Beach Again

After no beach forms year, now a second trip in one week: 10 days with 8 at the beach. This time, a shore bird trip in South Carolina with Orange Audubon Society, lead by Craig* from US Fish and Wildlife. In three days, we visited 6 sites, recorded 100+ species, and saw thousands of birds.

Firsts for me were greater and lesser black-backed gulls and Wilson’s, golden, and piping plovers. I learned how to distinguish a Sandwich tern by the color at the end of its bill: either mayonnaise or mustard, but I haven’t leaned what sex and/or age has which one. Perhaps I’ll look that up. My big accomplishment was learning that sitting down to use my scope is absolutely the way to use it. My back appreciated that.

We birdied at a gated community, Harbor Island, with fantastic but private beaches. Would that it were a state park, open to the public, rather than just those with enough money to live inside the walls. I guess from the birds’ view, private might be better, with fewer people able to disturb them. Still, an eBird hotspot only the select can get to is frustrating.

At Hunting Island State Park, all can visit but the birds are saved by the 1.5 mile hike down the beach to where they congregate on the north end of the island. Fortunately, Craig has a beach cart we could put our scopes in. It was enough of a trudge just carrying ourselves and our lightweight folding golf chairs.

Too much rain meant several places were flooded, so we skipped them, and went to Ibis Pond at Pinckney Wildlife Preserve, a rookery in Port Royal, and Botany Bay Preserve WMA. The last tested my willpower with its prohibition against taking any shells. Not just live ones; any. Fortunately, the beach was scattered with only pieces of oysters and a few other scraps, so I wasn’t tempted. I can’t imagine why there was this rule.  The island is badly eroded, with what they call bone yard trees showing by their roots that at least 6 feet deep of sand has washed away. There isn’t any plan to re-nourish, i.e., throw money away, by pumping sand up on the shoreline.

Besides adding to my life list, I enlarged my waistline with all the Low Country cooking: shrimp and grits at the Lady Island Dockside Restaurant, shrimp with pasta at the Foolish Frog, Dos Amigos arroz con maricones (rice with shrimp), and shrimp salad at the Seacow Eatery on Edisto Island. 

Deluges on the drive up, heavy rain on the way home; great weather while we boarded. Wonderful weekend.

*Not only a fantastic birder, Craig could also describe where to look, a separate trait that not many possess. His co-leader Pam has a marvelous ear for bird calls and found many hidden birds we would have missed.