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HBSP Birding on 8/18/03



Hey Carolina Birders!

I stopped by Huntington Beach State Park (HBSP) just a bit ago.  As soon as
I arrived, heavy showers began.  When there was finally a brief break in the
storm, I hoofed it out to the Kerrigan Trail overlook.  Being covered, I
figured I could wait out any additional rain there and still find a bird or
two.

On the way from the parking area to the overlook, I found a single Northern
Cardinal and the shabbiest male Painted Bunting I've ever seen.  This bird
was molting terribly.  Almost every secondary on one wing was missing and it
appeared to have only half of its primaries as well.  It took me a bit to
figure out what this character was.  I was eventually able to make out some
mottled red on the breast, a patch of blue on one side of the head and a
partial red eye ring on the other.  Fortunately, the size and bill shape
were right as well.  Never thought I'd walk away from a male Painted Bunting
disappointed.  Oh well, he didn't seem particularly fond of me either.

Besides those two, the rest of the list was seen from the platform only.  I
was there approximately two hours and was surprised to have found fifty
species.  My first Long-billed Dowitcher of the year was seen feeding with
three Greater Yellowlegs.  (Fortunately, the bird sounded off as he left
heading south.)  Two other unexpected species were seen as well.  Fourteen
Blue-winged Teal and a pair of Northern Shovelers were spotted across the
lake from and just south of the overlook.  Hadn't seen either of these
around for several months.

The complete list is as follows:

Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Snowy Egret
Little Blue Heron
Tricolored Heron
Green Heron
Black-crowned Night-Heron (4)
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron (3)
White Ibis
Glossy Ibis
Wood Stork (37)
Blue-winged Teal (14)
Northern Shoveler (2)
Osprey
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Black-bellied Plover (1 flyby)
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Lesser Yellowlegs
Solitary Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Ruddy Turnstone (several flybys)
Semipalmated Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Short-billed Dowitcher
Long-billed Dowitcher (1)
Laughing Gull
Ring-billed Gull
Caspian Tern
Forster's Tern
Least Tern
Black Skimmer
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Ruby-throated Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Great Crested Flycatcher
Eastern Kingbird
Blue Jay
American Crow
Barn Swallow
Tufted Titmouse
Carolina Wren
Northern Cardinal
Painted Bunting
Boat-tailed Grackle

Good Birding!
Ritch Lilly
Myrtle Beach (Horry County), SC
scbeachbums@hotmail.com