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

weekend at the beach



Dear C-Birders,

I spent the weekend at DeBordieu Beach, and as always, tried to squeeze in as much birding as possible. My most exciting find was actually at Huntington Beach State Park. We had walked to the end of the boardwalk over the marsh and stood for a moment, enjoying the light breezes. Suddenly, out of the reeds popped a willet-sized brown bird -- a rail! A look through binoculars revealed a young'un, dull gray-brown overall with scattered pinfeathers. (Based on size and coloring, I later decided this was an immature clapper rail.) Then, as quickly as it appeared, the "bird with the bunny butt" (my boyfriend's words) vanished into the marsh grass.

Later that afternoon we decided to walk from DeBordieu Beach to the North Inlet, about two-and-a-half miles south. We saw lots of brown pelicans patrolling the shores; one formation had 36 individuals! Every few minutes or so royal terns would fly over (heading south) crying constantly. Ones with a catch in their beaks cried loudest, as if to say, "I've got dinner!" The view across the inlet was spectacular -- pristine coastal habitat of the Hobcaw/Baruch wildlife refuge.

Sunday we returned to the beach at lowtide. Mixed flocks of gulls, terns, and sandpipers lined the water's edge. I still have a lot to learn about sea birds, but here is my list:

sanderling (saw lots of these little wave-dodgers)
willet
royal tern (feeding young)
sandwich tern (feeding young)
laughing gull (many)
herring (or?) ring-billed gull (a few)
ruddy turnstone (several)
pelican
eastern towhee (singing in the woods beyond the dunes)

(It is quite possible that a common or least tern was mixed in, but I can't be certain.)

Great weather and good birding,
Leah


Leah Campbell Cornwell, SC faeriemaiden@hotmail.com

"In order to see birds, it is necessary to become a part of the silence." Robert Lynd

_________________________________________________________________
Tired of spam? Get advanced junk mail protection with MSN 8. http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail