The 8th Annual Sea Islands Christmas Bird Count will be held on Friday, January 4, 2019. The count area includes Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island, Wadmalaw Island, and John’s Island. Count organizer, Aaron Given, TOKI Wildlife Biologist, is looking for Kiawah residents that would like to participate.
In particular, Aaron is looking for residents that have bird feeders and are willing to count the birds that visit their feeders throughout the day. In addition, if anyone still has Painted Buntings or hummingbirds coming to their bird feeders, please let him know. If you are interested in participating, email Aaron Given.
The Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is a volunteer-based bird census conducted each winter. The National Audubon Society has sponsored the event since 1900 when the first CBCs were held. Currently, there are over 2,000 CBCs conducted across North and South America (and other countries) every year and the results are provided in an annual online journal called American Birds.
Happy Holidays from Seabrook Island Birders! May the season bring you many joys and maybe even a few wonderous feathered finds.
(Photo credit: Northern Cardinal from Wingscapes 12 Birds of Christmas)
(Photo credit: American Robin – Ed Konrad)
Pictures of Northern Cardinals, American Robins, Canada Geese and ducks are often seen on holiday cards. Click here to learn how a little research shows how many different birds are in the popular song “The Twelve Days of Christmas”.
Do you have a home on Seabrook Island and enjoy watching birds? Would you like to learn more about them? Whether you live in a single family home or a villa, have bird feeders or not, Seabrook Island Birders (SIB) would like to assist. You may have views of lawn, trees, marsh, river or the beach and we’d like to help you identify the birds in your unique backyard!
It’s easy! Fill out this form and we will assign a SIB Ambassador to contact you to make arrangements for a home visit. These ambassadors are more experienced birders from our membership and will help you learn the names of the birds and answer your questions. They will bring bird ID guides and, if you like, can assist you with using free apps on your phone/tablet to help identify the birds in your backyard.
And best yet, this is free to all Seabrook Island residents! You do not have to be a member of SIB to request an SIB Ambassador visit.
If you have additional questions about the program OR want to volunteer as a SIB Ambassador, please email us.
You still have time to sign up for Seabrook Island Birders (SIB) celebration of our 3rd Anniversary at “Bird Bingo & Game Night.” SIB will provide beef tenderloin sliders and cake. as well as beverages of wine, water and coffee. Otherwise you can BYOB and we’ll provide ice and cups. Just sign up to bring a heavy hors d’oeuvre or dessert. We will socialize as we eat, drink and be merry playing Bingo and trivia games during a fun-for-all evening! We even have a silent auction item that one of our lucky participants will take home!
Date: Friday November 9, 2018 Registration & Social: 5:30 pm Program Starts: 6:00 pm Location: Live Oak Hall at the Lake House on Seabrook Island Maximum Attendees: 80
We ask everyone to RSVP no later than November 6 so we know how much wine to purchase and tables to set.
You may renew your 2019 SIB membership for $10 at the door. Not a member of SIB yet? Join that evening and your $10 membership will not expire until the end of 2019. Guests are welcome for a $5 donation.
Don’t miss this chance to have a fun filled evening and win some prizes with our flock of Seabrook Island Birders! Space is limited to sign up today!
For those of you who know her, you might not be aware that Tori Langen is a birder. She’s better known as an avid and accomplished golfer and a darned good bridge player. But she also enjoys birding!
Tori says that it was probably her father who got her interested in our feathered friends. He used to call in cardinals with his whistle and Tori loved it. She was about 10 years old at the time. In fact, as it turned out, she has had several close friends through her life who were birders. Her mother-in-law and sister-in-law were avid birders and her husband, Bob, also was interested, mostly in backyard birds.
Tori has always loved being out-of-doors. There’s hardly a sport that she hasn’t tried from skiing and paddle tennis to sailing and golf. She has taken on the challenge of each and, for the most part, mastered them all. She nurtured a particular love of golf which she took up over 35 years ago.
When Tori moved to Seabrook full time and partnered with her old friend, Marcia Hider, they both expanded their knowledge to include shorebirds and seabirds. How could they resist when there are so many on our own beaches. They would walk North Beach together watching the sandpipers and plovers and studying their bird books, trying to decide if a particular one was a Western or a Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Photo credit: Marcia Hider
Tori has established a nice collection of carved birds that decorate her mantle and counter tops. They range from a Kiwi purchased in New Zealand to a dramatic Black Skimmer that she found in Connecticut. They are not only pretty additions to her home but are reminders of places she has visited.
Do you enjoy watching the brown pelicans as they float through the air over the beach and ocean? Join Seabrook Island Birders on September 27, 2018 at 7:00 pm at the Lake House for an informative presentation about one of our most common shorebirds. To learn more and register for this interesting program, click here.
The Seabrook Island Bluebird Society was started on Seabrook Island to help the Eastern Bluebird (see our “Bird of the Week” blog from 2016 to learn more about the Eastern Bluebird). The 2018 nesting season has come to an end.
Photo credit: Nancy Brown
If you didn’t know, the Eastern Bluebird is a small member of the thrush family that inhabit fields and clearings. Although pesticides and competition from house sparrows in the early and mid-20th century negatively impacted bluebirds, they have recovered well in recent years and are stable or increasing both as breeding birds and wintering birds. Much of this recovery is thanks to concerned citizens who put up bluebird boxes in their fields for these birds to nest in.
Seventy-three bluebird boxes were installed and are located along Crooked Oaks and Ocean Winds golf courses, the Lake House and Sunset Pier. Melanie Jerome took over the leadership of the Bluebird Society in 2018 from
Photo credit: Nancy Brown
Dean Morr. The main focus is to monitor nesting of bluebirds and any other bird species using the boxes. This is done from March through August by a group of 13 hard working volunteers. They check the boxes once a week, keeping track of activity of all birds documenting by box the number of eggs laid, hatched and fledged. Once fledged, the boxes are cleaned of all nesting material so they available for another brood of birds.
The 2018 statistics for our Seabrook Island Eastern Bluebirds are:
Photo credit: Nancy Brown
99 nests built
389 eggs laid
246 eggs hatched
226 fledged
This is a 58% fledge success. We also have had 21 nests from Carolina Chickadees, with 74 eggs laid, and 55 fledged. We had a predation problem from snakes and raccoons this year and the 2019 goal is to obtain baffle guards on some of the poles to prevent the predation issue.
To compare to results from previous years, see the chart below:
Trail Name
Bluebird
Carolina Chickadee
2018 RESULTS
# Boxes
No Activity
Nest
Attempts
Eggs
Hatched
Fledged
Nest
Attempts
Eggs
Hatched
Fledged
2018 Totals
73
6
99
389
246
226
21
74
55
55
2017 Totals
73
5
89
318
183
175
26
98
82
82
2016 Totals
73
3
99
386
360
359
28
126
106
106
2015 Totals
73
7
76
318
259
259
39
136
104
102
2014 Totals
67
10
63
252
219
203
28
113
85
83
I would like to thank all of our volunteers for their help, we couldn’t do it without you. If you are interested in helping with the bluebirds, please contact Melanie at seabrookbluebirds@gmail.com.
Register today and join SIB Executive Committee Members Nancy Brown and Judy Morr for this walk in search of seabirds, wading birds, passerines and birds of prey. Be sure to bring binoculars, camera, hats, sunscreen, bug repellant, snacks and water. Pack a lunch and stay longer to enjoy what the Bears Bluff National Fish Hatchery has to offer!
Date: Friday, September 28, 2018 7:00 am – 12:00 pm Activity: Beyond our Backyard – Bears Bluff Fish Hatchery Location: Meet at SIRE parking lot and car pool (approximately a 45 minute drive) Max: 20 Cost: None for members; $5 donation for guests
Please register no later than Wednesday September 26, 2018. All registrants will receive a confirmation letter the day prior the event.
We invite you to SIB’s next evening program, “The Pelican Briefing,” presented by Dr. Patrick Jodice, at 7:30 pm on Thursday, September 27, 2018, at the Lake House. We hope by then life after Florence will have returned to normal and you will enjoy this exciting discussion about our brown pelicans and several other seabirds and shorebirds.
SI Birders sent the following story shared by Carl Miller of Charleston on the American Birding Association’s Birding News>> North and South Carolina listserv:
“I was birding at the Lighthouse Inlet Heritage Preserve (north end of Folly Beach, SC)… and happened to meet a pleasant Italian fellow birder and his parents. He never identified himself (apart from his first name), but did urge me to check out the birding exhibit at the Halsey Institute. When I got home and investigated said exhibit, I realized that I had met the exhibition artist, Hitnes, and his mom and dad (also birders) who are visiting from Rome. The link below will give you a preview of the show…”
Preview of the show at The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, which runs through September 29, is available here.
–Tidelines Editors
(Image from The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston)
A frequent question we are asked is how to select a pair of binoculars to use for birding. It can certainly be confusing!
What power (i.e. magnification) is best for birding?
What does the “objective diameter” mean?
Porro vs Roof Prism?
How important is the quality of the optics?
What brand should I purchase?
In doing some research, we found an excellent article that will explain and provide opinions on all of the above topics. So if you are thinking of investing in a pair of binoculars, read this article.
We would definitely agree with the article, when it reports, “Without exception, every birding expert we spoke to said the same thing: Get the best pair of binoculars you can afford.” Binocular prices range from $100 – $2,500. Once you decide on your budget, read the article and to answer the questions above, and you are on your way to owning a pair of binoculars for your birding.
Event: Birding Beyond Your Backyard Date: Wednesday May 30, 2018 Time: 7:00 pm Registration & Social; 7:30 pm Program Starts Location: Live Oak Hall, Lake House, Seabrook Island, SC Max: 140 Cost: FREE for members; $5 for guests Join SIB for $10 and the event is Free! Register Now!
Seabrook Island Birders enjoy birding around Palmetto Lake, at Jenkins Point, on North Beach and in our own backyards. Sometimes we have grandkids visiting or want somewhere different to spend an enjoyable day birding but don’t know where to go nearby. Keith McCullough can give us some new ideas.
What locations do other birders use?
Is there a specific season best for that area?
What birds would I have a chance to see?
How accessible is the birding?
It’s nature, should I be concerned about bugs during some seasons?
Do I need a scope to see birds at that area?
Keith McCullough will discuss various “Hot Spots” in the Lowcountry. Keith brings unique experience in this area as he is the Nature Interpretation Coordinator for Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission and regularly leads bird walks at various Charleston County Parks. In addition, he is the Lead Master Naturalist Instructor for Charleston region, the eBird Reviewer for SC Coast and Coastal Plain and a South Carolina Bird Records Committee Member. All this means he spends his days living in the various nature areas in the Lowcountry and is willing to share his knowledge with us.
Join SIB at the Lake House for another fun and informative evening.
To help us plan for the number of chairs, snacks and wine, please let us know you plan to attend by completing this easy registration form.
The 8th Annual Sea Islands Christmas Bird Count will be held on Friday, January 4, 2019. The count area includes Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island, Wadmalaw Island, and John’s Island. Count organizer, Aaron Given, TOKI Wildlife Biologist, is looking for Kiawah residents that would like to participate.
It’s not too late, so….
Event: Birding Beyond Your Backyard