The winter meeting of the Carolina Bird Club (CBC) was scheduled for the upper SC coast, based in Litchfield Beach, on January 17-18, 2020. I’ve always loved coastal birding, and really miss not being able to bird the coast regularly now that I’ve moved to the mountains of NC. So it was a no-brainer to sign up to attend the winter meeting. And the trips I chose especially focused on birding at or near the coast. I had many potential new statebirds to hope for during the CBC event, 5 of which had been reported recently. Plus of course I’d have the opportunity to bird while heading to the coast, and on my way back home, especially if I came back using a route through NC. With a lot of research, I developed an itinerary giving me the opportunity for 4 recently reported targets in SC on my way to the coast, and 9 potential birds in NC on my way back. Of course I wouldn’t find everything, so I realistically hoped for perhaps 5 new birds for my SC list, and 5 others for my NC list over the long weekend.
And regardless of the number of new birds I might add to my lists, I was really looking forward to an extended birding trip on the coast.
This blog post covers the SC portion of the trip; the next post summarizes the NC portion.
In Route to the Meeting, SC, January 16
My first stop on the way to the coast was the Santee NWR Bluff Unit. For some time, numerous Sandhill Cranes had been detected in the fields at the north end of this area. Though their numbers had dropped recently, and perhaps they were mostly being seen in the late afternoon using the spot as an evening roost. A Short-eared Owl was also regular there for a while, but had not been reported in the last few days before my trip. Plus there were a couple reports of Red-breasted Nuthatch at the site, though this has been a very slow winter for this species. All things considered, I just hoped to add the Cranes at this stop.
I arrived at the Bluff Unit right on time, and after a short walk through the woods I reached the observation platform to look out over the fields. And just then there was an explosion of birds flying over the fields – an Eagle had flown low over the area scattering all the ducks. I tried to scan through all the birds in the air hoping to find Cranes as well, but to no avail. But then with a quick binocular scan of the distant fields I spotted too gray dots, confirmed with a scope view as 2 Sandhill Cranes foraging in the fields (SC statebird #1). Just 2 birds though – not the dozens reported a couple weeks earlier. Good thing that I found them quickly because that would give me more time for future stops.
My statebird map for Sandhill Crane is inserted below – solid shaded states are those where I’ve seen this species; cross-hatched states are those where it is regular but I haven’t seen it yet. I still need Sandhills in a few more of their regular states, but have seen in in quite a number of eastern states where it is a rarity. Or perhaps where this expanding species used to be a rarity.
Just after I came down from the platform I ran into SC birder Paul Serridge who was also heading out to try for the Cranes. He was able re-find that same pair of Cranes, though they flew off just a couple minutes later. We were both very lucky. It turned out that Paul’s later targets were the same as mine, so we agreed to stay in touch during those next stops and hoped we would run into each other again later in the day.
My next stop was in Hanahan to try for a pair of Limpkins that had been seen in a wetlands there since last summer. They are seen either on three small islands close to shore, or foraging on the back lawns of nearby homes. However, despite their long stay, and the fact that most observations are at a close distance, they are often very difficult to see, and many birders have missed them. Within minutes of my arrival I did a quick scan of the islands and lawns, but found no Limpkins. The vegetation on the islands was very thick, so it would be easy for them to hide if they were more than just a couple feet from the island edges. Now I can see why so many birders have missed them.
An hour had passed and I had many fruitless scans of the vegetation - I was thinking that this would turn out to be an unsuccessful search. But then an Osprey flew low overhead scattering some waders nearby. And then I heard a single muffled call that I thought was a Limpkin. A minute later I heard another call and this time I knew I was hearing a Limpkin. I peered into the area where I thought the call had come from, and there were 2 Limpkins walking in the thick vegetation of the closest island (SC statebird #2). I bet during my entire first hour there the birds were perched in a thick tree at the end of the island, seen hear in my iPhone picture, just a few feet away but completely invisible.
I called Paul and alerted him to the sighting, and stayed with the birds until he arrived 20 minutes later. During that time the birds stayed in the open and were quite tame. I took this shot of one bird by holding my phone up to my binocs.
Next Paul and I were both off to the Santee Coastal Reserve to try for a Cinnamon Teal that had been seen off and on there for a couple months. Though once again this target was not easily seen, and had not been reported for about a week. On the way to the impoundments at the Big Well Trail we made a short stop in the pines and quickly spotted a pair of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Not new for my list but it’s always nice to see this endangered species. I wish we were as lucky with the Teal. Although I spent 3 hours at the impoundments, the Cinnamon Teal was a no-show. The bird wasn’t seen the next day on the CBC trip to the spot as well, so maybe it had moved on.
Two new statebirds on day 1 – a great start on the trip.
Upper SC Coast, CBC Meeting, January 17
For the first day of the CBC meeting I had chosen an all-day trip to the upper end of the SC coast, especially focused on seawatches from fishing piers. Our first coastal stop was at the Cherry Grove Fishing Pier in North Myrtle Beach. Soon after we arrived one of our birders said he had a Swan swimming on the ocean of all places. I admit I was skeptical, and initial views of what the birder was looking at made me think it was more likely a white float of some type. But soon it turned and in profile I could see it was indeed a Swan. Now what type? The bird was really far away, and the heat shimmer was difficult, but at one point I saw a hint of orange on the bill making it a Mute Swan (SC statebird #3). An amazing bird to find on a seawatch. I’ve now seen this species in quite a number of Midwest and eastern states as it continues to expand from what was formerly a rather restricted range in the northeast.
Other notable birds were a few Black Scoters, and several Red-throated Loons. But all in all this was a pretty slow stop.
Luckily birding really picked up at the 2nd Street Pier in Myrtle Beach. Again there were more Black Scoters – perhaps 200 of them. With 1 nearby White-winged as well. Though no Surf’s – my only SC Scoter target. At one point as I scanned one of the distant Scoter flocks I spotted a distant Jaeger flying right to left. I was able to get many of the birders on it, and we concluded it was slim enough to be a Parasitic Jaeger (SC statebird #4). Later I found 1 or perhaps 2 others chasing distant gulls in classic Jaeger fashion. I love seawatches! I’ve seen this species in a number of states bordering the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific, but still need it in a number of other coastal states.
We ended the day with about 80 species even though we did minimal landbirding. All in all an excellent day.
Huntington Beach State Park, SC, CBC Meeting, January 18
Huntington Beach State Park (HBSP) is certainly the premier birding location on the upper SC coast, with a diverse set of habitats resulting in a long list of birds to search for. I had signed up for the all-day trip to HBSP, which would include considerable time at the beach and looking over the ocean where several potential statebirds had either been seen recently, or could otherwise be possible.
For that reason I was happy to hear that our day would start on the beach. Our plan was to make the 1.3 mile-long walk to the jetty, birding along the way of course. And then we would spend time at the jetty where often the best birds are found. Though the downside was the walk to the jetty that day would be facing into about a 20 knot sustained wind. At least the temps were in the 40s so it wasn’t too cold.
As we started our walk up the beach we could see a major movement of birds heading northeast roughly parallel to the beach flying right to left as we looked out over the ocean. Every stop included many Gannets, gulls, and terns, and a few Loons, almost all heading in that same direction. It was for that reason that, at one of our stops, 1 specific bird flying caught my attention – it was flying southwest (left to right) and reasonably close to shore. And more importantly, it was flying with a classic Shearwater flight – flying in almost a “sine curve” approach first low then higher, then low again, etc. And almost never flapping. I had a Shearwater, but what kind? In my roughly 20 seconds of viewing time I could see that it was a uniform dark brown/gray above, and pale below. That would make it a Manx Shearwater (SC statebird #5). I didn’t realize till later that Manx is the only realistic Atlantic Shearwater to be seen as a wintering bird off the southern Atlantic coast, certainly consistent with my ID. That was a surprise not at all on my radar screen.
After nearly an hour fighting the wind, we finally reached the jetty. And just as we were starting to set up our scopes a birder already there came over and said he had just found a Black Guillemot! We started to set up our scopes to start to search out over the inlet but the birder said there was no need to - the bird was right below us at the edge of the jetty. Sure enough, no more than a couple feet off the rocks, and just 20 ft down the jetty, was a winter plumaged Black Guillemot (SC statebird #6). An extreme rarity for SC, though a bird I’ve seen many times in New England.
Next we turned our focus to the inlet and the jetty on the other side. Soon we spotted a pair of Scoters – 1 was a female Black, and eventually we were able to tell that the other was a female Surf Scoter (SC statebird #7). I’ve seen this species in nearly every state where it’s regular and a number of inland states where it is a rarity (in fact it can be seen in every inland state as a rarity). And SC is now my 20th state where I’ve swept the 3 Scoter species.
Unfortunately, the Common Eider and Harlequin Duck seen here earlier in the winter had moved on. And only 1 person noted a fly-by Long-tailed Duck. I’ll have to wait for future trips to try to add those 3 to my SC list.
We made it back to the cars, and pulled out our sandwiches for a quick lunch break. We strategized about the afternoon’s activities, and I mentioned that White Pelican was one of my targets, 1 of which was routinely being seen in wetlands at the park. Not 10 minutes later I heard a young birder in our group call out my name – he had spotted a White Pelican flying overhead. I got a brief view as it soared overhead, and then it was soon out of sight (SC statebird #8). Sure enough when we birded the wetlands the Pelican was no longer there – that was most likely the bird we saw overhead at lunchtime. Boy were we lucky.
Afternoon walks through woodlands yielded a number of species but nothing of note. That is until I spotted a perched Buteo at a distance. It was warm chocolate brown below, with just a bit of white streaking in the upper chest, and a dark tail. We initially thought it was a first year Bald Eagle, but it was way too small. And upon closer look the tail was somewhat lighter than the chest, with darker bands, and a white terminal tail band. I took these pretty miserable phonescoped photos.
We decided that it was an immature “Western” Red-tailed Hawk. Certainly not a new species but an extreme rarity for SC.
We finished our trip with an amazing 86 species – what a day!
In Route From the Meeting in SC, January 19
My birding plan heading back from the CBC meeting was to focus on NC targets – with a first day on the coast and the next day at inland sites. So I developed an extensive NC itinerary to either chase after recently reported rarities, or to bird good birding locations with the potential for other targets.
But all that was pending any rarities that might be spotted at the CBC or nearby in SC that could be chaseable. The only CBC rarity to chase was the Guillemot which I already saw. So what about others in nearby SC? It turned out that earlier in the week news got out that a Bullock’s Oriole was being seen at a feeder in Pineville (actually not too far from the Limpkins – if only it had been spotted earlier). And then there was a somewhat cryptic report of an Ash-throated Flycatcher near Charleston. With no follow-up reports of the Flycatcher, and few details, I decided to pass on that one. But the Oriole continued, and a quick call to the homeowners revealed that it was quite regular. So I decided to try for the Bullock’s Oriole as my first stop before embarking on the NC part of the trip. It would mean a fair amount of back-tracking, meaning I wouldn’t get to NC till late morning, but I didn’t want to pass up on a chance at the extremely rare Bullock’s.
I was out of the hotel pre-dawn, and at 8 AM pulled into the driveway of the homeowners hosting the Oriole. Actually, they not only had the Bullock’s but 4 Baltimore Orioles as well. The homeowners couldn’t have been friendlier – hosting me on their back porch to watch the small jelly feeder hanging from the roof. The Bullock’s was there just 10 minutes before I arrived so I was optimistic. But 40 minutes later we still had no Orioles of any type. Finally, a couple Baltimore’s stopped in to feed. And then I spotted the Bullock’s just a couple feet from the feeder – an adult male in beautiful plumage (SC statebird #9). It fed on the jelly for a minute or so, and then was off again. SC was my fifth state where I’ve seen this species as a rarity, along with all its regular states out west.
What a great way to end the SC portion of the trip – 9 new statebirds among 136 total species. That gives me 262 species for my SC list.
See my next blog post for the NC portion of the January 2020 trip.
