If you noticed birders out and about around the island with their binoculars and cameras on Friday, January 3rd, you most likely witnessed some of our very own Seabrook Island Birders in action for our Sea Island Christmas Bird Count (CBC).
The CBC is a census of birds administered by the National Audubon Society, performed each winter throughout the Northern Hemisphere by volunteer birdwatchers. Audubon and other organizations use the data collected to access the health of bird populations and guide conservation actions.
Alan Fink
This year, 19 Seabrook Island Birders and a visitor from Augusta, GA participated in the CBC. In total, the group of 20 covered over 61 miles and spent a combined 58 hours counting the birds on the island! The field teams covered North Beach, Camp St. Christopher, Seabrook Island Equestrian Center, the community garden, maintenance center and water treatment pond, Jenkin’s Point, Palmetto Lake, and Crooked Oaks/Ocean Winds golf courses. In addition, 12 individual birders counted birds at their backyard feeders.
Gina Sanders
A total of 156 unique species and 2057 total individual birds were reported. That’s a lot of birds to count in one day! Some of the favorite birding moments reported for the day were eight Wild Turkeys seen at the maintenance pond, 51 Double-crested Cormorants flying from the inlet towards Deveaux Bank, 22 Black-crowned Night Herons hanging out on Jenkin’s Point, and a Cooper’s Hawk watching over the soccer field by the Lake House. Gina Sanders heard an
Orange-crowned Warbler in the bushes on Ocean Winds and was determined to get a picture of him. To her surprise, he hopped up on a branch where she could see him and posed for her.
Bird feeder watchers were up early that day and the birds were ready to show off even before some birdwatchers had their morning coffee! Feeder highlights included a male and a female Painted Bunting in a bush at the residence of Patricia Schaefer on Clear Marsh Road, a Great Horned Owl seen by Melodie Murphy near Old Drake Drive, and numerous Pine Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, and Chipping Sparrows enjoying the seeds at the feeders.
Dean Morr said although he was disappointed that some of the “rarities” that occasionally visit failed to show up on Middle Dam during the CBC, he was happy to see two White-breasted Nuthatches at the same time. During this cold January day, the CBC volunteers found warmth when they spotted new
species to add to their lists. It was exciting to see what birds were waiting around the corner, hiding in trees, foraging along the beach, or flying into backyard feeders. Overall, the day was a success and the data gathered was shared with the National Audubon Society in hopes that we can continue to watch, learn, and protect the amazing species of birds we have on Seabrook
Island.
Submitted by Deanna Forsythe