Charleston Spring Bird Count and
Birdathon — May 6, 2007
YOU
CAN STILL download a PDF of the Pledge Forms below.
Financial support is always important to us, and although the count is
over, if you'd like to make a contribution in support of our efforts, you
are more than welcome to do so!
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Acrobat Reader
The 2007 Charleston Spring Bird Count was held on May 6, 2007. There were 18 participants (Jeremy M. Bendt, Kimberly M. Bendt, Bob Chinn, Hal S. Currey, Kerri Dikun, Virginia Flatau, Andy Harrison, Becky Holmes, Don Jones, Bernie Lundquist, Mary-Catherine Martin, Burton Moore, Kenneth E. Priester, Felicia J. Sanders, Tom Snowden, Bill Valentine, Craig Watson and Jerry White) divided into 8 parties, who tallied 55 hours in the field. The weather was moderately warm and humid, with overcast skies and scattered showers in the morning turning partly cloudy and breezy by midday. Conditions remained very windy throughout the afternoon. We observed 140 total species and 8503 individuals (for a bird/party hour average of 154.6).
Notable species seen this day included the following:
- The Bull’s Island party (Felicia Sanders, Mary-Catherine Martin and Kerri Dikun) observed a REDDISH EGRET, 4 WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPERS, and 2 STILT SANDPIPERS. They also saw 3 PIPING PLOVERS and 133 RED KNOTS among numerous other shore- and seabirds (including 552 BLACK SKIMMERS), as well as 59 MOTTLED DUCKS (14 were also seen on Dewees Island by Kenneth Priester and Jeremy and Kimberley Bendt).
- In Laurel Hill, Bob Chinn and Virginia Flatau reported the only WILD TURKEY seen on the count.
- Hal Currey and Jerry White saw 18 WHIMBREL on Capers Island (also reported in smaller numbers from 5 other territories).
- Covering the grounds of the International Center for Birds of Prey and Sewee Road, Burton Moore observed a fly-over RED-THROATED LOON, 2 NORTHERN BOBWHITE, and 18 PAINTED BUNTINGS (also reported in smaller numbers from 6 other territories).
- Andy Harrison observed 3 RED-COCKADED WOODPECKERS, 1 SWAINSON’S WARBLER, 3 KENTUCKY WARBLERS (Bob and Virginia also recorded one in Laurel Hill), and 4 BACHMAN’S SPARROWS in Ion Swamp.
- The Guerins Bridge Road territory (covered by Don Jones, Becky Holmes, Bernie Lundquist, Tom Snowden and Bill Valentine) yielded the only LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE observed on the day.
The unfavorable weather conditions probably contributed to the lower species total than in 2006. Notable easy misses this year included birds such as Bald Eagle, White-breasted Nuthatch, Pied-billed Grebe, American Robin and Barred Owl. Although Mississippi Kites were reported by four of the eight parties, no Swallow-tailed Kites were observed. Numbers for individuals were also generally lower than in 2006 (although we had one fewer party in the field this year), with the striking exception being the large numbers of swallows reported. Craig Watson observed some 1200 Tree Swallows in the Sewee Preserve/Porcher’s Bluff area, and he noted that hundreds were lined up along the boardwalk there (mixed in with smaller numbers of Northern Rough-winged and Barn Swallows) – an impressive sight!
Below are the reported species and individual totals:| Red-throated Loon | 1 |
| Northern Gannet | 1 |
| Brown Pelican | 77 |
| Double-crested Cormorant | 30 |
| Anhinga | 27 |
| Least Bittern | 1 |
| Great Blue Heron | 35 |
| Great Egret | 158 |
| Snowy Egret | 70 |
| Little Blue Heron | 33 |
| Tricolored Heron | 20 |
| Reddish Egret | 1 |
| Cattle Egret | 13 |
| Green Heron | 53 |
| Black-crowned Night-Heron | 8 |
| Yellow-crowned Night-Heron | 2 |
| White Ibis | 25 |
| Glossy Ibis | 7 |
| Wood Stork | 1 |
| Canada Goose | 46 |
| Wood Duck | 47 |
| Mottled Duck | 73 |
| Mallard | 20 |
| Red-breasted Merganser | 11 |
| Black Vulture | 19 |
| Turkey Vulture | 81 |
| Osprey | 22 |
| Mississippi Kite | 14 |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | 8 |
| Red-tailed Hawk | 10 |
| Wild Turkey | 1 |
| Northern Bobwhite | 2 |
| Clapper Rail | 5 |
| Common Moorhen | 13 |
| American Coot | 2 |
| Black-bellied Plover | 59 |
| Wilson’s Plover | 18 |
| Semipalmated Plover | 318 |
| Piping Plover | 6 |
| Killdeer | 8 |
| American Oystercatcher | 38 |
| Black-necked Stilt | 21 |
| Greater Yellowlegs | 37 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs | 7 |
| Solitary Sandpiper | 9 |
| Willet | 43 |
| Spotted Sandpiper | 11 |
| Whimbrel | 43 |
| Ruddy Turnstone | 2 |
| Red Knot | 133 |
| Sanderling | 39 |
| Semipalmated Sandpiper | 22 |
| Western Sandpiper | 100 |
| Least Sandpiper | 46 |
| White-rumped Sandpiper | 4 |
| peep sp. | 47 |
| Dunlin | 267 |
| Short-billed Dowitcher | 69 |
| Laughing Gull | 254 |
| Ring-billed Gull | 15 |
| Herring Gull | 10 |
| Gull-billed Tern | 21 |
| Royal Tern | 114 |
| Sandwich Tern | 30 |
| Common Tern | 12 |
| Forster’s Tern | 35 |
| Least Tern | 14 |
| Black Skimmer | 564 |
| Rock Dove | 3 |
| Mourning Dove | 59 |
| Yellow-billed Cuckoo | 21 |
| Great Horned Owl | 1 |
| Chimney Swift | 19 |
| Ruby-throated Hummingbird | 3 |
| Belted Kingfisher | 7 |
| Red-headed Woodpecker | 2 |
| Red-bellied Woodpecker | 22 |
| Downy Woodpecker | 3 |
| Red-cockaded Woodpecker | 3 |
| Northern Flicker | 4 |
| Pileated Woodpecker | 13 |
| Eastern Wood-Pewee | 3 |
| Acadian Flycatcher | 8 |
| Great Crested Flycatcher | 85 |
| Eastern Kingbird | 21 |
| Purple Martin | 17 |
| Tree Swallow | 2822 |
| Northern Rough-winged Swallow | 211 |
| Barn Swallow | 293 |
| Blue Jay | 45 |
| American Crow | 71 |
| Fish Crow | 28 |
| Carolina Chickadee | 30 |
| Tufted Titmouse | 30 |
| Brown-headed Nuthatch | 13 |
| Carolina Wren | 63 |
| Marsh Wren | 3 |
| Blue-gray Gnatcatcher | 39 |
| Eastern Bluebird | 30 |
| Gray Catbird | 3 |
| Northern Mockingbird | 43 |
| Brown Thrasher | 5 |
| Loggerhead Shrike | 1 |
| European Starling | 13 |
| White-eyed Vireo | 40 |
| Yellow-throated Vireo | 1 |
| Red-eyed Vireo | 20 |
| Northern Parula | 41 |
| Magnolia Warbler | 1 |
| Black-throated Blue Warbler | 1 |
| Yellow-rumped Warbler | 5 |
| Yellow-throated Warbler | 8 |
| Pine Warbler | 33 |
| Prairie Warbler | 9 |
| Black-and-white Warbler | 2 |
| American Redstart | 3 |
| Prothonotary Warbler | 19 |
| Swainson’s Warbler | 1 |
| Northern Waterthrush | 1 |
| Kentucky Warbler | 4 |
| Common Yellowthroat | 18 |
| Hooded Warbler | 13 |
| Yellow-breasted Chat | 10 |
| Summer Tanager | 12 |
| Northern Cardinal | 107 |
| Blue Grosbeak | 12 |
| Indigo Bunting | 19 |
| Painted Bunting | 37 |
| Eastern Towhee | 28 |
| Bachman’s Sparrow | 4 |
| Chipping Sparrow | 2 |
| Savannah Sparrow | 1 |
| White-throated Sparrow | 1 |
| Red-winged Blackbird | 281 |
| Boat-tailed Grackle | 251 |
| Common Grackle | 71 |
| Brown-headed Cowbird | 30 |
| Orchard Oriole | 9 |
| House Finch | 4 |
| House Sparrow | 12 |
Many thanks to all those who participated in this year’s Spring
Count, and also to those who contributed to the Birdathon! To date
pledges have been made by the following people: Devendra Amatya, Lenate
Anderson, Tom Bahringer, Frank and Martha Barkley, Jeff Beane, Steve Bleezarde
and Melissa Hughes, Bob and Monica Bradley, Irene Bridges, Norm Brunswig,
Cornelia Carrier, Sally Catlin, Joe and Mary Cockrell, Bill Connellee,
George and Mary Anne Cromartie, Doreen and Jim Cubie, Hal Currey, Diane
De Steven, Kathleen Donnelly, Kay Evans, Emily Grimball, Susan Hall, Dennis
Hanson, Andy Harrison, Julian and Margaret Harrison, John and Lori Hilker,
Roy Hutchinson, Alicia Johnson, Edward Johnson, Frederick and Carol Jules,
Earl Kline, Walter Notton and Linnea Rogers-Notton, Elizabeth Orser, Richard
and Carole Perry, Jean Prothro, Donna and Bill Robertson, Barbara Silveston,
Peter Silveston, Carol Ann Smalley, Jim Snowden, Diane Valentino, and Harriet
and G.J. Warshaw. The
funds raised by the Birdathon will be used to support CNHS activities and
to help protect the seabird nesting colonies on Deveaux Bank, Crab Bank
and Bird Key Stono.
If
you have not already done so, please send your pledges as soon as possible
to the below address. Make checks payable to “Charleston Natural
History Society.” Please contact me if you have any questions. Thanks
very much, and good birding!
Andy Harrison, CNHS Birdathon Coordinator
35 Cross Creek Drive, Apt P-7
Charleston, SC 29412
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