Sat 30 Aug 2014 survey

Sat 30 Aug 2014

All,

   Bob Seigler joined me yesterday for the ongoing Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey. I was pleased to see Coastal Expeditions' owner and captain Chris Crolley for our ride out to Bulls on their brand new Carolina Skiff. Certified by the Coast Guard for 20 passengers, this new boat has twin 115 hp motors and is stable and fast; it will serve CEX for smaller charters, beach drops, and smaller regular ferry service like we had yesterday morning. CEX's Captain Gates Roll ferried us off the island. Many thanks to both Chris and Gates. Nice new ride! 

   Bob and I tallied 47 target species for the survey proper, 61 species overall on the whole day's outing. Our eBird checklist for the day is appended, below, FYI. Species of note include Black-bellied Whistling Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Reddish Egret, Roseate Spoonbill, Cooper's Hawk, Piping Plover (no apparent leg bands or flags), Red Knot (no apparent leg bands or flags), Western Sandpiper, Bonaparte's Gull (very unexpected), Caspian Tern, and Common Tern. Avian misses include Least Bittern, Gull-billed Tern, and Red-winged Blackbird (I probably looked right through and/or over them). We also tallied very few woodland species, even considering that we were driving rather than walking the roads. 

   Non-avian sightings included multiple sightings of bottle-nosed dolphins (including an up-close view of some "impact feeding" behavior where the dolphin uses its tail to slap the shallow water and, thus, their prey fish), American alligators keeping cool in the water, butterflies, and dragonflies. We missed seeing any fox squirrels. 

   There's been a VERY BIG change to Upper Summerhouse Pond (USP) since my last visit there on Thursday 14 Aug 2014. The dike separating USP from the extensive salt marsh along the extreme SW corner of the impoundment has been breached. The trunk (water control structure) is completely exposed and the earthen dike is completely washed away around both sides and top of the trunk leaving a 15 m break in the dike. Upper Summerhouse Pond is now completely tidal! We saw it at about an hour and a half before the afternoon low tide and the water was fast draining out leaving extensively exposed mudflats and vegetation in USP.

   This same USP dike was breached during Hurricane Hugo (21 Sept 1989), though I believe that this new breach around the trunk is 40 m or so from the Hugo breach site. I've studied some of my photos from Dec 1989 but am unable to confirm the precise location of that breach. I suspect that the USF&WS will bring in a private contractor to make repairs, but with their very tight budget such a fix may not come soon. In the meantime it will be interesting to follow the birds using USP. Yesterday USP had an American White Pelican, 15 Roseate Spoonbills (PINK!), both species of yellowlegs, the only Black-necked Stilts for the day, and the typical egret, heron, cormorant, and ibis species. 

   I am cross-posting this email to Carolinabirds for the upcoming (26 and 27 Sept 2014) Carolina Bird Club meeting in Charleston and the trips then to Bulls Island.

   Looking ahead at the tidal calendar suggests the following dates for our next survey:

Thurs 11 Sept 2014 high tide forecast 6.4 ft at 10:05 AM

Fri 12 Sept 2014 high tide forecast 6.2 ft at 10:57 AM

Sat 13 Sept 2014 high tide forecast 6.0 ft at 11:50 AM

Stay tuned for further plans.

Regards,

David McLean

Charleston, SC

Cape Romain NWR--Bulls Island, Charleston, US-SC
Aug 29, 2014 8:50 AM - 4:50 PM
Protocol: Traveling
16.1 mile(s)
Comments:     Conducting the ongoing Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey. Effort: 4.15 mi (one way) and 1 hr by ferry plus 9.9 mi and 2 hr by truck plus 2.9 mi and 5 hr by foot. Weather: clear, sunny, warm, and very humid; temps 74 F to 88 F; AM winds very light from NE gradually picking up to 5 mph to 10 mph from the ENE. High tide was forecast to be 5.2 ft at 10:44 AM. The salt marsh dike at Upper Summerhouse Pond was breeched right at the trunk sometime in the last 2 weeks. This has turned Upper Summerhouse Pond into a tidal basin.  <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.6.3
61 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  1
Wood Duck  3
Mottled Duck  7
Blue-winged Teal  16
Pied-billed Grebe  1
Wood Stork  7
Double-crested Cormorant  8
Anhinga  4
American White Pelican  13
Brown Pelican  130     Many on sand bar off North Beach and many more beachfront at Jack's Creek.
Great Blue Heron  3
Great Egret  22
Snowy Egret  29
Little Blue Heron  2
Tricolored Heron  14
Reddish Egret  2
Green Heron  1
Black-crowned Night-Heron  1
White Ibis  7
Glossy Ibis  1
Roseate Spoonbill  15     Accurate count from Upper Summerhouse Pond.
Turkey Vulture  8
Osprey  2
Cooper's Hawk  1
Red-shouldered Hawk  1
Common Gallinule  53     Includes many juveniles.
American Coot  2     Clearly distinguished dark rail with white bill. Seen adjacent to Common Gallinules.
Black-necked Stilt  5
American Oystercatcher  15
Grey Plover  45
Wilson's Plover  3
Semipalmated Plover  142     A reasonably accurate estimate.
Piping Plover  1     No apparent leg bands or flags.
Spotted Sandpiper  1
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Willet  55     Many seen on a private boardwalk to dock on Intra Coastal Waterway
Lesser Yellowlegs  5
Whimbrel  1
Marbled Godwit  8
Ruddy Turnstone  24     Beachfront at Jack's Creek.
Red Knot  29     Medium sized shorebird; straight, medium length bill; still with rusty red plumage on belly.
Sanderling  70     Scurrying beachfront.
Semipalmated Sandpiper  24
Western Sandpiper  3
Short-billed Dowitcher  50
Bonaparte's Gull  1     Small, pale gull; blocky tail, dark spot behind eye. Unexpected.
Laughing Gull  71
Least Tern  2
Caspian Tern  14     Excellent scope views of resting birds seen in large, mixed flocks along with several other tern species.
Black Tern  203     Most seen to be molting out of their dark breeding plumage.
Common Tern  52     Excellent scope views of most. Dark carpel spot; dark primaries folded above tail.
Forster's Tern  477     Most resting in the saltwater marsh oceanfront at Jack's Creek.
Royal Tern  77
Sandwich Tern  3
Black Skimmer  11
Mourning Dove  1
Tree Swallow  1
Barn Swallow  14
Northern Mockingbird  1
Northern Cardinal  1
Boat-tailed Grackle  5

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19611202

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Th 13 Aug 2014 survey

Th 14 Aug 2014

All,

   Susan Thompson and Brian Houghton joined me today on Bulls Island for the ongoing waterfowl/shorebirdsurvey. It was a "Chamber of Commerce" weather day! Captain Richard Stuhr and First Mate/Naturalist Olivia Wilson of Coastal Expeditions gave us their usual first rate service in getting us out to the island and back. Many thanks!

   We tallied 46 species on the survey proper, 61 species on the day's outing. My eBird checklist is appended, below, FYI. Great finds on the day included Purple Gallinule (including 1 mature and 3 chicks!), Black-bellied Whistling Ducks, Green-winged Teal, Reddish Egret (juvenile), Roseate Spoonbill, Cooper's Hawk, Bald Eagle, Piping Plover, Whimbrel, and American Avocet. Misses included Wilson's Plover, Marbled Godwit (recently present in high numbers), and American Oystercatcher (though Richard and Olivia saw one early that I missed).

   Non avian wildlife sightings included Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin, fox squirrel (1 along the road to the dock, 1 along Lighthouse Road at Beach Road), American alligator, spiders on webs, butterflies, and dragonflies. Once again the mosquitos and deer flies were mercifully very few. 

   After Sunday's perigee/full moon (aka "super moon") the tides were running high and were further aided by steady NE to E winds today. The trunk connecting Jack's Creek to Bulls Bay was open allowing a significant inflow of seawater into Jack's Creek thus raising the water level appreciably. Also the marsh oceanfront at Jack's Creek has recently been filled with the high tides yet continues to drain back into the ocean. The dunes continue to accrete on the North Beach--there was significant exposed beach even with these astronomical high tides. 

   Looking forward at the tidal calendar suggests the following dates for our next waterfowl/shorebird survey:

Th 28 Aug 2014 high tide 5.2 ft at 10:09 AM

Fri 29 Aug 2014 high tide 5.2 ft at 10:44 AM

Sat 30 Aug 2014 high tide 5.2 ft at 11:21 AM

Stay tuned for further plans.

   I am cross-posting this email to Carolinabirds in advance of the upcoming fall Carolina Bird Club (CBC) meeting in Charleston 26 to 28 Sept 2014 and the field trips to Bulls Island.  

Regards,

David McLean

Charleston, SC

Cape Romain NWR--Bulls Island, Charleston, US-SC
Aug 14, 2014 8:30 AM - 3:40 PM
Protocol: Traveling
17.999 mile(s)
Comments:     Conducting the ongoing Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey. Effort: 4.15 mi and 30 min by ferry plus 10.7 mi and 2 hr by truck plus 3.7 mi and 4 hr 40 min by foot. Weather: clear, sunny, and warm; temps 77 F to 85 F; winds NE early becoming E late AM, at 5 mph. High tide was forecast to be 5.9 ft at 11:24 AM but was higher due to the perigee/full moon (Super Moon) on Sun 10 Aug 2014 and due to the steady NE to E winds. It was a 'Chamber of Commerce' weather day! <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.6.3
61 species

Black-bellied Whistling-Duck  2
Wood Duck  2
Mottled Duck  1
Green-winged Teal  1     Female. Showed green speculum.
Pied-billed Grebe  1
Wood Stork  3
Double-crested Cormorant  12     Fewer than expected.
Anhinga  5
American White Pelican  7
Brown Pelican  127     Many on sandbar off North Beach, many more on beachfront at Jack's Creek.
Least Bittern  2
Great Blue Heron  3
Great Egret  22
Snowy Egret  105     Many were resting together in Upper Summerhouse Pond.
Little Blue Heron  3     3 immature
Tricolored Heron  21
Reddish Egret  1     Juvenile
Green Heron  10
Black-crowned Night-Heron  6
White Ibis  1
Glossy Ibis  6
Roseate Spoonbill  14     Very pink, spoon-shaped bills. A fairly accurate count.
Turkey Vulture  5
Osprey  5
Cooper's Hawk  1
Bald Eagle  1     1 mature, along Intra-coastal waterway (ICWW).
Purple Gallinule  4     1 mature, 3 chick/juveniles
Common Gallinule  25
Black-necked Stilt  11
American Avocet  1
Grey Plover  30
Semipalmated Plover  260     On the beachfront and the beachfront marsh at Jack's Creek.
Piping Plover  1     No apparent leg bands or flags.
Spotted Sandpiper  4
Greater Yellowlegs  3
Willet  62     Most on private dock immediately north of Garris Landing as the tide rose.
Lesser Yellowlegs  1
Whimbrel  2
Ruddy Turnstone  18     On the beachfront. Excellent, close binocular views.
Sanderling  243     On the North Beach and many in the oceanfront marsh at Jack's Creek.
Semipalmated Sandpiper  9
Short-billed Dowitcher  33
Laughing Gull  146
Ring-billed Gull  1
Least Tern  113     A conservative estimate.
Gull-billed Tern  19     A conservative estimate.
Black Tern  236     Most resting on the wet sands in the marsh oceanfront at Jack's Creek.
Forster's Tern  25     A conservative estimate.
Royal Tern  199     Resting beachfront and in the marsh oceanfront at Jack's. Several on the wing with small fish held in bills.
Sandwich Tern  20
Black Skimmer  24
Mourning Dove  2
Belted Kingfisher  1
Red-bellied Woodpecker  1
American Crow  2
Barn Swallow  3
Marsh Wren  2
Northern Mockingbird  3
Northern Cardinal  12
Red-winged Blackbird  20
Boat-tailed Grackle  10

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19470712

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)

Fri 1 Aug 2014 survey

Fri 1 Aug 2014

All,

   Susan Hancock joined me yesterday for the Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey. We were fortunate to have three great hosts from the Coastal Expeditions (CEX) ferry carry us to and from the island: Owner and Captain Chris Crolley and First Mates and Naturalists Olivia Wilson and Nick. (Sorry, I can't recall Nick's last name.) CEX has been such a great asset for this survey, always giving us first rate service, that I wish I could do more than simply say "Thank you!"

   The morning's high tide was forecast to be only moderately high at 4.7 ft, but the stiff East winds kept the levels much higher through the whole day. We had only a trace of rain at 3:30 PM right at the end of the survey, but the ferry ride back was in and out of light rain that dampened our clothing but failed to dampen our spirits after such a great day's birding.

   We tallied 45 target species on the survey proper, 59 species on the day's outing. My eBird checklist is appended, below, FYI. Avian species of note include: 1 Piping Plover (no leg bands), Roseate Spoonbills (fully PINK!), American Avocets, Reddish Egret, and 1 Red Knot. We also had good numbers of Short-billed Dowitchers, Marbled Godwits, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Least Terns, Sandwich Terns, and Black Terns.

   Non-target avian species seen included 1 Belted Kingfisher and 1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Misses included Least Bittern and Wilson's Plover. Non-avian sightings included Atlantic bottle-nosed dolphin, white-tailed deer, cottonmouth, butterflies, and dragonflies. Also missed were fox squirrels. The mosquitoes and deer flies were very few. (The steady East wind kept the insect pests down and kept the tide up much higher than the 4.7 ft predicted high tide.)

   The North Beach continues to accrete! The dune line is taller, and the vegetation, especially the sea oats, is growing much further out and in much greater number than even two weeks ago. Strangely, however, the North Beach continues to have few birds, a trend that has been fairly consistent over this entire calendar year. The water level in the marsh oceanfront at Jack's Creek appears relatively stable though low, but the recent breech in the dune line remains. It will be interesting to see what happens there with the upcoming perigee full moon, aka super moon at 2:09 PM Sun 10 Aug 2014, and the associated high tides. I hope that the winds will be favorable to protect the whole island during those several days of spring astronomical tides.

   Looking forward at the tidal calendar suggests the following dates to consider for our next survey:

Tues 12 Aug 2014 high tide 5.9 ft at 9:33 AM

Wed 13 Aug 2014 high tide 6.0 ft at 10:29 AM

Thurs 14 Aug 2014 high tide 5.9 ft at 11:24 AM

Fri 15 Aug 2014 high tide 5.8 ft at 12:20 PM

   Stay tuned for further plans.

Regards,

David

Cape Romain NWR--Bulls Island, Charleston, US-SC
Jul 31, 2014 8:35 AM - 3:35 PM
Protocol: Traveling
18.299 mile(s)
Comments:     Conducting the ongoing Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey. Effort: 4.15 mi and 30 min by ferry plus 11.6 mi and 2 hr by vehicle plus 2.6 mi and 4 hr 30 min by foot. Weather: bright overcast and warm; trace of rain at 3:30 PM; temps 81 F to 84 F; steady winds E at 10 mph to 15 mph. High tide was forecast to be 4.7 ft at 11:19 AM, but the steady E winds kept the water levels higher throughout the day.  <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.6.3
59 species

Mottled Duck  10
Pied-billed Grebe  2
Wood Stork  15
Double-crested Cormorant  9
Anhinga  7
American White Pelican  2
Brown Pelican  251     Includes one large, resting flock of 150 beachfront.
Great Blue Heron  5
Great Egret  39
Snowy Egret  32
Tricolored Heron  36
Reddish Egret  1
Green Heron  2
Black-crowned Night-Heron  9
White Ibis  72
Glossy Ibis  2
Roseate Spoonbill  2
Turkey Vulture  4
Osprey  2
Red-tailed Hawk  1
Clapper Rail  1
Common Gallinule  17
American Coot  1     Dark rail, white bill.
Black-necked Stilt  32     Less vocal than expected.
American Avocet  2     White wader, dark wing, buff head and neck, recurved bill.
American Oystercatcher  33     Mostly from one large flock on the wing in the salt marshes of Bulls Bay.
Grey Plover  10
Semipalmated Plover  19     In the salt water marsh beachfront at Jack's Creek.
Piping Plover  1     Very pale plover, short bill, yellow/orange legs. No evident leg bands.
Spotted Sandpiper  4     Jack's Creek. Stiff wing beats, spotted breast sandpiper.
Greater Yellowlegs  2
Willet  40
Lesser Yellowlegs  2
Whimbrel  2
Marbled Godwit  52     A fairly accurate count. Large wader, warm cinnamon color, long bicolored bill slightly recurved.  Each closely observed in rule out Long-billed Curlew.
Ruddy Turnstone  9     North Beach and oceanfront marsh at Jack's Creek.
Red Knot  1     Medium sized sandpiper, rusty red breast, stout bill of intermediate length.
Sanderling  1
Semipalmated Sandpiper  62
Short-billed Dowitcher  186     Mostly in large resting flocks, oceanfront marsh at Jack's Creek.
Laughing Gull  116
Ring-billed Gull  6
Least Tern  269
Gull-billed Tern  48
Black Tern  211
Forster's Tern  54
Royal Tern  153
Sandwich Tern  38
Black Skimmer  3
Mourning Dove  6
Belted Kingfisher  1
Fish Crow  9
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  1
Tree Swallow  2
Marsh Wren  4
Northern Cardinal  2
Painted Bunting  1
Red-winged Blackbird  5
Boat-tailed Grackle  20

View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S19296713

This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)