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Congaree Swamp NM & O'burg Sod Farm



Sunday (9-21) morning, I birded Congaree Swamp National Monument near Gadsden, SC with Jim Beard and Kent Davis.  Our best action was first thing in the morning on the western edge of the monument.  To get there, pass the main entrance to CSNM on Old Bluff Road, go past a cypress-dotted pond (Duffy's Pond) on your right and IMMEDIATELY after crossing the bridge over Cedar Creek, hang a left onto a no-so-visible dirt track.  There is a wider, more obvious dirt road 40-50 yards past this track but it is not where you want to go.

Park in one of the slots and walk in on the dirt road.  After a while, you will see a pile of concrete rubble and an intersection of dirt roads.  Take the left road through the gate.  Basically take a left whenever you have a choice and this will keep you along the edge of the monument or in the monument.  Shortly after walking in from the parking area, there is an overgrown track leading off to the left (with a cable lying on the ground between two posts).  This track was where we had lots of thrushes and catbirds.

Notable birds we had in this area were:
Blue-winged Warbler
Barred Owls
Acadian Flycatchers
Summer Tanagers
Wood Thrushes
Swainson's Thrushes
Gray-cheeked Thrushes
Veery
Rose Breasted Grosbeaks (2 males)

The main monument was kind of slow, but in addition to the usual stufff, we did have a male Kentucky Warbler singing vigorously.  We didn't bird Iron Bridge Trail due to the lack of migrants.

The Orangeburg Sod Farm was pretty dry and birding was slow until the end when we found the Killdeer flock and some rarities hanging out with them.  The first field on the left past the main HQ entrance had a dozen or so Horned Larks.  On the southwestern edge of the sod farm, we found:
4 American Golden Plovers
2 Buff-breasted Sandpipers

To reach this area:  Coming from I-26, go past the main HQ entrance of the Sod farm on US301.  You will pass a dirt road to the left with a green post beside it.  Shortly after that on the left, you will see "Smith Services" - a business with a few pieces of farm equipment in a grassy lawn in front of the building.  Turn left onto the dirt road beside the Smith Services Sign.  Go .4 of a mile and you will see a white metal gate on the right side of the road.  Across the dirt road from the white metal gate, there is a gap in the small trees and brambles.  This gap is where an entrance to this sod field crosses the drainage ditch.  There are a bunch of old telephone poles across the entrance to deter traffic.  Park here and step across the phone poles (but do not walk out into the field).  Facing the field, the birds were to the left in the near part of the field.

Nathan Dias - Charleston, SC