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Santee Coastal Reserve, 06-22-03



hi y'all,

visited SCR today with a cpl of friends. it was warm and breezy, plenty of
deerflies and mosquitos (and lotsa dragonflies, a number of butterfly spp.,
and a few *others,*) some cool plants in bloom including a cpl of orchids,
and even some neat birds were about. here's a list:

Anhinga - several
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron - many plumages
Tricolored
Green - several
Yellow-crowned Night-heron - 1 imm.
White Ibis
Wood Stork
Mottled Duck
TV
Osprey
N. Bobwhite - several heard. nice.
Sandwich Tern - 1
MODO
Yellow-billed Cuckoo
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird - find some Trumpet Vine in bloom, there will be
one there shortly
Downy Woodpecker
Red-bellied Wp
Pileated Wp
E. Wood-peewee - numerous, not shy at all
Acadian Flycatcher
Great-crested Flycatcher
E. Kingbird
Purple Martin
Blue Jay
Am. Crow
C. Chickadee
T. Titmouse
W-b Nuthatch
B-h Nuthatch
C. Wren
B-g Gnatcatcher
E. Bluebird
N. Mockingbird
Brown Thrasher
White-eyed Vireo
Yellow-throated
Red-eyed
N. Parula - several singing, close-up look at splendid male on Marsh
Boardwalk
Yellow-throated
Pine
Prothonotary - numerous, including a family group at Santee Delta with
juvies learning how to get a drink of water, "swallow-style." very cool.
Common Yellowthroat
N. Cardinal
Blue Grosbeak - ad. male and fem/imm-type, the latter summarily dispatched
from the roadside by a fem/imm Common Yellowthroat. they played tag for a
few seconds in the shrubbery. interesting.
Indigo Bunting
E. Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
R-w Blackbird
B-t Grackle
Common Grackle
B-h Cowbird
Summer Tanager - heard
Orchard Oriole - several heard, one ad. male seen exceptionally well
House Finch - solo ad. male

curiously, no Hooded Warbler seen/heard at SCR, while a few mi. up the road
at Hobcaw Barony they seem to be everywhere on the property.

*others* - walking back from the impoundments, a little gator (~24") on the
road before the kiosk. it looked like a war victim; missing one foot, having
incurred some injury (healed) to its tail, and just a moment before narrowly
having missed being run over by a pick-up. when one of our trio approached
for a closer look (it appeared to be lifeless,) the little gator made a VERY
aggressive move (startling all of us) and assumed a postion whose meaning
was crystal-clear. it was obvious the little critter had put up with all it
was going to today (i think we've all had days like that.) we retreated, and
the little one eventually made its way out of the road into a grassy area.

at the Delta, some BIG ol' crawdads, including a one-armed ind. waving its
remaining weapon at us, and a jillion crabs, all in the road. Alligator Weed
is taking over the first impoundment, and muddy water, water everywhere...

did i read something recently about "summer birding doldrums" somewhere?

;-)

gary phillips
conway, sc
sunset zone 31

"...where is the person, I ask, who, on observing this glittering fragment
of the rainbow, would not pause, admire, and turn his mind with
reverence..." (J.J. Audubon)