2025 Edisto Island - Christmas Bird Count

Immature bald eagle harassed by crows on Jan. 2

Cold weather greeted my team at dawn on January 2, 2025 for the 4th Annual Edisto CBC. Assigned to Section 7 of the Island we began by listening for owls at the Editor Driving Range and heard the hoots from both the Great Horned Owl and the Barred Owl. As daylight arrived we began to drive around our area stopping at multiple hotspots that we had counted in the past, and added at least one new spot. The tide was high on Edingsville Beach at 9 AM and while we were able to visit Jeremy Inlet to count, we had to wait until low tide before traveling down the beach to Frampton Inlet, where a plethora of pelicans, cormorants and seagulls were waiting.

Organizer Tom Austin with Edisto Land Trust says that 43 volunteer birders counted a total of 14,709-birds and that the 142 total overall number of species sighted was a new record. The most abundant species was Dunlin, with 4860 of these shorebirds counted, largely on Otter Island in the ACE Basin. One notable sighting from Section 7 came when Capt. Phillip Albenesius and saw an immature bald eagle sitting in a dead tree near a road where a dead deer carcass was being feasted on by a swarm of black vultures. The baldie never ate because black crows were alerted to its presence and harassed it, causing it to fly off after a while. Sorry for the deer, but it was good for the bird counting! To view the entire species list for the Editor CBC click on E-bird.

Distance traveled while birding is recorded too

To view my feature article on the 2025 Christmas Bird Count in the Post and Courier click on Tideline.

To view past blog entires from the Edisto CBC click on 2024 - 2023

To view past blog entries from the Palmetto Bluff CBC click on  2024- 2023 - 2022 - 2021 

To view past blog entries from the Yemassee CBC click on 2025 - 2024

To view past birding trips from 2024 click on  Stono Preserve - Beidler Forest - Carolina Bird Club -  Earth Day / Kiawah - Spring Island - Southeast Shorebird Festival - Hammock Coast Birding Festival - Huntington Beach State Park - Yawkey Center