Shorebird migration is still going strong on Bulls Island, most ducks have left for the summer, and many summer resident species have arrived.

Tues 10 May 2016

Shorebird migration is still going strong on Bulls Island, most ducks have left for the summer, and many summer resident species have arrived. David Gardner brought two of his naturalists from Camp St. Christopher, Scott Warner and Sydney Rogers, to join me today for the ongoing Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey. Coastal Expeditions (CEX) sponsored our boat ride out to the island and back. Captain Wil Christenson and First Mate Nick Johnson were, as usual, exceptionally gracious and accommodating in their efforts to get us out to Bulls. Thanks, CEX.

Bulls has finally dried nicely after many months of exceptionally wet weather. The roads are firm and in good shape, most of the impoundments are holding high water levels while Jack's Creek is nearly dry excepting very shallow puddles out in the middle and the ditches adjacent to the dikes, the dike construction across Jack's Creek has begun again (first work on the dikes since the early October rains), and the bugs haven't really come out in full force yet. There were many, many shrimp boats offshore; I hope that bodes well for a good harvest season. I wonder how many were local shrimpers and how many were from out-of-state? [The fresh shrimp that I've recently purchased from B&B Seafood at the end of Bennetts Point Road down on the St. Helena Sound in the ACE Basin are terrific! Go out and eat some local shrimp! It won't disappoint.]

We tallied 48 species on the survey proper, 69 species on Bulls, and 70 species on the day's outing. Our combined eBird checklist from both the Bulls Island Ferry and the Bulls island eBird hotspots is appended, below, FYI. Notable species include Black-bellied Whistling Duck (first in many months), Black Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Northern Gannet, Reddish Egret, Bald Eagle (a good friend opines that any day you see a Bald Eagle is a good day's birding), American Avocet (unexpectedly on the North Beach), Whimbrel (many), Red Knot (uncommon on Bulls…I don't know why), Black Tern (FOS), and Common Tern. Also seen in high numbers were Dunlin and Semipalmated Sandpiper. 

Non-avian sightings included fox squirrels (10, more than I ever recall having seen before), loggerhead sea turtles, bottlenose dolphin, numerous different dragonflies, black racer (snake), and horseshoe crabs.

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

Wed 25 May 2016 4.5 ft high tide forecast at 10:39 AM

Thurs 26 May 2016 4.5 ft high tide forecast at 11:22 AM

Fri 27 May 2016 4.5 ft high tide forecast at 12:12 PM

In the meantime, I'll be co-leading a bird walk on Bulls for the upcoming Bulls Bay Nature Festival on Saturday 21 May 2016. Come on out and see what the Festival has to offer. They're online at http://bullsbaynaturefestival.org/ and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/bullsbaynaturefestival. All actives are FREE OF CHARGE but many require advance registration due to seating limitations, e.g. This could be your opportunity for a FREE tour of Bulls Island or any of several other local attractions. I'd actually like to tour both the Battery Warren Civil War Site and the Hampton Plantation State Historic Site among others; perhaps another time for me.

David

eBird Checklist Summary for: May 10, 2016

Number of Checklists: 2

Number of Taxa: 70

Checklists included in this summary:

(1): Bull's Island Ferry

Date: May 10, 2016, 09:00

(2): Cape Romain NWR--Bulls Island

Date: May 10, 2016, 09:40

5 Black-bellied Whistling-Duck -- (2)

8 Mottled Duck -- (2)

4 Black Scoter -- (2)

1 Red-breasted Merganser -- (1)

1 Northern Gannet -- (2)

12 Double-crested Cormorant -- (2)

23 Anhinga -- (2)

32 Brown Pelican -- (1),(2)

6 Least Bittern -- (2)

2 Great Blue Heron -- (2)

14 Great Egret -- (1),(2)

21 Snowy Egret -- (2)

10 Tricolored Heron -- (2)

1 Reddish Egret -- (2)

6 Green Heron -- (1),(2)

1 Black-crowned Night-Heron -- (2)

2 Yellow-crowned Night-Heron -- (2)

11 White Ibis -- (2)

1 Glossy Ibis -- (2)

4 Turkey Vulture -- (1),(2)

3 Osprey -- (2)

1 Bald Eagle -- (2)

5 Common Gallinule -- (2)

13 Black-necked Stilt -- (2)

1 American Avocet -- (2)

3 American Oystercatcher -- (1),(2)

31 Black-bellied Plover -- (1),(2)

11 Wilson's Plover -- (2)

515 Semipalmated Plover -- (1),(2)

1 Killdeer -- (2)

35 Spotted Sandpiper -- (1),(2)

1 Solitary Sandpiper -- (2)

2 Greater Yellowlegs -- (2)

9 Willet -- (1),(2)

4 Lesser Yellowlegs -- (2)

53 Whimbrel -- (1),(2)

20 Ruddy Turnstone -- (1),(2)

6 Red Knot -- (2)

1225 Dunlin -- (2)

66 Least Sandpiper -- (2)

1694 Semipalmated Sandpiper -- (2)

1 Western Sandpiper -- (2)

58 Short-billed Dowitcher -- (1),(2)

36 Laughing Gull -- (1),(2)

2 Ring-billed Gull -- (2)

15 Least Tern -- (2)

30 Gull-billed Tern -- (1),(2)

2 Black Tern -- (2)

2 Common Tern -- (2)

10 Forster's Tern -- (1),(2)

91 Royal Tern -- (1),(2)

2 Sandwich Tern -- (2)

253 Black Skimmer -- (2)

7 Mourning Dove -- (2)

1 Yellow-billed Cuckoo -- (2)

2 Common Nighthawk -- (2)

1 Belted Kingfisher -- (2)

4 Great Crested Flycatcher -- (2)

1 Eastern Kingbird -- (2)

7 Barn Swallow -- (2)

1 Marsh Wren -- (2)

1 Northern Mockingbird -- (2)

1 Common Yellowthroat -- (2)

2 Summer Tanager -- (2)

8 Northern Cardinal -- (2)

1 Blue Grosbeak -- (2)

2 Painted Bunting -- (2)

12 Bobolink -- (2)

21 Red-winged Blackbird -- (1),(2)

5 Boat-tailed Grackle -- (1),(2)

This trip summary was created using the eBird app for iPhone and iPad.