Join SIB in January as we welcome the new year with many varied activities.
Backyard Birding on Loblolly
When: Thursday, January 10, 2023, 11:00 am – 12:30 pm
Location: 2132 Loblolly Lane
Max: 8
Cost: Free for members; $10 donation for guests
Join SIB to bird at Frank and Joleen Ardaiolo’s home on Loblolly Lane. Birders from beginners to advanced will enjoy the variety of birds found at the home of the Ardaiolo’s. Joleen maintains over 20 different bird feeders with a variety of seed. She has had some rare birds seen in her backyard. Last year, the Western Tanager showed up.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. Bring plenty to drink and a snack if desired.
Please register no later than January 8. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on January 9, 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.
January Movie
A World on the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds
When: Tuesday, January 10, 2023 at 4:00 pm (In Person & Zoom)
Location: Zoom & Oyster Catcher Community Center
Even as scientists make astounding discoveries about the navigational and physiological feats that enable migratory birds to cross immense oceans or fly above the highest mountains, go weeks without sleep or remain in unbroken flight for months at a stretch, humans have brought many migrants to the brink. Based on his newest book “A World on the Wing,” author and researcher Scott Weidensaul takes you around the globe — with researchers in the lab probing the limits of what migrating birds can do, to the shores of the Yellow Sea in China, the remote mountains of northeastern India where tribal villages saved the greatest gathering of falcons on the planet, and the Mediterranean, where activists and police are battling bird poachers — to learn how people are fighting to understand and save the world’s great bird migrations.
This is a recorded program hosted by the sponsors of the Space Coast Birding Festival. We hope you will also join SIB members as we encourage you to read “A World on the Wing” and join us as we host Scott Weidensaul on Sunday, January 22, 2023. Our guest will join via Zoom, and you will have a choice to be in person with other SIB members or joining on Zoom. Registration for this event coming soon!
Register here.
Biking and Birding to Mingo Point
When: Thursday, January 12, 2023, 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
Location: Meet at The Lakehouse parking lot
Max: none
Cost: Free for members; $10 donation for guests
Join SIB for Birding and Biking to Mingo Point. This is a six mile round trip biking trip from The Lakehouse parking lot. It is very casual with many spots for birding. If you would like to meet us at Mingo Point instead of riding, just let us know. Birders from beginners to advanced will enjoy the variety of birds found on this trip. On the way back, there is the option to stop for lunch at Freshfields.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. Bring plenty to drink and a snack if desired.
Please register no later than January 10. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on January 11, 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.
Learning Together on Golf Course-Crooked Oaks
When: Monday, January 16, 2023, 8:30 am – 10:30 am
Location: Meet at The 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; $10 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 9-holes on Crooked Oaks 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 winter, we can also expect to see Eastern Phoebes, Northern Flickers, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, Belted Kingfishers, Double-crested Cormorants, Bald Eagles, and more!
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. Water will be provided.
Please register no later than Friday, January 13. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on Sunday, January 15, 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.
Beyond Our Backyard – Pitt Street Causeway to Watermark Lake
When: Thursday, January 19, 2023, 9:00 am– 4:00 pm
Location: Meet at SI Real Estate Office to carpool at 9:00 am
(or meet at Pitt Street Causeway at 10:00 am)
Max: 10
Cost: Free for members, $10 per guest
We are trying something new. Pitt Street Causeway offers a good view of saltwater marsh in Charleston Harbor where we can see shorebirds and ducks. After spending time at Pitt Street, we will go to a local restaurant near Shem Creek for lunch. After lunch, we will take a quick walk on the Shem Creek Boardwalk before heading to Watermark Lake, a great spot to find ducks of many species like Lesser Scaup, Canvasback, and Ring-necked Duck. Bring binoculars, camera and a scope, if you have one.
Please register no later than January 15, 2023. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.
Register here.
“A World on the Wing” Book Reading
On Sunday, January 22, 2023, we will have a short “book read.” The discussion/social hour will begin at 4:00 pm. Then, at 5:00 pm, Scott Weidensaul will join us on Zoom to talk about his enlightening book. Those who opt to attend in person will meet at the Oyster Catcher Community Center and watch the Zoom presentation together. Others can watch the Zoom at home at 5:00 pm. The book features Pulitzer Prize finalist Scott Weidensaul, author of “A World on the Wing.”
Register for both the in-person or the virtual event here.
Learning Together at North Beach
When: Sunday, January 29, 2023, 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Location: Meet at Boardwalk # 1 Parking lot
Max: None
Cost: Free for members; $10 donation for guests
Join SIB to bird at Seabrook Island’s North Beach. This three-mile round trip walk travels from Boardwalk #1 to the tip of North Beach along Captain Sam’s Inlet as high tide approaches. Birders from beginners to advanced birders will enjoy the variety of birds found on North Beach. At this time, many different species of shorebirds rest and feed near the point or along the beach ridge near the beach’s pond. Along the way, we will explore the many different species that can be found in this unique area.
As always, be sure to bring your binoculars/cameras, hats and sunscreen. Bring a spotting scope if you have one. Bring plenty to drink and a snack if desired. There are no facilities. We ask that all participants wear a mask when unable to social distance if they are not vaccinated.
Please register no later than January 27. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on January 28, 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.
Beyond our Backyard: Nemours Plantation and Bailey Road Tidal Impoundments
When: Tuesday, Jan. 31, 2023, 9:00 am– 4:00 pm
Location: Meet at SI Real Estate Office to carpool at 7:00 am
or meet at Food Lion, Hwy 17 in Ravenel at 7:45 am to carpool to Nemours Plantation
Max: 18
Cost: Free for members, $10 per guest; donation to Nemours Wildlife Foundation is suggested
Join SIB for a guided birding tour at Nemours Plantation followed by a picnic lunch & afternoon side trip to eBird hotspot Bailey Tidal Impoundment with a possible visit to the Old Sheldon Church ruins.
Important Note: All participants must sign the liability waiver prior to entering the Nemours Property. We will have the waiver form available for signing at our carpool meet-up locations .
The Nemours Plantation is a 10,000+ acre site in the ACE River Basin owned and managed by the Nemours Wildlife Foundation. We will ride in an open trailer through rich, diverse habitats consisting of remnant rice fields, brackish and fresh water marshes, upland and bottomland hardwood forests, pine forests, and cypress & tupelo forests. We hope to see waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds along with sparrows, wintering warblers, woodpeckers and other passerines. The Nemours Foundation has become an important center for conservation research and environmental education. We will learn more about how they achieve this mission during our guided birding tour. After visiting Nemours, we will have a picnic lunch. Following lunch, we will bird the nearby eBird hotspot, Bailey Road Tidal Impoundments, where we hope to find a variety of waders, shorebirds, terns and gulls. Here you can bird from the roadside or the dikes overlooking the tidal flats. Uneven ground and some muddy conditions are possible here. The Old Sheldon Church ruins are quite close and are worth a quick look for those interested.
As always, bring your binoculars/cameras/scopes, bird guides, hats, sunscreen and bug spray. Bring plenty to drink & a picnic lunch. If you wish to leave after visiting Nemours Plantation, plan your carpooling accordingly. Restroom facilities will be available at Nemours. We ask that you wear a mask when unable to social distance if you are not vaccinated.
Please register no later than January 29. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter on January 30. If you need to cancel, please let us know so we can invite people on the waitlist to attend.
Register here.
-Submitted by SIB
(Image credit: SIB)