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Aiken County, SC on 9 June 2002



Hi C-Birders,

Last Sunday I spent most of the day exploring a few good birding spots in
Aiken County, SC, a wonderful birding destination less than 100 miles from
Columbia, but not a place I visit very often. My main objective was to check
out the Aiken Gopher Tortoise Heritage Preserve. This is a longleaf pine --
turkey oak savanna that harbors the northernmost population of Florida
gopher tortoises. While I did not find any tortoises I did find a great
savanna, well maintained by controlled burns, choked full of singing
Bachman's Sparrows. The experience was wonderful -- lots of wildflowers,
numerous butterflies, and typical pine savanna birds (just about everything
you might expect, except no Red-cockaded Woodpeckers). I must have heard six
different Bachman's Sparrows singing!

After a couple of hours at the gopher tortoise preserve I drove a few miles
up the South Edisto River to Aiken State Natural Area (formerly Aiken State
Park). This has great floodplain forest habitat with lots of breeding
warblers.

I finished off my day by a visit to the National Audubon Society's Silver
Bluff Plantation Sanctuary. Mid June is a bit early for Wood Storks there,
but I did see one soaring overhead. There were also a couple of Bachman's
Sparrows singing along the road to the boat landing.

Finally, on my way back to Columbia, I drove past a huge (at least 300 acre)
hay field along SC 302 about two miles west of the town of Wagener. I did
not find anything unusual there, but I wonder if Aiken County birders ever
check this area for migrating shorebirds or wintering longspurs?  It looks
great for such species.

All in all I was very impressed by Aiken County, and I did not even sneak
over the river to visit the great marshes at the Phinizy Swamp Nature Park
in Augusta, GA.  I think the Carolina Bird Club should think about a weekend
field trip, or even a spring meeting in Aiken. We could do a lot worse!

Here is my Aiken County day list:

Anhinga
Great Egret
Cattle Egret
Green Heron
Wood Stork
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Mourning Dove
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Chimney Swift
Red-headed Woodpecker
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Eastern Wood-Pewee
Acadian Flycatcher
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Loggerhead Shrike
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Purple Martin
Carolina Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
Brown-headed Nuthatch
White-breasted Nuthatch
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Eastern Bluebird
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
Northern Parula
Yellow-throated Warbler
Pine Warbler
Prairie Warbler
Swainson's Warbler
Prothonotary Warbler
Kentucky Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Hooded Warbler
Yellow-breasted Chat
Summer Tanager
Eastern Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Field Sparrow
Bachman's Sparrow
Northern Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak
Indigo Bunting
Painted Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Eastern Meadowlark
Common Grackle
Brown-headed Cowbird
Orchard Oriole
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

Robin Carter
Columbia, SC
rcarter@sc.rr.com