Let’s hope April showers time themselves around our many birding activities. April will also bring the return, after a long absence, of our popular Backyard Birding events.
Backyard Birding- The Haul Over
Thursday, April 7, 2022, 6:00 pm -7:30 pm, The Haul Over
Location: 2445 The Haul Over
Max: 20
Cost: None for 2021 members; $5 donation for guests
We are going back! Our visit last May to Annalee Regenburg’s backyard was a witness of a bumper crop of Egret and Heron nests. We lost count at 100 nests. Annalee’s house backs up to the Great White Egret Rookery. The females sit on their nests all day and the males come into the nests in the evenings. We plan on observing this wonderful, sometimes noisy event. We will most likely see some snowy egrets and green herons, plus some night herons and Wood Storks too. One year, we even saw Cattle Egrets. The first nest was March 1. Walk around back when you arrive.
As always, be sure to bring your water, binoculars, hats and sunscreen.
Please register no later than Tuesday, April 5. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Wednesday, April 6.
Register here
Learning Together on Ocean Winds Golf Course
When: Monday, April 11, 2022 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: Meet at Island House (golf course parking lot next to Spinnaker beach houses) for ride along the golf course in golf carts
Max: 24 (If all seats in golf carts are used)
Cost: Free for members; $5 donation for guests – Priority will be given to prior waitlisted & members
The Seabrook Island Club closes one course a day, each week and allows Seabrook Island Birders to use golf carts to travel the course with our members to bird. Join us for a morning of birding by riding in golf carts for at least nine holes on Ocean Winds golf course. We expect to see a large variety of birds including Egrets, Herons and birds of prey. We will also see and hear some of the smaller birds like Tufted Titmice, Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens and some of the many warbler species.
Since it is spring, we can also expect to see Eastern Kingbirds, Great-crested Flycatchers, Orchard Orioles, Summer Tanagers, Mississippi Kites and more!
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. Water will be provided.
Please register no later than April 9. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on the day prior to the trip. If you need to cancel, please let us know so we can invite people on the waitlist to attend.
Register here
April Movie, “Penguin Bloom”
When: Tuesday, April 12, 2022 from 4:00 pm – 5:45 pm
Location: Zoom & TBD in-person
Watch the trailer here.
As a mom copes with the aftermath of a harrowing accident, she finds inspiration from an injured magpie taken in by her family. The movie is based on a true story.
Register here
Learning Together at Kiawah River Development
When: Saturday, April 16, 2022 8:00 am – 11:00 am
Location: Meet at the “bridge” entering the property
Cost: None for members; $5 donation for guests
We expect to see a large variety of birds including Double-crested Cormorants, Egrets, Herons, Osprey and other birds of prey. We hope to see the Little Blue Heron rookery in full habitation. If we are lucky, we will see an eagle and osprey duel over a fish. We should also see and hear some of the smaller birds like Tufted Titmice, Eastern Bluebirds, Northern Cardinals. We will drive to various locations on the property and then walk for better birding observations. Of course, this also gives us a chance to see this neighboring development.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars, hats, water and sunscreen.
Please register no later than Thursday, April 14, 2022. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Friday, April 15.
Register here
Beyond Our Backyard – McAlhany Nature Preserve Near St. George, SC
When: Sunday, April 24, 2022 with morning only (8:00 am – 11:00 am) and all day (8:00 am – 2:00 pm) options
Leave Seabrook Island Real Estate to carpool at 6:30 am (please be there before 6:30 am)
Meet trip leaders Cathy & Carl Miller at the truck stop in Jacksonboro (intersection of US Hwy 17 & SC 64) and at 7:15 am to caravan to site
Note: Cars with low ground clearance are not recommended for the drive into McAlhany
Max: 12
Cost: Free for members; $5 donation for guests
Join SIB to bird at the beautiful McAlhany Nature Preserve on the Edisto River near Saint George. This 367 acre preserve is under a conservation easement with the Lowcountry Open Land Trust and is owned and managed by the Charleston chapter (Charleston Natural History Society) of the Audubon Society. This property includes such habitats as one and a half miles of frontage on the Edisto River, a nine acre oxbow lake, bottomland hardwoods forest, a freshwater marsh, upland oak-hickory forest and a restored longleaf pine and native grasslands area. To get a feel for the types of habitats as well as the species that live and pass through, take a look at “Flora and Fauna of McAlhany Nature Preserve” All birding will be on foot so wear comfortable hiking shoes.
In the morning, we will cover about two miles of wooded trails birding the south side of Wire Road along the River Trail. This area includes the river frontage, the oxbow lake, the Cypress Forest and flood plain. We can expect to see a large variety of birds including Egrets, Herons, Anhinga and Wood Ducks as well as birds of prey like Barred Owl, Red-tailed and Red-shouldered Hawks. We will also see and hear our resident smaller birds like Tufted Titmice, Northern Cardinals, Carolina Wrens, hopefully three vireo species – Blue-headed, Red-eyed and White-eyed. A few sparrow species may still be present and we could also see several warbler species such as Black-throated Green and Black-throated Blue warblers, Northern Parula, Common Yellow-throat, Yellow-throated, Prothonotary and Hooded warblers. We will eat an early lunch around 11:00 am in the picnic area. Then, in the afternoon, we will explore the young longleaf pine and grassland areas on the north side of Wire Road covering about one and a half miles of sandy trail and fire breaks. We will hopefully see Sedge and House Wrens, Yellow, Prairie and Pine warblers, Eastern Bluebirds, Summer Tanager, Blue Grosbeak, Indigo and Painted Buntings, as well as Yellow-throated vireo and possibly Yellow-billed Cuckoo. Many of these species can be seen on either side of the road.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, bug spray, hats and sunscreen. Bring plenty to drink and a picnic lunch to eat on the property. We will make use of the picnic shelter however there are no facilities available to us on the property as the cabin will be locked.
Please register no later than Friday, April 22, 2022. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior to the event.
Register here
Beyond Our Backyard – Edisto Nature Trail
When: Saturday, April 30, 2022 8:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: 17038 Ace Basin Pkwy
Carpool: Meet at SI Real Estate Office to car pool at 7:00 am, the drive is approximately 50 minutes to the nature trail’s parking lot
Cost: Free for SIB member; $5 guest fee
Come join us for spring migration, Beyond Our Backyard, at the Edisto Nature Trail. This park, within the ACE Basin on Highway 17, is both a migrant hot spot and a known nesting area for a number of sought after bird species. The park, adjacent to the Edisto River, has a variety of habitats along its one and a half mile looped trail. As you walk the park in search of its birdlife, you will move through a pine and maritime forest habit into, adjacent the Edisto River, a cypress-tupelo swamp. In prior years, because of this varied habit, we have encountered a vast array of wildlife and plant life inside the park boundaries.
Some of the bird species we will hope to see, and have encountered in prior years, include such Warbler species as Prothonotary, Worm-Eating, Black and White, Swainson’s, Kentucky, Hooded, Black Throated Blue, Yellow-Throated, and Northern Parula. Other possible bird species include, but are not limited to, Veery, Scarlet Tanager, Blackburnian Warbler, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Blackpoll Warbler, Prairie Warbler, Blue-Winged Warbler, Warbling Vireos, and a variety of raptors.
This nature trail has a number of boardwalk crossovers to assist in traversing potentially wet areas. Appropriate footwear is recommended, even during dry spells, so that all participants are able to maximize the enjoyment of their experience. Participants should also consider these other items to maximize the comfort and enjoyment: binoculars, bug spray, sunscreen, hats, layered clothing to adjust to the morning’s weather, field guides if print is your preference, eyeglass – lens cleaner, water, snacks, camera, and a pack or shoulder bag for your needs.
Please register prior to April 27, 2022. You will receive a confirmation letter the day prior to the event.
Register here
-Submitted by SIB
(Image credit: SIB)