Th 15 Jan 2015
All,
Here's a bonus report, below, that Wil Christenson and I submitted yesterday from our efforts on Bulls Island conducting both the mid-winter Bald Eagle survey and the mid-winter waterfowl survey. Thanks to the generous support of Coastal Expeditions, we got out to the island early and were able to stay late. And we needed all that time to count the ducks on Jack's Creek.
Both eagles and ducks were well represented on the island; Jack's Creek, in particular, was brimming withwaterfowl. The only waterfowl species that we missed were Canvasback, Long-tailed Duck, Blue-winged Teal, Greater Scaup, and the three scoters. Bird of the day, however, was Green Heron--five total seen in two different locations. After having seen no alligators on our previous survey, we did see one gator braving the cold yesterday. Also seen were dolphin cresting the surface of Bulls Bay.
Arrangements are under way to construct a new, long dike across Jack's Creek. I don't know when construction begins, but it may last several months. Should be interesting to follow changes in the waterfowland shorebirds during and after construction.
Through the generous and ongoing support of our waterfowl and shorebird surveys from Coastal Expeditions, we have a newfound flexibility in conducting upcoming surveys. The tide table suggests that Friday 23 Jan 2015 (5.9 ft high tide at 9:49 AM) should serve the survey well. We will be leaving Garris Landing slightly earlier than usual, likely about 8:30 AM, and returning slightly later than usual, likely by 5:00 PM or so. Wil and I will have space for one additional person; first email reply to this message gets the seat for the Friday 23 Jan 2015survey.
Regards,
David
Cape Romain NWR--Bulls Island, Charleston, US-SC
Jan 14, 2015 10:02 AM - 4:42 PM
Protocol: Traveling
13.1 mile(s)
Comments: Conducting both the mid-winter Bald Eagle survey and the mid-winter waterfowl survey. Effort: 11.0 mi and 1 hr 30 min by truck plus 5 hr 10 min by foot. Weather: overcast and cold; temps 38 F to 42 F; winds N at 10 mph; barometer was 30.20 in Hg. Tide was forecast low at 0.7 ft at 8:04 AM the high at 4.2 ft at1:52 PM. <br />Submitted from BirdLog NA for iOS, version 1.6.3
72 species (+1 other taxa)
Gadwall 720 A fairly accurate count.
American Wigeon 84
American Black Duck 3
Mallard 4
Mottled Duck 23
American Black/Mottled Duck 4 On the wing at distance against overcast sky--unable to identify to species.
Northern Shoveler 156 A fairly accurate count.
Northern Pintail 8
Green-winged Teal 46
Redhead 64 A fairly accurate count.
Ring-necked Duck 2
Lesser Scaup 282
Bufflehead 144 A fairly accurate count.
Hooded Merganser 218 A fairly accurate count.
Red-breasted Merganser 20
Ruddy Duck 289 A fairly accurate count.
Pied-billed Grebe 61 A fairly accurate count.
Horned Grebe 6
Double-crested Cormorant 35
Anhinga 1
American White Pelican 47
Brown Pelican 10
American Bittern 1
Great Blue Heron 10
Great Egret 45
Snowy Egret 49
Little Blue Heron 13
Tricolored Heron 9
Green Heron 5 An accurate count. Clear views if each one.
Black-crowned Night-Heron 54 A fairly accurate count.
White Ibis 174 A fairly accurate count.
Black Vulture 2
Turkey Vulture 9
Osprey 1
Northern Harrier 1
Bald Eagle 4 3 mature plus 1 immature
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Clapper Rail 3
Sora 3
Common Gallinule 37
American Coot 1064 A reasonable estimate.
Grey Plover 10
Semipalmated Plover 8
Piping Plover 1 No apparent leg bands or flags.
Spotted Sandpiper 1
Greater Yellowlegs 13
Willet 8
Marbled Godwit 1
Ruddy Turnstone 2
Red Knot 1
Sanderling 1
Dunlin 1000 Estimate.
Western Sandpiper 100
Wilson's Snipe 1
Bonaparte's Gull 3
Ring-billed Gull 4
Forster's Tern 107 A fairly accurate count.
Mourning Dove 2
Belted Kingfisher 4
Red-bellied Woodpecker 1
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted) 2
Peregrine Falcon 1
Eastern Phoebe 1
Blue Jay 20
Tree Swallow 250
Carolina Wren 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Myrtle) 6
Chipping Sparrow 7
Song Sparrow 2
Swamp Sparrow 1
Northern Cardinal 1
Red-winged Blackbird 20
Boat-tailed Grackle 5
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S21349917
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (http://ebird.org)
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