[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]

White-crowned Sparrow at HBSP--and a question



At the end of a Big Day that started on Sassafrass Mountain at dawn and
covered 460 miles of driving, Bing Somers, Jane Chew, and I saw an
unmistakable White-crowned Sparrow near Atalaya in Huntington Beach State
Park.  I've never seen that bird at HBSP before, and my field guides don't
show it wintering on the SC coast.  Can those with more experience comment?

Other good birds:  Scarlet Tanager and Blackburnian at Sassafrass;
Dickcissel (only one seen) and lots of Grasshopper Sparrows at Dobbins Farm
in Townville; two Veerys at Great Congaree Swamp;  two Pectoral Sandpipers
at the Orangeburg Sod Farm.  (By the way, the Sod Farm hasn't been very
productive for us for a year or so.  Can anyone reassure me that our
experiences haven't been typical?)

On Sunday at the jetty at HBSP there were terns visible across the inlet on
a sandbar, but I was unable to tell whether they were Common or Forster's.
In his book Robin Carter says Forster's are permanent residents, but the
NGS guide has them here only in the winter.  And the HBSP checklist has
Common Tern possible as a migrant.  Can anyone give me good advice as to
which they were likely to be?  With a better view I could have made a call,
but I'm curious about what others have seen there at this time of year.

A final note: on Sunday we went down to the Caw Caw Interpretive Center
south of Charleston and were very impressed.  If you haven't yet birded
there, give it a try.  We had Wood Stork, Mississippi Kite, and two
Swallow-tail Kite, plus lots of the usual suspects.  The habitat there is
extensive (654 acres) and quite varied.  From what I've seen, I commend
Charleston County for the job they've done.  Would that we in the Upstate
would do as well!  (Political comment: feel free to ignore it.)

Jim Edwards
Greenville, SC
jim.edwards@furman.edu