Latest posts
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SIB Reports: State of the Birds
“Five years ago, most ornithologists had a general sense that birds were declining – more than 3 billion birds lost in the past 50 years. In May 2025 a new expansive study of North American bird population trends showed that bird declines have continued, and in some cases accelerated in recent years. But this study
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Thoughts of a New Bird Watcher
Occasionally through the years I would look at what birds were doing for a few minutes and then go back to what I was supposed to be doing. I never thought watching birds would be so interesting and so much fun. But that was before last spring when I put two bird feeders outside my
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Update #3 – Red Knot Tracking (and Hurricane Erin)
We are happy to report that both of the Red Knots tracking over the Atlantic Ocean have successfully reached land! LP7 veered slightly west of the impending storm, flying through the Caribbean Sea before making landfall in Venezuela just a couple hours before midnight on 8/15! It is now at Salina Solar Los Olivitos, a Western Hemisphere
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Latest Update! Red Knot Tracking
We have big news on the tracking front with two birds (LN5 and LP7) flying over the open Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Bermuda, and possibly on a collision course with tropical system, Erin. LP7 departed from Port Nelson, Hudson Bay, CA on the evening of 8/10, while LN5 left from James Bay, CA a day
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SIB Reports: Fall Migration and Bird Cast
BirdCast Migration Dashboard is back online for fall migration. Starting Friday, August 1, the site will report daily, radar-based measurements of nocturnal bird migration across every state and county in the contiguous U.S., including estimates of the total number of birds migrating, their directions, speeds, and altitudes. If you’re in the lower 48 states, check
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Red Knot Update!
Hello Red Knot fans! This spring, 27 Red Knots were fitted with satellite transmitters during two banding events: 14 birds were tagged on Kiawah Island, South Carolina, on March 31st , and 13 more in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina, on May 18th. The project is a collaboration between the South Carolina Department
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First Purple Martin Fledgling!
As many of you know, Seabrook Island Birders embarked on a new project this year – Purple Martin Landlords! After installing the equipment and learning as much as we could about these birds, and how to care for them, we proceeded to wait. It didn’t take long for migrating Purple Martins to find us, and
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Help Track the Red Knots!
On March 31st, Shorebird Stewards from Seabrook Island and Kiawah Island assisted SC DNR and Georgia DNR with banding Red Knots on Kiawah. In addition to traditional numbered bands, several birds were fitted with Satellite trackers, giving scientists real-time date on their location, migration patterns and routes. We’re excited to announce that SCDNR has made
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SIB Member Profile: Claudia Porter
Claudia Porter was born and raised in the suburbs of Los Angeles. After graduating from Occidental College with a degree in French Literature, she began working at Bullock’s, a division of Federated Department Stores. Claudia met Stuart Hotchkiss at Bullock’s and they took their first international trip together to London, with Frommer’s “Europe on $5
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SIB Explores: Carolina Bight Birding Center & Wings over Beaufort
If you find yourself in the Beaufort County area this September, you may want to consider a visit to the new Carolina Bight Birding Center and the Wings Over Beaufort Birding Festival (September 23-26, 2025). They have planned 14 tours, some at exclusive locations that are not open to the public, and their Keynote Speaker will