Latest posts
Did you know: Hummingbird colors are due to refraction
Ever wonder why a hummingbird looks different colors at different angles, as can be seen very clearly with these recent pics I took of one of the Ruby Throated Hummingbirds frequenting my feeders? Here’s what Cornells’ Bird Academy says “The iridescent colors of the gorget are the result of the refraction of incident light caused…
Ask SIB: Osprey Tussle
Dear Ask SIB: I took this picture of two Ospreys this morning, is this a courtship behavior? Osprey tussle – Gina Sanders Answer: Got to love the image. Looking closely, we can discern several clues to your question. The top bird, or aggressor, has a clean white throat and chest indicating it is an adult…
Ask SIB – What’s up with these birds?
Question: What’s up with the birds? For the past several evenings there’s been a big meeting on the dock and today this guy hangs out on our front porch for an hour. Not the least bit afraid of me…lets me get less than 10 feet away to get a pic. Mike Vinson Herons and Egrets…
SIB Reports: The Chronicles of Woody Jr
Shar and her good friend Gloria Wilson regularly do water aerobics at our POA Pool, next to our townhouse. On or about July 17th their attention was drawn to a partially dead birch tree, just outside the fence next to our entry road. What got their attention were bird calls, which they quickly identified as…
Did you know: Birds Beaks Adapt to food
Every bird course I’ve taken tells you to look at the bird’s beak to help in the identification. After researching how birds eat large items, beak shape became more interesting….so a study in beaks…. The beak – also known as the bill – has two parts: the upper mandible and the lower mandible. The upper…
Satellite Tagged Red Knots Are Headed Back From the High Canadian Arctic
On August ninth, Felicia Sanders, lead Coastal Bird Biologist with SCDNR, sent word that two of the Red Knots tagged with satellite transmitters were headed back south after spending the summer nesting in the Arctic islands of Canada’s far-north. Felicia has been sending updates with maps since early May, when the birds were first captured…
SIB Travels: To Canada and Alaska – Part One.
Follow along as one of our Seabrook Island Birders members travels to Alaska to see birds not commonly seen on the East Coast, and so much more! Eight years ago my husband and I went to Alaska on a 7 night cruise, roundtrip from Seattle. It was beautiful, but the time constraints didn’t allow us…
SIB Travels: To Canada and Alaska – Part Two
On board and ready to see Alaska, we settled into our cabin and watched Vancouver fade away. Glaucous Gulls were our escort out of the harbor but soon they, too, dropped back. As the sun set we sailed north to our first port of call, Juneau. Juneau is the capital of Alaska and is unique…
Hearing loss effects birding
Anyone who has birded with me knows I have trouble hearing many birds, especially at a distance. My hearing aids have definitely helped, especially when my audiologist gave me a special setting to use while birding which amplifies the range of many birds. A friend recently told me about an article in the July 2023…
SIB Travels: A trip to Machias Seal Island
Machias Seal Island is the summer home of the largest puffin colony on the coast of Maine. Shelley Trucksis visited this island in the Bay of Fundy in June 2022 before she joined our group. She thought you may be interested in her amazing trip. Our members love birds and love to travel! We love…