On July 28, 2007 I went to North Myrtle Beach, SC for my annual family reunion. I arrived too late on Saturday to do much of anything but settle into my little beach front bungalow. On Sunday morning I got up early and drove to Calabash, NC and visited Vereen Gardens. There were many Green Herons and Snowy and Great Egrets but not too much else. I drove from there to Sunset Beach, NC and walked out to the north end of the beach where the shorebirds roost. There were a few Wilson's Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Black Skimmers, Sandwich Terns, Common Terns, and one Least Tern. After examining all the shorebirds I left stopping at Sunset Lake before heading back to Cherry Grove for a day at the beach. There were many Wood Storks in the trees.
On Monday, July 30, 2007, I drove into North Carolina again to Green Swamp Preserve where I heard there are Henslow's Sparrows. I didn't see or hear any but there were a few Bachman's Sparrows. I also saw a few juvenile Redheaded Woodpeckers. There were lots of pitcher plants growing and many Common Wood Nymphs and Palamedes butterflies. The only warblers were Pine Warbler and Common Yellowthroat. I saw one Blue Grosbeak.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007, I went to Cherry Grove Park with John. We found some Painted Buntings in the trees there and then John told me about a new park down the road from the boat launch, Heritage Shores Nature Preserve. This park just opened in January 2007, an oasis in a sea of development that is North Myrtle Beach. It had great boardwalks over the marsh, many exhibits and picnic tables, and showed great potential as a fall migrant trap. We heard Clapper Rails calling from the marsh and saw Little Blue Heron, lots of Mockingbirds and Cardinals and Egrets. A Gull-billed Tern flew by and we saw one Seaside Sparrow in the marsh. An Osprey patrolled the canal.
Wednesday, August 1, 2007, I again checked the Heritage Shores Nature Preserve in Cherry Grove. There was a Tri-colored Heron right at the entrance. Many birds were flying up the channel headed toward Waites Island including Wood Stork and Glossy Ibis. I found a Great-crested Flycatcher in the trees and a Boat-tailed Grackle was perched across the canal. I decided to ride my boogie board across Hog Inlet at high tide when nobody esle would venture over to deserted Waites Island (you can walk across Hog Inlet at low tide). There was a large flock of Brown Pelicans, Laughing Gulls, and many tern species, Royal, Least, Common, Forster's, Caspian, and Sandwich. There were also Willet, Sanderling, Black-bellied Plover, Semi-palmated Plover, Western Sandpiper, American Oystercatcher, Great Egret, Black Skimmer. one Herring Gull, and one Great Black-backed Gull. It was tough boogie boarding across the channel at high tide but worth it for the solitude and flocks of birds.
Thursday, August 2, 2007, John and I drove all the way down to Brookgreen Gardens in Murell's Inlet, SC, only to find it closed until 9:30 AM. So we entered Huntington Beach and walked the causeway and the boardwalk. We saw Wood Stork, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tri-colored Heron, Osprey, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Least Tern, Forster's Tern, Royal Tern, Caspian Tern, Great Blue Heron, Lesser Yellowlegs, and one unidentified sparrow and many alligators. At the Education Center we saw two Painted Buntings and one Orchard Oriole. Then we headed over to Brookgreen. On the way out John spotted this Golden Silk Orbweaver in an oak tree. There were many Black Swallowtail butterflies. We saw one Eastern Kingbird, Brown Thrasher, Red-bellied Woodpecker, and Eastern Bluebird. There were some Blue Jays in the oak trees and we heard an Indigo Bunting singing. A Ruby-throated Hummingbird zipped by and one Black-crowned Night-heron. We went to the bird rehab center where we saw some Fulvous-whistling Ducks. We only saw one Zebra Swallowtail but it wouldn't land for a picture. There were many Eastern Lubber grasshoppers on the lawn.
On August 3, 2007 I again visited Heritage Shores Nature Preserve. The Clapper Rails were calling from the marsh but I never saw them. The Tri-colored Heron was still lurking about but there was not much else.
On the last day, August 4, 2007, I said goodbye to everyone and then drove back down to Huntington Beach State Park. I walked from the boardwalk out onto the beach. A roped off area contained the federally endangered species, Seabeach Amaranth. I walked all the way out to the jetty where I was shocked to see a family swimming in the marsh. Fortunately I found a flock of shorebirds just off the beach at the edge of the marsh prior to reaching the jetty, containing Wilson's Plover, Semi-palmated Plover, Western Sandpiper, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, and some other things. Obviously there were no birds where the idiots were swimming in the marsh. I went to the area behind the jetty which is roped off for nesting Least Terns. A large sign indicated no dogs allowed. Nevertheless, a man and his two kids walked up with an off-leash dog and proceeded to the "no dogs allowed" area and began swimming in the marsh with the dog. I was furious. Are people in SC completely retarded? I found a large flock of Black Skimmers and American Oystercatchers in the fenced off area. They are right to put an electric fence there. Too bad it didn't electrocute the family with the dog. When I got back to the entrance to the beach I found the sign for the endangered Seabeach Amaranth knocked over and one of the endangered plants trampled. A woman walked by and stomped a cigarette butt into the sand. It made me sad that people are so uncaring and so unaware about the world they live in. After resting at the picnic area I walked out to Sandpiper pond where I saw a Common Moorhen. I walked the Sandpiper trail and found flock of American Avocets on the furthest edge of the pond (this is most likely also where I contracted chiggers!!@) There was also a shorebird crouched on the far shore that I think was a Stilt Sandpiper but I could not see it very well without a scope. I saw a scruffy looking Carolina Satyr on the trail on my way back to the car. Then it was time to go back to civilization --California.
Michelle Brodie, August 13, 2007
Complete list of birds seen:
Brown Pelican, Double-crested Cormorant, Anhinga, Great Blue Heron, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Tricolored Heron, Green Heron, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, White Ibis, Glossy Ibis, Wood Stork, Fulvous Whistling-Duck, Wood Duck, Mallard, Turkey Vulture, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Clapper Rail, Common Moorhen, Black-bellied Plover, Wilson’s Plover, Semi-palmated Plover, Piping Plover, Killdeer, American Oystercatcher, American Avocet, Lesser Yellowlegs, Willet, Spotted Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Semi-palmated Sandpiper, Western Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Short-billed Dowitcher, Laughing Gull, Ring-billed Gull, California Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Caspian Tern, Royal Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Forster’s Tern, Least Tern, Black Skimmer, Mourning Dove, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Red-headed Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Eastern Kingbird, Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Blue Jay, American Crow, Fish Crow, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, White-breasted Nuthatch, Brown-headed Nuthatch, Carolina Wren, Eastern Bluebird, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Pine Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Northern Cardinal, Blue Grosbeak, Painted Bunting, Eastern Towhee, Bachman’s Sparrow, Seaside Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Red-winged Blackbird, Common Grackle, Orchard Oriole, House Finch, House Sparrow
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