2022 Parris Island Birding Trip

Blue-headed Vireo

The U.S. Marine Corps Recruit Depot on Parris Island comprises 8000-acres of maritime forests and saltwater marshes. This storied military base is protected by the tightest security standards, but the natural world is also under strict guidance by their Environmental Affairs office. The Fripp Island Audubon Club has close ties to the Marine Base and was granted access for a birding trip on Saturday January 29. The conditions this day included temperatures in the 40's and wind gusts in the 20's which made for intrepid birding conditions. With right around 50 species recorded, our time on Parris Island was very productive.

Parris Island's John Holloway spotting birds

To view past blog entries about recent field trips click on 2021 Palmetto Bluff Christmas Bird Count - 2021 Botany Bay WMA Birding - 2021 Tillman Sand Ridge- 2021 Nemours Plantation / Fall Birding - 2021 Coastal Exploration / South Fenwick Island - 2021 Hunting Island State Park / Lighthouse and Beach - 2021 Hunting Island State Park / Wildlife Sightings - 2021 Coastal Exploration / Bennett's Point- 2021 Edisto Canoe and Kayak Commission - 2021 Congaree / Swamp Plants - 2021 Congaree - Swamp Critters - 2021 Furman University - 2021 Givhans Ferry State Park -  2021 Spring Island - Reptiles and Amphibians - 2021 Spring Island / Plants and Insects - 2021 Fish Haul Beach / Wildlife - 2021 Fish Haul Beach / Vistas - 2021 Beidler Forest / Flora and Fauna - 2021 Beidler Forest - Name That Snake - 2021 Walterboro Wildlife Sanctuary - 2021 Nemours Plantation Birding

To view past Field Notes and Photos click  January 2021 -  July 2020 -  June 2020 -  March 2020 - June 2019 - July 2018 - February 2018 -  December 2017 - September 2017 - January 2017- December 2016 - June 2016 - February 2016- December 2015 - October 2015 - September 2015 - August 2015 - July 2015 - June 2015 - February 2105 - October 2014 -  September 2014 - August 2014 - June 2014 - March 2012 - February 2012 - October 2011 - September 2011 

Lots of Shoreline on Parris Island

2022 Docheno Dove Club - Late Season Hunt

Don, John and Paul after the dove hunt

The unusually mild weather temps that brought in the New Year turned sharply colder in January. Yet the hunting for migratory ducks and doves did not improve as dramatically, and hunters were experiencing a lack of shooting opportunities from the field. The Docheno dove club in Green Pond experienced improved conditions on the ground, since it was not as wet late in the season, allowing the dove field crops to be manipulated. Some doves were almost always seen, but the late dove hunt did not yield many feathers as they tended to fly high and wide once the shooting began. 

Docheno dove club 

The end of season dove hunt is more than once last trip to the field, it is a chance to recap the year, and to game plan for the all important Labor Day dove hunt, that kicks off the next dove season. So year two is in the books at the Docheno dove club, but the story is not over, and the preparation for Chapter Three has already begun. The January 28 afternoon hunt took place in cloudy weather with 40-degree temps and a good breeze. After the hunt, a roaring fire warmed the hunters and the fellowship continued with a game dinner of quail birds and rice served up for members.

 

To view past blog entries on late season dove hunting click 2021 - 2019 - 2016 -  2015 - 2014 - 2013 - 2012  

Allen Bell with my dove by the fire

Dove field in Winter

2021 Gamekeepers / Winter - Regional Wood Duck Effort

Focus on Wood Duck Recruitment

What began as a 2019 pilot study in South Carolina to size up wood duck recruitment, quickly turned into a landmark regional effort in 2020 and 2021. Eight states within the Atltantic and Mississippi Flyways are now recording the wood duck harvest data that will help fine tune nest box placement. The new technique of web banding the feet of wood duck ducklings is the tool that will help yield these insights. The study calls on waterfowl enthusiasts to check their wood ducks for web-tags on their feet and to report that data, the same as reporting a leg band.

            

Beau Bauer is a wildlife and fisheries biologist at Nemours Wildlife Foundation, located in the ACE Basin of South Carolina. The Nemours Wildlife Foundation was established in 1995 by the late Eugene duPont III and is celebrating its 25th Anniversary. “This is a highly collaborative effort involving multiple states, and we at Nemours are tasked with coordinating the data as a non-profit organization,” said Bauer. “The eight-state partnership approach is breaking new ground when it comes to studying wood ducks across a broad landscape including two flyways.”

Sidebar on my wood duck encounter at Snipe Hill

For more Info click on Mossy Oak Gamekeepers Magazine. 

Mallards grace the Winter '21 edition

To view past blog entries from Mossy Oak Gamekeepers Magazine click Fall 2021 - Summer 2021 - Winter 2020- Spring 2020 - Fall 2017- Spring 2016 - Winter 2016 - Fall 2015 - Summer 2015 - Spring 2015 - Winter 2015 - Fall 2014 - Summer 2014 - Spring 2014 - Winter 2013 

2022 New Year's Day Fly-In at Coosaw Plantation

Blue Beechcraft with twin-engines while landing

The long-standing tradition of a New Year's Day Fly-In continued on January 1, 2022 at Coosaw Plantation. Aviation enthusiasts came by plan, helicopter, and SUV to the air strip to safely gather in an outdoors setting and welcome the new year with friends and family. Many Lowcountry pilots flew in before a barbecue lunch, and then flew back out for a return flight. Host John Sanford recognized aviators with ties to the group that had recently passed away, and then gave a blessing for all those who fly, and also for the meal. Unusually warm made the live oaks at one end of the field a natural gathering place, and the breezy conditions kept the Spanish moss dancing overhead. 

Dual-wing military plane based in Beaufort at take off

Whether single-prop, dual-prop, or dual-wing a varied group of aircraft assembled including one helicopter. A small jet did a fly by early in the day, as a show of support. All parked aircraft were on display for guests to admire, especially older planes with a military history. After fueling up on fellowship and food, the pilots took off in the early afternoon sunlight, with many of them buzzing the live oaks on their way out of town. No aircraft made a bigger impression than the blue Beechcraft with the twin Pratt and Whitney engines on their pass, loud and proud to ring in 2022 from the air.

To view past blog about aviation click on Wright Brothers / Kill Devil Hills 

Host John Sanford welcomes aviation enthusiasts

2021 Birding Journal Observations - November / December

Fox Sparrow on Dec. 14, 2021

2021 marks the beginning of the 14th year for my Lowcountry outdoors blog, and always begins with Birding Journal Observations. Warmer and drier conditions predicted for the winter are already firmly in place, with several record high temperatures set during the week between Christmas and New Year's Eve. Rare late December thunderstorms rolled across the landscape on Dec. 29, reminding many of the familiar summer weather pattern. Remember that keeping fresh water in your birdbath is a very good way to attract birds during dry weather.

Brown pelicans in Colonial Lake on Dec. 11, 2021

In general, the migration of smaller songbirds like warblers, and larger raptors seemed to have occurred right on schedule from say September through November. My backyard bird feeder has the usual suspects in their regular winter patterns right now, including yellow-bellied sapsucker, downy woodpecker, red-bellied woodpecker, tufted titmouse, Carolina wren, Carolina chickadee, white-throated sparrow, fox sparrow, white-breasted nuthatch and even a brown Creeper. The migration of waterfowl seems to be held up by the warmer and drier conditions, and I am not seeing any goldfinch activity yet either.

To view recent birding trips click on Palmetto Bluff - Botany Bay WMA - Nemours Wildlife Foundation

To view my most recent Birding Journal Observations click on Sept. / Oct. 2021

To view past Birding Journal Observations from Nov. / Dec. click on 2020 - 2018-  2017 - 2016 - 2015 - 2014 - 2013- 2012 - 2011 - 2010