White pelicans at Bear Island, Colleton Co., SC

["Robin Carter" <rcarter@sc.rr.com>]

Hi C-Birders,

Today Caroline Eastman and I ran down to Bear Island and a few other good
birding areas in Colleton County, SC. Our best find was a huge feeding
aggregation at Bear Island Wildlife Management Area. There were several
hundred birds feeding in a drawn-down impoundment along Hog Island Road,
which is 2.0 miles from Bennett's Point Road (the paved road) along Johnny
Hiers Road. In one small area we counted over 60 American White Pelicans, at
least 100 Wood Storks, at least 200 other white herons (Great Egret, Snowy
Egret, etc.), as well as a few White Ibis.

If you go to Bear Island to look for the pelicans be aware that this area is
closed on Sundays. (South Carolina does not want too much ecotourism.)

Caroline and I first visited the Orangeburg sod farms. We found no migrant
shorebirds, but we did see a couple of Common Ground-Doves. Next we when to
West Bank Landing on the Edisto River, about 2 miles south of Jacksonboro.
Our target here was Swallow-tailed Kite, but we had to make do with several
Mississippi Kites, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, and perhaps 25 Anhingas.
Next we went to Donnelley WMA, where we found the usual suspects, as Jack
Peachey would say. There were a number of Painted Buntings singing from a
field of sunflowers. I don't usually find this species in agricultural
fields. We also have several Painted Buntings at Bear Island and one or two
at the Orangeburg sod farms.

Here is our day list (all from Orangeburg or Colleton Counties, SC). The
fall migration has begun!

American White Pelican -- 60
Double-crested Cormorant -- 6
Anhinga -- 40
Least Bittern -- 2
Great Blue Heron -- 8
Great Egret -- 200
Snowy Egret -- 75
Little Blue Heron -- 12
Tricolored Heron -- 25
Cattle Egret -- 50
Green Heron -- 4
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron -- 1
White Ibis -- 2
Wood Stork -- 100
Black Vulture -- 40
Turkey Vulture -- 60
Canada Goose -- 10
Mottled Duck -- 20
Osprey -- 2
Mississippi Kite -- 12
Red-tailed Hawk -- 6
Northern Bobwhite -- 5
Common Moorhen -- 25
Killdeer -- 60
Black-necked Stilt -- 15
Greater Yellowlegs -- 10
Lesser Yellowlegs -- 25
Short-billed Dowitcher -- 5
Laughing Gull -- 500
Ring-billed Gull -- 10
Royal Tern -- 2
Least Tern -- 25
Black Skimmer -- 1
Rock Dove -- 1
Eurasian Collared-Dove -- 1
Mourning Dove -- 30
Common Ground-Dove -- 2
Chimney Swift -- 10
Ruby-throated Hummingbird -- 3
Red-headed Woodpecker -- 2
Red-bellied Woodpecker -- 5
Downy Woodpecker -- 2
Northern Flicker -- 1
Pileated Woodpecker -- 1
Eastern Wood-Pewee -- 6
Acadian Flycatcher -- 4
Great Crested Flycatcher -- 20
Eastern Kingbird -- 35
Loggerhead Shrike -- 2
White-eyed Vireo -- 5
Yellow-throated Vireo -- 3
Red-eyed Vireo -- 2
Blue Jay -- 6
American Crow -- 20
Fish Crow -- 100
Horned Lark -- 12
Purple Martin -- 50
Tree Swallow -- 300
Northern Rough-winged Swallow -- 2
Barn Swallow -- 100
Carolina Chickadee -- 5
Tufted Titmouse -- 10
White-breasted Nuthatch -- 3
Brown-headed Nuthatch -- 1
Carolina Wren -- 5
Marsh Wren -- 15
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher -- 6
Eastern Bluebird -- 15
American Robin -- 1
Northern Mockingbird -- 25
Brown Thrasher -- 6
Northern Parula -- 5
Pine Warbler -- 3
Prothonotary Warbler -- 1
Common Yellowthroat -- 10
Yellow-breasted Chat -- 2
Summer Tanager -- 10
Eastern Towhee -- 12
Chipping Sparrow -- 1
Seaside Sparrow -- 1
Northern Cardinal -- 25
Blue Grosbeak -- 12
Indigo Bunting -- 20
Painted Bunting -- 10
Red-winged Blackbird -- 1000
Eastern Meadowlark -- 12
Common Grackle -- 300
Boat-tailed Grackle -- 50
Orchard Oriole -- 8
House Sparrow -- 10

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