Wed 24 Aug 2016
Irvin Pitts and Nolan Schillerstrom joined me for Monday's waterfowl/shorebird survey on Bulls Island. Irvin, as he often does, arrived early at Garris Landing and began finding Painted Buntings, Yellow Warblers, Prairie Warblers, Summer Tanagers, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Belted Kingfisher, Great Crested Flycatcher, and Northern Waterthrush among others. All that before we got into the F&WS boat for our ride over to Bulls!
Between that great start at Garris Landing (47 species), the boat ride over (25 species), the survey proper (44 species), and the whole island (65 species), we tallied 87 species on the day. That made for a terrific August day's birding. Our eBird checklist from the island is appended below, FYI.
Notable spices included Black-bellied Whistling Ducks (specifically including 7 juveniles…evidence that the species is breeding on the island), Piping Plover (interestingly seen on the mud/sand flats in Jack's Creek and not on the beaches proper), Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Red-eyed Vireo, American Redstart, Prairie Warbler, and the largest kettle of Barn Swallows that I've likely ever seen (very conservatively estimated at 200 flying all over the Spartina alterniflora marsh immediately behind the island). We each added to personal lists whether year, county, or life lists. With this great mix of summer resident species and fall migrants (both shorebird and passerine), the birding was good.
The next survey has been scheduled for Tuesday 6 Sept 2016; all seats for that survey are taken.
David
Cape Romain NWR--Bulls Island, Charleston, South Carolina, US
Aug 22, 2016 9:56 AM - 4:20 PM
Protocol: Traveling
13.0 mile(s)
Comments: Conducting the ongoing Bulls Island waterfowl/shorebird survey with Irvin Pitts and Nolan Schillerstrom. Effort: 9.8 mi and 1 hr 30 min by vehicle plus 3.2 mi (estimated as pedometer needed fresh battery) and 4 hr 30 min by foot. Weather: clear, sunny, warm, and humid; temps 83 F to 88 F; AM winds N at steady 5 mph to 8 mph, PM winds E at steady 10 mph to 12 mph; barometer 30.07 in Hg rising to 30.09 in Hg. Tide was forecast 5.8 ft high at 11:26 AM. <br />Submitted from eBird for iOS, version 1.2.6 Build 75
65 species (+1 other taxa)
Black-bellied Whistling-Duck 14 7 mature plus 7 juveniles.
Blue-winged Teal 24 A fairly accurate count.
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Anhinga 1
Brown Pelican 75
Least Bittern 2
Great Blue Heron 3
Great Egret 148 A fairly accurate count.
Snowy Egret 96
Little Blue Heron 1
Tricolored Heron 5
Green Heron 6
Black-crowned Night-Heron 2
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron 2
White Ibis 29
Glossy Ibis 3
Turkey Vulture 10
Osprey 2
Mississippi Kite 1
Red-shouldered Hawk 1
Clapper Rail 1
Common Gallinule 13
Black-necked Stilt 4
American Oystercatcher 4
Grey Plover 97 A fairly accurate count.
Wilson's Plover 2
Semipalmated Plover 231 A fairly accurate count.
Piping Plover 1 No leg flags or bands seen.
Ruddy Turnstone 45 A fairly accurate count.
Red Knot 125 A fairly accurate count.
Stilt Sandpiper 2
Sanderling 71 A fairly accurate count.
Pectoral Sandpiper 1
Semipalmated Sandpiper 25
Western Sandpiper 16
peep sp. 135 Peeps too distant to ID to species.
Short-billed Dowitcher 88
Spotted Sandpiper 10
Willet 20
Lesser Yellowlegs 2
Laughing Gull 102
Herring Gull 2
Least Tern 109 A fairly accurate count.
Caspian Tern 10
Black Tern 42
Common Tern 4
Forster's Tern 230 A fairly accurate count.
Royal Tern 206 A fairly accurate count.
Sandwich Tern 47
Black Skimmer 106 A fairly accurate count.
Mourning Dove 1
Belted Kingfisher 2
Eastern Wood-Pewee 1
Red-eyed Vireo 1
Blue Jay 1
Barn Swallow 100
Marsh Wren 1
Carolina Wren 2
Northern Mockingbird 1
American Redstart 1
Prairie Warbler 3
Northern Cardinal 2
Painted Bunting 1
Red-winged Blackbird 30
Boat-tailed Grackle 2
Brown-headed Cowbird 1
View this checklist online at http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist/S31224121
This report was generated automatically by eBird v3 (/content/iss)
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