nesting in what is believed to be a former Osprey nest.

Two to three eggs is normal, with the female doing the majority of the incubation over a 28-35 day period. Both parents take part in providing food for the young owls, then when they’re 5 weeks old they can leave the nest and climb on nearby branches, can fly at 9-10 weeks, and are tended and fed by parents for several months,

Since owls are easier to hear than to see, take some time to learn the different hoots and calls. They’re often heard on Seabrook, so keep your ears tuned and binoculars handy.

To learn more about Great Horned Owls, go to:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Great_Horned_Owl

Submitted by Gina Sanders